Verified! (1)

I got Verified yesterday!

So, I thought I'd write a new post to share my experience.  

As I explained in my previous post, getting Verified is a security feature of Girlfriend Social. It's something you update on the website to let others know that you've met somebody in person and have been Verified to be who you say you are. lol

After work and before my dance class I had made arrangements to meet a lady that I'd started messaging on the website after I set up my profile. We picked a location that was ideal for both of us which happened to be a place I've never been - Panera Bread. Had to meet in a public place...after all, I might be crazy!! hahahaha
(Keep in mind, I let Furman know exactly what I am upto! Cause that's just what I do)
Anyways....I decided to wear the same top that was I wearing in my profile picture so that she could easily spot me. She did tell me she thought that was smart. lol I try!

                                               
I got there a little earlier than I expected because traffic was lighter than usual. So, I found a nice spot by the window where I could stake out the entrance to the shop. She was easy to spot because she had identified that she'd be the pregnant lady with a yellow bag. lol I wasn't quite sure in how to greet her....should I just shake her hand or give her a hug? lol You never know with people sometimes. We're women...so I gave her a hug. That's just me. I didn't want it to feel like we were meeting for the very first time. I think she was ok with that. So, we took a seat and introduced ourselves and before getting into conversation we decided to grab a snack from the counter.

Conversation - The best thing to start with in my opinion was the obvious...her pregnancy. So, I asked her when she was due? And guess what.......she gave me a date that matched my Birthday. Imagine that! hahaha What a coincidence. "That's a good day!" I told her, for obvious reasons. This was off to a great start. I had already known from messaging her back and forth prior to meeting that we had a few things in common so I decided to try and get a bit more detail in person. Makes for great conversation and helps to get to know each other better. Something we have in common that we talked about......we both met our husbands on the Internet. So, we shared stories.

We didn't have a whole lot of time for our meeting because I had class to go to. Second Class But it was ok, it was nice to meet up anyways and break the ice. She seems like a very sweet lady. I'd hang out with her again. Maybe next time we can grab a bite to eat or something.

Watching the clock I had to cut our meeting short and rush off to class which thankfully wasn't too far from where we met. Class was unusually small that night for some reason.
Where was everybody? Graduation maybe?
Oh well.

After class I wanted to make sure and go back to my new friends profile so I could Verify her. So, that's what I did.
After you have been Verified by three different people you actually receive a badge to your profile. There is a space on your page where it shows the people that have Verified you and any comments they might have added for others to know. Comment made about me after yesterdays meeting: Very nice and friendly lady and I should say she looks younger in person :) Isn't she sweet? lol Told ya! She thought I looked younger in person. Thank you for the compliment my dear, and for meeting me.

All in all, the website has been working out for me so far. I've been communicating with a few women. I've met one person already and there is another one that I am looking forward to meeting when she gets back from vacation. The girl on vacation is the very first person I started communicating with online from this website. And so far, via messaging and text, we have a great friendship on the way. In fact, she's even been texting me from vacation in the Dominican Republic. Imagine that! I feel so special. She's awesome to even think of me. I already feel like a long time friend of hers. So yeah, I do look forward to touching base in person. On that note, i'll take this opportunity to also wish her an awesome Happy Birthday.
You know, in case she reads my blog when she is bored. lol

                                       

Now....to get ready for the long weekend. Woo Hoo! So excited.
Nothing special planned...so far.
I've managed to run a few 5k's on the treadmill at work this week so I am looking forward to being able to hit the pavement this weekend to push myself a little further. After all, it's been the first week I've been running since I got Injured on the Run. I really gotta get my training back in gear. A Midsummer Night's Run is about 6 weeks away. I got 15k to get ready for. Would be nice if I can find a girl friend closer to me to run with too. lol  Just sayin!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!
God Bless

Graduation

It's done!

A chapter in my daughters life is over.
She has GRADUATED from High School.
Class of 2013!

It's bittersweet.
The high school years are supposed to be the greatest years of your life but often are not. Yet, you get through them with battle scars and all. Lol. My daughter included. (I know I was certainly happy to be done with mine.)
She is the last one for me!

I know that this week has been a crazy graduation week for many. I've watched all the Facebook updates of all my FB friend's families celebrating the graduation of one person or another. It's an awesome time of the year. A proud time for most. I've browsed and "Liked" many photos that have been shared and have even shared my own. Memories! That's what it is all about.

Congratulations to all those that may be reading that have Graduated themselves

 or that are proud parents! (Like me)

At my daughters graduation ceremony I opted out on the flowers. After all, they just die. I chose to go with something that will last longer. lol Something that she can keep as long as she can to remember her special day and that her momma loves her. LOVE YOU BABY!!!

