Thursday, September 10, 2009

Monday, September 7, 2009

Changes


(One of my favourite photos Erin took at our Wedding)


The month of August, now moving into September sure has been a time for changes. The biggest change of all being the marriage of Kyle and I on August 7th. YAY! What a day... the most perfect, beautiful, simple, elegant day I could've possibly dreamed of, with the wonderful man I wanted to share my life with by my side. Since then, there has been an array of "New Happenings" and many DIY projects, which have in some way become a reflection of who Kyle and I am as a couple. Ever since we began dating we both agreed the best gifts are the ones who's value is not in the money spend, but instead in the time, thought and creativity invested.

And so to continue in the spirit of Changes... a 'blog change' has been put in motion. Kyle and I have decided to team up and do one blog together, instead of two apart. We will continue to keep everyone updated on our life happenings, as well as give inspiration on DIY projects you may like to take on in your own life as we share some of our favourites with all of you!

So keep your eyes open and your mouse ready to click on the link to our new blog which we will post on our separate blog sites in the very near future.

(Don't worry! The end of the Bean Soup Disaster is steadily approaching!)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Jon Schmidt

This morning I was introduced to the musical talent of Jon Schmidt, and felt so excited about his music that it was inevitable: I needed to Blog about it. He is a "new age classical" pianist/ composer from Salt Lake City. Apart from his 7 albums to date, one of his latest arrangements is all the rave on You Tube. It is a compilation of Taylor Swift's "Love Story" and Coldplay's "Viva la Vida". I am no fine musician, but I certainly appreciate good music and this piece had me immediately engaged. Hope you enjoy it as much as i did!

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Jon Schmidt website:

jonschmidt.com

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Health Care.... for fffrrrreeeee?

A few weeks ago Kyle fell off his bike and hurt his left wrist. This past Sunday it was still bothering him, inflicting moderate pain upon supination (turning his palm up) so I persuaded him to see a doctor at the Three Hills Hospital. He seemed a bit leery, afraid of the cost. I kindly reminded him there is none... health care is covered by the government through taxes. I have never seen anyone so hesitant to give out information as he was when handing the admitting clerk his Alberta Health Card, and telling them his address and phone number- as we were walking to the waiting room he whispered to me "They're not going to send me a bill are they?"

After he got X-Rays done, and had seen the doctor ( NOTE: nothing was broken or fractured, just a sprain that was healing slowing because of how frequently us humans use our wrists) he came to me with a hurried expression on his face and pulled me out of the hospital as fast as my short legs would move.

It was just like that Ikea commerical where the lady is running out to the car yelling at her husband to start the car because she got such a good deal she thought she must have stolen something. Kyle rushed me to start the car and drive away saying "they didn't even get me to sign anything, i just got an X-Ray done, talked to the doctor and they let me go without it costing me anything! They even offered to give me a tensor bandage, but I was afraid to push my luck. They might have charged me for that". I assured him they wouldn't have.

Since, other then the odd nightmare he tells me about where he is charged for going to the hospital... his wrist is getting better. I was happy to share in this hilarious first encounter with our health care system here in Canada- and it helped me to appreciate how nice it is to not be afraid of the cost to see a doctor when something doesn't seem quite right.

Friday, June 19, 2009

More Than Words Could Express

It has been about a week now since flying home from India, and I think I am finally beginning to re adapt to live here in Canada. It's funny how spending a short amount of time immersing yourself in a different culture can alter so much about a person without them even realizing it, until they return to what once was normal. Usually this is for the better, which is what I truly believe has occurred for me. Here are some photos of the faces and places that have had a wonderful impact on my life.
















Go to my Website for more Photos: www.vanessamariephotography.smugmug.com

Monday, May 25, 2009

India Medical Clinic- Day One



I am so filled with countless emotions I do not know where to start this description. To accurately relay to you what I have just experienced I would have to know exactly what I felt, but I simply cannot grasp my own emotions. However, as I begin to share this story perhaps I will be able to bring out emotions in all of you, in hopes that you feel connected in some way to what I, and my medical team experienced today.

