ysa conference: PEI edition

shout-out to these people for being amazing.  they are my family.

props to Charmaine for taking so much time to make this weekend amazing.  you will be blessed for all of your hard work.  everyone had so much fun and you had amazing insight!

my sister makes an amazing DJ.  maybe she should re-think her career path.

I am always so happy to see Mark Watson, he is so wonderful and he helped teach an amazing lesson with his parents leaving everyone very inspired.

Everyone who came to the conference is beautiful inside and out, and I didn't get the chance to meet everyone personally but I will always remember their pretty faces.

I am a Mormon.  I know it. I live it. I love it.

people I love

you never forget 3 types of people in your life.
1. the ones who helped you in difficult times
2. the ones who left you in difficult times.
3. and the ones who put you in difficult times.

I am so grateful for a wonderful past few days spent with some amazing people.  I am also so thankful for my dear friends who have stuck around during the hardest times.

I have been struggling recently to find the right words to say to a couple of people and figure out why they distanced themselves from my life.  With everything that is about to happen in my life, I do not think that now is the most appropriate time, but someday I hope to find out if I did something wrong.  I always try to listen, but at this point I can't go back and change anything, especially if they never told me what I had done that hurt them or made them upset.

I think now I am just happier to know who really cared and I can show my love to the people who gave endless support or started to whenever I met them on my journey.  It was so wonderful to meet new people who instantly loved what I was doing and sometimes say "you are so brave or strong for doing this".  It gave me confidence to move forward each day knowing that people believed in me, believed in us.

I also had a couple of people put me in difficult times.  I will never forget the pain and heartache that two people caused me.  Years of friendship lost because of trust and insecurity issues.  I am happier because of these hardships, because I recognized that I had people on my side and people who were willing to hold me up and bring me out of that trial.

As I move forward into this whirlwind of a week that is about to occur, I feel thankful for Haig's family and all the love and support they have shown to me.  Sometimes there were times when we were not all on the same page, but I love them for caring that much especially about Haig and his future.  I am so happy that they will have him home, and I am just as excited to see them this coming week as I am to see him.

Our blessings are certainly worth the struggle.  Always remember that.

in the days to come

I'll have him back in a week and I really don't feel as excited as I would like to be. People keep asking me if I am excited and it might just be getting a little bit annoying. Like yes obviously I am excited I haven't seen the boy I love in two years but you are only the 6th person to ask me that today. I can tell that some people are genuinely happy for us though and that does make me very happy. I have been so fortunate to meet people on this journey who have never even met Haig before and yet they have been so supportive and nice about it. There is a lot to be done between now and next week when I head over to Nova Scotia. I want to start packing over the weekend but with this YSA conference I just feel stressed and frazzled. Going back to school also causes me a bit of a head ache, but I am not worried as much with it being my last year and all. I have had some anxiety about what Haig might what to do when he gets home and how things will fall back into place, but I do have so much hope that things will go well and I am holding on to that tight. The little things that are bugging me are minor. I wish I had some money to get a manicure, or I wish I wasn't breaking out right now.  I would like to get a new pair of shoes for some of my outfits but I don't know when I'll find the time. I want to continue to be a good friend and spend time with the people that have been so wonderful, but again there seems to be so little time. 

Life just moves so quickly. It's crazy that soon enough the moment will come and go and I will have him home and so much will happen from there.  It's going to be wonderful, or at least I really really hope so.