The Graduation Bear

                                             

Graduation ceremonies....horribly boring! But, it's over! Woo Hoo The valedictory speech wasn't overly long and boring, which was great. (Can't tell you anything about it though. lol) But I was Valedictorian once. Oh..the memories. There were no prayers...since they took prayers out of the school many years ago. Phooey to the powers that be for making that mistake!
Sooo....I searched for, and found an awesome prayer that I will share here.

And yes....my daughter looked absolutely beautiful. She cleans up very well when she is ready. So, we made sure to take our beautiful graduate out for a bite to eat after the ceremonies.

Now, to await the official delivery/pick up of the Diploma. Because you know that what they give them on stage is just a rolled up piece of paper for show. lol

And....plans for College!
Stay tuned!!

Anyways....I just thought a blog post deserved to be dedicated to Graduation because this week has been crazy full of them. I'm sure that somebody reading has been affected directly or indirectly by this wonderful occasion. lol

Now, for some laughs, here's a cute video I found on YouTube that was worth a few.



Kind of like a female Spoken Reasons. (Who happened to get a small part in the new The Heat movie with Sandra Bullock by the way. Gotta check that out. Congrats to him. See...being silly on YouTube can really pay off.)

Now...time to get ready for the long weekend. Woo Hoo!!

WonderJam packed Wknd

What a great weekend!
This weekend Furman and I volunteered with some friends to work at the Canada's Wonderland WonderJam Festival event.  What is that? Well we had no clue either, but we are happy we found out. It really was a great day. Check out the flyer:

Previous to WonderJam I had no clue who any of these Christian Artists were. I'm sure I may have heard a few of them while listening to Life 100.3 on the radio though. But I swear, the pandemonium was surreal because this was all to praise and worship God. I mean where was I? lol There were sooo many people.

Towards the end of the night there were even more people that were waiting especially for the finishing acts.

Soo many young people it was incredible. An awesome site to witness everyone's hands in the air in praise. There were vendors to sell t-shirts, CD's and stuff. Vendors to also give out information about different Christian Universities. Ie. Redeemer and Liberty. Stuff like that.  

We got to Wonderland extra early so that we would have an opportunity to get on some rides and stuff before we were needed to do any work. That was fun. 

First ride - Behemoth! My goodness!

Go ahead....take a First Person ride on this video and see what i'm talking about!!

                                       

Then.....we went right to the Leviathan.

                                       

Yup....that was all I needed for the day. Got my Rollercoaster fix! hahaha It was when we were on the Leviathan that we got stuck in a torrential downpour of rain close to the end. It felt like I was in a fight getting beat up by those raindrops. It acutally stung! lol And...we had to sit there in it because there was a car loading up with people for the next ride ahead of us. Smh. Just makes me think about all the people that wait in line for like an hour to get on these rides. When it starts pouring rain, you really can't go nowhere...just like we couldn't sitting on the ride. hahaha  It was fun though. 

Oh, and we made sure to get our Cookiewich ice cream sandwich before we had to report to the festival. You can't go to Wonderland without getting one of those!! No way. That and the Funnel Cake. Mmmmm. We didn't get that until the very end when the park was closing. A few good friends that didn't go to the festival actually met us outside the venue gate and we all enjoyed that together. lol

Anyways....at the festival our job, well, we started off handing out flyers at a location where we could see the stage as people were walking to their seats. I must say too....I was pretty good at it. lol It was all about how you held up the flyer for them to see what it was you were trying to give them. lol In my case, the schedule.

I was absolutely amazed at how polite people were too! Yup....it was crazy. Is it because they were Christians? Seriously? I mean, I had soo many people passing me that weren't taking flyers from me but made a point to simply say "No Thank You" or "I already have one Thank You" and actually smiled. Smh
When we stopped handing out flyers, Furman and I took over the WonderJam t-shirt booth. lol I must say, we improved on the marketing which probably helped making sure that we were completely SOLD OUT. lol We created an actual sign that showed the $10 price for people to see that wasn't there. Furman moved the positioning of the tshirts that were hanging from the tent so that they were more visible to passerbys. And, for a while he even stood around spinning the shirt around for people to see both sides. That man is quite the salesman I tell ya!! Certainly has the personality for it. Love my Furman!


My personal video of the end of the show. I just had to try and tape this because it looked soo cool and was very exciting. And yes...that's how loud the concert was. lol I actually had a few people come up to me and ask me if the concert was going to be loud like that all evening. hahaha "Lady...you are at a concert!!" I didn't say that though. lol Just directed her to where she could possibly get some earplugs. lol

Oh....and I made sure to buy my Wear Da Word t-shirt!! Always wanted one of them. Christian apparel. 

