Merry Christmas!!

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've been on here to do any updates!!! I'm all settled in my office and the above is a picture of my window. Coincidentally I was told I'm not allowed to have stuffed toys in my office....but I don't care!!!! :P

Since starting this new job, I've learned so so much. And to be quite honest I really love my job so far. Yeah I know it hasn't even been a week - but still - I'm quite happy. And my office is gorgeous!!!

I'm super duper excited for Christmas this year!!! It's a lot of firsts for me this year and I'm so so very happy!!!! I'm really looking forward to 2011 and seeing what the New Year will bring.

To all of my friends and loved ones - Please have a Merry Christmas! I love you all from the bottom of my heart and I will be thinking of you all!! You've all touched my heart and have all made me smile and laugh till it hurts. The greatest gift of Christmas this year for me is your continued friendship, love and support. xoxox Always, Colleen. :)

:))) - Please Santa - would you bring me more Cheese?

xo

Yum!

I came into work today and found this on my desk :)))))))

I love candy canes.

On another note - One more week till my new job starts!!! Woo hoo!!!

Ha ha ha

Since I'm off tomorrow I decided to add another post. The above pic is a post-it note that I sent to one of my clients. This is what he sent back in response :

Bwahahahahaah - Totally made my day.

Have a good weekend!!

Mmmm......

Whoever said I don't get my daily dose of veggies can think again. Mahaha

On a side note - a conversation this morning made me think of my family. I miss my mom and Grandpa.... Pick up the phone mom!!!  :P

Congratulations!

" Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy." -Saadi

Good things comes to those who wait.

Time for a Change...

I've been working within the same company for about 10+ years... this is a picture of me and Orest. We took this pic about 5 years ago.... I can't believe I wore grey eye shadow like that. LOL. In any case Orest was my boss and also a mentor to me. I moved away from his branch to embark on a journey of investment and financial planning. 5 years later... it seems that our laughs are going to be reunited. I've officially decided to go into management - give it a try. I'm actually looking forward to it. I think it will help me grow as a person and will also help expand my career.

I've already started some correspondence with regards to my job with Orest. I've made demands of both coffee in the morning and also valet service. I also demanded an exact measurement of my office and also requested larger windows. 

The last request that I asked of him was in regards to the color of my new business cards. Personally I happen to really like having black business cards.....I just happen to think they are prettier. In any case Orest told me that my new business cards will be white. I decided to be a brat and demand black ones and we argued for about half an hour over email regarding this issue. I don't think anyone really won the battle..... but I got this in the mail today.......

When I confronted him about it, his response was this " I just wanted to make you happy and meet your demands "

LOL

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

xo

10 Random Facts You May or May Not Have Known About Me......

1. It only takes a handful of skittles to make me hyper

2. I LOVE anything potatoes

3. I can pick up items very easily with my toes

4. I once fell jumped off a roof of a two storey house and survived

5. I'm a closet Hello Kitty fan

6. I like to be taken care of (yes I'm a big baby)

7. I rely on my intuition and follow my gut for a lot of life decisions- my tummy likes to talk to me in knots

8. I don't like sweets ( dessert ) but I love candy

9. I used to watch Xmen, Power Rangers, Star Trek and Ninja Turtles with my brother and yes I even played Ninja Turtle figurines with him - Go Raphael!

10. My feet and nose are always the first things to get cold - yet I hate socks

<3

Wow.........

Last night I watched the new Disney movie Tangled with a gf of mine. I immediately fell in love with it and I can't stop thinking about it. This is a movie that I will definitely be buying on DVD the moment it comes out. It's got good dialogue, humour and a great love story. I will also be forcing a special someone to watch it as well. Moo hahahaah.

On another note a friend is leaving Edmonton today to go on a new adventure of his own. This is a special shout out to him.

Froilan - I hope you have a wonderful time. I hope that with each experience you grow as a person and learn more about yourself. Remember to always stop and smell the roses. Also remember - home is where you make it.  :)

Your pipes will be missed by your friends. Bwahahaha

C

Happy Wedding .....