This morning I woke up, drenched in sweat, with a persistent craving for cold water that simply never seems to be quenched here. Exhausted from a restless night I slowly staggered into the bathroom excited for the few minutes of the refreshing coolness I would receive in my icy shower. At least today seemed to be a ‘cooler’ day of only 38 degrees Celsius. A few short hours later we had ate breakfast, had devotions together and were on the road (in an SUV with blessed air conditioning, praise God) to our first medical clinic. This one was hosted in a small church only a short drive away, and as we got closer the excitement of unknowns began to rise incredibly. Soon we were setting up admission tables, chairs for our waiting area, our assessment area, wound care station, doctor’s table and ‘pharmacy’. All within a church 30” by 40” and a small shaded area created by hanging palm leaves like a tarp canopy. Within minutes we were in full swing seeing patients, doing all our assessments through translators. Such an incredible experience, and an amazing rush!

Then began what I’m sure were brimming tears of frustration when I began to receive simply devastating cases, ones I knew we alone could not fix. I have always thought that working in an area of the hospital such as emerg would be exciting… and it would, however I forgot about what it might feel like to tell a woman, who is so malnourished you can clearly see the stage 5 lump protruding from her breast, that she has breast cancer, knowing that she does not have the funds to give her a hope for survival. Or perhaps see the look on the man’s face who had to stop going for insulin treatment for his diabetes because it was too expensive for him to afford that after testing his blood sugar level twice (just to make sure the machine was in fact reading correctly) that the level was too high even for the glucometer to read, this condition critical and that without treatment his life was greatly endangered. I didn’t know what it would feel like to speak these words to someone, a human being, a precious creation of God, until today. And I am not sure that if I had taken the time to ponder this beforehand I even would’ve understood. I’m sure it was brimming tears of frustration. And yet somewhere in the midst of the heat, the sweat, the loud shuttering of metal from the overhead fans, the yelling and vehicles honking outside, and the various conversations happening between nurse, interpreter, and patient in the room I was still able to hear that soft, still voice, and feel his presence as I was able to pray over my patients, and realize once again that yes, there still is hope.

I had hoped that becoming a nurse would allow me to go into places I wouldn’t otherwise be able to go, and share Christ’s love with people who otherwise wouldn’t receive. It is amazing to finally see this, to live it. India is not a place that accepts missionary work, and we have to be careful on a daily basis who we are talking to and how much information we give out. But it is so incredible to see people who would otherwise never step a foot near a Christian church, come for medical help and willingly allow you to pray over them—sometimes to our joyous surprise even ASK us to pray for them. We saw over 150 people today, and how incredible to plant a seed in their lives, even when everything else seemed so hopeless.

Monday, May 18, 2009

A Quick Update

I realize I owe all of you much more then just a few lines to do any kind of justice to the events in my life recently that have been keeping me so busy. However, sad as it may be, the awful (but wonderful) truth remains: life isn't slowing down anytime soon. I think it is fair to say that I bring this craziness upon myself, because for some reason I just love it. Give me a list of things to do in a time frame half of what it logically should take and I am in my glory trying to rise to the task... give me a week of relaxing on a beach and I think I might actually go insane ( I have never tested this theory, but I'm pretty sure that's exactly what would happen).

So a bit of a time line...



April 11th Kyle and I went hiking in banff... and we got ENGAGED!
We have since dove into wedding plans, and are getting hitched on August 7th : ) Planning is coming along wonderfully so far and we are both excited with how our day is starting to shape up. The wedding is going to be a simple backyard ceremony and reception at his parent's house in Georgia. Both our families and our friends are already working so hard to help everything come together.






Toward the end of April I finished up my first year classes... I passed! : ) Then I started right away into practicum... early mornings at the hospital again. I was extremely excited to give my first injection... and loved it!




I am now in the middle of packing, doing laundry, moving into a new house for the summer, finishing up our wedding invitations and preparing to leave for India on Wednesday morning. I am really excited for India, and for all that this summer has in store for me... hopefully you feel a little more up to date on my life and I will TRY to keep a more frequent posting habit throughout this summer!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Study Study Study

Well first I must apologize for the lack of blogging in the past few months. While most days have seemed excruciatingly long, sitting through classes from 9-4 and then having something to study for every night until eventually falling asleep surrounded by my new best friends (nursing textbooks), when I try to look back over it all, it amazes me how much time really has passed.

