Amazing how something as silly as having to work for your money, having to pay your bills, and doing your taxes makes you feel like a grown up. I did my own taxes this year. It was pretty exciting ( you can see I don't get out much) but it actually made me think about life and what has got me to the point of doing my own taxes.

You see about 3 years ago I made a life changing decision.... why is it that now suddenly I am questioning that decision? Why is it that I have been second guessing every choice made since that one decision? Interesting to think that what once was right could maybe now be the worst thing. Even more interesting is that there is nothing I can do about it.

So I feel stuck, well actually it is probably better to say that I feel like Dorothy in the tornado, everything in OZ is okay until you find out that there is a stupid witch after you. Dorothy meets nice people, they help her and care for her, and she even clicks her red rubied heels and gets back  to the "no place but home."

Question is what if I am my own witch?? And what if I can't click my heels to find the answer? Guess God Only Knows!

So on Friday evening I went to the hospital because I really hurt my thumb and wanted to make sure that it wasn't broken. It was going to take hours before I could get the results so I asked if I could come back the next morning to get the results back form my x-rays. It isn't broken just badly strained. Sorry for being late to the café Pernell.... Thanks for filling in for me.

So Sunday after church my knee started bothering me on the bus. I got home and put on my brace right away. It was sooo bad Monday morning, that I ditched work and went to the clinic to see if I could get a prescription for some anti-inflamatories... WOOT WOOT for the doctor. All is well now, I am still wearing my brace (which is a total drag) but the knee is doing much better.

It was great to go to Paige's Birthday Monday evening though... what a cute kid
Thanks to Carolynn and Marshall for having us all over. You Guys ROCK.

More to come about the weekends adventures...Maybe tomorrow

So for Lent I gave up coffee and tea. Well today dear friends I had my first sip of Java in forty plus days... and all I can say is I AM HYPER!! Beware!

Also, I had a great time in Barrie this weekend. It was good to kinda get away, even if it was totally a spur of the moment thing. My baby brother is sooo grown up I can't believe it. Working and school and the whole she-bang. HE is one great kid. I took some pics of his tattoo, but until I get organized I wont be able to post them.

Jelly Bean, I miss you to. Hope that school and life are going well. What are you doing for the summer chicka??

Also Erin "Staples" Stanley Rocks.... Thanks for hangin' out on Saturday Morning. Hope the PARTAY was a gooder!

This is not the post that was deleted.
This is a brand new post.

Annoying
My good friend (who will remain anonymous) has severely disappointed me.
Furthermore I dislike it very much when third parties get involved in relationship issues, whether it be an argument, discussion, or what have you. If you are not involved and the parties haven't asked you for your help, leave it alone. Mind your beeswax.

Great
Dinner at Jaci and Rich's was fantastic. Rich made really great Apple Crumble, and Jaci made some of the best Spaghetti I have ever tasted. Thanks to you guys, Abby and Chewie for the great evening. Also need to mention that Rich acted as my Easter Bunny. I was a little sad about the Easter Bunny not visiting me this year, not going home and being solo, and Rich gave me a little Easter Bunny chocolate. Thanks!
I enjoyed the Urban Missionary thing last night. It definitely left me with things to ponder.
Melissa is preaching tomorrow, how exciting.... she is going to do a great job. I know that she is nervous.... but everything will be great!

So I was in the middle of posting this really great, long blog and it got deleted. So it sucks for you cause now you wont be able to read it and it was indeed fantastic.

Ok so this post is way overdue but none the less:

So a few weeks ago, Rachel, Sam and I went to Martin Grove Baptist Church.(Ian[Sharlenes Husbands] church) So first you need to know that I had never been to a traditional Baptist church before.

