.home.at.last.

.OKAY.

So first off, I want to gove a great big .SHOUT.OUT. to a couple of people.

every time I get on to blog,

Taylor gets on his XBox.

WELL,

we all have our...things...right?

anyways, I have a couple loyal blog readers that taylor plays with...(what winners)... JK.... BANILLA and KEVIN.

tell Taylor to get off Xbox and love me.

ANYWAYS

It was a GREAT Christmas!

Boss might not agree...

anyways, we did LOTS of christmas-y(?) things...like gingerbread houses!
pajamas on Christmas Eve!!

and my personal FAVE

I GOT A CHI STRAIGHTENER!

YES!

It has been a few years since I have been home for christmas...like, really BEEN HOME. done all the christmas stuff. While I was with the big X I avoided my family, all the time. I have spent the last 2 christmas' in B.C, and 2 in South America. thats four Good years I missed.

but my loving Hubby made sure this christmas was AWESOME. it felt so good to spend time with my family, and his, I really feel like I am a solid sister in his big family of boys (and one girl! no knocks Becca!) I felt so blessed to be where I was this year.

at home, with people I love.

.R.

.the.sleep.walker.

.and.it.continues.


I still have so much trouble

.SLEEPING.

I have so many nights when I just lay there and listen to Taylor breathe (or SNORE...gah...lol)

I started taking melatonin,

no dice...

I took some sedatives, and they helped for a while...

but seriously?

WHY cant I sleep?

I was reading over my old blog today, http://www.rachelsrunningstory.blogspot.com/ and thinking about how far I have come since this time last year! woah, im married! im getting older! im living in a different city! I have a new dog! I have some new friends, I have built and burned bridges with old ones. but overall

have I really changed that much?

what do you think?

.x.x. - R

happy birthday hubby

Today my Tay is 21!

It was a fun day, I unfortunately had to work, but I gave him a truly domestic breakfast in bed...

(captain crunch...on a cookie sheet)... is that a point for domestication? shoot.

//\\

and then gave him his gift!

well, I couldnt really give him his gift...its on its way here!

okay dont judge me for what I got him, this is the last thing I would be encouraging...but I had no other ideas... and he wanted them sooo bad

so here they are, this astro professional.... gaming.... headset?... apparrently its like...a surround sound... super... something? it set me back a few hundred dollars...BUT he loves them!

Tay gives up a lot for me. I love giving him things that will make him happy.

happy birthday my Tay!

I cant believe this is my first birthday with him... ha ha it sounds a little rediculous, and I think about it all the time, how quickly we met, fell in love and got married... was It a mistake?

no way.

because,

when you know....you know...

and I KNOW.

.x.x..x.x.x

I love you Tay

.R.

.savior.

The night is deafening when the silence is listening
And I´m down on my knees and I know that something is missing.
Because the back of my mind is holding things I´m relying in
But I choose to ignore it because I´m always denying them.

I´m a bit of a manic when it´s not as I plan itCause I start losing my head and then I get up in a panic
Remember when we were kids and always knew when to quit it
Are we denying a crisis or are we scared of admitting it?

I don´t want to know

.I need a savior.

so lately has been .ROUGH.

work is fine, life is....fine. I love my husband, I love my marriage and bieng married to my bestest best friend...

but im struggling with some BAD LUCK lately.

and its totally

.throwing.my.CHI.

so on Saturday afternoon I started having some pains on my right side, I sucked it up and went to work at Mongolie Grill anyways, but it started getting worse, and worse...and AAARGH! I was in the most intense pain of my LIFE.

that night I went to the hospital, and was there all night, this sounds gross, but I started peeing BLOOD um, YUCK? - my sweet Tay was there practically the whole time, he even pulled some chairs together and slept beside me as I cried and squeeled in pain for probably 6 hours on a hospital emergency bed. - after a long time the doctor came in and told me I had a very severe kidney infection. and I later found out I had eaten the ecoli bacteria! GROSS!

gross

gross

GROSS!

but after I got my first round on IV from the emergency, they sent me home...but not without some baggage... - I had an IV STUCK in my arm fort he next 4 days - they would just unplug the IV and wrap the needle up in a bandage at my elbow and send me off

feeling like

POOP

no im just on some steady anti-biotics...and feeling much better,

I even got to go back to

WORK!

im having a lot of fun working for GoodLife! its a good atmosphere.

but im still feeling sick lately

im starting to gain weight...

