February 6, 2005
Hi,
I got a raise at the bank January 1 after my performance review in December. I'm comfortable at the bank. I work with a great group of people. It is not, however, my dream job. I've still got Angel Kiss Designs, and I will be working harder with that than I have in the past. I will be attending craft sales as much as I can this year to make some extra coin. If you'd like to see what I'm up to with the jewelry, you can visit the website at angelkissdesigns.com. I am doing home parties now as well, so if you want to host one, email me for info.
Aaron and I are doing well. We've been living together for about 6 months and we love it. :-) All for now!

November 16, 2004
Hi, Yeah, I was sick of my retro flowers, so I decided to revamp the look of the site. It's very simple, I know, but I like it. I'm still at the bank. I finished my 90-day probationary period at the end of October. I just received my benefits information package, so I have to sit down and look at my options. I'll probably have my performance evaluation in December. I had been thinking of registering for a couple of classes for January, but I think that it would be better to work as much as I can at the bank, and with Angel Kiss Designs, as I have more debt than I am comfortable with. As you all probably know, the Angel Kiss Designs web site is up and running at angelkissdesigns.com. I am also doing home parties now as well, so if you want to host one, email me for info. All for now!

October 6, 2004 Hello!
Angel Kiss Designs is now online! Please go take a look at www.angelkissdesigns.com Your feedback is welcome. Please tell me if there are things that could use improvement or if there are broken links, which there shouldn't be, but you never know. I'll be updating that web site when I have new products or information available. That's my main announcement. Nothing else has really happened in the last couple days. Adios!

August 10, 2004
Hello!
I'm now on my own at work. I got my swipe card yesterday and my name tag today. I've made a few mistakes but i think they expect that for my first few shifts. I'm enjoying the work. Everyone at the bank is really understanding and very helpful. It's nice to be able to genuinely like and enjoy being at work. I would still like to be able to do my own thing, be my own boss, but I will see where this takes me. My time to shine is coming. My boyfriend of over 2 years, Aaron, and I just moved into a place together. We're renting a 1/2 duplex for now. We'll be looking to buy next year. Things are going great. Not much else is new with me right now. See ya!

July 18, 2004
Hello!
Well, we managed to view one of the houses and it turned out to be a dive. It didn't look that great from the outside, but you can never quite tell how well taken care of they are inside from the looks of the outside. We are viewing a house tonight at 7pm. It is in the northeast end of the city. It isn't close to anything convenient, but there are bus stops near by. It looks like a cute little house and it has a garage, however, it doesn't have a basement, just a crawl space.

I am very happy to report that I accepted a position at the TD Canada Trust Bank in the Victoria Square Mall on Friday. I handed in my notice to my district manager at Quarks today. My last day with them will be Saturday, July 24. The bank wants me to go in sometime this week to do all the paperwork and I start training on Monday, July 26. She phoned to offer me the job just an hour and a half after the interview had finished. At $10.85/hr, I just couldn't turn it down. I do two weeks of training and then I'm put onto the schedule. She said it starts full-time and then your schedule depends on performance. If you do well, you are rewarded with more hours, rather than the standard senority scheduling where the senior staff gets the most hours and then the rest of the hours trickle down through the heirarchy with the newest staff members receiving very little.

I am taking everything in stride. I feel that this opportunity came my way for a reason and that it will lead to great things in the future. All for now!

July 12, 2004
Hello! Tomorrow, Aaron and I will hopefully be able to see two houses that we are interested in renting. I have given notice to move out of my apartment by noon on July 31, so we really need to find a house!

I am still waiting to hear back about the manager position at work. I applied for it, and our current manager's last day is July 17, this Saturday. I am not getting my hopes up, but I could use the pay increase, and it looks good on a resume. Our 3-month performance reviews still haven't been done and we are approaching the 4 1/2 month mark. I'm a little bitter about that since not only am I waiting for a wage increase but also my promotion to Assistant Manager. As you can tell, I'm not exactly enthusiastic about my current job, so I am applying for other jobs. I am mainly looking at office jobs such as receptionist, secretary, and accounting clerk. I don't have any experience in an office, but I have a lot of knowledge. I just need someone to give me a chance.

My ultimate goal is to have my own store. My jewelry and artwork would be a part of it as well as other artwork, giftware, home decor, and other miscellaneous items that I decide to sell. I would love to have it open next spring, or sooner if I can manage it. We'll see what happens. All for now!

July 7, 2004
Bonjour!
Well, I didn't end up getting the job with Transit. I'm not too broken up about though. Still waiting for my promotion at Quarks to Assistant Manager. It won't happen until my performance review is done and we're waiting on the District Manager to give us the forms, and she's on her honeymoon right now. I'm just a little ticked about that since the reviews were supposed to be done at the beginning of June and it is now the end of the first week of July! I put my resume in for the Manager position at my store. Hopefully I'll get it, but if not I'll be Assistant. Looks good on a resume and banks like seeing those kinds of job titles when you're asking for money to start your own business. And anything beats the wage I get now. It's above minimum, but barely.

