"Moderation in all things is a mantra we've been hearing a lot about of late. It is healthy. It is sane. It is morally correct. It is also very boring.
I much prefer people with passions. There is nothing more exciting than watching someone fall so deeply in love - with food, an object, a way of life - that they throw caution to the wind and follow their heart."

- Ruth Reichl, Editor in Chief of Gourmet Magazine

I've thrown caution to the wind and I'm following my heart :) While this summer should be jam packed with studying for board examinations, I've taken on two projects that I am totally stoked about!!! I will be making two wedding cakes! Both in the month of August (so I have time to prepare... fiouf!). One will be for Jennifer and Brandon (their wedding is August 1st... Congrats guys!). While the other, Stephane and Dasha's wedding, will be on August 15th.
There's always a certain amount of nervous energy that comes with taking on such a project. It's huge and it's for people that are very special so I really don't want to mess up. I know that I won't but there are always those thoughts (like I had when creating the Grasshoppa cake) that the cake will spontaneously combust the day of the event while on display. Yeah, I had nightmares about that the entire week before the Grasshoppa grad. In the end, it was fine and I couldn't have asked for a better outcome.
Jennifer and Brandon's wedding will be something that's quite unique. I've never met them, just read their blog and I'll be flying out to Regina to make their wedding cake :) That's pretty neat if you ask me! I look forward to meeting them (and 100 of their closest friends) on August 1st.
Stephane and Dasha's wedding will be... well I am excited for it! My little brother is getting married!!!! :) It's hard to believe yet so easy to accept because Dasha lives with us now and I see the love that they have for one an other. Why question something that seems so easy and natural? They're going to have a nice private backyard wedding with only 30 people or so. A lot of our closest friends and family will be there so I am looking forward to reuniting with some of them :) We're going to have an other celebration in Winnipeg (just 4 days before I write the board examinations!) so that will be with our family from the Peg.
Anyways, one summer, two cakes, two amazing couples! I love it! It's going to be great to spend the next couple of months creating test cakes and wonderful creations to excite the taste buds of those that I am making cakes for (except for Jennifer and Brandon... I'll be their taste buds :) And yes, I am really super picky and finicky when it comes to the flavors of my cakes so I think I'll be the toughest judge.).

Engagement

Stephane, my brother, and Dasha, his fiance, had their engagement photos taken last Friday. Of course, Dan Dridiger was their photographer (and I was the assistant). It was a super laid back photo shoot. Both the couple and the photographer worked very well together. I also realized the importance of getting to know your photographer and their style prior to them shooting your wedding. Stephane and Dasha seem at ease around him (especially towards the end) so that was great to see. As an older sister, it was pretty awesome to be the assistant. I love my brother and I think it's quite special to share something like this with him.

Omegle

Matt suggested that I try omegle.com. This is a website that matches you with a complete stranger and you get to talk to them. You have no profile and they know nothing about you (not even a screen name). You see yourself as 'you' and the person you are speaking to is 'stranger'. It's an interesting concept and kind of fun if you have a bit of time to kill. I did have to have to chuckle at my first conversation with 'stranger'. After exchanging a hello, how are you, he replies with "if you don't msn i am going to kill myself".
Talk about putting a lot of pressure on someone you've just met!
Though we've continued to chat (through omegle.com) I am not interested in forming an Internet relationship with a 22 year old Italian male or with any other stranger for that matter. It's an interesting concept and I can see how it would entertain many for hours... currently there are 2472 people online for you to randomly chat with. Technology... it's kind of fun but it can also be a major waste of time. Speaking of wasting time, I am going to go make lunch then lay in my hammock and continue to read When the Body Says No by Dr. Gabor Mate. It's an awesome book about how stress affects our body. He's great at explaining it down to the cellular level in a way that I can understand.

