Jane Eyre

Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC) is a huge theatre company here in Winnipeg, founded in 1958. Every year, they put on tons of really great plays, so you could imagine my excitement when I heard they were putting on Jane Eyre!

Source

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Jane Eyre was published in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte. It's about Jane, an orphan who had a rough childhood, but kept her positivity despite it all, then goes Thornfield Hall to become a governess and falls in love with Mr. Rochester. Soon, she discovers a dark secret that will make their marriage impossible.

It's a beautiful love story, written in the same era as Pride and Prejudice, which I am totally fascinated with!

Source

The play was incredible! They used what is called "Chamber Theatre" which is when the narrative is included in the dialogue. For example; "He entered. Jane!" type of thing. I've never seen that done before, so it was really interesting. It worked really well to explain Jane's childhood. It looked like she was re-telling the story and it was perfect!

Source

As you can see on the pictures, the costumes were really, really well made and the set, which was super simple seemed like the best choice for this type of play. It gave us a lot of room for imagination. They did use a lot of humour when it came to the set. For example, there's a scene or two with horses, and it's people playing them (Mr. Rochester's character sits on two of the men's shoulders).

It was so good that I went home and watched the 2011 movie! I wish I could go back and see it again, that's for sure!

YA Workshop

Source

Emilie shuddered from the cold as she made her way to school. Going to school on a Saturday was strange, like a bad dream. She didn't care that it was Saturday. She had been looking forward to this day for three months, ever since she'd heard of the workshop being offered. It was a writing workshop in the Young Adult genre - her favourite books were all YA, and it was also in this same genre that she wrote her first book, and the one she was working on.
She walked into the class, early, as she always was and watched the other students taking their places, wondering who they were, what they had written, and how much better their writing was compared to hers.
Then, the class finally started. The teacher, Anita Daher, was a successful writer, whose books had been published internationally. She started by talking about the genre, its definition and history, then they moved on to plot: the difference between a plot-driven story and a character-driven story. They asked a lot of questions, and got very good answers in return.
They talked about characters, settings and clichés, and the day went by incredibly fast! Emilie felt utterly inspired by being surrounded with people who loved writing, and speaking to someone who succeeded and could give her great advice, and help her succeed as well.
She went home smiling and full of energy. She couldn't wait to write endlessly and edit and finish her stories!

In two weeks, the workshop continues, and Emilie couldn't be more excited: they will be discussing how to edit and send out manuscripts to publishers!

A Lip Tickle

I'm soooo happy to be back in the gym! I feel great!

Source

So today I was talking to my parents about the workout I did - 20 minutes on the elliptical, and 20 on the stationary bike.

My dad goes: "That doesn't seem like much of a work out! A lip tickle? Pfffft."

...
...
...
Ha.
...

Does your dad make jokes like this?

Admitting Defeat.

I admit.
I've been defeated.

I'm an incredibly ambitious person. I always try to take on way too much.
After an intense panic attack, where I was very nauseous, dizzy and could barely breathe, I thought that maybe I was in over my head. I talked to my friend Andrew about this, and he came to the same conclusion.

Let me explain.
I've been trying to have a full course-load (which means 5 2-3rd year classes), which means a lot of homework (and being at school for 12 hours straight on Wednesdays),
I've been trying to work part-time and save up for Thailand,
I've been trying to edit my book, write my new one AND critique two more,
I've been trying to read books for fun,
I've been trying to keep a healthy relationship with Alex,
I've been trying to get enough sleep (which never happens),
I've been trying to train for a half marathon,
And I've been trying to keep up with my blog.

I don't know about you, but that's a LOT of stuff to try and manage in a mere seven days a week, while still getting enough sleep to stay alive.
So, today I spoke to my prof, and told her I would be dropping one of her classes, I returned my textbook and made my way home with a heavy heart. I also made the decision to slow down on my blog, put my writing on the back burner, and try to concentrate on school.

