End of April

Well, it's been another excited and busy month!

This months challenges were primarily based on food:
Trying vegetarian, vietnamese food, deep fried banana, portobella mushrooms. I have enjoyed each one of these immensely and have tried to take steps in order to incorporate more variety into my daily routine.
Reading: Romance novels both traditional and Christian. I am glad these are finished. Although I have one more romance type novel I am working on finishing in May. Oh and the more serious: Marx and Engels. I have enjoyed Marx and Engels more than the romance novels. Believe me.
Changed my hair colour. No one has noticed. I like it. Goes to show how much people notice my hair!
Entered into the political realm: trying to attend a political rally type thing, working for Elections and Advance polling have let me understand more about the political climate where I live and in Canada as well. I would highly recommend anyone to at least find out about their options where they live. One doesn't necessarily have to join in a party to become involved.
Done some travelling to include the Canada Line and the Stave Falls Powerhouse.

I can honestly say that it has been quite the month! I am far more inclined to say this month has been the most challenging so far. Mind you, maybe it's because I grew the most in this month due to the challenges I faced.

Thanks for reading!

I hope May is even better!

Lynn

Daffodil Campaign

This was an ongoing challenge since March. I volunteered with the Canadian Cancer Society's Daffodil Campaign. My roll was to locate businesses in my town to host a box of daffodil pins and once that was done service the boxes for donations the entire month of April. I will say the hardest part was finding the businesses to take the boxes. I'm rather shy. Talking to new people is always a challenge. I found 20 places for my boxes.

I began to service the boxes and was having a good time of doing it. Through the month I began talking more to the treasurer. She was going away  in the middle of April. Because of this, I volunteered to take the donations, roll the change and then make the bank deposits.

This is what I have been doing the entire month of April. Oh and I also became the secretary for a local fish hatchery. It has been a very very busy month!

I have to say for the first time in a very long time I have felt fulfilled. The work I was doing was important to me. I met my own timelines, and for the first time in a long time I can say I am happy at what I have done!

Surviving cancer is one thing. I find with my new opportunities I have grown so much in the past three weeks. I have truly found out how strong I am. I found working a 50 hour work week is not impossible, especially if you can see the value in what you are doing. That being said, I am glad the end of April is here!

Thanks for reading!

Lynn

Advance Polling

I am writing this today to help myself remember a few things.
As I plan on being busy during the election day, I voted early at the advance polling station. It was relatively painless. The only thing that made it different for me was that I had to change my name and re-register. That took a few more minutes, but again was relatively painless.
I have to say that from someone who has never taken advantage of the advance polling station, I prefer voting in advance to the regular voting. There's hardly any line ups, parking is a breeze and the voting staff are a lot more friendlier. I think next time we have to vote again (I know we have a provincial vote coming up soon) I'll see if I can advance vote.
As well, I can say that with the voting over and done with for me, watching the politicians and their last week of campaigning will be strictly entertainment for me! I'm glad I don't have to worry about who I'm going to vote for, it's already been done!

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Romance Novel

Okay, so I now can say I have read a typical romance novel. It was a harlequin novel which I put on my Kobo. It's easier to hide what you're reading with the kobo than with a regular novel.
I have to say, it was easier to read the Christian romance novel than the Regular romance novel. The love scenes in the regular romance novel were so stereotypical it was boring.
I think the Christian romance novel had more of a story behind it, with more twists and turns.
In the last blog I wrote how sometimes I have to push myself in order to read something that's particularly challenging. This was particularly true of this novel. I wasn't entertained. I just wanted to be done this book.
Again, none of the romance in this novel could ever actually happen. I strongly believe in writing things that have either happened or could happen to someone. It would make the whole thing more plausible rather than reading something from someone else's imagination.
I just can't help but feeling that there goes three evenings out of my life!

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Stave Falls Power House Visitor Centre

Because my time is rather limited at the moment, I decided I'd better take every opportunity I can in order to challenge myself.
Today was a fine day to complete another challenge. My husband and I both had the day off together. So, I pushed him to visit the Stave Falls Power House Visitor Centre in Mission.
It was a challenge just getting there! Mission had snow this morning!
But we made it and I'm glad we got there! It was quite the history lesson as well!

