spoon!

On Saturday Landen and I went to my sister's house for a few hours and we had such a nice time. There is something nice about driving to a big, beautiful home in the country when you live in a small condo downtown. My nephew, who is 2, was dying for a snack. He kept saying he wanted a snack that he could eat with a spoon. I thought it was so adorable and that it would be so funny if I chose what to eat depending on which utensil I wanted to use. He ended up having applesauce which is a very good choice.

Today I'm dreaming of a homework-less life. Reading week has come to an end and the realities of the student lifestyle are being felt once again. Marguerite Duras is waiting for me in my backpack, I suppose I should let her out.

Bonne nuit. xo

breathing week

I have been having the most lovely week! Sometimes when I idealize things I get disappointed when it doesn't turn out as I had so hoped it would. This week has not been one of those experiences which I am so happy about! I have: done an abundant amount of thrifting (from which I procured two pieces of vintage pyrex, a beautiful traditional inuit coat, picture frames and a gorgeous brass mirror... Ah!), made a trip to Steinbach with the loveliest of gals, baked muffins, cooked dinner every night (except tonight!), drank so much tea and coffee, etc. etc. etc. I am also reading a book for school and pleasure (lucky when that happens!) that I am halfway done called "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" by Rhoda Janzen. It's witty and about Mennonites and proving to be an easy and enjoyable read.

I can't say enough about a week off. I keep thinking about how generous it is for my school to give me (and all other students) a week off to breathe. It's amazing what it has done for my health and my overall morale. I took a two hour nap tonight, which left me terribly confused and fuzzy headed, but it felt nice to not wake up panicked about all the things I did not accomplish during those two hours.

I realize that this post is undeniably boring, but I can't contain my general bliss and joie de vivre this week. Feelings like these are to be treasured and I'm savouring every last drop.

Since my nap is seriously affecting my bedtime, I think I will turn on a movie and wash some dishes, because those are things a person on holidays does at 11 pm.

V. xo

Van-lan-tines

On Friday night Landen and I had a Valentines party and it was so much fun! We invited a bunch of people but its funny, it ended up, as it usually does, that it was us and our favourite friends. There were about twenty of us, and it was so nice. We drank red [spiked] punch and we ate so many treats I almost exploded [with happiness]. It was the first party we have had in our home and I think it was a success! Hooray!

The rest of the weekend was equally lovely, Saturday was the laziest of days, but deservingly so as it was my first day of reading week! Well, I guess technically today is the first day, as it is Monday, but on Saturday I felt like I was truly entitled to a day of Glee, pizza and a painfully adorable movie called happythankyoumoreplease. Watch it, you won't be sorry.

I have decided to take this reading week for what it is truly meant to be. A refresher. I started off this morning by checking some pretty blogs, making myself a delicious latte and baking bran muffins. Next on the agenda is reading a novel it has been hard to tear myself away from, which is actually for school believe it or not, and a trip to the gym.

A lovely day and a happy reading week to me and to you!

V. xo

valentine!

This year I started loving Valentines Day. It's so nice, especially in comparison to many other holidays that are gross; St. Patrick's Day, Halloween. Need I say more? Also, [some of] the decorations are so adorable! This year Landen and I are not buying eachother gifts, although I think it's a tradition rather than just this year, I can't remember ever buying or receiving gifts on this dear day, but I do know that I spent my weekend crafting my love from construction paper and clothespins instead of attempting to sniff out the nicest scented cologne. That would have been much less enjoyable.

I hope everyone has the most lovely day, Valentines or not.



(one of the fruits of my weekend labours)

Love, V for Valentine xo.

Comblez nous de tes richesses seigneur

Lately I have been pondering my identity. Ah, the eighteen year old in me returns but this time there is no Australia to run off to (yes there is, but it is not an option) and no mind-warping from bonkers Christian organizations. There is me and there is real life.

This semester I am taking a course entitled "Gender and Mennonites". Despite the fact that weekly seminars and article reviews are stripping this class of its full potential, it is enlightening and this past week I read an article that really made me think about who I am, why I am this way and what I want to be. I am a Mennonite, a title that oozes connotations of all sorts, some of which I am happy to embrace and others my husband and I have decided will not be practiced in our home. A Mennonite is far from all that I am though; I am a woman, I am a student, I am a wife, I am a runner, I am a cyclist, I am a coffee lover (can one find identity in loving coffee?), I am a [wannabe] crafter, I am a follower of God. The list goes on. How is it possible to find identity in so many interests, passions and desires.

This summer when Landen and I were studying in Montreal, we went to a church service at the Notre Dame Cathedral, which, if I do say so myself, is far more breathtaking than that of Paris. It was a traditional Catholic service which was in French - a new experience for me, vocabulary and setting that I am un-familiar with. I was pleased that I understood most of what was going on with the exception of some songs, but who's kidding who, I can't figure out the words of English songs either. A phrase that has stuck with me since then was the congregations repeated response to the priest. Comblez nous de tes richesses seigneur. Loosely translated (I don't find identity in translation): Let your riches complete us Lord. The bible says to find your identity in Christ. Correction: church tells us to find our identity in Christ, I haven't actually read it for myself, but I do trust that it is in there. In the years that Jesus walked the earth, religion defined who people were. Jew or Gentile. Identity was found in your beliefs. That is not the way the world, or Canada rather, works today; the marriage between church and state has long been disintegrated. I do find value in finding identity in your beliefs and your god, but if it were that simple, well... It just isn't. Despite my apparent critical nature, this small phrase has been ringing in my ear since July and I have not yet grown tired of its rhyme and I will continue my childlike muse of life.

Too heavy for midnight. My tea is cold and my toast is done, let the dream-filled slumber begin.

V. xo