Blog Blog Blog

Yo!
So there are about 3 of you that read this, and even then it's about every month or so because you know me and how much I dislike this. Anything of real value in my life will be told to you through a phone call or you'll get the invite in the mail whenever that goes down... I don't have much to say. I expect you to read this once a month, no more. So if you're checking this more often, STOP. I won't be writing an entry every two days and it sure as heck won't be poetic. Just not my style. Mostly it will be rants about nothing that matters too much because if it does really matter to me I won't choose my blog as an outlet to speak my mind about real issues concerning real people. Ain't my style. I do admire (maybe admire isn't the right word, but being unpoetic I can't think of another one) those who blog often. To take the time to write yours and read others is courageous. It's a sea of blogging blog blogs out there. Personally I check people's blogs only when they tell me to, and even then I sometimes forget in the time they tell me to and the time I go to do it. I find myself staring at the screen with the address bar thing bright blue wondering what site I was going to go to. I usually end up at facebook or myspace, oddly enough... So yeah, don't take it personally that I don't check your blog, not really my style. Oh and I know it annoys people when I make an entire letter or entry in one super long paragraph, but hey, not my style. If you really care what's going on with my life, call me. I dare you to. If I can write this long about something I don't really enjoy imagine how long I can talk about something I do enjoy, that being my life. Having said all this, I will write sometimes, but only about something small that I find really amusing or something that irks me. And even then, please don't expect it to be all lovey and daisy filled. I'm not cynical and don't at all dislike life, I just don't want to write like that in a blog, ain't my style. If I want to let you know how much I love life or how much I appreciate something, I'll tell you in person, or in a more personal way. I can be serious, but not in this. That's my style. One on one baby! Finally I get some sort of style in my life... and isn't that pic hot?! I'm a real live bottle of HOT SAUCE! It was my costume I made last year for Hallowe'en. I spent about 8 hours making it, the upc code (is that what they're called?!) is an actual code. I have a small case of OCD, step off.

If "home is where the heart is" than my home is in Saskatchewan.

(Ariel shot of a small town in Saskatchewan)

(Flax field. Easiest one to identify, other than sunflowers of course)



(This picture was taken at Kenosee Lake which is about 20 minutes from where I grew up. It's the view from 1st hole's tee-off box. Sweetest hill for tobogganing ever, just for the record.)


So I’m sitting in class and while I should be listening intently to the guest speaker (he seems like a nice guy, he really does) I am here blogging instead. I am dreaming of where God is going is going to take me (yikes! The guy just called on me. I really shouldn’t have nodded without knowing what exactly he was asking. Ps. When he smiles he kind of looks like Jack Nicholson) and what he is going to do with me. I am proud to be from Saskatchewan and I dream of spending my life here, raising my family here, hopefully making a difference within my community. I love rural Saskatchewan. I was born and raised there, it is my home, and I think it always will be. I do like cities, as long as they’re small enough, like Regina, but there is something about living in a small town that makes me feel at home. Yeah some like to call small-town people “nosey” and “hicks” and yes, at times we may be. But honestly, I view it more as being concerned and interested in others lives. And Yep, I can be a hick at times, but I am somewhat of a city-person as well. I really do like living (well when I go home to my parents place anyway) in Regina. Honestly, I do. I see the benefits and short-comings of both small towns and cities. And although there are a plethora of advantages to the city life, my heart is in the open. It’s in a small town surrounded by vast open space. SO… where do I see myself in 10 years?? Oh probably living in a small town somewhere here in this beautiful province working at who knows where. I am working on completing my BA in Business Administration although I am not always sure why. I am more concerned with people, and ethics, and things of that sort, than I am about making money. I don’t want to be rich in regards to monetary wealth; I want to be rich with friends and love. Sounds ultra cheesy, I know. But it’s true. I don’t want a huge massive home, but yet still one that I can have people into at any time. I want to have a home that welcomes everyone and is used to bless others. I dream of being involved in my church in whatever capacity that may be. Sometimes I think I should practice piano more because I may need it for whatever church I may be. I love to worship and I would like to be able to lead it again. I want to have people over to just talk about God and their journey with Him. I also want my children (I’d like 4 I think, but obviously flexible on this matter) to be involved in community life. I want them to play school sports or be in the school play or whatever it may be. Ideally I’d love my sons, and daughters if they so desire, to play hockey. I grew up in a hockey rink, literally. I love the game. I enjoy people who enjoy it and I want to be able to reach out to them and establish some solid friendships. I want to give to people. I want my life to be an offering to God. But I don’t want my life to be remembered for the insignificant things I did, like attended over 1 million hockey games, or things that often define who I am, like that girl who dances when she worships God. I want to be remembered for what I did for others, that woman who showed us God and His love. In the end it really doesn’t matter if I live out this above dream, as simple or specific as it may seem, but what matters is how I reached out and loved people. And if I can do that best living in a city, working in a sky-rise, and sharing an apartment building with 50 other families, beautiful. I don’t want my dream to interfere with how God wants to use me. But it sure would be nice to be able to live it out eh…