case, lyss & joce

a great weekend

I had a wonderful weekend filled with many laughs and moments of happiness.  I worked on Saturday from 10-4 and it was a pretty easy shift.  No one really came around to the park so I worked on some decorations for our YSA dance this weekend.  A group came later in the afternoon so I let them be and then I was off and left.  During my shift, I was on twitter when Paper Lions announced a contest to win tickets to their show at the Mack. Earlier this summer I had wanted to go, but I just knew that I wouldn't be able to spend money on a ticket.  All I had to do was answer a question and I used their music video to give me a hint of the answer.  I won and I texted my sister as soon as I found out.  She was also at work for the day, her last day of tent sale and so I only hoped she would come with me after her busy last few days.  Once we were both home, she did agree but only after completing her ice bucket challenge.  We got ready and headed down town.  It was pretty busy this particular night with so much going on and so much to take in before the end of the summer.  It was hard to find parking so we found a spot at Holland College and walked over to the Mack.  Once we got there, [we were late], I was a little surprised by the atmosphere.  Everyone was sitting down and it was a more intimate show.  I have seen the band before in a couple of different venues, and although I like getting up and dancing more this venue was nice and fun to experience.  This was Kayla's first times seeing them.  She saw them at the announcement for the ECMA's but they only sang one song.  I liked this show because they also played some of their more acoustic songs.  After, Kayla and I took in some of the down town feel and went to Gahan House for a little bite to eat.  I got nachos and she got chicken wings, typical us.

I had to work again Sunday afternoon because my co-worker was away, but again it wasn't a busy shift. After the shift I went home and had some dinner with my family.  There was a bit of tension at home because of an issue that arose with my father in the morning.  It was tough but sometimes people just don't understand what you are going through.  After dinner, Kayla and I met up with Jocelyn and Casey and had ourselves a little photo shoot.  We had a lot of fun and I love the girls so much.  They have been wonderful friends the past two years and always gave me the support and encouragement that I needed.  After the photos, we went our separate ways which included a trip to the drive-in for Jocelyn and I.  We missed the first couple minutes of 'if I stay', but other than that it was good and it stayed true to the book.  The second movie was 'the giver'.  I was a little skeptical at first, but it turned out to be pretty awesome.  It was such an interesting perspective on a way society could be and it made me grateful for so many little things that I take for granted.  I would recommend seeing it.

Driving home after the movie, I re-played some moments of the previous 48 hours in my mind and I was filled with happiness.  With Haig coming home in just over a week, I am trying to find simplicity.  My life is about to go on a roller coaster ride and I am ready for it, but for now, I am loving the simple moments.  I know they will continue and that I can remember them all.

dinner with aunt juanita & uncle joe

Aunt Juanita and Uncle Joe made a visit to Prince Edward Island for vacation.  It was so nice to see them, especially after seeing my other aunts in Moncton.  I always have fun with them around.  We took them to Water Prince Corner Shop for dinner and we also took a walk around the Celebration Zone.  It was the first time I have been at the venue all summer and I think it has gone well for them so far.  My parents went to a couple of shows and they enjoyed themselves.  I have my eye on going to a show next week so we'll see if that happens.  I also finally got to get a picture with the 2014 sign.  I feel like I didn't spend any time down town this summer because of my long nights at work and school.  It was fun and I had some wonderful company.  We stopped by to visit Kayla at work after and she seemed happy to see us after a busy tent sale day.

I will also just mention that my Aunt and Uncle's rental cottage was very close to the shooting that happened late Wednesday evening in the Montague area.  Although I always knew they were safe, I was worried and scared because it is just too close to home.  It makes me grateful again for the individuals who keep us safe. I love them and I hope they enjoyed their visit!  

      

pei preserve company breakfast & the butterfly house

This morning, my beautiful friend Megan and I went on a breakfast date!  I have never eaten at the PEI Preserve Company but I have wanted to for so long.  Considering we had the day off, we took the drive out earlier in the morning.  We got to drank delicious herbal tea before our pancakes arrived.  Everything was so yummy.  It was a beautiful restaurant overlooking the water and floral beds.  I just loved everything about it.  I also loved being with Megan.  I have not seen her very much this summer because we both work a lot.  I am so happy to be friends with her.  She is hard working and persevering and she can always make me laugh.  We can talk about anything and she is a great listener.  She is also very interested in my life and always makes an effort to show her concern. We took a walk after breakfast to the butterfly house nearby.  It was so lovely.  The Gardens of Hope are so beautiful and the cost of the butterfly house goes to a great cause.  I loved seeing all the beautiful colours of the butterflies and we even got a couple to land on us.  I think they loved the mint colour of my cardigan.  It was so much fun!

Thanks for the company Megan!