Life Lately

I have not written here in a while!
I guess the fact I'm now working full-time has something to do with it!
I'm going to try to write more often! I love blogging and I want to share more.

Last Day of 2012!

Here we are, on the last day of the year 2012! Already!!! It seems that we were in January 2012 yesterday!!! Where did the year go?!?! I don't know!

Here's some good things that happened to me in 2012:

• I finally graduated with my Master degree!
• The boyfriend and I celebrated 10 years of dating! That's a decade!!!
• I finally got a job in my hometown!
• I got another job offer (great job!) and I resigned from my old job (I only worked there for 4 months!) I am very happy with that decision!

We have some special plans for tonight! A friend of my boyfriend is having a Wine and Cheese Tasting Party at his house to celebrate the New Year! I'm sure we will have a great time together celebrating!

Happy New Year!

Here’s to 2013 and all it will bring!

November 3rd 1984!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I was born at 3h19am on the first Saturday of November 1984.  It was a cold day, with the first snow of the winter season on this special day! 

So I am 28 years old today!

My 27th year was a big year for me:

• My boyfriend and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary!
• I finished my thesis!
• I graduated with my Master degree in June!
• I had good times with friends and family!
• My family and I got closer.
• We moved to another apartment.
• I finally found a job in my hometown.

I'm looking forward to this next year:

Here's a bucket list for this year:

• Get engaged! (I'm ready to take that next step!)
• Travel to USA again (or another country!)
• Buy my first car!
• Save money for a potential house!
• Take more pictures!
• Continue to work out!

Happy November!

• Can you believe it's already November?!?! Almost the year 2013!!!!

• This is my birthday month (my birthday is on the 3rd, in 2 days!) but I'm not excited at all to turn 28! I'm getting old ha! It seems like yesterday I was 21!!!

• I like my teaching job... but I don't like the schedule at all. I mainly work at night (night classes) and it's so exhausting. I go to bed around 11:00-11:15 pm and I'm not used to that. I have to do a lot of classes preparation and sometimes, only 1 or 2 students show up for the class. Annoying. Honestly, I don't have a very good salary either (and it's not full-time) and it kind of bothers me. Well, I had to take that job because I need to work and to pay the bills like everybody! I know that my job situation could be worse! At least I have a job!

• Because yesterday was Halloween, I only had one student coming to my class! I thought nobody was going to show, I guess I was wrong!

• The weather has been crazy this week out here because of the storm Sandy. It's kind of depressing!

• I have not done a workout in a few weeks. I need to get back on a workout routine! I'm thinking about joining a gym but it's so expensive here!

• This month is the month I start paying back my student loan. Yikes.

What's going on in your life?

Blogging Mojo!

I think I have officially lost my blogging mojo!
I will try to get back to blogging soon!

We went to an Halloween party last night and I am so hangover today! Not used to drink anymore haha! I'm not 18 anymore, clearly!!!


A little update on the past few months:


-I finally graduated with my Master degree!

-I worked in Montréal for 2 months during the summer
-I FINALLY got a job in our hometown: I'm a French immersion teacher for immigrants
-We had to move into a new apartment in July (in the same city we were already living in!)
-My boyfriend also got a new fantastic job
-Life in general has been really busy
-I'm trying to adjust to working and not being a student anymore!


What's new with you?

Graduation Day - June 16th 2012 !!!

Tomorrow, June 16th 2012, is my graduation day from Université Laval (Québec city). I am so excited!

I graduate with my Master degree in French-Canadian Literature (M.A. - Master of Arts) and I could not be prouder of myself! It took me a lot of time to finish my Master degree but I finally DID it! I can say that this is my biggest achievement and the thesis I wrote might not be the best, but it's mine and I'm proud of it! I will have a 140 pages book with my name on it and this is the result of my hard work!

I look back on all those years (22 years) I was in school, pursuing an education and I can't help myself but think about my beginnings.

This is where it all started, in 1990, in kindergarden, when I was 5 years old. This is the year I started school and where I started to LOVE school... I have always been a good student. I loved homework! Teachers loved me and I loved them all. They were real role models for me, I thought they were so impressive! Grades were important for me and I wanted to only get A's. And I was getting A's and I was so happy and proud! I have always felt very encouraged by my parents, they were proud parents!