For the love of naps...

The Benefits of Naps
By Dr. Gregg D. JacobsJuly 27, 2004
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Many people feel a mid-afternoon slump in mood and alertness, especially after a poor night of sleep. Many believe that this slump is caused by eating a heavy lunch. However, in reality, this occurs because we were meant to have a mid-afternoon nap.
Several lines of evidence, including the universal tendency of toddlers and the elderly to nap in the afternoon and the afternoon nap of siesta cultures, have led sleep researchers to the same conclusion: nature intended that we take a nap in the middle of the day. This biological readiness to fall asleep in the mid-afternoon coincides with a slight drop in body temperature and occurs regardless of whether we eat lunch. It is present even in good sleepers who are well rested. Sleep researchers have also discovered that the afternoon dip in mood and alertness is associated with poorer performance, particularly after a night of sleep loss, and a simultaneous increase in sleepiness-related accidents.
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So... who really cares?? Well I do! All you haters out there who get all up in my face about taking naps from time to time should now be silenced. It is part of a healthy lifestyle. I do sleep at night. But come afternoon my body cries for more rest. You make fun of me, but at least one of us is taking care of their body in regards to sleep (just forget about all the other ways I don't take care of my body properly, we're not discussing those right now). As I have always said, and will continue to say (I'll probably teach my children this vital principle), "A Sunday is not a Sunday without an afternoon nap." And yes, this is applicable to all other days of the week. So do the world a favour, go take a nap. Maybe you wouldn't be so snarly with me if you did... ~brenna/Queen of Napland

See this sad face?? Look deep into her eyes... she has a story to tell. This young girl named *LaBrenya has suffered most of her life with CLS, Caf Lonliness Syndrome. In her early years it displayed itself in rushed food consumption and the chugging back of liquids in order to hurry the time she spent in the caf. This unfortunate problem has now carried over into her post-secondary years. (Typically people with this condition show signs of the syndrome and are treated early on in life. She is a rare case.) For the past number of months, LaBrenya has ventured into the caf at her post-secondary institute with the intentions of "meeting the masses" or "hangin' with her home-girls" but as is common with the disease, her hopes were set too high. Much too high.
We now come to the part in the story where you, the reader, may want to take a break and grab a handful of tissue. Go now. You ready for this? Well, admist her struggle to overcome, or at least deal with this tragic illness, LaBrenya has befriended another young lady with the same condition. The chances of there being two girls still struggling at this age with CLS is extremely rare. And dangerous... So, the last week these two young girls convince themselves that they can make friends and that people do like them, and to prove this to not only themselves but the world, they stroll into the caf once again. They choose a table in the middle of the dining area, sit a couple seats apart as not to make people think they are having a meeting, and proceed with their eating. These poor girls sat there for over an hour without a single person sitting down. Just picture this. Two young, attractive young girls sitting alone at a table set for 10. It was so sad. They told us that this same thing has happened to them 5 times before. *tear* It was at this point that our producers had to leave the campus, something about it not being right having 2 grown men following 2 young girls around with video cameras... This is where the story ends for us, but for these two young girls, LaBrenya and her friend, the journey is just beginning. Hopefully someday they will be able to fight this disease and educate others on the struggles of living with CLS.

