Fashion magazine consider me!

Classic and Elegant

I'm a new resident of downtown Toronto and I absolutely love the fashion here! Each day I'm exposed to a different sense of style. I love the uniqueness individuals use to refelct their own sense of style.

There's something about this dress that makes me think of Jackie O. The classic and elegant dresss reminds me of her elegant style. The vintage pattern combined with the beautiful mustard colour, drawstring neckline and accompanied by the lovely sash makes this dress a simple yet elegant piece. You could easily where this dress to the office or a night on the town.

Photograph and dress are from the website www.jacob.ca

Photography

I love black and white photography! When I look at black and white photography I feel as if it captures the precise moment in time. I've been hoping to get into photography as a hobby for the longest time, here's some recent pictures, and more to follow.

Have you joined Facebook? Its seems that everyone is a part of this on-line group which is great. I've reconnected with some of my long lost roommates from UWO, friends from elementary school, Prov., and high school too! So needless to say, I'm somewhat addicted to continually checking to see what others have been upto and to see who has recently joined.

Part of me wonders how long the hype for facebook will last for?? Before it seems as if it is too much work to continue to post messages or to send quick messages. It really does amaze me with all the modern technology, e-mails, text messaging, instant messaging etc. how easily friends can lose touch with one another.

My parents have friends from over 35 years and haven't used any of the modern technology to stay intouch with eachother. Rather they have done things the old fashion way through the telephone and getting together. I sometimes think that modern technology replaces those special connections in a negative way.

Anyhow, while the hype is still strong I recommend checking out Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ to get reconnect with friends who you may of lost touch with, and perhaps getting together for a coffee with them rather than chatting on-line.

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!!!!

I am officially connected to the interent at my apartment. I am so excited to be able to log on to the interent whenever I need to. I'm feeling very high tech as I have the Rogers new portable interent that all I have to do is plug in the modem to an outlet and plug it into my computer and I'm connected, so needless to say that I'm also excited that I can take this wherever I go and access the interent, even if I'm on a boat. So I should be updating my blog much more often.

Decisions, decisions, decisions . . .

I've been working at my job for 8 months now, it's crazy how the time flys by, and at other times it feels like its going very slowly. My contract ends in July. I think before I know it, the time will come that I will have to start packing up my office. This job has been a great opportunity and I have gained so much experience.

Now I just need to decide what my next steps are. I will once again begin the job search sometime in April, and feel more confident than the last time, but than I think. . . hmm . . . I could travel to South Korea for one year to help pay off some of my student loans and save up for a house . . . but than another part of me thinks, it would be neat to stick around in Ontario, I LOVE living in Ontario. And I can start working on some ideas I have floating around in my head: creating and teaching anger management workshops and starting a small special events company.

I simply just don't know what to do, but am giving myself time to figure it out with much prayer. I sometimes wish that I was 10 years younger, when I didn't have to make these life altering decisions. It's a lot of pressure! I just want to make the right decision, but impossible to know what the right decision is now, but will be so clear 6 months from now.

I've previously posted this speech on my blog. It's a portion of Nelson Mandela's speech which has greatly impacted me and encouraged me and I'd like to once again share it with you. . .

during my first year of university I sat in my sociology class, excited and i think a little scared. my teacher emphathized with us students and encouraged us. she had shared a portion of Nelson Mandela's Inagural Speech, which had encouraged her. i have kept a copy of this Inaugural speech with me since my first year of university. so many thoughts come to mind when i read it, so many thoughts, it has been really encouraging to me and i hope that it will be as encouraging to you.

Inaugural Speech 1994

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyound measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frighten us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that
other people will not feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that
is within us.
It is not just some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we consciously
give people permission to do the same.
As we liberate from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.

Last week, I had my supervision with my boss. It's a time when I can ask my 101 questions about what to do with clients, with an experienced therapist. My boss is great, we have a lot of fun during my supervision time and she's really encouraging and blunt. I really appreciate her bluntness, she attributes this to being British :-)

So while we were discussing she says to me ... "I'm surprised that you haven't come into my office crying, a lot of people get overwhelmed with this position. A lot of people may think your

sweet, but I think your made of stone." I was really blessed by this compliment. I feel that I am a strong person, but at times I feel that others may not perceive me this way, but I was estactic that my boss had perceived me this way.