Happy with my t-shirt...just wish that the actual reference to the Bible verse on the shirt was written in the blue color also so it stood out more.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these [is] love.

We topped off our weekend by attending our church picnic after church on Sunday at a place called Scanlon Creek. I've never been before but I guess that's not completely my fault because it had been rained out the last few years. lol Furman and I will definitely be back at Scanlon Creek to check out the many trails they apparently have. The weather was great. The food was awesome. To go with the BBQ, everybody with the last names from A-L brought a Salad and those from M-Z brought dessert. Mmmm. So many interesting and tasty salads. Everything went quick too! Great company and our church worship team set up their equipment for praise and worship music too. Oh...I have to mention the tug of war! The younger men vs the older men and the younger women vs the older women. It was too funny. I had sandals on so couldn't take part. lol But Furman did. The younger guys won because the older guys were just outnumbered.

Like I said....it was a great weekend.

Didn't think about work or anything else for that matter.

Loved it!

Thank you to our friends for allowing us to volunteer with them for WonderJam.

Hope you all had an awesome weekend too!!

Girlfriend Social

Ok....Call Me Crazy but I have to tell you about a website that I came across the other day.
And, I'm sure they'd appreciate me doing so anyways. lol

Girlfriend Social

So far, I find it quite interesting.

It is a website for WOMEN ONLY (of all ages) to connect women with new female friendships. Get the hell outta here? Yeah...I thought that when I came across it. It's a totally free social networking site to create platonic relationships. Not for Lesbians to look for hookups!! Although it wouldn't surprise me if there were a few on there trying to do so. lol Or men to try and get through another door. lol Apparently this website is connecting women from all over Canada, US, UK, and Australia. No lie! I was quite impressed when I logged in and created my own profile. I sure as hell did! Why not? I met my husband online!! And you see how that worked out just great. So, why not try to meet an awesome friend that I wouldn't otherwise meet. Broaden my horizons. lol I've got nothing to lose and all to gain. After all, Furman has been telling me for some time now that I need to get out more and make some friends. Gheez...maybe he's getting tired of hanging around me already. lmao

Oh...and for those who have something negative to say about it like i'm desperate and can't make friends the old fashioned way..I laugh you off. Get with the program. Times have changed and clearly you may not have.

So yeah....I created a profile and similar to a dating site I would assume (since i've never really used one), you answer several questions about your interests and whatnot so that the site can try to match you up with females in your area of similar interests and age. Women that have come to the sudden realization that they need to get out more and need the friends to do it. Women that have moved to a new city and need to make new friends. Whatever!! Simple as that. Of course, you can just browse the different profiles from different areas and choose to make contact or not.  Then, assuming you both are comfortable meeting in person after having conversation online, you arrange to meet. Have coffee, something. On your profile, there is also a little feature called VERIFIED that allows you to verify people you have met so that others have a heads up that the person has met with someone and is otherwise SAFE. lol. And, you can create your own Friends List. I'm telling you, it's quite cool.

Only problem....more women need to know about Girlfriend Social so that there are more local people to choose from. (Hope my blog posting helps a bit) The site also has an Event Option so that events can be set up in areas to enable women to meet in groups. Pretty neat eh? Along with that there are different GROUPS and DISCUSSIONS that women are setting up and encouraging people to browse and/or join to share their own input. Groups (Forums) sorted by different interests, issues, etc. I really find it kind of neat. Slightly reminds me of the site where I met my husband so many years ago. Just browsing through different profiles, looking at people's photographs and deciding whether I will make contact. lol It's not for everyone. On Girlfriends Social, they even have a cute little feature similar to the "LIKE" option that Facebook has where you can SEND A COFFEE to someone to let them know that you have looked at their profile and might want to make contact.

What impressed me too....was that the site started in Toronto. Woo Hoo. Someone from my very own city came up with the idea and put it all together. You go girl!!

Anyways....for those of my blog readers that are interested....or curious...check out the site and see what you come up with. You never know. I will certainly keep my readers posted on my success and experiences. Let's see how long it takes me to get VERIFIED! lol

Thought I would share this video...just because the lyrics relate. hahahahaha And I love the song.

Better Than The Last

My weekend started off by attending the official Grand Opening of Spinbuddies Pole Studio. You know, where I've been taking my classes - Second Class. There was quite a turnout which was nice to see. I took some video and shared on Facebook so I might as well share a bit here too.