I hate admitting that I couldn't do it. I couldn't accomplish all the things I wanted to and it kills me that I had to drop a class, especially one that I really liked. I hate that I have to keep my creativity down in order to succeed in school, especially that I'm so inspired by this new book. I hate that I have to slow down on my blog, because I love blogging so much!

But, I need to stay sane (and alive) and in order to be able to accomplish anything, I need to be healthy and not-so-stressed out. I know it was the right decision, and in the end, I'll accomplish more by doing less.

Maybe that should've been a resolution: try and slow down with the ambitions....

On the River

Every year, Winnipeg has a skating rink and trail on the Red River and the Assiniboine River. This year, it's 1.2 km long and it opened on Friday!

 

 

 

We are finally having mild weather (after a week of -35 degrees), and so Alex and I went skating yesterday. Even with grey skies, it was beautiful. There's something really interesting about skating and walking on the frozen river and under bridges.
It's only a 15-minute walk from my house, which makes it very practical for me and I can't wait to go again!

What's one of your favourite winter activities?

Red & White

Another shirt I picked up in Germany (thought I can't quite remember where I got it, and there's no tag...) was this striped one, that I absolutely love. It's great when you have a little bit of a belly like I do (Thanks, Christmas) and want to hide it, combined with a bigger chest. The baggy-ness of the shirt helps me hide all my flaws, but still makes me look good!
Also, with this insanely cold weather, the extra layer of the sewed-in tank top is awesome!

Looks like I'm Running a Half-Marathon!

One of my goals for 2014 is to run a half-marathon. I want to get back in shape and it seems like a great goal to have! It seems a little extreme, but here's why I chose a half-marathon. Next year, my mom wants to go run the Berlin marathon (the Half, anyway), and I want to go with her! Any excuse to go back to Germany! So, I thought I should at least run it once before, and here I am now. My mother and I are registered to run together already, and I can't wait!

On May 4th, I will be running the Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon and I'll be using Hal Higdon's Training Program to do it! I chose Novice 1, since it's designed for someone who has never run a half before, so it's a perfect fit! My mom used his training program when she ran her first full marathon, so it's definitely a tried and true program.

So with this 12 week program, I'll be starting on February 10th, which gives me a whole month at the gym to try and get as much endurance in my unhealthy body as possible. Already with the Squat challenge and the Lunge challenge, I'm gained a lot of strength back into my legs, so that's definitely going to help!

Here's the little details of the program: the stretch & strengthen just means that I don't run on that day, but instead to strength training and lots of stretching! Cross is all about doing a different activity that still needs cardio and strength, like swimming or cycling.

I'm soooo excited to start with this training and finally be able to say "I ran a half marathon."

Resolutions? No. Goals? Yes.

Source

We always make New Year's Resolutions that we never keep. The reason for that? They're either too big, too unrealistic or we stress ourselves out. For me, saying "Starting today I will..." never works. I'm more of a goals-type of person; if I say "By next year, I will..." I always get better results. That way, I feel like I have more time to gradually accomplish something rather than go all out the first day, then get tired of it.

Source

So, instead of resolutions, this year, I will give myself goals to achieve by the end of the year.

By December 31, 2014,
I will have finished my final draft of my book and will have it sent out to agents.
I will have gone to Thailand.
I will have lost 20 pounds.
I will have had mostly A's in school.
I will have run a half marathon.
I will have written another book (first draft at least)
I will have read every book on my bookshelf that I haven't read yet. (There's 20 in total!)

So there you have it! My goals for the year 2014.

What are your goals for 2014?

Hello 2014!

The new year always brings this sort of hope that things will be better, that something exciting will happen that will top the previous year. Maybe a new love, a new puppy, a new job, or something totally unexpected! There are things that are expected, things that are planned, but it's the things in between that make the year so interesting!
There are so many things happening this year, that I already know it's going to be a good year. In 2014, I'll turn 20 years old, I'll (hopefully) travel to Thailand, I'll start my last year of university, and get back in shape.

I've said my goodbyes to 2013, I've made peace with many things and now I'm ready for a fresh start. 2014, here I come!