21 years later, I still love school and I think that education is SO important.  A higher education is the biggest gift you can give to yourself!!!

I'm not sure what I will do with my Bachelor's and my Master's degrees, but I know that my education will bring me a lot.

Tomorrow is my graduation day and it may mark the end of an era. I think that my educational career is over but I'm not sure yet!

Cheers to all students that have graduated in 2012 and I wish, for all of us, a lot of success!

Life Lately and Menu Monday!

I have not written in a while on my blog, I didn't feel like blogging at all.

In the past 3.5 weeks, I have done a lot and a lot of things have happened, like those things:

• I am officially done with my Masters. I'm getting my diploma on graduation in Québec city on June 16th! I can't wait!

• I met my niece for the first time, she was born on March 30th. She is so precious!

• I have done more than 300 km of bike.

• I have done the 30 Day Shred!

• I lost 5 pounds.

• I have organized old pictures (more than 2000!) and it was really fun to go through more than 2 decades of pictures!

• I read 6 books, just for fun! 

• I began to write a novel! Not sure how it will turn out but I'm trying to write! 

Also, I'm leaving for Montréal in a few days to work for 6 weeks, as I do every year. I will stay at my sister's apartment and I can walk to work, I love it! I can't wait to be in Montréal, I love that city! I will miss Boyfriend of course, but I need to work! 

* * *
It's the beginning of a new week! I have not done Menu Monday in a while!

Menu Monday


Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: BBQ pork chops, wild rice and a salad
Wednesday: Asian sauté
Thursday: Chicken tournedos, veggies and tomato salad
Friday: Pizza and feta salad

What's on your menu for this week?

To-Do List

I have so much to accomplish today and tomorrow and I feel like doing nothing!

The list goes as follows:

To Do

• Vacuum house (3 floors)
• Clean bathrooms (2)
• Do dishes
• Clean the fridge
• Grocery shop
• Go to the pharmacy to get my prescription
• Write an economics paper for Boyfriend's MBA class (well, I'm helping him out!)
• Develop Powerpoint presentation (again, for the Boyfriend!)
• Write two chronicles (500 words each) for the website I work for
• Correct a chronicle I wrote last week
• Read my thesis for the last time before printing it!
• Email my thesis director some papers she has to sign
• Email my University faculty
• Print final version of thesis (3 copies)!
• Go to the post office and mail out my thesis!
• Apply online for a job
• Look for full-time jobs offers
• Make dinner

Happy Thursday!

Random Thursday!

• I finally booked an appointment to get my hair done! This afternoon, I'm going to get beautified! Hair cut and highlights! I have not been to the hairdresser in more than 3 months (13 weeks exactly!), you bet that my roots are totally showing! 

• My boyfriend is turning the big 30 next Wednesday! And I'm throwing him a surprise party next Saturday! (Don't worry, he doesn't read my blog! I bet he even doesn't remember I told him I had a blog!)

• I have sent out 4 resumes this week! Please someone call me!

• My life is boring. Well, this is what I think.

• I don't have any plans for the weekend. Probably the usual: cleaning and grocery shopping. I told you my life was boring.

• I want to travel. I'm jealous of friends that are going to trips like 4-5 times/year. And I'm talking about big trips, like Europe, South America, etc. The last time I want outside the country was almost 3 years ago when we went for a weekend in New York City. We did go to Ottawa (in Ontario) 2 years ago but I want to get out of the country! I need a real vacation. 

Happy Thursday!

Life Lately

• I got some great news this week. I am going to be a columnist for a French-Canadian website! I will be writing about girly topics, like makeup, shopping, chick lit, anecdotes, etc. I'm very excited! My first article will be online next week (in French, of course!). The editor told me that she really loves my writing! Of course, this job is only part time but it will look great on my resume! And writing is something I love to do!

• I have applied to 3 jobs this week and I hope to have at least one call!

• My parents are going to Montréal next week for a few days and I'm thinking about going with them! I'm still undecided. I miss big cities!

• Weight loss is going well. Remember, I'm doing The 10 Pound Challenge! I have lost 5 pounds so far! I'm tracking calories with myfitnesspal and I love it!

