Grand Adventures!!

It's Fall!

2011-10-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well folks, after a lovely long summer full of fun, it is officially fall here in the mountains and I'm loving it! What have I been up to lately you may be wondering (though you probably have way more important things to be wondering about...let's be honest). Well, let me tell you and show you through some photos.

1 - I've been going to weddings and knitting like a crazy lady for babies that continue to come into my life. Just found out rather recently that my very bestest friend in the whole wide world is pregnant, making me a very excited Aunt to Be! Also, my yurt-dwelling Yukon friend sent me the most lovely email this past week telling me that she is also pregnant. And finally, a very good friend from school just gave birth to a little baby boy, whom I can't wait to meet! Ok, that's all for baby news for now.

What else have I been up to?

2 - visiting family at home and loving every single minute of lying on the dock, skiing, lying on the dock, running, lying on the dock, eating, lying on the dock, visiting friends, lying on the dock, knitting, lying on the dock, reading, lying on the dock, visiting "Sarah" the sheep, born on my birthday at my sister-in-law's little farm - ya, you read that right - pretty awesome eh!?

3 - participating in an amazing outdoor adventure race that challenged and thrilled beyond belief. Picture 2 days in the mountains, hiking, biking, canoing, rapelling, eating, sleeping...just a whole lot of grand adventure material

4 - going to a super crazy, somewhat dangerous, small town amateur rodeo - don't know if my heart can handle going again (way too many close calls involving backsides and bullhorns), but it sure was a grand adventure

5 - taking random roadtrips through the countryside with my sister, enjoying the beautiful fall scenery!

Ok, that's all for now. Back to eating the chocolate that I bought for the trick-or-treaters...they better hope they get here soon, or there's not going to be anything left!

Weddings, tennis, food, fireworks, visitors!

2011-07-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to post more regularly, here I am back again, ready to update you on what's been going on. So, here we go:

1) Went to my brother's wedding in the middle of June. It was a beautiful affair, full of friends, family, delicious food, and beautiful pillows (see below for the wedding gift I gave to the lovely couple).

2) Spent a very short but very fun time at home with my family. I played tennis with my youngest brother, nearly beating him (I won 1 game, he won 6...).

3) Went to a new restaurant with my sister and good friend/roommate - a Nepalese restaurant with yummy yummy food (well, maybe my sister didn't think it was all so yummy). But, I very much enjoyed it and am looking forward to going back soon!

4) Celebrated Canada Day weekend by going to a bbq at a friend's house, watching the fireworks, and sitting in the mountains.

5) Perhaps most exciting recent news is that my parents were just here for a week long visit! Yep, they drove Jenn's car out here, spent the week, and then sadly flew home today. We had the bestest time biking on the paths, visiting work (Dad had never been there), mountain biking (in the real moutains on real mountain bikes), stampeding it up, watching me play lacrosse (hmm, maybe not so exciting...), and floating down the river. Also, my uncle came for a visit and we took him to see the brand new 'space toilets' (that's just what I call them). These toilets are incredible! They are public toilets downtown that look like elevators or space/time machines, and they are completely automatic and self-cleaning. When you press the button to open the door, a voice speaks to you and tells you that you have 10 minutes. Then, elevator music starts playing, and the voice gives you instructions such as "press the button on the wall for a clean toilet seat" and then a toilet seat comes out of the wall; you push a button for toilet paper to come out of the wall; when you wash your hands the toilet flushes. It's really amazing! I wish everyone could experience the brilliance of these space toilets!

Ok, I think that's about it. Not much else to report from here.

Quick Update on Recent Adventures

2011-06-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Oh hey there! I'm posting twice in one year! Golly!
Just a quick update on recent happenings:

1) My car broke down recently. Yep, it just stopped working whilst I was driving it. Thankfully it stopped right outside of a client's house and the dad was able to fix it for me. That was an adventure and a half involving a trip to Canadian Tire and time spent learning how to replace part of a battery cable. Good times.

2) Took in the adventure that is the annual Sunday School Picnic this past weekend. My sister and I spent approximately 1.5 hours filling water balloons on Saturday night...and then spent approximately 2 minutes watching them all burst as they were thrown wildly at unsuspecting victims on Sunday afternoon. Please see photo below of balloon-filling adventures.

3) Attempted to make eggplant parmesan with my roommate (she did most of the work...). Don't think I really like the taste of eggplant. See photo of completed product below.

4) Am currently very much enjoying a bowl of strawberry rhubarb crisp made with rhubarb from the market, topped with homemade custard...yummo!