The Power House is huge! Inside the turbines were about 10 storeys tall.  It was quite the journey and I never realized how important a role power plays in BC. I would recommend anyone who likes electricity and history to visit this landmark!



Thanks for reading!

Lynn

Ongoing challenge: Elections

It has been a dream of mine since University to work in an election. I was asked to join a party when I was in University but declined. It wasn't a good fit at the time.

So this election seemed to be the perfect fit. I challenged myself and applied online to Elections Canada. I got a call back on Wednesday to go in. So today, I went in and am now a spare Information Clerk. If anyone cancels, I will get to go in. I also get paid training and get to show up to work on election day and get paid for however long I sit there waiting for a position!

I am rather excited at this challenge regardless of the outcome. Just to be trained in this capacity is quite an honour to me!

I will keep this post going until the end of the election!

Thanks for reading

Lynn

April 25th: Well, I'm officially trained for the position! Training went well tonight. Even got to visit the new Events Centre. Haven't done that before either. Should be an interesting day if I able to cover for someone! Lots of standing, and being prepared for all weather. I am just happy to have come this far! It really is an honour to help out! I'll keep you posted if I do get a posting!

April 28th: I got some news today: I rec'd my post: a local high school. I am going to be the accesibility Information Clerk. I get to help those who need assistance to vote. I have more training to attend tomorrow evening on this special posting. I am terribly nervous but rather excited! I'll post more tomorrow once the training is completed!

April 29th: I went in for my training tonight. It went well. I am a bit more relaxed about the my "job" and am looking forward to the rewarding experience. I have a bit to prepare (food, a good book, jacket and several pairs of comfortable shoes). All in all, I'm ready to go! I'll blog again once my day is over.

May 2nd: What an unbelievable day!!! I am utterly exhausted. However, I had one of the best days at work I have had in a long time. I even got to talk to some people I used to work with! The day began at 5:45 AM when I began setting up tables and ended at 7:15 tonight when I cleaned up my station and handed in my time sheet. Everyone was super nice and I ended up helping the registration table when it got very busy. All of the signs that were outside the polls were put up by myself, which was nervewracking because I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. I am so glad I challenged myself to apply, went through the training sessions, and worked all day. I met some great people and would recommend anyone who is ever thinking of doing this, to get involved. What a wonderful way to spend the day!

Robin Gunn's "Secrets" or my first Christian Romance Novel

I'm quite shy with anything that concerns matters of the heart because it's not everyone's business to know. I am also quite innocent when it comes to these same matters and did I mention I blush really easy? I'm also a realist. Because of these facts, I don't really believe in romance novels. To me, why write something the public could see if there is no possible way any of it could ever happen? Why get anyone's hopes up that life could offer anything more than it already does? So, anyways I've never read a romance novel.
Being new to the genre, my friend recommended I start slowly and pointed the way to one she thought I could tolerate. It's not on the Kobo, but an actual book. The title was Secrets.
I will say here that most of the books I have read this year have been challenging to read. I have to push myself to stay on task and finish the books. What feeds this motivation is the belief that I will get something out of what I read. Most times, it is true.
However, this book was unlike most of these books in that it was very easy to get lost in it. I finished the almost 300 page book in two nights. I guess that is what escapist literature is. It's nothing more than a escape. However, I appreciated the Christian element to the book. There were no immoral parts and in the end the boy and girl fall in love before even kissing! Okay, now that doesn't sound very possible at all which is why I didn't want to read a romance novel in the first place. However, not is all bad. I appreciated the escape and have never read a novel with a Christian perspective before which made it all the more endearing. For those who are harsh skeptics of romance novels, I would recommend reading a Christian romance novel first. It's unlike anything I've ever read and I am glad for the experience!

Thanks for reading.

Lynn

Canada Line

Okay so the first part of the day did not go exactly as planned. But it was still a good day. On the way back home, my father took me on the Canada Line. It was something I had never done before. It was quite the ride. It was much quicker than the other way back.
 My father worked on a section of the Canada Line prior to it opening. So he gave me a bit of a tour. It was interesting to see the line from a different perspective.

