Coffee Chat July

This is what my desk looked like Thursday morning (Day 7 of our camp session). To quell any confusion about the Starbucks cup on my desk, it's a travel mug, the nearest Starbucks to camp is 2.5 hours away. On this particular morning my desk was covered with a travel mug of coffee, Finding Nemo DVD from movie night, my work computer, my personal computer, a list of campers who ordered t-shirts and photos, a list of things I needed to get done and a pile of homemade crayons that needed to be distributed to the campers who made them. 

The month of July seems to have gone by in a flash. There are only two more sessions of camp left which means in less than a month another summer will be in the books. If we're going to meet for coffee this month you'll have to come to me. Hopefully the weather would cooperate and we could sip our coffee down on the dock. 

I'd tell you that the past few weeks have been full of high highs and low lows. There are moments when everything is going perfect and I feel incredibly blessed to get to work here. Then there are moments when the group collectively forgets to tell anyone we're running low on toilet paper...and then bursts into the office at 7:30 a.m. to declare that the entire camp is out of toilet paper except for one roll in each of the cabins...and so an emergency town trip was made for toilet paper. 

If we were meeting for coffee I'd tell you about all the things I have written under the "To Blog About" heading in my planner. I'd give you a list of all the books I've read this summer and ask for your opinions. I'd gush about how in love I am with the new planner I bought that goes from August 2015-December 2016. I'd tell you that I've discovered a love for puzzles and I've found a new hair product that is making life a lot easier.

I'm still worried about what happens in September when camp ends. Except that I don't really have time to be worried about it so it's like a little mosquito buzzing in my ear. I should probably get back in the habit of setting monthly goals but I haven't given any August Goals any thought. I'd love to get back to my old eating habits and I'm dying to make blogging a daily habit but neither of those things are realistic until August 23rd when camp is officially over for the summer. And at that point it's just as well to call them September goals. 

I'd love to stay and keep chatting but I'm off to the city for a couple of days with H. & R.. And hopefully that means that a real life Starbucks/Second Cup coffee is in my near future. 

Blogging Elite Summer Swap

There are a million and one lists on my list of things to blog about and I have every intention of sharing them all with you at some point or another but right now I need to tell the world about another awesome swap I participated in with the Blogging Elite.

I was paired with Sacha over at Reloved Life. Sacha is phenomenally crafty and her blog is full of creative inspiration. I consider myself a pretty crafty person but I've got nothing on Sacha. Her blog also has lots of content about her own life plus some helpful hints about living a healthy lifestyle. I also LOVE that Sacha also lives in Canada. It's so rare to find a fellow Canadian in the vast blogsphere. 

My box was literally bursting with awesome summery things! Everything was so thoughtful including tea, supplies for s'mores and some great crafting materials. It's hard to choose a favourite thing but the mug is so perfect! I'm not sure if you can see it in the photo but it's a canoeing mug, which is totally awesome. I can't wait to drink a cup of tea out of the mug and scribble some thoughts in my notebook!

P.S. I was hopping to share some more close up photos but the internet decided to let me upload that one and that was all. Have I mentioned yet how hard it is to blog without good internet!? 

Summer Blogging

I really miss blogging.

And blogging without a reliable internet connection is near impossible. 

One of my main goals this summer was to find balance with work and hobbies that didn't involve work. Which sounded simple enough in May and although I have read a handful of books this summer, spent time with J. and other friends I haven't been great at keeping the blog updated. I am really disappointed about it, but frankly I'm not sure that there's anyway to improve. I am very much at the mercy of the internet. I would love to take time every few days to share some photos (another goal I've improved upon since last summer is I have been taking photos!) and write some words. I think I'd even been satisfied with having an hour each morning to read blogs while I sip my coffee, but most days that doesn't work.

I'm not even sure what the point of this post is, other to say that I'm still here. I'm still "in to" blogging. I am actively trying to blog about my life and stay in the loop of my favourite blogs. The summer is over half way through so an internet connection is in my near future. 