• It is Friday and I am so happy to have some time with my boyfriend this weekend! We don't have much planned (grocery shopping, coffee date, movie) but I'm looking forward to that! 

How was your week? Anything to share?

Happy weekend!

Thursday Randoms

• There was a big fire yesterday in an apartments complex near my house! 12 families are without a home right now, that's so sad!  An aid campaign is organized for the families and I plan on giving them old clothes that I don't want anymore!

• I am sick, I have a cold and I'm not feeling very well!

• In the last week, I have not used my flat iron once! I try to avoid heat on my hair for a couple days! Instead of flat ironing my hair, I braid it! And it looks very nice!

• I can't wait to meet my future niece! One more month! I can't believe my older brother is going to be a dad! Weird!

• I sent out 3 resumes this week. I hope to have a call!

• I made funfetti cupcakes for Valentine's Day and it was so yummy!!! Love me some cupcakes!!!

• It's snowing right now. And guess who's going to shovel? This girl!

Happy Thursday!

Picture from the Past!

I have always liked cats...
I used to wear makeup and pretend I was a real cat haha!!!

Good old times!!!
That brown wallpaper totally screams 1970! It was at my grandma's house!

Live Life Because Tomorrow Is Never Promised Today...

Last Thursday, 3 people I knew died. Of an aneurysm, a lung cancer and a car accident.

One of those deaths really affects me. The girl (she was only 25) that died of a brain aneurysm was 8 months pregnant and she was artificially kept alive a couple of hours and the doctors delivered her baby boy by c-section. He was alive and he was sent to a children hospital. But 2 days later, the baby died of complications. On the day of the dad's birthday. My words cannot express the grief that the husband must feel, he has lost his wife and their baby. It's so tragic and it really touches me. I can't believe that this is happening. Who could have known that this would be happening?

It makes me realize that you cannot tell what is going to happen tomorrow. 

You cannot plan everything. 

I'm planning on enjoying all the little things because we never know...

Never take life for granted because it can be taken from you at any given time...

We are only given the present day and are never promised tomorrow.

Please, enjoy life. 

January 16th 2012

Yesterday was a big day for me!

It was the day I sent my thesis to my committee for evaluation!

143 pages... 3 copies = a lot of pages!

I'M FINALLY DONE!!!!!!!! I'm a M.A.!

It's the best feeling in the world!!!

Here it is! The official version of my thesis.

Thoughts on Tuesday!

• It's official: my boyfriend will pursue a MBA this semester! He got in! And he will also be working full-time at the same time! He got his bachelor degree in engineering almost 4 years ago, it's weird to think of him as a student again!

• The past few days were very very cold! 

• Gingerbread Spice Tea is my new favorite thing!

• Jillian Michaels is back in my life and she is kicking my butt!

• I can't help but judge some people sometimes. Sorry. 

• All I want to do today is to stay in bed and hide from the world. 

• I have received an unexpected amount of money yesterday and it totally made my day!

• My grandma is 87 and she knows all about Facebook and Twitter. I'm shocked.

• I got my hair done about 6 weeks ago and my roots are already horrible. My hair grows so fast! #whitegirlproblem

• It's only January and we have so much snow! I have shoveled for an hour this morning to get the car out of the parking! Take a look at our backyard:

Our backyard in summer (August 2011)

Our backyard right now (January 2012)
Our BBQ (on the left) is totally covered in snow!!!

Any random thoughts to share?

Keeping It Real!

This is how our office/guest room looks like right now. 

This is where I write my thesis on a daily basis, this is why papers are all over the room!!! This is an organized mess ha! 

The important thing is that I actually got a lot writing done in the past days and this is going well! I have to keep up the inspiration and the motivation! I have a lot of edits to do. Can't wait to be done!

Weekend Recap!

Hope everybody had a great weekend! I sure had a good one!

What I have done:

{Friday}

• In the afternoon, I did some laundry and some cleaning around the house and I went to Walmart to fill our pantry.

• We went to dinner at my in-laws' house! It was so fun! We were happy to see them, they just got back from a 2 months trip in Newfoundland and Labrador!