Thank you so much for asking me to be a part of your special day. Looking forward to it. :)

Genius.....

I went for lunch today and saw one of those coin egg machines with this toy in it. If I had kids I'd show them this toy to prove that veggies are in fact cool. lolololol

The Ripple Effect.........

It always ceases to amaze me how life is a giant ripple effect. One thing always leads to another and has a way to continue for a long time - affecting both yourself and those around you.

Yesterday I had a really rough day. I somehow managed to get myself into a little bit of car trouble while driving to work in the morning. I was exiting onto the Anthony Henday when my car started swerving recklessly back and forth. I ended up driving into a peg and then snow plowing into a ditch. I managed to remain calm, but for the rest of the day I was walking around in a bit of a comatose state. I was pretty upset about the whole thing and didn't even realize it until I tried sleeping last night. I kept tossing and turning and just had an uncomfortable feeling within myself. I spoke with friends and they all said the same thing - that tomorrow was a new day.

This morning I came to work to attend a United Way meeting. We had a guest speaker who - within 15 minutes managed to get me to change my mindset. This guest speaker's name was Quinn and she told us her story of where she is now and how United Way has helped her within her life. Quinn is currently a parapalegic and has been for about 9 years. For those of you who don't know what a parapalegic is - it is someone who loses motor function from neck down due to a spinal injury. She indicated that the injury occured while she was driving through the mountains. She had gotten to the top of the mountain and had realized that she was extremely fatigued. She decided to exit onto a rest area to get some shut eye, when she accidentally fell asleep at the wheel. All she remembers is exiting onto the rest area and waking up in the hospital. Apparently she had driven herself off a cliff and was flung from her vehicle.

Quinn's personality was one where it was go go go. She did a million things at once, and most importantly she did all of these things alone without any help. When she woke up at the hospital the only thing she was able to move was her eyes. She indicated that this was the lowest point of her life because she went from being independant to completely dependant on others. She was in the hospital bed with machines beeping around her when she noticed a door opening and someone gliding towards her. She managed to turn her head and see someone who was in a wheel chair. He leaned towards her and whispered in her ear - " It's going to be okay ". From then on she really did believe that it was going to be okay.

With the help of United Way, Quinn has accomplished many things in life. She is the first parapalegic to graduate from Post Secondary and is currently working at three different jobs, and also plays " Wheelchair Rugby - aka murderball ". She has approached life in a more passionate way - pushing through and surpassing any limits that might be in her way. She said that we should all try very hard in life and if we fail - to get back up and keep trying. As I've always mentioned in previous posts - life throws us several different situations and we have the choice to either learn from it and move on ( develop ourselves better ), or we can not do anything and dwell on what could have or would have been. Personally I like the first choice.

It is funny how timing of everything happens. Things really do happen for a reason and it's really up to us to just step back and view the bigger picture, rather than dwell on the small things that might not necessarily matter.

I gotta say I've really learned to just lay back and go " more with the flow " rather than fight change. Now that's not to say that I just sit back and take a joy ride. I work very hard at everything I do in life and I'm always trying to better myself on several different levels.

I think we all need to be like Quinn and live life fervously - the only thing that can hold us back is truly ourselves. We need to find our passions and really enjoy them and just live each day as if it were our last. Life is a gift that we should all be thankful for - It is the mistakes that make us stronger - and really it is up to us to get back on our feet.

xo

http://www2.unitedway.ca/uwcanada/default.aspx

Holla

Hey yall. Below are pics of my weekend ( Hope everyone had a good one ). I did a lot of curling up under the blanket along with some house cleaning and eating of good food. Last night I watched Titanic with Peanut. I'd have to say it was my 20th time watching it. I'd also have to say it was Peanut's 5th time seeing it. Judging by the pics below I clearly had some time on my hands.

" Aiiiiieeee yeeeeeahhh - Peanut "

Here's to cheese - Life can never be too cheesey :P

xo

Kazzah!