I'm going to go ahead and press publish before the internet quits on me. We're on a session break until tomorrow and this afternoon I'm off to town with my friend N. to pick up a new planner that I fell in love with the last time I was in town and grab some lunch. 

Oh Hey, Blog!

The last few weeks have totally gotten away from me. We've had two more full sessions of campers and as of 11:07 a.m. this morning when the last camper was picked up we are officially half way through the summer. How crazy is that? (I assure you it's crazy.)

Anyway, it's Friday, it's Day 7, J. is on his way to visit for the break AND R. and I picked H. up at the airport last night! Her flight got in at 10:25 p.m. and we headed back to H.'s for wine, Oreos and hot tubbing. We completely lost track of time and when we came inside it was 4 a.m., we quickly made our way to bed and and then got up this morning and returned to camp. H. had to be back in time to surprise her boyfriend before he left site and we ended up on a wild goose chase all around town trying to find him. H.'s arrival was a bit of a surprise for her boyfriend. He was under the impression that she was arriving tonight at 10:25 p.m. The whole thing went off without a hitch and now I am happily blogging until J. arrives. 

I have every intention of getting back to a regular blogging routine and getting fully caught up with all the unread posts on Bloglovin'. For today though I'm going to enjoy supper with J. followed by a movie and early bedtime. My 4 a.m. bedtime and 9 a.m. wake up time didn't exactly leave me feeling well rested.  I guess the point of this was to say I'm still here and I haven't forgotten or abandoned my little corner of the internet! 

Coffee Chat June 2015

I've been trying really hard not to drink coffee on an empty stomach and to sort of limit my carb intake. So if we're going to have coffee first thing in the morning chances are I'd also have some vanilla yogurt along with mine. 

The first thing we'd talk about is how camp is going. I'd sigh and respond that it's going well although I often feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. I might confide in you that it's near impossible to find time to talk to J. before 11:00 p.m. each night and by that point I'm practically falling asleep. These long distance relationship type situations are hard work. It is without a doubt worth the effort, but I'll be relieved when it's over. I'd ask about your experience with long distance relationships and hope that you might have some words of wisdom or advice to offer.

I'd tell you that I recently discovered a Vanilla Carmel flavoured creamer and it's been making my coffee extra delicious. I never use creamer at home but camp coffee needs a little extra boost. I know it's not a great choice health wise, but I think we all deserve an indulgence here and there. I choose to make mine Vanilla Carmel Creamer. And also thick cut, rippled, plain potato chips. What have you been indulging in recently? Or will your answers only make me want to rush to the nearest grocery store for more treats opposed to veggies?

If you're a regular blog reader you might ask how my summer goals are going. I'd be honest and tell you I was off to a really great start and then things quickly spiralled downwards. I haven't totally abandoned the blog and I've been getting to bed a little earlier than previous summers, plus most nights I read for at least 10-15 minutes right before bed. Lately though I've lost track of the Fringe Hours. I find myself acknowledging the fact I would love to spend 10 minutes taking photos of an amazing sunset and then hurrying away to fold laundry or prepare evening snack. I'm hopeful that this is the week I reclaim those minutes and use them for me instead of always prioritizing work.

I might share with you that my biggest, boldest, scariest and sincerest prayer right now is to find a full time position with a summer camp ministry near my hometown beginning this fall. I know it's a lot to request and in many ways it seems almost impossible, but I know that God can do the impossible. So I'm continuing to pray. I'm praying that specific prayer but also that God will lead me to the place He wants/needs me to be and that I can continue to trust Him. 

Even though I'd love to chat well into the afternoon or late into the night this month I probably only have time for one cup of coffee. Here's hoping that next month I'll be able to suggest a refill so we can discuss a few other things that have been on my mind lately. 

Bonfires & Burgers

For the second time this summer the stars aligned and session break fell on a weekend. I drove home for the weekend since this is our longest break of the summer and pulled into the driveway at 7:00 Thursday night, perfect timing for a long weekend to officially begin. It's also finally starting to feel like summer around here. May and June have been cold, damp and rainy. We've spent a lot of time indoors and when the sun has been shining it's often still too cold to be outside without pants and a hoodie. Being able to wear flip flops without fear of frost bitten toes was a true highlight of this past weekend.

