Hi there everyone! It's been a while again...much too long. Some have been on me to blog, so here we go:
What's been going on since I last updated. Well, it's fall, so I've been doing fall things. The weather here is wacky and doesn't always seem like fall, but it's pretty nice overall. Last week we had temperatures above 10 degrees most days which was nice. Anyways, I will start in September:
1) Took in a professional football game. It was great! So much spirit and way way too many people! The teams ended up tying after 2 overtime rounds (is that the right term...don't think so, but I'm sure you get the drift!!). It was a very good time!
2) Didn't get home for Thanksgiving, which was sad because then I didn't get to see my family or the beautiful changing leave. But, I did celebrate with my "family" here, ate way too much food, played some football, watched a movie, and just had a great time hanging out with friends.
3) Been taking in some hockey. One of my friends is playing some Saturday night hockey and my roommates and I have been taking in the games that aren't too late. We have a good time making signs, making lots of noise, and just doing all we can to embarrass him!
4) Just having lots of fun hanging out with my roommates. In fact, a few weeks ago we built a giant fort in our living room and slept in it! It was amazing. Yep. We hung sheets from the ceiling, put a mattress on the floor, watched a movie.
In other news...we are getting incredibly close to Christmas and I can't wait! We have a countdown going at home, and one going at work, we're working on the children's Christmas play at church, it might snow soon (don't know for sure, but I'm really hoping), I'm busy making Christmas gifts, went to a Christmas craft fair yesterday, etc.
That's it for now. Please see below for pictures!
Sarah
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Exercise, Visitors, and Other Big Adventures
Hello All! Long time no post...interesting. Here's one:
Exercise: So, I've been participating in this pretty sweet exercise competition at work, as some of you may know. Everyone had to put in $20 at the start of the competition, and the last person standing gets all the money! Wow right! Except it's tough stuff. You have to get a certain number of points/week, and different types of exercises are worth a different number of points. You can't bank points and use them in a later week, and you don't get points for watching other people exercise...which is a huge bummer because a few weeks ago, my good friend Natashia and I went along with 2 girls from work to a triathlon (there is no second 'a' in that word, which I learned recently). Natashia and I did not compete, no way, we were the professional cheering section. We had posters and a noise maker, some good clapping hands and some good whoohooing throats. We were the only ones cheering, so we just cheered for everyone, but we cheered extra loud for the girls from work. The 2 ladies finished really well, and it was a beautiful sunny day, and on the way home we stopped at a restaurant for "breakfast" (it was 1 or 2:00 by that time). Anyways, all in all a very very good adventure.
Visitors: So it is summer (sorta...the weather doesn't always suggest summer, like last week when it rained and was 10 degrees and I almost turned the heat on in the house), and lots of people are traveling. We've had several travellers though here recently, one being a friend from grad school who came to see me for a few days. We had a great time around town, going to a delicious Dutch pancake house, the chuckwagon races, a delicious hamburger spot, watching "Juno" (a super funny movie - highly recommend it), etc.
My Mom and Nana also came through town last week and we had a great time eating (yes, lots and lots of eating), celebrating my birthday, buying cowboy boots (super sweet boots I must say), playing/watching baseball, and knitting. Lots of knitting. My Nana is the best knitter I know and last week she showed me how to fix my knitted socks that had big holes in them. She also showed my sister how to make a crocheted dishcloth. Very good stuff.
Other Types of Visitors: We are living in a wildlife sanctuary. Yes, our house is currently home to 1) me 2) my sister 3) my goldfish "fish" 4) a mouse that Nana and I saw run through the living room while we were knitting 5) a bird (or birds) that lives in the ceiling above the bathroom and finally 6) a colony of bumble bees who live in the wall by our back door. Don't get us wrong, we love nature and all that God has created, however, God also created places for these to live and did not intend for them (I don't think) to live with us in our home. They need to leave and we are working at it. However, my landlord informed me that bumble bees are in fact an endangered species, and he does not feel good about killing them. I realize they are endangered and really feel for them, but do not want them in the wall. They will come out, whether the landlord does it or I do it...I'll keep you updated. The mouse: I have set 3 traps but have not yet caught anything. The mouse also must leave. The birds: don't know what to do about those, but they don't really bug me. When they finally fly away, I think I will put mesh over the hole where I think it/they is/are coming in.
Other adventures: Went for another bike ride today. I just wanted to go to the farmer's marked near by, but got lost...no surprise. I ended up at work (1.5 hours later), and headed back, ending at the farmer's market eventually (turns out it's only a 10 min bike ride from the house...good times). But, good thing I got lost because I saw pelicans and a deer! Cool beans!