The Story

So we get there and this lady comes up and says "Your daughter is more then welcome to come down to the Sunday School room after the "childrens time""
         WHAT Sam most definately isn't my daughter(love her but no) 
Any who, I tell the lady that she isn't mine, but that I will ask and let her decide.
Sam hadn't yet decided when the bulletin tells us that it is indeed time for the "children's time" in the service. 
         SAM was the ONLY child. Ian introduced her from the pulpit. Sam (so courageous) goes up to the front of the church (in front of all the old strangers) and sits with Ian and this other (older) woman. The woman proceeds to talk to Sam about Maple trees, asking what she thinks are hard questions for Sam to give answers to; because she doesn't know the genius that is Sam. She then reads a prayer from a notebook that she pulled out of her purse.
         The whole senario was kind of funny, but how great was it that this lady not knowing Sam or us, took the time to spend with Sam, I think its awesome.
After the prayer was Sunday School, which Sam did decide to go to. (She said she had fun)
         After all this Ian preached and we heard from the choir from above, and then there was a seat exchange.
         I know you are thinking seat exchange?? All of a sudden everyone (excpet us) started moving from where they had been sitting to the front pews. To which Rachel says to me "I think we are supposed to move forward" (she by the way was clearly the brains of the operation) To which I respond "I have no idea". I then look up to Ian for help, who in turn motions us (from the pulpit) to indeed move forward. See Rachel is a smarty pants!
         All in all it was great. I had a blast with my first Baptist Church experience, from introducing Rachel, to the syrup lady, to the 007 sermon, to the communion, to the vinyl covered Hymnals, to the shirley temples afterwords. Thanks to Ian, Rachel and Sam for the great day!

So as I stand at my mothers kitchen sink peeling potatoes, my younger brother Eric is getting his tattoo done at her kitchen table..... Thats just weird.... kinda cool and it looks really good but tattoos are not meant to be done in the kitchen.

So this weekend was awesome. I am going to break down this post into 3 sections 'cause as all you all from the retreat and Blind Melon fans alike know that 3 is the magic number.

Prior to the Retreat
I had a great week, the Networking partay was on the smallish side but was an overall success; I managed to do ALL of my laundry; I got approved for a week of holidays and pre-approved to take 2 of those days in the end of March and had supper with the beautiful, wonderful, magnificent Jaci.

The Journey to and fro
So I was a wee bit late (like an hour) leaving Hamilton, but fortunatley enough Racheland Nathan didn't seem to mind. It was really great talking to them and just chilling on the way up. On the trip back it was very much the same only with other added passengers... miss Erin and Freddy. Thanks to all for making the drive go by so quick... hopefully I can continue to get to know you. You are all great.

Trinity
The retreat was awesome. I truly felt a weight lifted and now feel so much burden gone. There is really tooo much to say to say much more then that.

On a side note though... Jake said something incredibly funny on Sunday morning. We (Jake, Zoe and I) were getting our stuff on to go outside. Jake put on his snowpants, turns to me and says " Hey Tasha, Look at me, I'm Fat Albert!" SOOO Funny.... Too Darn Cute!

Thanks to all for a great weekend... super thanks for the kind words!

So today at work they had some man with a video camera come to tape the ongonings of EA. We had been told that he was comming a few days earlier so as to prepare.... prepare for what??? Hello my name is Natasha, I had a fish,,go to the freeway and have a family. I work in a SAND PAPER factory...... Sand paper i tell you, honestly what type of preperation did i need?

This weekend is the freeway retreat... should be a gooder.

.

So this afternoon on the bus I met her.

 Who you ask?

Why the rice pudding lady of course!

The Story

I got on the bus to find it really full. So I sat down beside this elderly woman.(thinking that I would be fairly safe) She was sooo sweet. We had a nice 15 minute conversation. The most touching part I think about this dear woman was when she was telling me about how she bought an orange crush pop to take home to put in her fridge just to look at. Why just to look at? Because that is what her husband bought her on their first date. So she keeps it in the fridge in his rememberance.

She also proceeded to tell me about her daughter and their correspondance through 22 page letters, how she used to work in a factory making zippers, and that the cashiers at Food Basics call her the rice pudding lady because she buys a lot of it... in fact she ate 3 cans of it today.

She was a hoot... Thanks Rice Pudding Lady for your company and stories on the bus!