christmas wasteland.

somehow the 25th of december managed to sneek up behind me like a creepy weird kid from youth group....its scary. i actually went christmas shopping today. on christmas eve. how did i miss it? in the whirlwind of the last 3 weeks i have done a lot, work, school, various social gathering, but somehow have managed to not even think about christmas.
to make matters worse....there is NO SNOW!!!!! none. my front lawn has two patches of hard ice-snow that is all poo brown.

i think i need to watch white christmas.

gr.

how is it that i have managed to do NOTHING for the last 4 hours. Wow, i dont know why i have ever been bored before, because now when there is something i have to do....there are just so many things that get in the way,
like pre peeling oranges
dilligently studying facebook profiles
googling cow anatomy

for those of you who dont know, it is exam time. hence procrastination. my real spiritual gift.

this is a test

this is a photo

back in the land of technologic...

a little slice of U of T ....there is a little tiny CN tower in the back..


Starlight mints ... great show...


birthday party lazy kareoke

in lecture...obviously thinking very hard...check out how amazing my school is ....books..stone walls..stained glass..amazing!

Hello my friends!!
It has been far far far too long since I have been haning out with my boyfriend the internet. he feels neglected and i dont blame him. so here i am trying to patch things up......with and UPDATE!!!

things i like right now:

seminary - hard - my brain hurts most of the time - but by golly its good
toronto - never a dull moment, never a moment at home really - so many cultures and adventures!
roommates - old and new - reunited westwood ladies livin in toronto, and living with new friends in lil' india!
music - the following bands are amazing and deserve at least a moment of your consideration - i will now list my current obsessions - not including fleeting likes - just the solid goodnes
mates of state - sick - no words for their talent - listen to them now! i saw them live in Sept - amazing
yeah yeah yeahs - specifically show your bones - and on that album Gold Lion, and Honeybear and all the other songs
mute math - so addictive - love typical and chaos so good
i am going to a bunch of churches and small groups kinda spreading all over..but i like it...loving Lil T youth , and freedomize -an amazing sunday night church!
the TTC! - serisouly could get no wear with out it!

things that i wish i had in my cupboards right now -
a mango
some cucumber
brownies
well pretty much anything - all i have right now is 4 potatoes and a jar of nutella

things i dont like -

getting up at 5:30 in general - but also because i have to two days a week!
feeling overwhemed with school and the million other things i am doing
the cold basement

i have included some pictures of my recent days....some from my camera before it broke..and some from my phone....
hope that you are all wellll and keep on rockin in the free world
mel

no i have not entirely dissapeared.

well friends ....
it has been officially a month since i have posted anything on here...and for that i am truly sorry...life has been kinda hectic of late for the following reasons...
1. Spend the last bit of the summer at OPC - thus cut off from all outside connections including the beloved internet.
2. Packed up my life and moved to a new city...helllo Toronto
3. New home, broken computer, and no internet again brings us to the horrifying conclusion that the beloved internet can not be frequented....
4. New school...new friends...hello i am a dork...at least feel that way a little bit...but i am now offically on my way to achieving the impossible dream....of an M.Div...i know its still weird even to me.
so it comes to this...i am in a new city...again although it is not quite as exotic as Sydney, but again figuring out where to eat, where to Not go...how to get from here to there etc....all very exciting and stressfull at the same time...
so some day soon...i will be a postin' again....and hopefully i will have a working camera to add some pictoral delights to this oh so lovely blog.
well i should be off....i have to do homework...ew.
love love
Mel

summer sun and school???

i have a home!!

ok its official!! i am no longer homeless! i have officially figured my life out...ok maybe just a little. As most of you know i am going to seminary in sept at Wycliffe college at University of Toronto...and this little country girl is moving to the big bad city of Toronto...ok so i lived in Hamilton for 4 years...but that doesnt count.......sooo I have been having a panic attack about where i am going to live and it has finally all come together....
you are offically friends with the newest resident of the beaches!!! my roommate from uni in hamilton has just bought a house in the beaches and i am going to live with her!!!
I am so excited! close to campus, the beach, queen st, and of course little india...who could live without that! its going to be great! so you will all have to come and visit me at 202 Highfield in sept!

jazz fest, camp kids, and gold hats....

nothing says awesome like a lime green fedora...
i like gold hats....
tyrone and morgan...my favorites..
5 year old homies .... yeah boy!!
kat eden laura the engaged one and me...old spagetti factory reunion type gathering...

beaches jazz fest...good timesi wonder how much jokes are ?
cn tower at dusk...

i like summer.

july in port sydney..