Getting in touch with the earth

Having time off is so awesome! I've been able to catch up with friends that I haven't seen in a long time and I've also been able to have some muchly needed me time. Today I spent the better part of this morning gardening with Mom. It was so refreshing to spend some time with my hands in the dirt. I can't remember the last time I played with bugs (ok so on Wednesday night I took a earth worm off the sidewalk so he wouldn't bake in the sunshine). It felt so normal and right to have my hands covered in dirt, digging holes and planting new flowers. It also felt right to be taking care of something that was so simple. Inspired by the beautiful rhubarb we have in the garden, I made a golden butter pound cake with a strawberry rhubarb compote for desert. Though I could have put more rhubarb in the compote, it was delicious! Because I have egg whites left over from the pound cake, I am going to make a Pavlova topped with mango and fresh yogurt for desert tonight (the mango mixture will have lime and cardamom to add some warmth and zest to it).
It feels so right to be in the kitchen again and getting back to what I love to do. Now don't get me wrong, I haven't just been slacking :) I've dropped off some resumes, cleaned my room and am chasing around financial things (student loans start up shortly!). So though it may seem like all I've been doing is play, it hasn't. There has just been much more time for me to do things that I actually enjoy doing. Oh and I graduated :) last Wednesday was the ceremony. There should be a blog post about that but I am waiting for the photos from the photographer (not impressed! I can't decide if that should be an other post...).

Just call me Martha ;)

Well aren't I a little home maker! I remember how to sew! Because I didn't really like the dress I got from China I decided to find one that I did like. Being I spent too much money on that stupid dress, this new dress had to be ultra cheap! And it was! $34 at a vintage store on Commercial Drive! I *heart* the drive! The only problem was that it had a bit of an unflattering neckline. Nothing a little bit of sewing couldn't fix... if I remembered how to sew.
I finally tackled the alterations today (after going to the gym and running errands). It's a good thing I did. My graduation is tomorrow. To my pleasant surprise I remember how to sew. I also really enjoyed it! Now the alterations are finished and I even made a belt to go with my outfit. These are the before and after photos of the alterations that I did. Anyways I am quite proud of my handy work.
Now I must go to bed. Busy day ahead of me tomorrow! This includes going to the gym with Darla (again). Whee!

I have time :)

Time to nap in my hammock for two hours! Ok so I didn't actually nap the entire time. I listened to some chill music, swung back and forth and dozed in an out of sleep. Today I met Cindy for coffee, we went and got our hair cut, went to the library to rent some real books (a break from text books... yay!), met with Ron to discuss grad stuff, went tanning and bought some lace and other pretty things for my grad dress (which I bought yesterday at a second hand store... being I have time I am going to change it around and sew a little). It's been a lovely low key day and I love it. I've slowly been cleaning the mess that is the living space that I am in. Finals tend to take up most of my time (as they should) so cleaning up after myself and others tends to pile up and get messy. Right now I am not too sure what I am going to do with myself. Part of me wants to start the salsa dancing class that starts tonight... however being I don't have a job I should most likely wait until I do before I start hobbies like that. Tomorrow I am staying home so I will start working on resumes and what not so that Friday I can hand them out :)
....
Oh... I also have to work on my grad speech at some point and time. Yeah... that would be a good idea.