OMG - I came to work to this email and I think I laughed for about 5 minutes. Amazing what a simple gesture can do. This email came from my clients who are 51 and 53. LOL. I might be going through some career changes and if this happens I will definitely miss this.

On another note - I've recently fallen in love with the new song "Fireworks" by Katy Perry. Now I gotta admit - I was never a Katy Perry lover. I never found her music to be that good nor did I find her attractive. Last night I was lounging on my couch and I saw her new video. Daaaamn does she ever look good. The video was cute and I absolutely love the lyrics. Reminds me of my childhood growing up.

Perhaps when I am courageous enough I'll blog one day about growing up in a strict household. But for now here are the lyrics to the Fireworks song:

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag

Drifting through the wind

Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin

Like a house of cards

One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep

Six feet under scream

But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you

Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light

And let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework

Come on show 'em what your worth

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework

Come on let your colors burst

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're the reason why all the doors are closed

So you can open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow

And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light

And let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework

Come on show 'em what your worth

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework

Come on let your colors burst

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

Boom, boom, boom

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

It's always been inside of you, you, you

And now it's time to let it through

Just like home

A couple of days ago I met with my very good friends Gina and Christina. I've been friends with Gina since kindergarden and Christina since probably grade 1 or 2. Gina decided she wanted to order some milk at Second Cup and this is what they gave her. On top of that the cashier didn't know what to ring it in as because nobody asks for just milk. Lol. Seeing these girls always makes me feel so good. When I see them it's like nothing has changed. We've really grown together and we still laugh at the same jokes and constantly reminisce about past ( ie junior high crushes) . All three of us are at different phases of our lives. One is a mother, another a mother to be and then of course me - mother of a furry dog.

I know at the end of the day these girls will always have my back - no matter how much time has lapsed. I love them so so much and I look forward to what the future will bring as we continue to grow together.

Here's a pic of a pic - kinda blurry. Gina is on the right. On the left is Jennifer - another good friend that I've known since elementary. Yes. I really do have buns in my hair like sailormoon and yes I really do have butterfly pins in my hair. I'm such a loser. :D

xo

Love is

I recently met with a client today who is going through a rough break up. When I spoke to her about relationships, I could see the pain written all over her face. Unfortunately based on previous experience she has become very jaded in regards to relationships. As I grow older I'm finding that a lot of people are more and more bitter/jaded about love. They have a tendency to look at past experiences, or people surrounding them, and they make assumptions that all relationships are like this. They like to think that true love doesn't exist. Rather than learning from previous experiences, they'd rather dwell on it, and it prevents them from moving on.

Which brings me to my second thought. My good friend has recently become excited about a new circumstance/potential love. I'd like to say that it is so refreshing to see this excitement from a close friend. It is a nice change to what I am currently used to seeing. They feel that they are acting like a highschool kid and that they are nervous about it. They feel that they are being vulnerable and silly - but to me. I find that absolutely adorable. It brings a smile to my face and gives me hope that not the entire world is jaded about relationships.

My friend and I discussed the movie Scott Pilgram. I see life/love like this movie. You gotta fight some demons/bad guys to find the true love of your life. If you don't fight some "bad guys" you won't appreciate the true love when you find it. I also like this movie because it teaches about self respect. :)

In any case - I'm still a firm believer in true love. And am also a firm believer in working on it when you find it.

On a side note - in regards to love - I gotta say - It is so cute when boys are smitten over a girl. Just so damn adorable. A few of my guy friends are going through this, and it is so wonderful to see them prancing around like school boys. ( If my friend read this - he would correct me and say men - not boys. bwahaha)

Love is a funny kind of thing. Through all the aches, pain and tears - at the end of the day it still makes the world so much brighter.

xoxo

" I'm in lesbian with you"

Birthday Weekend

This week/weekend was full of good surprises and celebrating. I was very spoiled this entire week :))) Thank you to everyone who participated and also Thank you to all of those who sent me Birthday Wishes starting right at midnight!!! I heard from people I haven't spoken to in ages and it brightened my heart.