Hi there to all my friends, esp those in Oz, hope you are all doing grand! Its been a while since i last updated, so let me fill you in a little on my life story,
the day camp that i direct has been going really well, more and more kids are signing up each week, which is such a blessing, but i still only have 2 other staff members, so things are getting a little bit insane-o!!! Life in Port Sydney is pretty crazy, lots of BBQ's and things of that nature, this week we had a Pirate themed bbq, in honor of Jonny Depp and Pirates 2 ... I think it is officially the best movie ever, because i want to be a pirate. alas, if only i could go back in time.
So here are some pics from camp, and various local adventures!
This is Henry. He is 5. He has austism. He can memoriez Jeapordy. And tell you exactly who won, and how much. He is my favorite. He calls me Cutie-Breath ( or Bref)
This is a little shot of part of our beach, its pretty cool, we got new sand its supreme. This is Graham, one of the campers, we just made a super awesome sandcastle, and then smashed it....pretty fun work day if you ask me.
Preslee, at picnic time, hes 6, he likes spiderman.
susie and laura on pirate night!!!!
Two shots from the epic night of MIDNIGHT MADNESS in Huntsville, oh the glamour i know!! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the greatess of midnight madness i shall offer an explination.....once a summer all the shops on main st in huntsville have this massive sidewalk sale, they close the street and stay open till midnight and there are bands and vendors and buskers and big deals! its pretty funny. i saw lots of people from my highschool...weird.

Day Camp Kiddies..

This summer i am directing a day camp in Huntsville called Huntsville Youth for Christ Day Camp..i know its such an original name. We just finished our first week and it was GRAND! So many great kids..here are a few more shots. We had a big beach party on friday afternoon to end off the week, it was a big hit, with watermelon and cliff jumping, and some sandcastle fun!

HYFC Day Camp

CONGRATS TO MIKE AND CATHERINE!!!

Little Baby Owyn has entered the world!! How exciting!!! Happy Birthday little one!!

muskoka is pretty

homemade goodness and babies...

This is me and my sis trying out our icecream maker...we made some delicious stawberry sherbert....a yummy summer treat!!



These are my babies...i was their nanny this fall before i went to Oz...now my sis works with them....they are so precious!!!

road trip pics continued......

The road trip continues......

This is shan...sad cause the cheese factory was CLOSED! oh so sad...we wanted some delicious cheese....boo hoo



This is the turtle we saved...he started to pee when i picked him up to get him off the road.....the silly guy i was just trying to help...shannon apparently thought it was gross...
Some pretty lake shots from the Haliburton area....so nice...

Oh Canada...

Hello Friends...
So I have been in Canada for week and a half now. Not really that long, although it kinda feels like forever. Its been actually a lot harder than expected to settle back into life here. Lots of stuff for next year is still up in the air, and i am doing a new job this summer, with lots to get ready. This is the first summer in as long as i can remember that i wont be at Pioneer camp. So thats a bit weird. I am directing a day camp in Hunstville, which will be really fun, but its just different.
Theres lots i miss in australia, my new found friends, the beach, and Max Brenner. But i am sure i will be back again one day. The weather here is fantastic, the summer has arrived and its warm and sunny. So that has been great!
I will post some things that i have been up to so that if you are interested you can still see bits of my life....

These are a few shots from the surprise welcome home party that my parents threw for me. Some of the friends who came out are in these pics, there were more inside...it was a great night! Lots of food and people i haddent seen in a long time!! So great! There was a cake and a balloon. I felt like a very special girl!

Well I managed to start the summer off with a great road trip to Kingston ( i know who goes to Kingston! ) with Shannon Peeler. We went off on our adventure to see Sue Ryval! It was a great trip with some Kelseys action, and even a little driving range experience! On the way home Shan and I had some adventures, stopping at several random places like the cheese factory, and the backwoods cafe. We even stopped to save a painted turtle from its impending doom!