See pictures below
Exercise: So, I've been participating in this pretty sweet exercise competition at work, as some of you may know. Everyone had to put in $20 at the start of the competition, and the last person standing gets all the money! Wow right! Except it's tough stuff. You have to get a certain number of points/week, and different types of exercises are worth a different number of points. You can't bank points and use them in a later week, and you don't get points for watching other people exercise...which is a huge bummer because a few weeks ago, my good friend Natashia and I went along with 2 girls from work to a triathlon (there is no second 'a' in that word, which I learned recently). Natashia and I did not compete, no way, we were the professional cheering section. We had posters and a noise maker, some good clapping hands and some good whoohooing throats. We were the only ones cheering, so we just cheered for everyone, but we cheered extra loud for the girls from work. The 2 ladies finished really well, and it was a beautiful sunny day, and on the way home we stopped at a restaurant for "breakfast" (it was 1 or 2:00 by that time). Anyways, all in all a very very good adventure.
Visitors: So it is summer (sorta...the weather doesn't always suggest summer, like last week when it rained and was 10 degrees and I almost turned the heat on in the house), and lots of people are traveling. We've had several travellers though here recently, one being a friend from grad school who came to see me for a few days. We had a great time around town, going to a delicious Dutch pancake house, the chuckwagon races, a delicious hamburger spot, watching "Juno" (a super funny movie - highly recommend it), etc.
My Mom and Nana also came through town last week and we had a great time eating (yes, lots and lots of eating), celebrating my birthday, buying cowboy boots (super sweet boots I must say), playing/watching baseball, and knitting. Lots of knitting. My Nana is the best knitter I know and last week she showed me how to fix my knitted socks that had big holes in them. She also showed my sister how to make a crocheted dishcloth. Very good stuff.
Other Types of Visitors: We are living in a wildlife sanctuary. Yes, our house is currently home to 1) me 2) my sister 3) my goldfish "fish" 4) a mouse that Nana and I saw run through the living room while we were knitting 5) a bird (or birds) that lives in the ceiling above the bathroom and finally 6) a colony of bumble bees who live in the wall by our back door. Don't get us wrong, we love nature and all that God has created, however, God also created places for these to live and did not intend for them (I don't think) to live with us in our home. They need to leave and we are working at it. However, my landlord informed me that bumble bees are in fact an endangered species, and he does not feel good about killing them. I realize they are endangered and really feel for them, but do not want them in the wall. They will come out, whether the landlord does it or I do it...I'll keep you updated. The mouse: I have set 3 traps but have not yet caught anything. The mouse also must leave. The birds: don't know what to do about those, but they don't really bug me. When they finally fly away, I think I will put mesh over the hole where I think it/they is/are coming in.
Other adventures: Went for another bike ride today. I just wanted to go to the farmer's marked near by, but got lost...no surprise. I ended up at work (1.5 hours later), and headed back, ending at the farmer's market eventually (turns out it's only a 10 min bike ride from the house...good times). But, good thing I got lost because I saw pelicans and a deer! Cool beans!
See pictures below
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Graduations, Rice Krispies, Picnics, and MORE!
Hi All! So, due to a growing number of complaints, I thought it was about time to blog again...last night my good friend noted that it had been over a month...oops. So, what's been going on in my life since last month - not a whole lot of anything important really, but maybe enough to make a decent blog. Here we go.
So, my good friend (same one mentioned above) graduated a few weeks ago, and I got to go to the ceremony. It was super great! The speeches were short and sweet, but still meaningful, so that was a bonus. There was some good food too, which I didn't complain about. Also, there were four of us altogether there to see this friend, and we recruited some young folks in the row behind us, and gave up a huge cheer as Natashia crossed the stage! Good times had by all! After the ceremony I went home and slept for the rest of the afternoon because I was sick as a dog. I'm feeling much better now though, thankfully. I guess when you work with a bunch of kids who are frequently sick it is inevitable that you will eventually succumb to the illness as well...boo.
I've been going on lots of walks and bike rides, mostly because I'm part of an exercise challenge at work, but also because the weather has been awesome for the most part! My sister and I walked downtown a couple weekends ago, and saw some ducks (see picture below). Things are still going super well with Jenn being here, and she finally got 2 jobs this past week! She's super excited and relieved, I think she was beginning to worry she'd be unemployed all summer.