Some lessons I learned today:

When concrete dries, it produces a lot of Carbon Dioxide. Exhaust fans are needed.
In life the journey is often more interesting than the destination itself.

Thanks for reading.

Lynn

Challenge Failed: town hall meeting

We are in the midst of a provincial election. My father rec'd a telephone call inviting him to a Town Hall Meeting today in North Vancouver with Mr. Ignatieff, the leader of the Liberal party. Because I love Canadian politics I volunteered to go with him.

First, I will say my father didn't quite understand the concept that a lot of people would be there. So we left later than we should have and didn't get in.

Secondly, he didn't quite understand the idea that protesters would be there. There was a group of mothers and kids protesting some Pavel guy. So in the middle of the crowded street, he yelled at the group of kids "where are your mothers". I was so mortified, I had to pretend I didn't know my own father.

So lessons I have learned today:
Don't take your father to another political rally
Leave a lot earlier than you would expect to.

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Changing Hair Colour

I have noticed a few things about my hair that I would like to change. I need another haircut. However, because I am growing my hair out again, I can pin it back and it seems to do the trick.
I am going gray. I have been going gray for a while now. However, within the last six months it is becomming more and more visible. So, I changed it.

I went with a light brown. Normally my hair is very dark. I thought it was a dramatic difference. I feared I had gone too light. However, my husband hardly noticed it. He says it is not a major difference but it still is nice.
The main thing is, the gray is covered!

Thanks for reading

Lynn

Portabello Mushroom

Well, I had another rare opportunity to try a new food this weekend. I had to say goodbye to a friend who was moving far away and I attended a dinner party. At the dinner party, the hostesss and I made a chicken mushroom stew that included Portabello Mushrooms.
 They are firmer than a regular button mushroom. They don't shrink as badly as a button mushroom does. They have a more meaty taste.

The dinner was a sad goodbye. However, the dinner was very good and I think I'll try this again.

Thanks for reading

Lynn
 

Marx and Engels

Because I do like to read quite a bit, my friend recommended I purchase the Kobo. So, because it came preloaded with 100 classic titles, it weighs far less than a regular book and I can take it anywhere, I purchased it.

The first book I read off of it was The Communist Manifesto. My husband would not let me purchase this book otherwise. My husband can be a bit paranoid sometimes, so I didn't purchase this as a book. However, for some reason, I think this may have been required reading for one of my university history classes. Come to think of it, I know the course, 3rd year history at UNBC. The course was about the study of how history was written down through the course of the ages. Engels or Marx or both were historians (okay, it's been a few years since University, so I think my memory is pretty good). In all truth, I have probably read this book before. However, when you pick up a book in university because it is required, sometimes it gets skimmed quickly rather than reading it word for word (sorry to offend any professors who may be reading this). I also had a different purpose for reading this then. The intent of reading it then was to see how the facts of history were written down and used to prove a point. I think the over reaching lesson in that course was that history is a tool to interpret events in the past to prove a point. One event has several interpretations and although it happened, no one ever knows for sure why it happened.  Anyways back to the challenge at hand:

I wanted to re-read this book without any blinders on to absorb what it was they were trying to say. I have to say I can see how revolutionary it was for its time. The authors used certain segments of the population (eg women) to reach out to for support. By making claim that women would no longer be oppressed under the communist system, it allowed for more people to support the changes they were proposing. I think in that avenue, the two authors were marketing geniuses. The more people they reached out to or made promises to, the more people they could count on for support. I am leaving the whole idealogy out of this argument because I don't think it is needed here. Based upon this fact, I can see how and why history is forever linked to this one book. The more people they preached to, the more promises were made, the more support they gained, the more power they came into. It just goes from there.

As far as the whole ideology goes, I will tread lightly here. In a perfect perfect world I think everyone wants equality and for everyone to get along. However, due to human's imperfect nature, I highly doubt that it is possible. There will always be people who are easily led and those that are the leaders. I will end the discussion on that topic there. Whew!