(NOT PREGNANT) lol

but im just generally unhealthy...

HURRY AND OPEN brand new fitness club!

gah

.x.x.

.R.

im a .GoodLife-r.

!MOTIVATED!

So I just spent a week getting into the whole GoodLife "Culture"

and really,

im loving it!

the energy is amazing!

these people are so happy and excited to give others the chance to have a new/longer/happier life by joining this awesome gym we are going to have.

I really feel like im going to change lives working here.

it sounds lame..

.like...its a gym right?

but

its also a motivator, a teacher, a release, and so many things I really appreciate in MY life.

my mood is heading up up up.... im feeling good again. thanks GoodLife!

I feel like ive been brainwashed lol

- im heading to Calgary this weekend for the SECOND one in a row,

but im SO excited for this one

im going to the KELLY CLARKSON concert with my bff NATTY! then on Saturday I get to sleep in a little (YES!) and go to a party with my big sister Becka, (on the condition I lend her a dress * eyeroll) and then the MOST important

this is the last time I get to see my little brother for 2 YEARS!

WOAH!

THIS is going to be a big weekend,

.x.x.

R

Elder Scott - .my.weekend. and .my.sisters.

I .love. bieng with my family lately.

you know...people just like...

me?

what do you think?

so this weekend was the big weekend

the one we have been waiting for for...oh about 10 years now.

my dad finally got released as the stake president of our church.

I cant believe 10 years ago he started a brand new stake, and since then has helped hundreds of people through thousands of things....

but

still had time to teach me chem. 30 in grade 12 and run a marathon with me. go try out for Canadian Idol in Vancouver when I turned 16. and walk me down the isle.

Elder Richard G Scott of the quorum of the 12 came to release him and call the new stake pres. and let me tell you,

he is a wonderful man...a hilarious man!

I had the epic experience of spending the whole weekend WITH him. I served him dinner on saturday night before the adult session with my Beautiful sisters

and then he came for breakfast on Sunday morning. its not very often that these men come to the homes of members. there just simply isnt time. but he came to my house and we sat over breakfast, me and him at 6am on Sunday and just... talked

for a long time

South America was the huge topic of discussion... he served a mission in Argentina, we talked about the culture, the people, the language. we really got along very well. I felt so blessed that we could get to know him so well and get so close to him!

all in all on the weekend was a success. Ive been feeling really...off lately (not just from the concussion. but I still get headaches lol ) and this weekend really set me back on track.

.game on.

.x.x.

R

.................................................................................................................................

.I.MISS.

.SUMMER.

something about fall,

something about plants dying... or people being forced to be inside their homes more ... a chill in the air, something about...winter? ....something about this time...

this time of year

makes me so sad...

x.x.x.

.R.

.OUCH.

this is 5 hours AFTER the fact...and looking much better

(my eyebrow is pushed down from the swollen lump)

Let me tell you a story...

So today was my LAST DAY at classic...I was SO excited to get in....get out, and get on with my life.

so

I worked hard to make the time go faster. at about noon, right before I was going to take my lunch, I was banding some steel posts....

for those who might not know...

I wont explain this very well, but basically to hold things (like posts or boards) together, you need to put a metal banding around them. this equipment (steel. heavy equipment) is used for doing that

SO...as im banding these posts, im tightening...

tighter

tigher

and

SNAP

the metal banding broke and the piece of equpiment I was using to tighten it went flying into my head.

OUCH.

I instantly felt it swell, and I think my brain was a little winded, I wasnt knocked....OUT persay...

but MAN

It wasnt all coming together.

so I started to head inside, knowing I would probably have to tell someone about it, and as I was walking in BLOOD starting dripping into my EYE....gross. when i got into the office, my head had swollen up about an inch off my head and I was clearly out of it....

so long story short,

I got to the hospital,

diagnosed with a concussion...

I have an AMAZING headache.

and I get two days off work!

but wait,

tomorrow I start my new job... cant miss it....I cant wait!

but wont I look LOVELY.

.x.x.

R

HOW was everyones Halloween??

mine? well. it was pretty boring. at least I got to dress up! working at Mongolie grill we all dressed up to serve, it was a blast! guess what I was?

it was pretty fun, but MAN

MY FEET!

ARE SOOOOO sore!