Cheers!

ExCiTiNg NeWs!!!

I have exciting NeWs !

I am thrilled and excited to share that as of TODAY I have paid off my CAR! Purchased in November 2006 and paid in full on January 19th 2007!!!

Way to go Me!!!!

Voom ... Voom ...

I have to say that my Christmas break was GREAT!! I enjoyed each and every moment of it, baking, spending time with family and friends, sewing, reading, and watching some movies. It was a lot of R&R (rest and relaxation). It was nice to be away from work for 12 days, but I am ready to get back into the swing of things.

I'm sadden that Christmas is over, I really enjoy this holiday, but will look forward to next year. So here's to a new year!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Blessings,
Lavlet

Winter in Ontario . . .

My weekend was great! I spent time with some friends from high school catching up with eachother, some I have not seen in years, but its amazing that we were able to pick-up right where we had left. Many thanks to Joanna for organizaing the potluck.

I also spent time with my cousins, we went for a walk by the lake, and its hard to believe that the picture above was taken in December!!

Great shot cuz!

Paperwork, reports and more paperwork. Even though I'm finished with studying at school (thank goodness for that). I feel as if I'm right back there at the end of the semester when I was endlessly writing 101 papers (okay maybe not that many papers).

Right now at work, I'm preparing endlessly for my 38 cases to be audited for accreditation, it just seems that when you almost think that your finished with all the paperwork that there something else that needs to be done, counselling sessions, talking/comforting clients on the phone through their crisis, oh right and more paperwork.

I'm crafty ...

I am so excited that it is Christmas time. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! I have recently discovered this about myself. I love the music, the decorations, how everyone becomes more kinder to one another, spending time with friends and family, and most importantly celebrating Jesus' birth.

This year I'm taking on a new task, I've decided that I will be creating my own Christmas cards. I've always enjoyed doing creative things, but haven't had the chance to do it that often. I'm trying to reconnect with my creative roots :-)

And now this being one of my first Christmas when I'm not writing one hundred papers for school, because I'm no longer a student, yeah!!

I've decided to take on this project.

Shortly you should be receiving your own Lavlet designed Christmas card in the mail!

I'm back!

Its been such a long time since I have blog, I'm not sure even where to begin. So sorry to all who have viewed my blog and haven't seen any new updates. No worries though, I'm back on it and hope to be placing a new blog each week.

Well I do have very exciting news to share. I BOUGHT A CAR!!! Vooom ... Voom... It's a '97 Honda Civic and I LOVE IT!!! It's a sweet ride. I have had the car for about two weeks now and am thouroughly enjoying it!!!

I have pictures from the day which I had picked it up, but will have to post those later on.

Its been awhile ...

Oh my, it has been awhile since I have blog, I am sorry to all who have checked my blogspot and realized for the last two months I had the same posting without any updates.

It has been a busy couple of months for myself and I haven't quite found the time to sit down and blog. Let's see what have I been upto . . .

I went on a trip to Jamaica and it was awesome, I got to celebrate my grandfather's 80th birthday with him!!! He was so happy!

My cousin Sherryann got married!! Congratulations to her and Paul H.

I've been busy car shopping, oh my, I thought looking and purchasing a car would be so much easier . . .

Spending lots of time with my family . . .

Been busy with my new job, and I'm really enjoying it!

Shopping. I love to shop! Even if I don't have $$ I love to window shop. I've been busy getting things to decorate my apartment and office with, yes that's right I get my own office! It is a delightful pleasure at work and I am really enjoying it!

I hope to be posting more regularly in the future, but in the meanwhile this is just an update of what I've been upto.

Smiles

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations to Paul and Emily who tied the knot on Saturday July 29th, it was a fun-filled event! And a congratulations to Jenni and Steve who are the proud parents of Emily Grace.

And yipee for me as I will be flying to Jamaica tomorrow, yeah!!! Pictures to follow. . .

I'm Off!

I'm off to St. Catharines and will start my first day at work on Monday. It looks like on Monday I'll be doing orientation at two different offices. I'm pretty excited about starting my new job and moving into my apartment. I was trying to count how many times I have moved since I first left to go to University and I decided not to even try because it has been many times :-) Just to let you all know that I won't have regular access to e-mail for the next week or two. Well I hope you all have a great week. And if you have a moment, please keep me in your prayers.