Aaron and I have decided to move in together. We are on the hunt for a house to rent. He originally wanted to buy a house, but that is put on hold for now.

I'll be putting new photos up in the next few days. I have a couple from when Haley and I were at the Canadian Idol auditions. I'll also be putting some picks up of my jewelry creations thus far. So check back soon!
That's all for now!

June 7, 2004
Hi!
My first appearance at the Cathedral Arts Festival Street Fair went okay considering we were rained on all day until about 4pm and the Festival was to be over at 5pm. I had a pretty good response to my products. Lots of people commented on how lovely my pieces were so that made me feel good even if they didn't end up purchasing. I was able to pay for the booth, meals for myself and my Aunt Kittie who helped me out all day, and I came out with a bit to take home, which will go towards paying off the credit card that allowed me to buy all of my supplies. I will be hopefully setting up a web page soon so I can advertise and show off my jewelry. Also, so people can email me with orders. I will post the address up here when that's a go so you can all check it out.

I'm working full-time at Quarks in the Southland Mall still. I had interviews with both Suzy Shier and Transit for Third Keyholder positions this past week. I won't be taking the Suzy job if they offer it to me. Transit I may take, but if I stay at Quarks I will most likely get moved up to Assistant Manager right away and our manager is leaving us this summer as her fiance is getting transferred out of province, so I may be eligible for her position in a month or two. Tough decision. Transit offers a better wage, better commission and they are a busier store as they have trendier shoes and are geared towards teens and young adults. Quarks is geared more towards 20-somethings and up. They have mainly comfort shoes. I really enjoy working with adults. They are respectful almost all of the time, they enjoy chatting, and are generally pleasant to work with. This generation of teens isn't quite like that. So it becomes a battle of money versus enjoyment. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
All for now!

March 8, 2004
Hi!
School's going okay. I decided to make a second attempt at Economics 202. I had to drop that wretched class. I wrote the midterm and the results were dreadful. I do not get a refund at this point for tuition or fees. I get a grade of withdrawal on my transcript which is better than an F, which is most likely what I would have received. My other two classes are going well at this point. I got a grade of 70% on my Humanities 201 midterm essay assignment, and 85% on my first of two Administration 288 midterm exams. I register for Fall 2004 classes on March 22. I would like to take 1 or 2 classes. For those of you who do not know, I am working towards my Diploma of Associate in Administration. I have been working at Twisted Goods and Winners, both being part-time jobs with hours adding up to nothing. I was lucky to get 20-25 hours a week in total from both jobs. I started looking for full-time work in December, and most of the jobs I applied for were office positions related to my field of study; however, out of the dozens of offices I applied, only two would give me interviews and neither of those called me back. I needed full-time work, so I started to apply to more retail positions than office ones. I dropped off my resume at Quarks in the Cornwall Centre last Saturday. I was called Monday morning for an interview which was scheduled for 5:30. I did the interview, and went to my 7pm class. When I got home, I had a message waiting for me that the manager from Quarks had called and that they want to give me a full-time job. I was to show up at 9am Tuesday morning for training. So, I am now one of three full-time staff members, one of which is the manager, at Quarks in the Southland. Just in case any of you are wondering, Quarks is a quality shoe store. All of their shoes are geared for comfort and they look great. Skechers, Clarks, Romika, Rockport, Joseph Seibel, Birkenstok, New Balance, Ecco, and Merrell are brand names that they carry.

Aaron's still working full-time at the computer shop. He's trying to save money for a down payment on a small house. We've been together for almost 2 years. Hard to believe it's been that long, but as the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun.

I will be applying for the Cathedral Arts Festival Street Fair. I want to feature my jewelry, and I also have started doing chinese character paintings. Other than that nothing new with Angel Kiss Designs.

All for now. Take care!

I was so incredibly busy this holiday season that I didn't get my cards sent out on time. Those of you on my list will be receiving them within the next few days as I will be mailing them tomorrow. I got all the gifts that I wanted: new winter coat from my family; awesome cordless phone from Aaron (he went over our agreed price range, but I'm not complaining); fleece jacket, ear muffs, and scarf from John (Aaron's older sister's hubby, he got my name for the family draw); candles and candle holders from friends; for the gift exchange game with Aaron's family I got an at home spa kit for my feet and hands; gift exchange game with Twisted Goods I got a bottle of Arbor Mist; and secret santa at Winners I got a small bath gift basket and chocolates.

I'm still working on getting my business going. Angel Kiss Designs actually has a very small inventory right now, which I am pleased about. I'm hoping to have my jewelry in a couple of craft sales this year, as well, I want to get a web site set up. I am trying to get this business off the ground with my own money, so I am working 2 part-time jobs right now and trying to take classes. I have been looking for full-time work, but the jobs I want require work experience or full eduction and I don't have either of those right now. I'm struggling, but I have a feeling everything will work out in the end.

I think I've babbled long enough. Take care!