I have blisters.... everywhere! I started out wearing flats, nice... looked so comfy... flats?

no. i basically rubbed OFF the back of my ankle. yeouch

so my next shift, I came back in with some different shoes,

backless (duh) with a bit of a heel... it felt good for a bit...then I started getting blisters on my toes...EVERY TOE HAD A BLISTER!

this is going to take a while to get used to... shoot.

but I love serving, way more than landscaping. that might change, but for now, its something different, and for those who know me... change is good

or Rachel gets angry...
just kidding!

.x.x.

R

.saw.6

guess what were doing tonight?

IM SO EXCITED.

when Tay and I first met we rented all five saw movies....and watched them all in about 12 hours. see, the first four were rented for seven nights.... but saw five was a new release (at the time) and we only had it for 2 nights!

I love scary movies!

I hear THIS one....is SUPER scary, like....gross scary, but im still excited!

i'll let you know how it is!

.x.x.

R

space cadet and .photo.shoots.

lately, im feeling like a BIT of a

... space cadet?

SO... sorry. i've been...

.busy.

to say the least.

lets see, to list a few things that have happened since I last blogged....

the diet fell off the tracks

BUT

ive been working my landscaping job pretty steady so ive maintained. not... gained. but still.

boo.

i got a job at the MONGOLI GRILL serving, well, I just started today, it will be

.interesting.

Im waiting to hear back from The GOODLIFE FITNESS club thats opening right away here, but now im worried. I think I need a better job.

Goodlife's pay is SURPRISINGLY low... not enough for a sugar mamma trying to get her husband through school... but its like my DREAM to work at a gym. (ya Becka, im jealous)

again. .boo.

Tay is still working hard on school, he's a smart guy, seriously.

and well

.Thats.my.life.

but on the side I am still doing what I seriously LOVE to do

TAKING PICTURES!

here is a shoot I did with a family from Edmonton - it was a MISERABLE day to take pictures. seriously. but they were a hilarious family, and I like how they turned out!

here are a few.

and then, one I was really EXCITED to do ever since I heard that this awesome girl from my classic job was MAYBE getting engaged! ha ha engagement photos! my FAVORITE thing to do!

here are a few!

my next major photography feat?

to buy this lens

its called the

Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8 L USM Lens

and, like that huge name makes any sense.

all you need to know

.its.awesome.

and its 1500 dollars.

christmas? birthdays? valentines days?...for the next 5 years?? PLEASE? ha ha

jk

i'll get there, im putting the money I get from shoots away. ha ha

this will be a long road.

.x.x.

R

.savior.

The night is deafening when the silence is listening
And I´m down on my knees and I know that something is missing.
Because the back of my mind is holding things I´m relying in
But I choose to ignore it because I´m always denying them.

I´m a bit of a manic when it´s not as I plan itCause I start losing my head and then I get up in a panic
Remember when we were kids and always knew when to quit it
Are we denying a crisis or are we scared of admitting it?

I don´t want to know

.I need a savior.

so lately has been .ROUGH.

work is fine, life is....fine. I love my husband, I love my marriage and bieng married to my bestest best friend...

but im struggling with some BAD LUCK lately.

and its totally

.throwing.my.CHI.

so on Saturday afternoon I started having some pains on my right side, I sucked it up and went to work at Mongolie Grill anyways, but it started getting worse, and worse...and AAARGH! I was in the most intense pain of my LIFE.

that night I went to the hospital, and was there all night, this sounds gross, but I started peeing BLOOD um, YUCK? - my sweet Tay was there practically the whole time, he even pulled some chairs together and slept beside me as I cried and squeeled in pain for probably 6 hours on a hospital emergency bed. - after a long time the doctor came in and told me I had a very severe kidney infection. and I later found out I had eaten the ecoli bacteria! GROSS!

gross

gross

GROSS!

but after I got my first round on IV from the emergency, they sent me home...but not without some baggage... - I had an IV STUCK in my arm fort he next 4 days - they would just unplug the IV and wrap the needle up in a bandage at my elbow and send me off

feeling like

POOP

no im just on some steady anti-biotics...and feeling much better,

I even got to go back to

WORK!

im having a lot of fun working for GoodLife! its a good atmosphere.

but im still feeling sick lately

im starting to gain weight...

(NOT PREGNANT) lol

but im just generally unhealthy...

HURRY AND OPEN brand new fitness club!

gah

.x.x.