I've been helping out in the Sunday school program at church the past few months, and that's been a blast! Today was the last day, so we had a little party to celebrate the end of the school year and the coming of summer. It was a good time to hang out together, play some Bible pictionary, dodge ball, have a 3-legged race, and eat some food. That's where the rice krispie squares come in...So, last night Natashia and I went to a dance recital for one of the girls in the Sunday school (from the family I was living with when I first moved west). The recital was amazing! They had little 3 year olds in litte tutus, jumping around and waving frantically at parents, all the way up to moms! So fun! After the show, Natashia and I got busy preparing for the Sunday school party and for the church picnic. We stayed up good and late making rice krispie squares, jello jigglers, and puff wheat squares. Sticky stuff I tell ya. We also spent some time taping candies to shirts for a picnic game. All in all, I think both events were a success. I had fun at least!
Anyways, I'm going to post this little blurb, and some pictures, and then get ready for the baseball game tonight! We're 2 losses, 1 win for the season so far...gotta pick up the pace!
Hope all is well with each of you.
So, my good friend (same one mentioned above) graduated a few weeks ago, and I got to go to the ceremony. It was super great! The speeches were short and sweet, but still meaningful, so that was a bonus. There was some good food too, which I didn't complain about. Also, there were four of us altogether there to see this friend, and we recruited some young folks in the row behind us, and gave up a huge cheer as Natashia crossed the stage! Good times had by all! After the ceremony I went home and slept for the rest of the afternoon because I was sick as a dog. I'm feeling much better now though, thankfully. I guess when you work with a bunch of kids who are frequently sick it is inevitable that you will eventually succumb to the illness as well...boo.
I've been going on lots of walks and bike rides, mostly because I'm part of an exercise challenge at work, but also because the weather has been awesome for the most part! My sister and I walked downtown a couple weekends ago, and saw some ducks (see picture below). Things are still going super well with Jenn being here, and she finally got 2 jobs this past week! She's super excited and relieved, I think she was beginning to worry she'd be unemployed all summer.
I've been helping out in the Sunday school program at church the past few months, and that's been a blast! Today was the last day, so we had a little party to celebrate the end of the school year and the coming of summer. It was a good time to hang out together, play some Bible pictionary, dodge ball, have a 3-legged race, and eat some food. That's where the rice krispie squares come in...So, last night Natashia and I went to a dance recital for one of the girls in the Sunday school (from the family I was living with when I first moved west). The recital was amazing! They had little 3 year olds in litte tutus, jumping around and waving frantically at parents, all the way up to moms! So fun! After the show, Natashia and I got busy preparing for the Sunday school party and for the church picnic. We stayed up good and late making rice krispie squares, jello jigglers, and puff wheat squares. Sticky stuff I tell ya. We also spent some time taping candies to shirts for a picnic game. All in all, I think both events were a success. I had fun at least!
Anyways, I'm going to post this little blurb, and some pictures, and then get ready for the baseball game tonight! We're 2 losses, 1 win for the season so far...gotta pick up the pace!
Hope all is well with each of you.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Biking, bunkbeds, baseball, and other grand adventures
Hey all! Just wanted to post some pictures and fill you in on some fun things I've been up to since the warm weather hit.
The first few pictures are from a bike ride around Bragg Creek and Kananaskis country. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon ride in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. So, I got to see the mountains all afternoon, while only biking up moderately large hills, as opposed to biking in the actual mountains...the best of both worlds I'd say.
Another adventure...bunkbeds! Yep I have bunk beds!! My sister moved to the wild west for the summer (currently looking for work if you know of anything), and is living with my roommate and I for 4 months. So, since our house is quite small, the only way she would fit is bunkbeds in my room. So, I looked on kijiji and got a splendid deal on a sweet bed. Feels like summer camp!
Third adventure, baseball season has started! My church entered a team in a local rec league and we play every weekend. It's a blast! I'm playing rover this year, which is one step up from backcatcher (which I played last year). Things are going well so far. We had our first tournament this weekend and won both games, which means we're on a two game winning streak! Woot!! My sister was in charge of taking pictures today so that I could post some of our team, but she only took one of me stretching before the game even started, and then got caught up in doing some amazing cheering and forgot to take pictures...I'll let it slip this time I guess.
That's all the news for now...I'll keep ya posted! Enjoy the pictures!
The first few pictures are from a bike ride around Bragg Creek and Kananaskis country. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon ride in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. So, I got to see the mountains all afternoon, while only biking up moderately large hills, as opposed to biking in the actual mountains...the best of both worlds I'd say.
Another adventure...bunkbeds! Yep I have bunk beds!! My sister moved to the wild west for the summer (currently looking for work if you know of anything), and is living with my roommate and I for 4 months. So, since our house is quite small, the only way she would fit is bunkbeds in my room. So, I looked on kijiji and got a splendid deal on a sweet bed. Feels like summer camp!