• After dinner, B and I met some friends at a local pub and we had some drinks! It was a fun night!

{Saturday}

• I did a 60 minutes workout but I was so tired and I didn't feel like working out at all!

• B and I met our friends' twins boys! They are 3 weeks old and they are so tiny (5 and 6 pounds)! Cute babies!!!

• I painted (2 coats of white) our closet's doors! 

• We went for a long car ride after that!

{Sunday}

• We went for a long walk in our neighborhood and it was freezing outside, I had to wear a scarf! Summer is definitely over here!

• After that, we watched a movie: The Manchurian Candidate. It was good but the end of the movie is hard to understand!

• We drank a great bottle of wine and we had a nice romantic dinner! I love nights like that!

How was your weekend?

What I Have Been Up To...

via google images

After a much needed break from blogging, I am now back!
In the last month, a lots of things have happened in my life.

Here some random things that have happened since my last post:

• At the end of July, I went to Montréal for a fun weekend (with B, B's sister and her boyfriend)! The anniversary party for B's aunt et uncle turned great! We truly had a blast!!! And we (the four of us) had a fun car ride together! 

• I went to a Bachelorette Party for a girl I barely know (she is not a close friend). I had too much expectations and the night was really BORING!  Big FAIL!

• I went to a wedding on August 20th. Perfect weather for a wedding. Despite the no-fun at the bachelorette party, the wedding actually turned out to be really fun! We danced the night away! (Love that expression!!!) I didn't catch the bouquet... but I got one white rose that felt on the ground during the toss haha! 

• I have done 530 km on my bike (inside and outside) in one month!!! I'm really proud of myself regarding working out!!!  

• I have lost 8 pounds (in about one month). Big success!!! I fit into my target purple dress for our friends' wedding! I got some many compliments!!!

• I got the news that I'm going to be an aunt! My older brother G and A, his girlfriend of 7 years, are going to have a baby in late March 2012! This is so exciting! 

• I did a lots of car rides with B to some random places! We just love to do that on the weekends!

• B and I celebrated our dating anniversary on August 23rd! We have been dating for 9 years!!! Almost a decade! (You can read about our story right HERE.) For the occasion, I baked yummy cupcakes! (Funfetti cupcakes!) We ate those in only two days!

• I had a lot of serious discussions with B regarding our actual (and future) situation and I think that we see things more eye-to-eye... 

• I truly understood that misunderstandings can lead to a lot of tears.

• I drank a lots of chocolate milkshakes from McDonald's to help me getting back my happiness!

• I went to my parents' house several times for great dinners filled with fun and laughs!

• I cried a lot and had really difficult times. I am still struggling. But I think I feel better. 

• I did some writing for my thesis but I am not done yet!

• I have been to a friend's house for a housewarming party that turned out so much fun! 

• I cleaned our garage, that was really needed! I love cleaning!!!

• I baked a lot of desserts (muffins, cookies, cupcakes, etc.)! So yummy!

• I spent a lot of time in our jacuzzi to relax!

• A close friend of mine got engaged. I am happy for her but I feel so jealous. Mixed feelings. Because she has been with her boyfriend for only 11 months. And B and I have been together since 2002. That's 9 years!!! B and I had discussions about that topic and I now know that he wants to get married with me some day but right now it's just not the time. I understand that, I know that. But I'm still jealous, I am bad, I know. I don't want to be that kind of girl but it looks like I am becoming that girl. I don't like it. 

• I applied for a teaching job (French - Grades 10 and 11), got an interview the same day(!!!) and the next day, I learnt that another girl got the job (a girl that knows well the school's principal in fact and she is less qualified that I am! Ggggrrr!). I was very angry because I really thought I was going to get that teaching job! (As a matter of fact, I was pretty confident!!!) The school's principal seemed to really like me (he told me that my resume was fantastic and very very well written! And that my work experience was really good! And he liked the fact that I was a girl from in town!). He also told me that the job was a permanent job and if I wanted that job, it was mine! And he even gave me a grand tour of the school and he gave me the student and the teachers guidelines and the school calendar! WTF?!?!?! He really did everything to make me think that I was going to get that job! I was soooo disappointed! And I'm still pretty angry after almost 2 weeks! :(

So, this is all for today! I'm looking forward to return to blogging!!!