Things that make me go aaaaaawwweee

Visit from chief examiners and last two writtens

Man oh man! What a day! We started with a visit from the chief examiners for the board exam... both the chief for the written and for the oral practical gave us a three and a half run down of what to expect. That will be a blog entry in itself. I am just going to wait until I am finished exams and I have a little bit more mental capability then now to write it. For now I am brain dead and tired.
At lunch we had a lovely surprise. Luanne and Rochelle dropped off flowers, grapes, champagne, sparking apple juice, crackers and cheese as a congratulations/hang in there for our finals! This was something that I offered the Grasshoppa class when they were writing their finals and I didn't realize how wonderful a gesture it was until it was given back. It put a smile on every one's face and really lifted our spirits.
In the afternoon we had two finals. Back to back. 130 questions for systemic treatment and 106 questions for orthopedic treatment. I normally don't have trouble writing exams and can be quite patient with it... today however... patience escaped me! By the time I was writing the systemic treatment final I couldn't wait for the final to be over. It seemed like I was turning page after page after page and I wasn't any closer to being finished! Mid way through I even started at the back of the exam and started going through the questions backwards... you know... just to change it up a little. By the end it felt like my brain had been dry heaving for a good 10 minutes. I was spent. Being Maja and I were going to study together, I waited for her.
When she came out from the exam she had a look of... well deer caught in head lights/ stunned/ disbelief... to ease our shared exhaustion, we went for a beer and a really good meal at Locus on Main street. We then had a nap! Mine was awesome! I drooled all over myself and my pillow! When I woke up I felt refreshed! We started to watch the game but then had to start studying. We've been studying since and we're ready for tomorrow's oral practical. Now we're just unwinding and watching TV and we'll be in bed before 11.
Anyways time to go tuck myself in! Good night :)

'Anywhere in the world can be the perfect place, you just have to set your mind on going and then have the right attitude once you're there :) be fearless yet wise and you'll be amazed at the beauty that the world unfurls for you.'

keep calm and carry on

This saying is at the entrance of one of my favorite restaurants and it's one that I try to live by. Too often do we surround ourselves with unnecessary stress and I want to try to separate myself from the true stresses in life and the ones that aren't necessary.
I'm now in mid swing of finals and it's going... well emotionally it's going well. As to what my results are, I am not too sure. I am also not overly concerned because I have confidence in myself and I figure that if I keep calm, the knowledge in my head will be able to come out. Now in theory this sounds good but we'll see what actually happens when I get my results back :) I've been ultra lucky to be able to study with one of my best friends and classmate Maja. Both Sunday and Monday we reviewed and made huge progress! Today we're going to get together and review for tomorrow's last two written exams. On Friday and Saturday we have our final oral practical exams so we'll most likely study for those as well. It's nice because not only do we push each other to keep going when our brains can go no more, but we also take breaks that force us to relax. On Sunday we even bought a coconut to break apart and eat as part of our stress relief.
I'm enjoying this balance :) Right now I am waiting for my partner in review to join me and while I am waiting I've settled myself in the living room with pretty music and a cup of tea. It's all very Zen :) I like it that way. Anyways enough procrastination... back to orthopedic treatment and systemic treatment!

*First photo found on this website.

Trying to make it real

This is what our Dean is doing for our final exams. As if 7 finals crunched into 5 days wasn't real enough! He's decided to shuffle our schedule around so that our finals week looks like the following:
Tuesday: Professional Development written, Pathology written and Anatomy and Physiology written
Wednesday: Recharge
Thursday: Visit from the chief examiner for the Board Exams in the morning. Orthopedic treatment written and Systemic treatment written
Friday: Orthopedic treatment oral practical
Saturday: Systemic treatment oral practical (my turn to do the OP is at 2:30 that afternoon so I should be finished by 4!!! Yippee!! :) )
I think he may have wanted to have all writtens on Tuesday however for some mysterious reason they're split up between two days. The change isn't all that bad actually. Though we've been writing exams every day for the past 2 or 3 months, we've yet to write a marathon exam (over an hour). Being our board exams will consist of 6 hours of writing, I think this will be good practice.
Am I nervous? Yes and no. I know what I need to look over. I know I won't be an ultra genius in Anatomy and Physiology. That will take time. But I am improving :) I'm smarter then I think I am and can figure most things out. I am quite proud of my history taking skills and treatment skills. Special testing and knowing the ins and outs of muscle palpation could use some sharpening. I'm not looking to be a perfect therapist. Not yet. I realize that will come with time and practice.

*hop hop hop*

I am finished classes!!! Just exams left now! OMG OMG so excited! Canucks tonight too! WOOO Canucks!