The instructors basically demonstrated several spins and other tricks that are taught in class. I was curious as to what there was to learn so you know I had my eyes peeled. After all, i'm only just beginning the Beginner/Intermediate level. I must say too that I was quite amazed.
Check it out:


Oh.....and this one is the owner/instructor - Rose Hen.

I swear they make these moves look soo easy!
So....while i'm not yet climbing way up on the poles yet, or doing any crazy acrobatics, I am doing several different spins while I build my strength. After each class, we learn some Sexy, build confidence. I think i'm not too bad with that part. hahaha
This is how we do it:

The highlight of the weekend was definitely Father's Day. My kids and I kind of blindsided Furman which was real nice. We tried to do something special for him to improve on last year because last year didn't turn out quite how we had planned. So, after church we took him to what is probably his favorite place to eat right now....Federick's Hakka Cuisine. Let me tell you...he was a happy man!! It's hard to get both my children together sometimes because at the young adult ages everybody is kind of doing their own thing. But, they were there for Furman which was awesome. I know I certainly felt great to have dinner with the loves of my life! Think we definitely need to do that more often!! We all left with full bellies, that's for sure. And, had leftovers to take home. My daughter even picked up a beautiful Father's Day card for him. I was touched. I can say with certainty from Furman's reaction to her card that he was certainly touched also. He might hold onto that card until he is old and grey...seriously!! In fact, I know for a fact that he will because he has proven to me on multiple occasions that he saves things that are special to him. Oh man, I can give you an awesome example of when he did something like that, but that's fit for a blog post of it's own. lol
Anyways.....I think we accomplished what we set out to do.
It was a good day!!
So much thanks to my children for making Father's Day a wonderful day for Furman. 
It was definitely better than the last.
Love them!



I'll end my post with this Classic that comes to mind.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Day of Rest

That's what I had yesterday.

Don't think I get too many of those. 

I know I get the weekend but I swear I'm always doing something on the weekend. Lol. (Last weekend we fed the homeless again and I finally got to drop off those Spring Food Drive donations from work).

Our employee donations.

Food Pantry we added to.

Staying busy is not a bad thing though. I'll have plenty of time in the future to sit on the porch rocking chair with my husband. I love the time I get to spend with my husband and my children, when I can grab them. But yeah, yesterday I was home on a sick day while Furman was at work, and I got to be in the company of both my children for a change. lol

I had a medical procedure done that I'll pass on talking about this time. Lol. (I've certainly had my share of tests and procedures for the year. First Mammogram) The prep alone could make for some great blogging material, lol...but i'll pass. I mean it's not like I wont ever have to do it again. I will say that all turned out ok and that I'm doing well - clean bill of health. It was early in the morning so I had the rest of the day to recover...and that, I did. My son was there to pick me up and drive me home when I got out of recovery because I wasn't allowed to drive home myself. They had to put me out for the procedure, and boy did they ever. Wonder what they gave me? I swear I didn't even get the opportunity to count backwards from 10. I was out that fast. That was some good stuff. All I remember was the flow of liquid rushing through my veins as the Dr squirted the needle into the intravenous.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

Was a nice feeling to walk out and see my son there waiting for me.
When we got home he even made me breakfast because I was absolutely starving.
How is that for taking care of mom?
Then, it was me and the couch all day. lol


It was a Netflix day..at least till Furman got home.






Now, I'm back to work as usual.
Breakfast was being served as a kick off for some new Employee Recognition Program.


Good thing it wasn't yesterday or I would have missed out. haha
We had the works, as you can see.
French toast, scrambled eggs, sausages and diced potatoes. Oh, and fresh fruit. In my opinion, the fresh fruit and the sausages were great! lol But, you can't complain about free food. What I always say about the homeless when we feed them. haha

Out of Milk already

Anyways, I just thought I would blog since i've been out of touch for almost a week. Now, i'll go help myself to a FREE coffee! Our office recently got a free coffee machine and let me tell you...it's been working hard!! Our department has been waiting for a free coffee machine forever! (Apparently we have one that has been sitting in storage for over a year while the powers that be decide who will pay for what...so it still sits there. lol) The line ups to use this machine have been long and funny to see. Hey, I sit by the kitchen so I can hear the excitement. haha Other departments have had one. Mind you, this one wasn't put there for us really. We had a few people move to our floor that already had a machine so it moved with them. Oh boy...you put a free coffee machine in a kitchen used by over 100 people and VOILA! You're gonna run out of coffee beans and milk in no time...just like this little note says that was posted on the machine by the second day. So, we'll see how long we get use of the machine for. When the managers start getting the bill for the supplies..It will be interesting. In the meantime, we'll all get our lesson on how to use the machine to make coffee, cafe latte, cappuccino, mochaccino, hot chocolate...and probably some other hot drinks I forgot. As you can tell, I've already had my own lesson. It really is just the push of a few buttons but with some people you'd think it was something more difficult. :) Oh, and notice the supply of Tea's too. Woo Hoo!