.R.

I almost forgot. Beckas always right.

FALL IS HERE!

BUT....its 34 degrees outside?

um

...just go with it. ;)

quick breakdown of my points for today.

.Becka.was.right. (of course) when she said:

Becks said...

Hey, this is the Weight Watchers police phoning.Eat all your points. Or you'll blow i

tomorrow or the next day and start shoving cookies, jellybeans and ice cream in your mouth as fast as you can at some point.
Ahem*

NOT A TRUE STORY. (They were all the kids lunch snacks I was shoving.....fruit snacks, Dunkaroos, the like.)Trust me on this one.

PS. I calculated your points allowance on the new program and you're to eat 22 a day to keep your metabolism running. Eat a mars bar for Pete's sake

I didn't listen....

I started off SO GOOD

I made a salad for lunch with a homeade balsamic vinegar and oil dressing that only worked out to

-2 points!

and I gave myself a point for this one - domestication and I are TIED!

yesssssssssss

anyways.

I added an egg for protien

-2 points

and I packed a diet drink - 0

a hot drink for breakfast was

- 1 point

I packed some cantelope to eat while I was working - 2 points

so I was at - 7 points for the day

I got off work at about 4 to go to our cousins cabin to go on their boat. I didnt wakeboard (duh)

but it was a BEAUTIFUL night to go out and do ANYTHING.

so

I just took pictures!

BUT

THE KILLER

I couldnt get home to make anything to eat before we came

and they brought pizza.

and NOT just any pizza.

stuffed crust - fat out your EARS pizza.

and I ate 2 pieces.

sigh.

10 points.

each.

the good thing is I only went over my WW points target by 5 points - thats what flex points are for...right?

I will do better tomorrow.

actually.

it is tomorrow!

ah!

I have to pack my lunch!

xx

R

day one dieter

so, today was -

//.MY FIRST DAY ON THE OLD DIET GAME.\\

.crap.

so I woke up extra early this morning to make my lunch.

and growing up in the family I did, I counted points.

and since I told you all I was doing this.

here is my breakdown of Weight Watchers

\\/.points.\//

I made a whole wheat wrap with tons of veggies, red pepper, pickes, lettuce ect.

wrap - 3 points

veggies - 0

to give it some FLAVOR - (come on now)

I added some cheese

cheese - 2

I packed some fruit to keep my "im so bored" eating habbits in check.

I had a diet crush with my lunch - diet coke gets a little tiresome...( sorry Lisa!)

its really good!

all you diet drink junkies---try it!

2 pomegranites and one apple - 3 - that all made up my oh-so-healthy

.LUNCH!.

work went well today...

my wonderful student hubby made me a healthy dinner!

4 ounces chicken- 5 points

green beans - 0!

mexiacan soda - 4 points (we went for dinner with sar and fra to a mexican place last night and brought a couple home! (good thing the diet starts today!...or was it supposed to be yesterday....

dont judge me)

so all that jazz I ate today adds up to a satifactory

17 POINTS!

.fair enough.

untill tomorrow!

xx

R

R: 4 // D: 3 - .photos.fatty.and .one.year.since-es.

so .first.things.first.

the battle between .DOMESTICATION. + .RACHEL CAMPBELL. - (to find out about it, check out my old post...)

the score stands at

.domestication: 3

Rachel:2

I haven't won the battle yet...but like....im not THAT far off...right?

anyways.... I tried to make pancakes again today. chocolate chip...

I.GOT.A.THUMBS.UP. from Dr. C!

.success!.

.anyways.

this is a post of plenty of .PICTURES.

I got my loving hubby to come out and let me take a few .vanity.pictures. of him!

golly I got a handsome man on my hands!!

.get this.

we found this really sweet wall downtown and I got .so.excited!. we pulled over and Taylor said

Rach...were not stopping here...

//why???\\

well...look out your window honey...

- outside was this homeless guy....standing on a bench with a steak knife. trying to...I dont know...OPEN his backpack or something...by sawing away at it?

by gosh, no matter how hard I tried I couldnt convince Tay to get out of that car!

oh well. I got a few nice ones anyways.

speaking of nice ones,

I had to agree with this one that my sister becka looks like a LULU model in this photo! my "skinny sister" is my motivation - shout out to her...im going to need her!