The focus for Thursday night and Friday morning was rest & relaxation. I took a nice long hot shower complete with great water pressure. I then proceeded to bed where I stayed until 9:00 Friday morning. I leisurely spent the day Friday drinking hot cups of coffee, finally catching up with blogs and enjoying every minute of being on having some real time off and away from camp. J. was house sitting this past weekend at his parents so I headed over there Friday evening for BBQ Burgers and maybe most importantly, Salted Carmel Ice Cream with chocolate sauce. I cohersed him into watching Love It or List It with me and then we got sucked into the last hour of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 that was playing on a different channel. Even with all that excitement I was home in bed by 11 p.m.. Sleep was very high on the priority list this weekend. 

Saturday morning I got laundry crossed off my to do list and enjoyed drinking hot coffee for a second morning in a row. J. and I had supper at Boston Pizza and then headed back to his parents for a bonfire. I'm not a huge fan of toasted marshmallows, I enjoy two or three and then after that I just feel gross. We toasted a few obligatory marshmallows and then opted to eat more salted carmel ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. And for the third consecutive night bedtime happened before 11:00 p.m. and all was well with the world. 

Sunday involved a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for camp and then home where I Skyped with H. & R., ate supper, prepared some blog posts for the week and watching the Food Network. All and all a great weekend, and it's not over yet. I'm not heading back to camp until Tuesday which gives me another whole day to focus on rest and relaxation. 

Linking up here.

Second Session Favourites

Our second session of camp wrapped up yesterday and I headed home for our longest session break of the summer. Making my first favourite of this week the fact that I'm writing this post from my living room couch. With a hot cup of coffee, reliable internet connection and no chance of being interrupted from the writing process but someone needing to know where the keys are to the shed or asking what's for breakfast. 

The start of my week was hidden with some unexpected favourite things. There was a mix up with the food order so myself and one of the head counsellors went on a grocery shopping adventure. Both those overflowing carts belong to us...our shopping list included 90 lbs of potatoes, 20 dozen eggs, 20 litres of apple juice, 20 litres of orange juice, 30 heads of lettuce, 10 lbs of tomatoes and 15 cucumbers. We got some looks as we looked at the grocery list the cooks had given us and tried to calculate how many packages of mushrooms we need to buy to be close to the one case of mushrooms they had ordered from our grocery supplier. Even if it's a little more stressful and confusion than usual grocery shopping is always my favourite. 

Chicken Cesar Salad is quite possibly my favourite meal, especially when it has real bacon and parmesan cheese and just the right amount of dressing. Chicken Cesar was my last non camp meal of the week before last session started and every bite was my favourite. Making the counsellors feel appreciated, loved and supported is not only one of the most important things I do but it's also one of my favourite things. This week I used Wunderbars and pieces of scrapbook paper to wish everyone a "wonderful week". 

After our marathon grocery shopping adventure N. and I made a pitstop for frozen yogurt before heading back to camp. Frozen yogurt is 100% a favourite.  Mine is on the left and on that particular evening I went for caramel frozen yogurt topped with graham cracker crumbs, gummy bears and hot fudge. Just looking at that photo makes me want more!

Sunlight reflecting off the water is my favourite.  The perfection of those moments when the sun is setting and hitting everything just right makes me feel all warm inside and filled with awe over how many amazing things happen in nature on a daily basis. I love spending time outdoors because it's where I feel really connected to God and 'see' Him at work. 

 

More spectacular sunlight reflection and the obligatory sunset photo for the week.

I've got a lot of weekend favourites over the next few days. Starting with an afternoon of Food Network shows and supper with J.. It's finally starting to feel like summer around here with temperatures in the low 20s and I'm excited to switch to shorts and t-shirts instead of pants and hoodies!

Linking up with Oh Hey, Friday & Friday Favourites!