5) Took in perhaps the grandest adventure of late, last weekend when I went to watch my friend compete in a kickboxing tournament. I went into this adventure expecting the intensity of a highschool volleyball tournament. Boy was I wrong! Yikes. These people are fierce. Intense. Scary. Ripped. And any other word that comes to mind when you think of people beating up other people. My friend was really awesome! She has all the fancy gear, the gloves, the robe, the shorts...the skills. Yep, it was really fun. Complete with screaming announcers, pep talks from coaches between rounds, medals, crazed fans, the whole nine yards. So much fun!

6) Took a break from all that intensity on Saturday night by sitting in the park all afternoon Sunday, reading a great book and soaking in the rare bit of sunshine and warmth!

That's all from here for now.

Too long...

2011-05-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hey there everybody.
It's been much much too long since I've updated this thing. Seems life just gets in the way sometimes (not that life is really all that busy...). Hmm, let me see...what grand adventures have I been on lately...
Let's start with this weekend, since it is most recent, and then we'll work our way back over the past little while, hitting some of the high points (shouldn't take all that long!).
Today I sewed together the beginnings of a quilt and yesterday I got my bike ready for the spring/summer riding season and took in the wedding of 2 friends. There. That's the weekend. Oh, and I hung out lots with my sister and roommate. Ok, now that's it.
I've been going on some smaller adventures to the moutains and countryside, taking in the warm weather that has finally arrived after way way too long. Also embarking on some cooking adventures - trying new foods is fun, so I decided that cooking new foods must be fun too. And it is fun, but it's not always yummy (thank you to my roommate and friends who willingly try most of my new recipies).
Umm, recent past - I went on a little vacation with my bestest friend to Baltimore, where we visited another friend. We had a blast, exploring Baltimore, and taking a little side trip over to Washington DC. It was a really really good adventure.
Other adventures - went on an amazing roadtrip adventure down east with my sister and roommate for the wedding of 2 close friends. It was incredible. We got to see lots, laugh lots, eat lots, sleep lots, drive even lotser!
Other than those adventures, I've just been hanging around home and working. I've started playing lacrosse in a league and am having a good time with that (what I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm). Really I just like the sport because you get to wear a helmet. Who wouldn't like that!? Umm, also been doing tonnes and tonnes of knitting - mostly baby stuff because it seems that everyone I know (this is an acknowledged exaggeration) is reproducing. This is super fun because it means that nearly everywhere I go, I will have a little baby to snuggle with!
Ok...I think that's it. See. Told you it wouldn't take too long to fill you in. Now you're up to date on all of my grand adventures. I've put some pictures corresponding to the above adventures at the bottom of the page (mostly because I don't know how to put them anywhere else!).
Hope you're all doing well!

Winter Update

2010-03-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well hello there! So, the winter is coming to an end here (I hope!). The weather is warmer and the sun is out longer...promising signs of spring I'd say.
What have I been up to? A whole lot of adventures, some big and some small.
First, my roommates and I took in the Olympic Torch ceremony as it came through town. That was pretty awesome, people were everyone and there was tonnes of energy! Even though we could barely see the torch it was still fun to be there. There is a picture below of the bit of the torch we could see...see if you can find it!
Then, my roommate Natashia and I met a new friend who lives near our church. She needed some help cleaning out her basement, so we went over to help. Well! What treasures! The rainsuits, pictured below, are just one treasure. We also came home with a quilt for Natashia's bed, a picnic basket, and a portable phone from the late 80s or early 90s...great fun. Unfortunately the phone didn't work anymore so we had to throw it away.
Third, I went home for a friend's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and I was so glad to have made it, despite crazy airplane delays and cancellations in both directions. I think next time I go home I'll hire a private jet or take the train...unfortunately both cost a small fortune.
I also tried my hand at curling as a fundraiser for work. It was awesome! However, I don't think I'll take it up professionally or anything.
Then, my sister came out for a visit over her March break and we had a blast touring around and spending some time just hanging out at the house. We also took part in a fundraiser at the church for a missions trip by purchasing, along with several other friends, a very large garbage bag full of yarn!!
And, most recently, I took a quick trip to the Yukon to visit a friend from highschool. It was incredible and I can't wait to get back there. I got to go dog sledding, to the hotsprings, move a dog team to a new home, and see some wildlife both in the wild and in a wildlife preserve. Very fun! There are some pictures below of the Great Northern Adventure of 2010.
Now I'm just sitting around enjoying March break!
Hope all is well with you.

Still Here!

2009-11-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

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

Exercise, Visitors, and Other Big Adventures

2009-07-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

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

Graduations, Rice Krispies, Picnics, and MORE!

2009-06-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Biking, bunkbeds, baseball, and other grand adventures

2009-05-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

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!

Another lesson in never giving up

2009-04-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

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!!

Never Give Up...

2009-04-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

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.

Blogging, snowmen, ring stackers and other grand adventures!

2009-04-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!