As for me and my Kobo, I'm not sure this is going to work out all that well. I like actually having a book to hold in my hand. If it's mine, I like highlighting favourite passages. That way, when I'm blogging or facing a particularly difficult time, I can go back to the book and look at what I've highlighted for help. You clearly cannot do that with this Kobo.
Another thing is that I actually like going to the book store to search out titles. I can see what's on sale and what I actually feel like reading. I also am a big fan of illustrations. They make the pages so much more prettier.
However, I guess there are some perks: some books are far cheaper and not as heavy to carry around. Perhaps they should have had this when I was a university student. 50 lbs of books was nothing then. But then again, how much of it did I actually read?

Thanks for reading.

Lynn

Deep Fried Banana

Another opportunity came along to try something I have never had. I was celebrating some good news I received recently by taking my husband out to dinner to a restaurant we have never been to before. On their dessert menu, they had deep fried banana.
So, we both tried it. Although it was a smaller piece, there was plenty of it for the both of us. It was fried after all.
I don't know how the restaurant managed it, but the outside was fried and the inside was still cold. The coldness of the banana was the best part.
I enjoyed the experience of the dessert, but probably won't order it again. I can't imagine how much fat was in that dish.

Thanks for reading.

Lynn

Vietnamese Food

Okay, so I didn't think I possibly had time for another challenge. However, tonight's dinner was the perfect.

I like Pho. It's a vietnamese noodle soup. It's rather cheap (7 dollars for a large bowl of soup, which fills me for most of the day). The soup I order is rare beef slices. I let the hot broth cook the beef while I concentrate on the noodles, sprouts, lime slices and cilantro leaves. It leaves my insides feeling stuffed and warm (it's a rare thing for me to feel warm inside).

Tonight we went to a Pho Restaurant. However, they had other things on the menu for me to try as well. So I ordered the Lemon Grass Chicken Vermicelli. According to the menu: "A filling and healthy serving of vermicelli, mixed with bean sprouts, leaf lettuce, mint, crushed peanuts, house vinaigrette and chicken sauted in lemon grass sauce." It was honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten. It was warm, not hot, the chicken had the crushed peanuts on top. I actually managed to finish my meal! I have to go back!

My husband decided to order soup this time. However, it wasn't Pho. He ordered Hue Style Soup: "Slices of beef, pork, and beef balls with vermicelli in a spicy and aromatic soup; slow cooked with a multitude of fresh traditional Vietnamese ingredients". This one was just as good. However, it was a little bit too spicy for me. However, if my husband orders it again, I'll take another sample. There was just something about the broth. To me it was spicy but also comforting about it. It's almost impossible for me to describe.

What's also good about this food was that it didn't break the bank and I'm not allergic to it. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to try something different but doesn't want to think too outside the box.

Thank-you for reading.

Lynn

Trying Vegetarian

Okay, so in the midst of being very busy, I have been helping a friend look at furniture. We went for lunch this weekend after she decided on her purchase.
For a while now, I have been considering limiting the meat in my diet. Protein and Vitamin C are helpful when healing from surgery. However, I am not in that stage in my life anymore. My husband needs to eat meat at every meal due to his beliefs. So, I don't get a lot of opportunity to try vegetarian food.
Lunch was the perfect opportunity. I tried a garden hamburger for the first time ever. It was pretty good. I would eat it again. It was vegetarian as the mayonnaise had egg in it and it had cheese on it.
I think I would like to pursue this vegetarian idea a bit more after eating this for lunch.

I am rather happy I thought outside of the box for lunch. I feel a bit more confident that I can find alternative menu items that I will enjoy.

Thanks for reading.

Lynn

End of March

Well, it's a few days past the end of March. However, due to a very busy schedule this will have to do for an end of March update.
It's been a pretty busy month:
I have tried eggplant, eaten Indian, changed my last name, gone to the drive in movies, driven at night, read William Blake, gone to Gravity Hill and celebrated my one year anniversary from cancer.

It's been a challenging month. I am happy with the pace the challenges have occurred in in March. However, I am afraid April will be even less than this.

I have become the secretary again to a local fish hatchery, volunteering for the Cancer Society, and have also volunteered to help out in Communications with my church. These are all quite time consuming but very rewarding.

I will continue to update this blog as much as possible. Thanks for continuing to read.

Lynn