Blessings~

The Countdown is on!

In about two weeks I'll move into my new apartment and start my new job. . .









In sixteen days my brother and Emily will be getting married. . .





In three weeks I'll be heading to Jamaica with my family to visit family. . .

And in seven weeks my cousin will be getting married and I am going to be her maid of hounour!

I GOT A JOB!!!

Umm ... remember my June 8th posting about a my road trip and a job interview. Well ... I got the JOB!!! I am happy to share with all of you that I have accpeted a position as a therapist counselling children and youth in St. Catharines. I am very excited about the position and look forward to the challenge. I've met with a couple of people who work at the organization and they are all great!

Thank you so much to each and everyone of you who included me in your prayers :-)

At first when I was offered the position I wasn't sure if this was the right position for myself, but after some good talks with family and friends I decided to go for it!

Last week I had travelled back to St. Catharines to sign my contract and to meet with Human Resources Manager. And was on a hunt to find an apartment. Its always crazy trying to find a reasonable apartment in an university town so I knew I needed to find one ASAP. That same day I found an apartment, its only about a 10 minute drive to work and most importantly a five minute drive to the mall :-) I got a chance to meet one of the landlord and she was very friendly.

My new place will be a one bedroom apartment in a triplex and I love the area!

In Loving Memory of Roselyn Casey

1935-2006

This past week and this week have been unpredictable. I am sorry to share that my god mother, Roselyn Casey had passed away on June 19th, she was a beloved wife, grandmother, aunt, friend, and mother to six children. I remember the last time I had spoke with her was at my sister's baby shower, she greeted me with a warm smile and gave me this huge hug, and was delighted to hear about all that I had been upto. I hadn't seen much of her the past couple of years and wished that I had taken more time to visit her to see how she was doing.

I am so greatful to have had her in my life.

Irresolute 20-somethings, meanwhile, view boomeranging as a temporary stopover to clear their heads and anticipate future career moves, as well as get one last snuggle with the security blanket that is the middle class.

For those who are still looking for a full-time job after school, like me :-) Here's an encouraging article from Radiant Magazine.

Road Trip

Prayers sure do work. This week I've been praying about a job and serveral job opportunities have come my way. Two potential jobs, but I had to say no to both, and one job interview, thanks God :-)

It was Wednesday that I went on my little road trip. I had a job interview in the Niagara Falls area, and the job interview went well. Then afterwards I had decided that I should head over to the U.S. to do some shopping in Buffalo, N.Y!! Driving to Buffalo was great, I forgot about the beautiful wine vineyards in the Niagara area and I was able to get a quick glance of the falls as I drove. I LOVE living in Southern Ontario.

C'est la vie

As I write this I write as someone who is more mature, wiser and um ... well older, I am now 27! Yep, celebrated my birthday on well ... you know when :-)

When things don't go the way I had hope they would, or when everthing seems to be a mess, I sometimes say the saying to myself c'est la vie, it is life (the correct translation would be its the life). To me it means this is life and well I just need to accept it. I feel right now in my life that I'm at a crossroad. I think everyone has a point in their life where they just simply aren't sure of what to do, but have to make a choice on what they will do. Choices can be overbearing because with every choice there's a consequence. Even though I'm no longer a child I can still hear my parents saying that to me, "Lavlet, you must know that with every choice you make there's a consequence that you must deal with good or bad."

So here I am at the crossroads, wondering what to do with myself. Waiting for a door to open for a full-time job, wondering about what city I would like to live in the future (I'm thinking T.O.), praying about spending 1yr in South Korea, and so on.

Its the first time in my life which I can remember where I am just waiting for something to happen, things just happened to fall in place. I finished high school and went to university, had a year break in-between, then went to do my Masters, finished my Masters and now I'm just waiting. . .

Blessings ~

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

~ Nelson Mandela ~

After climbing a great hill,

one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

~ Nelson Mandela ~

the weekend

Oh yes, the weekend, always something to look forward to. My weekend started off GREAT with an hour massage, oh it was heavenly, and my back is feeling sooo good. I highly recommend for those who must be budget conscious like myself to check out schools that teach this wonderful practice, my 1hr massage only cost me $32.00. As you all probably know, I LOVE A BARGAIN!