Time to hit the kitchen....It's Tea Time!!

Twinings-Preparing Tea

  Happy Hump Day!!

First Mammogram

I went for my very first mammogram recently, Just Need To Laugh, and let me tell you, I was scared. Why? Well because it wasn't routine. I was sent there because my Dr discovered a lump on a routine physical. Oh...and didn't that just send my mind moving a mile a minute! lol

Cancer knows my family, on both sides. My mother once had colon cancer and had half of her colon removed several years back. Today, she is cancer free. Thank God! My father, well my knowledge on him is very limited, but my understanding is that he has some sort of cancer that resulted in part of his tongue being removed. He may possibly still be receiving treatment. Ie. Radiation/chemotherapy. All I know! Prayers out for them both. Grandparents? Yeah, they met the Big C too (with the exception of maybe one), and have all passed. So yeah...any mention of lumps on my girls and the first thing you think about is the Big C! I don't care how Christian one may be....it's hard not to be fearful. I think I felt myself so often trying to find this lump that I hurt the poor girl and became sore. lol

These articles were very helpful to me so I will share it with hopes that it may help someone else.
Preparing for your 1st Mammogram and Mammography. This was posted recently on CNN after Angelina Jolie announced she had a double mastectomy. Mammograms Save Lives

THE EXPERIENCE:
When my appt was finally made, it was for mid afternoon at a hospital that I am familiar with. Tip: Schedule your appts for the morning if you are a working person. lol Why? You are not allowed to wear deodorant or powders so I went the morning at work without and felt absolutely horrible. By the time I was in the hospital waiting room I swear I was smelling myself. Smh! Luckily, my time in the waiting room was short. Once I was all checked in, I was sent to where the test would be done. They had nice lockers where you could lock up your belongings as you changed into a hospital gown. Note: you only need to remove the top half of your clothes of course. I was the rookie in the waiting room. A little conversation with others and I was made to feel at ease in no time. lol I'm just that friendly! Keep in mind, I've been praying for days, and was certainly praying that morning as I held praise and worship in the car on the way to work, and on the way to the hospital. That helped me big time.

www.breastmatters.ca

The technician was awesome. Explained exactly what she would be doing and answered any questions I might have had. I didn't really have any. I just wanted to get it over with. From others and from reading, I already knew that I wasn't going to get any info from the tech so I wasn't surprised when she told me. It takes about a week for your Dr to get the results and you can follow up with him. (Yeah, No....I had to wait longer)
All I can say about the experience is that my girls will never be the same! lmao PULL...SQUEEZE!! Ugh! Mind you, once she put a location sticker on my girl, I was able to go home and finally find that damn culprit of concern myself! Scary!

My RELAXED face. lol

Next steps for me was an Ultrasound. Gives them more details on what they are looking at. But, when that appt came around (a few weeks after the mammogram), mum was the word. The technician wasn't saying nothing. Not a peep. Not even a reaction. lol So, it meant more waiting till my Dr had a chance to go over the mammogram and ultrasound reports. I was a bit more relaxed with my waiting though. I had people praying for me. Oh, and thanks to the technician for having warm ultrasound gel instead of cold. lol

True Story - The day of my Ultrasound I sent a message to one of my Facebook friends that I consider truly anointed. Asked that person to pray for me as I had done the day I went for my mammogram. Funny thing was, that when I sent that person a message about my appt early that morning I hadn't told that person what time my appt was. When I returned from my appt I had gotten a message from that person which happened to be a prayer that had been sent exactly 1 minute before my scheduled appt time. How is that for God working? True Story. If that person happens to read this, I just want to say once again how thankful I am to you for your prayer and thoughtfulness. Feeling Blessed!!

Thanks to Prayer....I finally received a good report. All is fine! Don't have any other answers then that. Guess i'll have to ask those the next opportunity I get. For now....all I care about....is that ALL IS FINE!!  Whew!  What an experience I tell ya!  An experience that I can share now...because ALL IS FINE!! :) The last several weeks have been STRESS-FULL! Now, to move onto stressing about other things. lol

Speaking about Stress....I came across this video on YouTube that I felt I needed to share. An awesome word from Steve Harvey. Yes, he is a Comedian but he can do some Preaching on STRESS.  Take a listen. Enjoy!

I'll leave you with this!!

and a reminder that GOD IS GOOD!!

MORAL OF THE STORY - Keep the Faith, Stay in Prayer!