Third adventure, baseball season has started! My church entered a team in a local rec league and we play every weekend. It's a blast! I'm playing rover this year, which is one step up from backcatcher (which I played last year). Things are going well so far. We had our first tournament this weekend and won both games, which means we're on a two game winning streak! Woot!! My sister was in charge of taking pictures today so that I could post some of our team, but she only took one of me stretching before the game even started, and then got caught up in doing some amazing cheering and forgot to take pictures...I'll let it slip this time I guess.
That's all the news for now...I'll keep ya posted! Enjoy the pictures!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Another lesson in never giving up
Hello all. Well, I learned something recently that reinforces my previous posting regarding never giving up.
Ok, you know WD-40...well, it's one of my favourite products. I use it regularly on my bicycle chain and also sometimes on squeaky hinges, you know, the usual.
Well, do you know what WD-40 stands for? Probably not. So I'll tell ya. It stands for "water displacement-40". The 40 represents the number of tries it took before the inventor got it right. Yep, he tried 39 times to make WD-40, and then on the 40th try he finally succeeded! A great lesson in never ever giving up!!
Ok, you know WD-40...well, it's one of my favourite products. I use it regularly on my bicycle chain and also sometimes on squeaky hinges, you know, the usual.
Well, do you know what WD-40 stands for? Probably not. So I'll tell ya. It stands for "water displacement-40". The 40 represents the number of tries it took before the inventor got it right. Yep, he tried 39 times to make WD-40, and then on the 40th try he finally succeeded! A great lesson in never ever giving up!!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Never Give Up...
Well, here's another post. Sorry it's taken so long (Natashia)...You can't just blog about anything, it has to be good, otherwise people won't want to read it anymore. So, here goes...a lesson in never giving up.
Two weekends ago, Sarah W, Natashia and I headed out on a random roadtrip. We headed for Three Hills, Alberta, a 1.5 hour drive from Calgary, plopped in the middle of nowhere (sorry to any who lives there and may be reading this). The purpose of our trip...to see the local college's performance of the musical "7 Brides for 7 Brothers", a classic movie in the minds of Natashia and I (and soon to become one for Sarah). On our way there, the three of us briefly discussed how odd it was that the school's website made no mention of being able to purchase tickets at the door (we had not purchased our tickets in advance). However, we'd made up our minds to go, and we were going. Case closed.
Upon arriving at the school we ran into another friend from Calgary who informed us that the play was in fact "sold out". BOO! Needless to say, we were crushed.
Determined to make the most of the trip, we headed to a fancy pants restaurant for some food, and during the meal decided that we were not going home without seeing the play we came for, gosh dangit.
So, loaded with millions of excuses and sob stories created over an overpriced dinner, we headed back to the college. Sarah W used her smooth talking and got us in (actually didn't have to use any of our lies, she just told the truth...let this be a lesson to all) for half price to sit at the very back. Well! We were quite pleased! But, imagine our pleasure when not 10 minutes later, the house manager lady comes over and tells us that 3 reserved seats were not going to be used, and she would move us there at the next set change! And move us she did, right into the 3rd row from the front! We were so close we got spat on by the lead singer! And all for just $5! What more could one possibly ask for!
So, the moral of the story is to never give up. Think of what we would have missed had we not simply asked for tickets, even though there were none left! A life lesson learned. End adventure.
Two weekends ago, Sarah W, Natashia and I headed out on a random roadtrip. We headed for Three Hills, Alberta, a 1.5 hour drive from Calgary, plopped in the middle of nowhere (sorry to any who lives there and may be reading this). The purpose of our trip...to see the local college's performance of the musical "7 Brides for 7 Brothers", a classic movie in the minds of Natashia and I (and soon to become one for Sarah). On our way there, the three of us briefly discussed how odd it was that the school's website made no mention of being able to purchase tickets at the door (we had not purchased our tickets in advance). However, we'd made up our minds to go, and we were going. Case closed.
Upon arriving at the school we ran into another friend from Calgary who informed us that the play was in fact "sold out". BOO! Needless to say, we were crushed.
Determined to make the most of the trip, we headed to a fancy pants restaurant for some food, and during the meal decided that we were not going home without seeing the play we came for, gosh dangit.
So, loaded with millions of excuses and sob stories created over an overpriced dinner, we headed back to the college. Sarah W used her smooth talking and got us in (actually didn't have to use any of our lies, she just told the truth...let this be a lesson to all) for half price to sit at the very back. Well! We were quite pleased! But, imagine our pleasure when not 10 minutes later, the house manager lady comes over and tells us that 3 reserved seats were not going to be used, and she would move us there at the next set change! And move us she did, right into the 3rd row from the front! We were so close we got spat on by the lead singer! And all for just $5! What more could one possibly ask for!