October 20, 2003
Hello!
I had an incredibly busy summer and the fall is proving to be equally challenging. I'm taking 3 classes this semester: Economics 202 (Macroeconomics), Administration 285 (Financial Accounting), and Computer Science 270 (Systems Analysis and Design). I am working part-time still at both my jobs: Winners and Twisted Goods. I am also doing my jewelry on the side. I now have my business name registered and have obtained a business licence. I am operating under Angel Kiss Designs. I had a meeting with my boss at Twisted Goods about my jewelry today. She says she is excited to have the jewelry in the store. She's back in town mid-November and that's when she wants to have it in the store, so I'm going to get some more pieces made.

Amy and Devin got married on August 23. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Amy is supposed to be getting duplicates of the photos from the ceremony and reception/dance for me, as well as the photos we got done in the park. When I get them from her, I'll post some of them on the site.

I'm going to be dying my hair red again. That nice, bright orange from summer 2002. Yay! That's all for now. Enjoy life!!

July 25, 2003
Hi!
My summer semester is half over. Yay! I wrote both of my mid-term exams this morning, and I think I did okay on both of them. I studied long enough, I better have done okay!
Amy's wedding is fast approaching. I'm very excited about it!
I've got quite the collection of gemstones happening right now. I had to change suppliers for my settings due to lack of quality on the first type I was going to use, so I'm waiting for the new settings to arrive. I got my certificate of registration for my business name, Angel Kiss Designs. My friend Troy helped me come up with the name. Amy has offered to come up with some designs for logos and present them to me. I thought that was nice of her.
Aaron's dad is doing well. He had triple bypass surgery a week after the heart attack. He got to go home on July 1st. He's been making a good recovery.

June 23, 2003
Hello!
This past Friday, Aaron's dad had a heart attack. Aaron's dad called up Aaron's mom (they are divorced, but remain friends) and he complained that he had chest pain. She told him to hang up and she was calling an ambulance and coming over. If she hadn't called an ambulance, he would be dead right now. He had the heart attack shortly after the paramedics and Aaron's mom got there. He went into full cardiac arrest and they had to use the defibrilator on him twice to get him back. He was stabilized and awake Saturday morning when we visited him, but we were told that he is to have open heart surgery this week, though a date and time has not been set. They have run into a couple complications. His arteries to his heart are bent and causing problems. This was caused by 35+ years of smoking. He quit a year and a half ago, but the damage has already been done. I hope he pulls through surgery okay.

On this same note, I want to send my wishes to my cousin Albert who suffered a heart attack about a week ago. I hear he is doing better now, which is good to hear. Hope you get well soon, Al! I started making gemstone jewelry this month. I buy the gemstones already cut, and I buy the settings already cast and seat cut, ready for the gemstones. I would like to eventually learn how to do it all myself, but for now this will do. I don't have any pictures of the jewelry, just one of an earring. All settings are sterling silver, as are the chains I buy for the pendants. I can get almost any gemstone in almost any size and shape. My manager at the small shop I work at said I should show the owner of the store my jewelry and see if she wants to carry it in the store. She has the location here in Regina and she also has a store in Saskatoon. She'll be in town this Thursday, June 26, so I'm going to show her my stuff and hope she's interested enough to at least give it a shot. I do have to be prepared for a "no" as well, so I don't want to get my hopes up too much. Email me if you are interested in finding out more about my jewelry. I will try to get more pictures of it up on my site.

I start my 2 summer classes, Economics 100 and Statistics 151, next week. I still have to get my textbooks! I'm still hanging on to both jobs. Now I'm considering working a couple shifts per week at each job this fall. I like both and can't choose between them! We'll see how 5 classes and 2 part-time jobs works. I may be forced to quit one job, even though I don't want to. All for now. Take care!!

March 18, 2003
HI!! I finally had some time to spice up my site and move it to a new address. I hope you enjoy the changes. It's still a simple site. I designed all the graphics myself. Yes, I know they are not complex but I like them. :-) Soooooooo much has happened in my life in the last few months. I've got to get you all up to date.
My sister, Amy, got engaged Christmas Eve. Her and her fiance, Devin, are planning the wedding for August 23rd here in Regina. I'm her Maid of Honour, her best friend, Maureen, and our other sister, Angela, are her Bridesmaids. I'm very excited about the whole thing!
Aaron and I are doing well. He finished school last August and is a communications technician. He's currently working part-time as a computer technician. He would like to get his A+ certification and then find a full time position. I'm working 2 part-time jobs now. I'm still at Winners and I'm also working at Twisted Goods (it's a giftware store, you know, home decor and stuff). I'm taking 3 classes this summer so I can hopefully be accepted for the Bachelor of Administration at the University of Regina this fall. I'm aiming for a Spring 2005 convocation. I haven't completely decided on a specialization, but for now I'm going for Accounting. For those of you who are wondering about the photo to the left, yes, I did get my hair cut and dyed. My webcam doesn't take the greatest photos though. My hair looks so much brighter and better in person.
That's all for now. I hope everyone is doing great! Feel free to email me and let me know what you're up to, and you can also sign my guestbook if you like. ENJOY LIFE!