What's new in your life? Anything I missed?

Have a great day everyone!!!

xox

I Don't Like that Word: Struggling

Life is not always beauty pink powder... 

I have been struggling a lot lately. With a lot of different things. 

Life. Love. Relationship. School. Work. Friends. Future.

I burst into tears yesterday night. Biggest meltdown ever. 

I need to take an indefinite break from blogging. I have no desire to write right now, I just don't know what to write about.

I won't be writing but probably still reading most of your blogs, maybe not commenting as much as I usually do.

I will be back in a few weeks!!!

See you soon!

xoxox

Is Tomorrow a Better Day?

Sometimes, I wish I was still a kid. Life was so easy back then.

Sometimes, I want to be that little girl again:

Me circa 1986

I'm feeling very nostalgic right now...

Life is good but it could be better.

But I feel that I can't complain because I know that some people may envy me for all the things I have. 

But sometimes it's hard to appreciate all the things I have because I'm worried about my future. I do have a university degree but right now, it doesn't guarantee me a job at all. 

My master degree will not help either, I think. I feel very very very insecure right now.

We moved km away because the boyfriend got a job, after months of being unemployed (almost a year). I didn't want to move but we didn't really have the choice, he could not find a job in Québec city (well, in fact, he could have find one, he turned down an offer) and his unemployment benefits were ending.

He has been working at his new job for 6 months now. And he doesn't like it. At all. Day after day, he tells me that his job is boring. It makes me mad. Really really mad. Because of all the sacrifices I made for him, because he asked me to do so. I'm mad because he quit his job last year to travel around Asia and that he told me to not be worried, that he would easily find a job in Québec city when he would be back (you can see that he didn't. Because he was picky, in fact, this is why.). If he had not quit his job, we would still be living in Québec city, I think. I'm mad because I moved back there for him. I was not happy to have to move, I was less than thrilled because I liked so much living in Qc city. And I can't find a job here, in our small hometown, right now. I don't like running into someone I know here and got questioned, and having to tell the person that I don't have a big girl job yet, despite my university degree. I'm mad because here, people who don't have a higher education make big money. It's so frustrating because I spent thousands of dollars to get an education. I'm mad because in 2 weeks, I will have to leave for Montréal (I will be living at my sister's apartment) to complete a work contract for 5 weeks and I don't like being in a distance relationship (we did that for years already, I had enough!). I need the money, so I have to go. It's a job I love to do (marking college dissertations), but the distance is killing me.

I'm mad because he is well paid and still, our expenses are almost 50/50. I told him what I thought about me paying the same amount of money for rent, food, and he doesn't want to pay more than he already does, he doesn't want to help me out, can you imagine?! He didn't say exactly that he didn't want at all, but it sounded a lot like that. He seemed really reticent about that. I'm not a princess, I don't want him to pay everything, just to help me out for a couple of months, you see. He sees that I struggle a lot these days, with my thesis, adjusting to our new life, etc, but he doesn't seem to want to help me with the money aspect and that help would be a big relief for me. He should be the one proposing that help. This is probably the reason why I'm so mad right now. I'm mad because I can't do all the things we would like to do together, like traveling. He wants to make big plans, but I can't because of my money issues. I have students loans and he doesn't (he was debt free when he graduated, seriously). 

I'm mad because I've always been there for him, I've always been the comprehensive girlfriend. And he knows it, maybe too well.  

I love him. He loves me, I know that. I really do.

But something is wrong. 

I know that money has and will always be a delicate subject in a relationship but I never thought that it would apply to mine. I'm really mad, what else can I say?!?
I know that I should talk to him again about that subject, to make things clear.

I'm a mess right now because I'm hurt, because I have so much on my mind. Like I have been trying to finish my thesis for months now and I don't see the end of it. I just keep telling to myself that having a master degree will change nothing, so why should I continue to write it? The answer is that I'm proud, my master degree cost me thousands of dollars, I don't want that money to be wasted like that, no way! So I will continue to write it, I will finish it. By summer. 

I feel better now that I have written all that stuff.
But I'm still hurt.