Moving on to Saturday was my bro and future sister-in-law Stag 'n' Doe. This was my very FIRST stag and doe that I have gone to and it was a good time. Lots of games to play and mmm...mmm good food and yes some dancing too. Unfortunately I forgot my digi camera and have no pictures :(

And then Sunday was Mother's Day, this was my sister's FIRST Mother's Day and my mom's umm ... 30th :-) . Happy Mother's Day Mom and Shirley!

Blessings ~

Father to the Fatherless

I had read this book way back in January 2006. The first book I chose to read after I had finished all of my academic studies. This book is an absolutely an amazing story about Charles Mulli.

It shares the story of Charles Mulli and how he had grown up with improvished circumstances, treated horribly by his father, but how God had overcome all the obstacles he had faced in his life, and God was constantly there for him. God blesses Charles abundantly in his life, and Charles uses these blessings to help street children.

I felt that this book was a good refresher for myself, to help remind me of the power that God has, and to also to remind me of how different life is for those who don't live in a G7 country (most of the entire world).

If you want to be challengend and widen your perspective of God and this world, read Father to the Fatherless.

More Memories from Providence . . .

My time at Providence has been a great experience for me, though it hasn't been a smooth path, it has been a good experience. I'm still waiting to receive my degree in the mail and once I receive that baby I will be posting pictures of it. Below are some more pictures from my years at Providence.

This first picture is a birthday gathering in celebration of my, Gypsy and Rob's birthday.

Above is a picture of one of our Seminary outings with friends. My friend Gillian is in the dark green, we were partners in crime throughout my years at Prov. with our commitment to procrastination ... he...he..he.

Last June several of us from the Seminary headed out east to Nova Scotia for the wedding of Jennifer and Joey, now Mr. and Mrs. Royal, the wedding was such a great celebration and out east is AMAZING!! If you ever have the chance to travel there, definetely go!

Memories from Providence

During my third year at Prov., I took on the project of organizing our first Seminary Retreat in Kenora, Ontario. It was a restful and great weekend. Check out some of the pictures from the retreat and of friends below.

GRADUATE!!!!

Today is MY GRADUATION, yepee!! I am excited to have completed my MA in Counselling. Many thanks to my parents, praises to God, and my hardwork for this achievement.

Today is also the day of my sweet nephew Christening (Dedication). I thought in celebration of my graduation and Gevontae's Christening, we simply had to take a picture together with our proper attire, here's me sporting a grad hat that I had made, and learned how to make way back in kindergarten!

I have so many memories from my time at Providence, and thought that this week I'll share pictures and thoughts on my blog in celebration of my graudation and time at Providence. So be sure to check out my blog throughout this week as there will be several new postings this week.

~Blessings~

Hallelujah He has risen Indeed!

Happy Easter !!!!

things that i am thankful for . . .

~ spending quality time with my M & D aka Mom and Dad
~ spending time with other family members too (brother, sister, brother 'n' law, cousins . . . you know who you are)
~ my nephew and also his smiles
~ spending time with friends from high school and university
~ friends who are in all different parts of the world
~ God and the power of prayer
~ Providence Seminary and friends from Providence
~ beautiful bright sunny days and rainy days too
~ coffee talks
~ relaxing evenings infront of the tv
~ a job (though its not one of my favourites, but I'm still thankful for it)
~ being able to travel
~ music, but not country (sorry Erika and Jenni)
~ a good social gathering
~ Toronto Islands
~ bubble baths
~ Ontario
~ relaxing days on the beach
~ not having to do any more school work!!!
~ my supervisor
~ graduating with my Masters in 8 days!!!

these are just a few that come to mind

~ blessings ~

sweet melodies . . .

Thanks to my good friend Meredith I have been introduced to a very talented artist, Jack Johnson. This past weekend I had finally purchased his CD, and enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon of listening to it. I can honestly say that I enjoyed listening to each and every one of his songs. How often can one say that they enjoyed every song on a CD? Not often, but if your interested in listening to some sweet melodies, check out Jack Johnson. He's the type of musician that you would love to listen to while reading a book, driving, or when your just hanging out at home.