Race to the finish

Well this crazy short semester is done and the marks seem to support my feelings that while this is stressful I thrive on the pressure.  I am glad to be done and have a short break before I begin another 4 week course.   So what am I doing with my break?  Right now I'm getting up from a nap LOL late night studying plus early morning exams left me tired so I took a nice nap and now I'm forming my plans for the week or so I have off.  On Friday I'll be packing myself and a grumpy cat into the car for the road trip to Edmonton.  I promised to help get the nursery ready for peanut and I'm excited to help and it'll be a lot of fun. Allison's been told to stop working and stay at home resting so I know she's getting a little bored so I'm glad that I can come help her get ready for the upcoming arrival of this special person.  While it was a little scary to hear that she'd started having some labour pains everything is good but she does need to take it easy.  I'm so glad that her and peanut are fine because they are both very special to me.

 I'm also packing up art supplies so I hope to spend some time crafting with my mom and anyone else that might want to mess around with me.  So far I don't have plans for Canada Day but I'm sure something will come up.  I'm also bugging my wonderful youngest sister who's a physio for a backrub which I need after lugging books around for these courses.  She's been sounding a little down so we're both looking forward to some bonding time and we also have a baby shower to plan!!

I want to visit with my Grandma too while I'm home because it brings her such happiness to hear about my studies and I treasure the time I get to spend with her.  She's in such good health but I don't take that for granted I know so many people my age who don't have their grandparents anymore so I'm going to treasure any time I get to spend with her.  She's so amazing and I love hearing about her life and learning from her accumulated wisdom.

I guess my week off sounds pretty busy but it's sooo nice to be home in Edmonton and able to visit with friends and family.  I'm a little frustrated at how expensive gas is because I've been trying to cut my spending because this last year of school was a little more expensive than I figured but it's always worth the cost to go home.  I think after the summer I'll need to get a part time job just for my own peace of mind.  I have my savings but I'd rather not go through it all just to pay for school even if education is a good investment.  To settle my mind I think I'll make an appointment to see my investment banker while I'm in Edmonton.  Once again I say if you're in Edmonton you need to see this guy and I'm happy to give you his information.  It's free to meet with him and find out how you're doing financially.  The most important thing I learned after Armin's death was how important financial planning is and that it's never to early and you never have too little to chat with a professional to make sure things are all in order.

While I love Regina it's interesting that Edmonton is still home for me.  That should put people who are worried about me wandering far away at ease because while I may wander I'll always come home!

Summertime Beginning

Today I was able to cruise with the top down somehow this simple act made a week that wasn't so great much better.  I think the stress of the semester just really got to me add in I'm still recovering from the bad cold I had and it was an emotional meltdown.  I got through all my schoolwork this week and now I'm taking tonight off before beginning next week's assignments and preparation for my finals.  I've loved the classes this semester and the pace is good but it does take a toll.  I haven't blogged much because I just haven't had much to say.  I mean I have lots of random thoughts but nothing of real significance.  I also haven't had any time to spend on my art so that's been neglected.  I am working on a paper that really interests me.  While in Egypt I was blessed to be able to chat with a few muslim women and learn more about their beliefs and their choices.  Now I'm writing a paper for my religious studies class about wearing the hijab and learning a lot about Islam.  I'd like to go back and revisit these conversations now with the knowledge I have.  This has been the benefit of this course I've been learning so much about what I saw but it sure resparks my wanderlust.