So, the moral of the story is to never give up. Think of what we would have missed had we not simply asked for tickets, even though there were none left! A life lesson learned. End adventure.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Blogging, snowmen, ring stackers and other grand adventures!
Well, hello there! Welcome to my blog! This is a whole new experience for me...I thought this might be an easy way to keep in touch with everyone, and my new friends Sarah and Natashia were more than willing to set me up on this "cyber adventure"! So, continue to check the blog for updates on my life adventures.
So, I guess I'll just launch into some of my more recent adventures. First off, it's still snowing here in the wild west. Yep, unfortunately it seems spring does not come to Calgary, but winter stays until the end of July, at which time you get about 2 weeks of summer, and then head on back into winter. Boo. Nobody told me that when I signed up for this adventure. (Please note, the title of the blog is "grand adventures", so I will try to link my posts back to that as often as possible a) because it's fun and possibly annoying to some, and b) everyone knows that a good essay/paper always has a strong link to the topic sentence). Given the presence of snow, and the sunny weather we've been experiencing, Sarah, Natashia, and I decided to spend some time on Sunday building a pretty amazing snowman. After a tasty lunch at a local cafe and a bit of small shop browsing, we headed uphill to the neighbourhood park. There before us stood a monument of some type, listing historical and ecological facts, overlooking the city, and we thought "hmm, what a perfect place to build a snowman". So that's just what we did, then we took some pictures (which hopefully you can see, if I loaded them right), and headed home for tea. Later that night, following some movie watching, we decided to head back to the park to see if "Hal" the snowman was still alive...only to be sadly disappointed...no more Hal, he had been destroyed by some local hooligans presumably.
Next adventure: Working with children means that I always have some good stories to share. This one is one of my favourites so far. It happened on Tuesday morning, as I was doing a communication assessment with a little guy. This fella's known to have a bit of a temper, so I took along the behavioural consultant as back up. We were through most of the assessment, when I handed the child a ring stacker (for those of you who don't play with ring stackers daily, it's that plastic toy with the rocking base and yellow stick, and you have to put the different coloured rings on the stick in the right order), and told him to put the rings on. Then I looked away...bad idea. Before I even had a chance to react, the ring stacker was flying across the table toward me...and smucked me right on the forehead. Yep, I got hit in the head with a ring stacker. My forehead is still a bit tender today, but thankfully there is no bruising!
This is a really long post, but there doesn't seem to be a limit to how much I can write. Anyways, I should likely sign off, and I need to got to bed and gain strength for tomorrow's grand adventures!
Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, I guess I'll just launch into some of my more recent adventures. First off, it's still snowing here in the wild west. Yep, unfortunately it seems spring does not come to Calgary, but winter stays until the end of July, at which time you get about 2 weeks of summer, and then head on back into winter. Boo. Nobody told me that when I signed up for this adventure. (Please note, the title of the blog is "grand adventures", so I will try to link my posts back to that as often as possible a) because it's fun and possibly annoying to some, and b) everyone knows that a good essay/paper always has a strong link to the topic sentence). Given the presence of snow, and the sunny weather we've been experiencing, Sarah, Natashia, and I decided to spend some time on Sunday building a pretty amazing snowman. After a tasty lunch at a local cafe and a bit of small shop browsing, we headed uphill to the neighbourhood park. There before us stood a monument of some type, listing historical and ecological facts, overlooking the city, and we thought "hmm, what a perfect place to build a snowman". So that's just what we did, then we took some pictures (which hopefully you can see, if I loaded them right), and headed home for tea. Later that night, following some movie watching, we decided to head back to the park to see if "Hal" the snowman was still alive...only to be sadly disappointed...no more Hal, he had been destroyed by some local hooligans presumably.
Next adventure: Working with children means that I always have some good stories to share. This one is one of my favourites so far. It happened on Tuesday morning, as I was doing a communication assessment with a little guy. This fella's known to have a bit of a temper, so I took along the behavioural consultant as back up. We were through most of the assessment, when I handed the child a ring stacker (for those of you who don't play with ring stackers daily, it's that plastic toy with the rocking base and yellow stick, and you have to put the different coloured rings on the stick in the right order), and told him to put the rings on. Then I looked away...bad idea. Before I even had a chance to react, the ring stacker was flying across the table toward me...and smucked me right on the forehead. Yep, I got hit in the head with a ring stacker. My forehead is still a bit tender today, but thankfully there is no bruising!
This is a really long post, but there doesn't seem to be a limit to how much I can write. Anyways, I should likely sign off, and I need to got to bed and gain strength for tomorrow's grand adventures!
Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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