*name has been changed to protect the innocent

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>Okay seriously though people, Charisa and I have gone into the caf to hang out with people, connect with the student body, and what happens?!?! THAT! We sit alone at a table set for 10 without anyone joining us. Even a hello from people we know would be a good healthy start! How am I to represent the student body when the body won't talk. Is the whole body just a big ol' eye watching us, waiting for us to spill food on ourselves so they can whoop it up?! Well we won't spill, so look away! Please, just sit with us once. It has happened 5 other times and it is disgraceful. As members of student goverment, we are shocked at the lack of communication you have with us. Pfff, I guess that's what we, as big shots in this school, get for trying to have contact with you, lower-class peasants of the world. Honestly...

~brenna

The Return of the Blog

Howdy ya'll! (and by ya'll I actually mean Charisa and maybe Sheryl if she hasn't completly given up on me... I think they're the only people who read this. In that case, why do I even try this blogging thing?! I talk to Charisa everyday. In fact, I see her almost everyday. And Sheryl, I talk to on msn quite often. So say there was something that I felt was needed to be shared with either of these individuals, I could call them, message them, or walk over to their place which is about a block away. So I ask myself again? why am I blogging? To express my feelings? I can do that in a journal that won't be hacked by some 55 year old creep who probably knows more about me than I even know about myself. Sometimes it is fun to rant about life, but seriously, who wants to read my rantings?! I talk way more than I already should, why provide me with an outlet to do it more often?! This is a bad thing this blogger.com. I can talk and talk and talk and there is no one to shut me up. Sure you can stop reading it or even better not begin reading it at all, but I don't know that. I can not be shafted with you cutting the conversation short. This is a place for people who like to talk but don't want to be hurt by others telling them they don't care or drift off as you're speaking! Hmmm, maybe I will blog more often then...)

something they don't teach you in school...

COFFEE MAKES YOU HAVE TO PEE VERY VERY FREQUENTLY!!!! I was heading home from Alberta last night, it was cold and crazy icy and snowing and all that fun prairie winter stuff, and I had had 3 large coffees already. (Now please understand that until yesterday I had never, ever had a cup of coffee. Yes I had had a sip before but it tasted like tar so I never drank the stuff.) So I am trucking along the number 1, between Calgary and Medicine Hat and, as anyone who has been on that road knows, there are about 3 towns on the way. (If I had money, I would start my own town and place it somewhere in there just so there'd be another town!) Anyway, I had to really pee. Now it wasn't one of those "I'll stop at the next town, get a drink, and if I remember I have to go, I will" kinda things... it was a "I am about to warm up my seat in a way I don't want to" kinda thing. Naturally, being from Saskatchewan (that makes sense if you've seen our 'welcome to the province sign') , I pulled over onto a gravel road, and peed outside. Yes, it was freezing on the tooch, thanks for asking. But of course I was prepared for a moment like this - I had toilet paper with me, I am an ol' Girl Guide you know. It was all good. Now being the daughter of my mom, I also had hand-sanitizer with me. So looking objectively at this, it was just like going to a public washroom, minus the toliet, indoor plumbing, door, walls, and out-fashioned mirror. Had I had that mirror I also would have been able to watch myself twitch and shake from the massive amount of caffine I had ingested. I could not not keep still, and falling asleep was a long, exhaustive process.
So the conclusion of the matter is this: school is cool, but it doesn't teach you the severe repercussions of going from no coffee intake to pounding back 3 large cups of it!