Sep
11
First Week of School
Filed Under Wedding, friends, micaela, thoughts, university | 5 Comments
This week marks my first week of teacher’s college. So far it is very reminiscent of elementary school - I have classes with the same 30 students all week, and my subjects are things like art, science, math, religion, gym, and so on. Being with the same class all the time is really nice - or it will be once I actually make friends with everyone. Basically by the end of the year all of these people will be like brothers and sisters, and I won’t know anyone else on campus, which is kind of funny. I am taking twelve courses at once, which is a definite increase from the five that is required in undergrad. So that is a little overwhelming.
The University of Windsor is a lot different from the school I attended for my undergrad, as far as I can tell so far. I don’t find myself homesick for my home (although I do miss Kent a lot, obviously - but I will see him every weekend so it’s doable), it’s more that I miss Laurier - the university where I did my undergrad. I keep comparing the two schools in my head whenever I notice something new about Windsor, and it always ends up falling short. I don’t know if it’s just because Laurier is the campus I’m used to and the only one I’ve really spent a significant amount of time on, but in my head it is exactly the way a university should be. The campus was much newer and prettier, I never had to walk through a slummy area to get to campus… and so on. I suppose this might change once I get used to Windsor. Maybe. There is one good thing about Windsor - you don’t have to line up for EVERYTHING. Laurier’s full name is Wilfrid Laurier University - or WLU, and there was an ongoing joke that it really stood for “We Line Up.”
My living situation is going well. I’m living with my friend Jen who I’ve known since junior kindergarten - since we were three! - and two other girls, also in teachers college, that I have just met. It’s always nice to live with someone you are totally comfortable around, that you feel comfortable borrowing things out of each other’s rooms, wearing each other’s clothes, eating each other’s food… I think it just makes a house feel like home. That probably has something to do with having four sisters. With my roomate and best friend from Laurier, Amanda, it wasn’t uncommon for us to come home from classes and find the other taking a nap in our bed, even in fourth year when we didn’t live with each other. So it’s kind of fun to be living with a close friend before I go and get married and live with a boy forever.
Speaking of the wedding - which I will talk more on later - I won tickets to the bridal show in London this weekend. Erica told me that her wedding photographer was having a contest, all you had to do is write a little something about what you love about your spouse. Here is my winning entry on The Last Forty Percent blog.
Finally, a picture of Jen and I in junior kindergarten - I’m the one third from the right in the middle row (if you include the little one in the rocking chair) in the Couturesmith dress. Personally I think I was the best dressed in the class. Jen is the teacher’s pet, sitting on the teacher’s lap! The cute girl in the very center in the white dress was my very best friend up until grade one, when she moved away. And a picture of us a year ago (her in the centre, me on the right) with our friend Michelle.
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Sep
8
Surprise! It’s Lauren!
Filed Under life, university | 3 Comments
Hello everyone!
It’s me, the sister who everyone (including the other fiveblondes), thought fell off the face of the earth. Well I haven’t! I’ve just been really really busy this week with Orientation Week- I was a facil, and moving in and such, and since the only time I had internet was when I got lucky stealing it from some of our neighbours, I had a hard time blogging!
I’d just like to say that this post is dedicated to my good Shinerama friend ELI! Eli was in my facil group- The Soniczz, and one of the first things he said to me was “So, before I knew you, and before frosh week I was creeping the people in my group on Facebook, and I happened to see your blog with your sisters, and I spent hours reading it!” Okay, well maybe not exactly like that, but kind of like that. Anyways, after I heard that I was super super excited, and now I am at school writing this post JUST for him!
We get internet on Wednesday, so I will hopefully post pictures of Frosh Week then, and write another post!
Oh and Ps. Since I had gone without internet for sooo long (like 2.5 weeks), I’ve gotten really really behind on my Picture a Day, so I’ve decided to stop doing it until I get internet, and then just start where I left off from! I’ll let you all know when I start again though!