.BECAUSE.

while looking over old pictures today I found this one from my marathon days

I weighed approximately 10 pounds less than I do right now...kill me, Marriage has been so kind in so many ways...

not that one.

ha ha ha - so since im not totally feeling like running another marathon right NOW... (im working a lot and cant run... 10 hour days 6 days a week gets me a little tired) I know I know, im a big whiner. but I decided to try and REALLY loose that 10 pounds....

diet.time

I will keep track on here of how im doing too - and my little "plan" okay?

.so.I.JUST.WEIGHED.MYSELF.

sunday sept 20 //8:30pm\\ - 140lbs

of course I will probably weigh and report what I weigh in the morning...so that might change lol

so as I was going through my old photos i thought back to this time last year...

.wow. - I did alot last year - her is a letter I wrote on my old blog - reminding me of what I went through. how much I accomplished, how much I lost, how much I cried.

\\ I went here //
and I went .HERE.

by the end of last year, I was running from everyone and everything in my life. when I went to Ireland I came back and barely showed my face before I left for South America. when i came home from there at the beginning of this year I was reluctant to show my face.

but I was confident in change when I came back

- and .woah.

.this year has been one of the best in my life.

i will cover the rest in another blog, maybe its time to write another letter to this year.

.x.x.

.R.

goodbye Avril .HELLO. - Angie!

.most.important.things.first.

those who know me....know .THIS. - is my favorite celeb....well .USED.TO.BE.

Avril Lavigne is getting DIVORCED! <--- CHECK OUT THIS LINK to read more. i was sad....this girl was like my role model while I was going through my little...well...avril-time. in high school.... LOL I dressed like her, wrote songs like her....angsted (?) like....her...

.anyways.

I have a NEW celeb role model

.equally controversial. - differently - ha ha ha

.gorgeous.generous.edgy.and .AWESOME!. - Who will she adopt next? lol

anyways...

i got off work at 2 today, it felt .SO.NICE.

and I had plans,

something I have wanted to do since moving to this awful city...

go to the WEM - WATERPARK!

and we did!

it took a little "convincing" to get my tired husband to spend the ridiculous amount of money that it takes t get in ( THE LOCKERS....WERE 7 DOLLARS)

...but like...

these waterslides

are AWESOME!!!

we went down all of them twice. ha ha the blue bullet is by far my favorite, it is fast and totally IN THE DARK.

it was a good day tho

tinted with sadness about Avril and her hunny....lol!

.x.x.

R

\\.poutine.and.bosleys.bull.s*&%!.\\

so last night I came home from work totally WASTED. its been hot lately, between 28 and 30 degrees.....HELLO???. isn't it SEPTEMBER???

.AHEM.

anyways....

Tay and I had a mini date night, we DROVE....get this....less than one minute to the DQ thats by our house...and got poutine... dont ask me why... (im NOT pregnant...nice try Becka.) lol

we were too lazy to make dinner so we ate poutine and chips and salsa...
now, im tempted to give domestication a point for this...or at least minus one for me...Taylor cleaned the whole house and did laundry before I came home....

...I'll keep working on it.

anyways....POUTINE:

for anyone who doesnt know what this disguisting french dish is....

I stole this off the internet.... im so un original.

The dish originated in rural Quebec, Canada, in the late 1950s. Several Québécois communities claim to be the birthplace of poutine, including Drummondville (by Jean-Paul Roy in 1964),^[7] Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and Victoriaville.^{[citation needed]} One often-cited tale is that of Fernand Lachance, from Warwick, Quebec, which claims that poutine was invented in 1957,^[8] when a customer ordered fries while waiting for his cheese curds from the Kingsey cheese factory in Kingsey Falls (now in Warwick and owned by Saputo Incorporated). Lachance is said to have exclaimed ça va faire une maudite poutine ("it will make a damn mess"), hence the name. The sauce was allegedly added later, to keep the fries warm longer.

The French fries are of medium thickness, and fried so that the insides are still soft, with an outer crust. The gravy is a light chicken, veal or turkey gravy, mildly spiced with a hint of pepper. Heavy beef or pork-based brown gravies are typically not used. Fresh cheese curd (not more than a day old) is used.

it sounds gross....

it looks gross...

but YUM....poutine!

we got Boss man a treat too... but I wont go into how this one is made....or even how they thought of it...

its some sort of raw hide....

but the guy at the store told me that it was just

bull penis.

.yum.

.R.