I am still working at the hospital mostly every week, but look forward to when school is finished and I can start working on a more regular basis. Since starting on the floor I have come to love each of the residents in Continuing Care, and still get an energy high just from simply walking through the hospital doors. Sadly, in this time I have also been through 4 deaths; each person a special treasure. I have been told that this part of the job gets easier over time. Somehow I feel like this will never be the case for me; maybe I simply feel too deeply. Still, I love my job as a Health Care Aid, and am thriving in my Nursing classes.

I am currently in the final weeks of my classes, which are currently Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology and Pharmacology. I just recently took my midterms for the first three, and am happy to report that I am still in the program : ) haha. Last week I took two of my math tests, which are focused around dosage calucations for giving medications, running IVs and giving injections. The passing requirement for these tests is 98%, which I somehow managed to pass, Praise God. He continues to amaze me with how he carried me into this program, and now how he continues to carry me through in areas such as math and science (which I am sure if any of my previous teachers in these subjects were to know they would be dumbfounded that this is even possible). I was telling my mom the other day, somehow math just makes more sense to me when it is someone's life on the line if I make a mistake. Funny how that works.

Tomorrow I have my midterm for my Pharmacology class... please keep me in your prayers!!
Although I am sure once you see a photo of my studying you will no longer feel even the slightest remorse for how busy my brain has been.... I must say I have perfected the art of studying quite well!


Friday, February 13, 2009

VanessaMarie Photography

For as long as I can remember I have always been enchanted with art in it's many forms. With visual art, I love using an array of colours to attempt to recreate beauty found in this world through painting. I also love the written word and how an experience or idea in a writter's head can be impactful to a reader through an arrangement of words that recreate that experience. More recently, I began taking another artistic passion of mine more seriously. Photography is such a unique way to look at the beauty in life and capture it through a lens the way you see in, and share it with others. I think Marcel Proust said it best when he states:

"Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees."

I love this thought because it explains not only why I enjoy creating art for others to see what I do, but also why I love to study it (I love art history), and also enjoy the artistic creations of people around me.

This is why I finally decided to create my own website, in an attempt to share with others the beauty in life I see through my lens, and also share this skill and passion in the lives of others.

I am really excited to see how God will use all this, and thank Him for the talents and passions he has instilled in me. Thanks everyone for your encouragement and support!!

Here's the link:

www.vanessamariephotography.smugmug.com


Monday, February 2, 2009

National Pancake Week

Yay for National Pancake Week! I am not sure who gets to make up all these special days, but yesterday I stumbled across a Calendar filled with many special days I had no idea existed, and am I ever glad I did! This year 'National Pancake Week' falls on February 2-8, so be sure to celebrate by eating some of these yummy fluffy treats!

Here is one of my favourites:

BANANA PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon white sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 cup milk
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 ripe bananas, mashed


DIRECTIONS

1. Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.
2. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.


Yum, I think I might go make some right now! : )

Saturday, January 31, 2009

I Survived!

Last night I lived through my first night shift (11pm-715am) at the hospital! After recently finishing up my Health Care Aid practicum, I was offered a job as an HCA in the continuing care unit of the Three Hills Hospital. During our practicum, all of our shifts were days, so I was extremely excited to learn all that goes on while everyone else is fast asleep, and see if I have what it takes to actually handle working the shift without crashing. For the past week I have been busy doing Evening shifts for Home Care, so I was a little worried about my first night shift experience being a bit of a double shift... but I made it through, and loved every minute of it!



While coffee might have had some hand in helping me, I was able to make it through both shifts back to back, and remain fully alert and energetic until after leaving the hospital, at which point even a hard floor looked good enough to sleep on.



I am looking forward to my next shift!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Little Adventures = Big Fun

This past weekend Kyle and I got to attend a Three Hills tradition- The Christmas Tree Burn! People from all over town came, with trees in tow, to spend an evening burning them all together. I was so surprised to see the amount of people that showed up... but considering the free hot dogs and hot chocolate... plus awesome fireworks and a huge bonfire, who wouldn't want to come?! It was a really fun evening... next time we'll have to remember to bring some marshmallows and a really long stick!