Apr
24
Update on Life!
Filed Under exams, ottawa, summer, summer work, university | 8 Comments
Hey all, it’s Lauren. I’m taking a break from studying for my last 2 exams of first year! I’m pretty sure Carleton has some of the latest exams EVER-example- my last two are on Monday, and Leah had her last one on April 11. Almost 2 weeks ago! However the smell of summer is in the air here in Ottawa. People are walking outside, enjoying the Parliament buildings (which I should probably do one of these days…), tanning on the grass on campus, and there is rushing water in the river on campus! It’s so exciting to almost be done first year. It seems like just yesterday I was planning on going out west, and not even going to university yet! I’m definitely glad I chose to come to such a beautiful city though. I’ve had so many great life experiences, and made amazing new friends, who I’ll never forget.
You know how in movies at university you see circles of people on the grass studying? I never thought I’d see that in real life, but last week as I was walking to an exam with a friend we kept seeing all these circles of people studying, and the first thing she said was “Lauren! It’s like the movies!” It’s so true! Like in an ad for a university:
This summer I plan on working the same place I worked last summer, at a Conservation Area outside of our town. I also got my SmartServe in January, so I want to get a job serving, maybe at our local golf and ski club, where some of us work in the winter also.
Do you remember when you were done your first year?
Ps. Some of you may have heard about the girl(Nadia Kajouji) from Carleton who had gone missing (article found here). She has been found this past weekend (article found here). I didn’t know her, but a friend of mine did, and I wish her family the best. There has been tons of action to ensure that this doesn’t happen again here in our community.
Nov
22
Five Busy Blondes
Filed Under Family, environment, erica, furniture, internet, life, personal, photography, thoughts, university, writing | 2 Comments
Wow, not much going on as of late! Finals are coming up for those of us in school…naturally an important time of year. Micaela celebrated her birthday earlier this month with a new Lululemon sweater which I have yet to see, but am already very jealous of! Paisley - I love paisley! Kate and Scott are obviously back from their honeymoon, but seem to be having the same kind of difficulties that D and I are having getting telephone and internet service worked out at their new house. Who knew the real world would be this difficult? Leah’s birthday is coming up - always a party - and I hear that Lauren is getting snowed on in Ottawa and is planning to head to Tremblant soon?!? Luck-yyy!! By the way, Lo, I see that Allison Forsyth is sitting out the ski season - there’s a spot on the national team open for ya!
D and I went to Pier 1 Imports last weekend - I was there to browse, D was there to buy a coffee table (even though we have 2 already - long story) despite my insistence that we did not need a new one. I was holding out just fine…until he pointed out a red and brown wood chest with inlaid flowers on the side…possibly the coffee table/storage unit of my dreams. Browsing turned into buying and we now have 3 coffee tables (though one is destined for the woodpile at the farm).
Now all we need at the new apartment is a rug for in front of the gas fireplace! I love this design for a rug - in fact I would buy that one except it is a coconut fibre doormat. I guess I will continue my search!
I”m always looking for a creative output, and I love computers, so I’ve decided that my next ‘project’ (as in, the project I will take up when I no longer have to spend evenings at school!) will be a blogging project. Or, rather, a continuation of THIS blogging project. I want to use the Wordpress CMS and design our own, unique theme for the site! This goes along with a side project that I can’t mention right now. 
I am excited to get started on it and have found some great resources already, such as those on Lorelle’s blog. I know that there are many super cool free Wordpress themes available on the net, but designing one myself will give me so much more satisfaction in the end, and also skills to build on.
Speaking of designing and skillz, we’ve not shared this photograph on the blog and I think we should because it is absolutely beautiful. These are our Oma’s hands as she works on Kate’s wedding dress - she hand-stitched thousands of beads, crystals, and sequins onto the dress over the summer! I like that the photo highlights her own wedding ring. She and Opa will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in January - and we’re having a big party to celebrate next summer!