Here are some pics from my week:

The picture above was by far the sweetest thing I saw at the zoo - It always ceases to amaze me how much companionship can do- Even for animals.

I am so very lucky to have the people that I have in my life. The days are much brighter and are always filled with laughter, joy and love. I appreciate everything and everyone and will always continue to make a mental effort to do so. Cause that's what life is about. The little things that make you smile. It's about the creation of memories and it's about the journey we all take - rather then the end result.

I am so very happy.

xo, Colleen

Happy extra long weekend!

Meet Kitty. She's the apple of my mom's eye. Okay maybe not quite the apple - but she's part of the family. I think she weighs about as much as my dog -possibly more. I haven't been able to do any updates on here because I've been way too busy at work. Won't be able to update this again until next week sometime. For those of you that have Friday off, have a great long weekend. Remember to take a moment for Remembrance Day to pay your respects! Looking forward to creating some new memories this weekend :)

" What is she - like 12?!? "

xo

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"  - Dr. Seuss

** Happy Birthday Daddy **

Where did all the love go?

I've recently fallen in love with quotes by Winnie the Pooh. He's so simple .... or rather the creator of Pooh Bear ( A. A. Milne ) is simple. I find that sometimes we get so wrapped up in everyday life - we always forget that we complicate our own lives, and really life is not as tough as we make it seem to be. ( I myself have a tendency to do this all the time ) We have a tendency to focus on all the wrong things and like Pooh says - we stop to think, but then forget to start all over again. We become obsessed with things like money and the need to make everyone else happy... and more often then not, we forget to look within, and focus on the right things that give us true happiness. Sure money makes life easier - but at the end of the day it shouldn't be everything. I guess the way I view it - If everything went wrong - and the whole world was against me - I would want my loved ones there with me - standing by my side. At the end of the day money doesn't buy happiness - nor does it buy love.

Here are some of my favorite Winnie the Pooh Quotes, all written by A. A. Milne -

" You can't stay in your corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you; you have to go to them sometimes "

" Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again "

" Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear and not bothering "

I got this red fortune cookie today. I've never ever seen a red one - kind of tasted cinnamon-y. I may have stolen a gold one too. haha

xo

This is what I feel like today

Halloween

BOO!!

Love is being stupid together

- Paul Valery

Love Takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within - James A. Baldwin

When you're in love you never really know whether your elation comes from the qualities of the one you love, or if it attributes them to her; whether the light which surrounds her like a halo comes from you, from her, or from the meeting of your sparks.

-Natalie Clifford Barney

...........................

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

-Lao Tzu

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. -Lao Tzu

To understand is to forgive, even oneself.

-Alexander Chase

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

-Walt Disney

Brrrrrr

It's that time of the year where the froggy mittens come out  :))))

Hell Hath No Fury

Maaaaaaan. What the heck is with my clients this week. So demanding and moody. I kid you not. Times get tougher during a full moon and I swear we just had one on Saturday ;)

In any case... you ever drive by someone belting out in song like no tomorrow while driving? You kind of point and laugh at how ridiculous they look? That was me this morning. Belting out passionately to Mariah Carey tunes. More specifically to the song "Can't Live". I think I even had some fist pumps thrown in there like Celine Dion. I love Mariah. *sigh*

Volleyball

So I've got volleyball tonight and was looking online for schedule information....I found some of the following pictures that I've never seen before. The above pic includes majority of our CIBC volleyball team members...minus my fave lady Barb... I've decided that we should rename our team to Team Japan. Or Team Swedish Berries. These pictures were taken during a tournament in April/2010.

Somehow I don't think this is the correct "ready" positioning we should be doing....

Look at how focused I look....from a distance. bwahahahah. I know Sab's got it under control.....

Ok now here's a token Colleen picture. It appears that I'm fixing my hair... which I've been known to do while playing sports... moo ahahahahah

Okay now for the record...we did a lot of waiting during this day. Yes I'm on my phone.... again. bwahhaah.

Have a great week everyone!