On Sunday the weather was absolutely beautiful, so we got out our new snowshoes (thanks mom and dad!) to give them a try in some of the open fields around the town. They worked great, and we had a blast just walking around in the snow. Can't wait to find a good trail to hike through in them! Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend!


Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Twilight



I know, I know. Everyone is talking about it, everyone is reading the books, watching the movie- I guess you could call it some kind of fad, and yes with much resistance to my best friends encouragements back in the summer I humbly gave into my curiousity, and fell in love with Stephanie Meyers characters and story plot allow with the millions of others.

I really didn't know what I was getting myself into when I innocently decided to watch the movie one night before going home for Christmas, I was just bored and wanted some background noise while I knit. It wasn't long until I was hooked, finding that I could somewhat identify with these characters, and sitting in suspense, anxious to see how their lives and the story would continue to unfold.

I eagerly picked up the first two novels in the series, Twilight & New Moon, on my way home chronicling the relationship of Bella, a girl from Phoenix who moves to Washington to live with her dad when her mom remarries, and Edward a vampire who has been seventeen... for a while. Edward's family has trained themselves to survive on the blood of animals, but Bella's 'sent' is almost too much for Edward to maintain control of himself, but his immediate love for her is too strong for him to stay away. He has been waiting for 'his mate' for over 100 years, and now that he's found her, a human, he is intent on learning to control his thirst for her through many turns and twists of events that continually challenge the love they share for one another.




My little sister, Jordyn, stole the books from me when I got home and had the first two read within two days, and then I took her to go see the movie. Click to see Twilight Trailer. It wasnt' until last friday that we were able to find the third book.. it was sold out everywhere we looked, but found it at costco (yay we love Costo!) I am currently on the third, while I wouldn't surprised it Jord was already done the fourth.



Alex refuses to have anything to do with the books or movies... so Jord and I with our newly found vampire powers (that sounds so silly, but we're just really into it, all in fun of course) attempted to turn her to our side... with no success...




Yet.


It is a really fun read, and opens you up to a world filled with adventures that could never be experienced in this life, which is what I love so much about reading. Through soaking up words on a page you can travel anywhere, be anyone and be apart of things that wouldn't otherwise be possible. I recommend it to anyone who is even a bit intrigued.

Well... Back to reading Book Three, Eclipse!

Happy New Year

This New Years Eve my family decided to try out some fondue recipes for dinner, which turned out to be a great success. We had planned to do some moonlight snowshoeing afterwards, but because it was so cold outside we decided against it, and sadly didn't have another opportunity while I was home, but I am excited to get to use my new snowshoes soon!






(This is actually really cool... get a marshmellow and put it on a stick, then cover it in melt chocolate, and let it harden. Volà, you now have the perfect hot chocolate stir stick!)






However, new years was still a lot of fun just spending the time with family... and on January 1st my grandparents were able to come down to visit, so we had a lot of fun with them, especially our intense game of rumikub... and trying to beat Matt, Alex's boyfriend at barrell of Pirates (same as monkeys but i guess the giant kinder egg company has something against monkeys haha)



Hope everyone had a great new years!

My Family

The last day I was home for Christmas we decided why not get some shots of our family too... and so i set up the camera on timer and ran through the snow so I could be in the photos too haha. Here's some of them.














Monday, January 5, 2009

Rimkey Family

The Rimkey's have been friends with my family since Alex and I started going to Warminster Elementary School, and playing on all the different school sports teams. So it was fun to be able to photograph their family this Christmas too: ) Here are some of the shots.















Love:Amour:Liebe:Amor

This Christmas was filled with many exciting events, one of the highlights being my Best Friend's Engagement! When Katrina first told me the news i was completely in shock, and she was probably freaking out wondering why I was frozen and not saying anything... but after an hour the news started to finally sink in and my excitement for her and her fiance Paul slowly began to show itself on the surface : ) You can read her story of how he asked her on her blog "Fotografia de me Vida" (She's a languages student, hence the español)... its really cute.

Here's some of their engagement photos I was able to take for them : )