Merry Christmas!

Quote of the day: Me: "Colette, let's go, it's Christmas!!!"
Colette: "No it's not, I don't believe you."
Song of the day: The Christmas Song by Alvin and the Chipmunks

Merry Christmas! We are all done opening presents at my house... now we're playing with our toys!

Mom got a 46" HDTV and blu ray player... and some movies and tickets to see the Guess Who

Colette got the new Tony Hawk skateboarding game... where the controller is a skateboard... and lots of clothes

Dad got cymbals for his Rock Band setup and a sweet drum stool... and some other xbox games

I got Windows 7...also a North Face jacket but I think I need a different size. I also got Up, Charlie Bartlett, and Strange Brew plus a couple Modest Mouse cds and some books. and lots of chocolate!! and "the world's largest Reese's cup" woo!

Anyway it should be a fun week at home playing with all the new stuff (and swimming doubles with the Bluefish). yayyyy!

If you're reading this, have a great holiday! :)

I'm Back!

Song of the day: Do Better by Say Anything

I'm back! HOORAY!!

If you didn't notice, I took a long hiatus from this blogging thing. Let me tell you, sophomore year is a bitch. School has been a bit of a struggle this year... but now I'm home on winter break and will have plenty of time for fun things like staring at my computer screen and typing mindlessly (oh wait, I do that during the year...) and posting it on here (ah, that's the difference).

For this entry I don't have too much to say... it would be a real pain to make an update on my whole life, but I guess I can do a quick version:

L: Chico off to a great start in his race; R: Rob and me at the Chili Cookoff in August.

1. The last month of summer was fun. Alice came to visit, Chico and Gilligan did really well at the Chichuahua races (both made semifinals, and Gilly came in 3rd in finals.. so close to a NYC trip!!), and the chili cookoff at Morgan's was a blast.

2. This year I live in a 7-person apartment with 6 other girls. It's going surprisingly well. I love all my roomies!

3. I sprained my ankle in September, which has made for a difficult swim season so far. I have spent a lot of time doing rehab, and even more time not swimming but instead pulling freestyle with a buoy and one -footed open turns. I am past the pulling now and can kick again, but it took forever. I'm still doing rehab. I swam kind of slow at several meets and sat one out. We had a meet in early December that I finally swam well at - all of my times were around what they were last year at this time, and I pr'ed in the 100 back. Quite satisfying.

Clockwise: The "fat five" (Duje, Cullen, Rob, Spaz, Lee) take on Goldstar, pt 2; Alex, me, and Toni at "techno pasta party" during water polo season (Alex joined swim... yay!); some of our lovely freshmen (Emily, Duje, Cullen, Heather, and James) at Camp Harrington this year.

4. I love the team this year. We got lots of awesome freshmen (awesome meaning they are fun and I like them, but they are also awesome in the area of being fast at swimming) and the usual crew is still around. I got to know a lot of the new kids during water polo season in A term, so we're all pretty close now. Basically it's a good time all the time. :) Let's hope I still feel that way after spending days on a bus with them to and from Florida (yes.... we are driving to Miami in about 2 weeks for training trip...)

5. School is hard. A term was okay, but B term was tough. How tough is still TBA. Hopefully C term will be better. I get to take a course on conducting so that will at least be an enormous bright spot!!

6. I am home for break. I'm pretty pumped about it. Our Christmas tree looks good even though it only has lights on it so far. Ornaments forthcoming. I intend to spend the entire break relaxing, eating, and exercising... lifiting, swimming, and running. I have to slowly increase my running as my ankle is still healing, and will most likely be swimming with the Attleboro Bluefish (or at least the kids who are coming home from college and training there... most of the team will be on a training trip) and I'm kind of excited about it.


Oh, and they finally updated the record board!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY! This isn't even current... Heather (fr) now owns the 50 and 100 backstrokes, and Karen's 100 IM is faster. Recently, Morgan's diving records have been properly updated. Sweet!

Surprise!

Quote of the day: Woah... What?! -me
Song of the day: You Surprised Me by Superchief Trio

Yesterday was a RIDICULOUS day. Why? Let me tell you.

It started off as a normal Saturday, I woke up early and attended the 815 Butts, Guts, and Glory class at the YMCA. This was all normal and good. I saw Brittany LeClair, one of my friends from high school, at the class. It was nice to see her. Class was good, as usual my outer thighs hurt a lot at the end. Apparently they're very weak.

After class, I drove home. I walk in the door and find Carl and Eric sitting at my kitchen table eating pancakes with my sister. "WOAH, WHAT?!" I couldn't believe my eyes. I was so confused. Legit. I can't even express what I was thinking. Anyway, this is what happened. Several weeks before Carl contacted Colette and said he'd like to come for a surprise visit. So my family told me we'd be going to see Harry Potter 6 in theaters all together on that day and ensured my schedule was clear. It worked. He was planning to bring Rob with him as well but ended up with Eric, which was cool too. They stayed in Worcester the night before and left bright and early to make it to my house before I got back.

Once I had calmed down a little and ate some pancakes myself, I showered and got dressed. I didn't really know what to do with them (obviously I didn't have anything planned.. but neither did anyone else!) so we decided to go mini golfing. On the way Colette and I gave the general tour of Taunton that we always do. Drove around the Green (post office, El Mariachi, empty lot, Sovereign Bank, Lights On, Eastern Music, courthouse.) and past THS. We actually got to drive on the property this time, as opposed to when Alford came and we had to stay on Williams St. I'm not sure that we were supposed to be in there but oh well, nobody stopped us and we didn't bother anyone. It really is a mess now though, there's so much construction going on. They were impressed by the size of the building though.

After THS, we carried on and stopped to get slushies at Cumberland Farms. It was a struggle because I got red and Colette got watermelon. Then we decided to trade. Carl got yellow and was disappointed to discover it was banana (but there was a monkey on the label!) because he hates banana. So we did another trade and I got banana and Carl had watermelon. Eric got Sobe (drink, not slush) with some lemon mixed in, and he seemed happy with it.

Finally we made it to mini golf, and got our clubs and balls as usual. The mini golf place we went to is called "Jurassic Mini Golf" and has dinosaur (and random rabbit) statues all over the place. It was very empty on Saturday. I got stuck keeping score, but I could tell by the second hole that it was going to be interesting. The balls kept going off the course and into the water/trees. On the third hole, Carl hit his green ball into a bush. We couldn't find it. Eric, however, did manage to find a garter snake...perfect! It was okay though because Carl found a purple ball in the bushes. So we still had 4 in total.
We carried on and a little while later, Carl found his green ball.... far away from the 3rd hole. Ah well. Now we had 5. We got to the hole with the waterfall cave thing and Eric hit his ball very straight and very hard. It flew out of the cave, over the river and into Narnia. We couldn't find it! Luckily we still had the purple one, so Eric used that for the rest of the time. During the course of our round, Carl would sit on the dino statues and "tame" them. It was pretty funny and we took some pictures. We eventually finished up our golfing without much trouble and the final scores were as follows: Eric 47 (at par), Alana 48, Colette 52, Carl 55. Pretty good.

We had decided while golfing that we wanted to climb to the top of the waterfall/cave thing. So after returning our clubs, we did. It wasn't really to hard but definitely against the rules. We didn't get caught though. Colette took some pictures of Carl, Eric, and I at the top. It was awesome.

After mini golf we headed over to the mall. Carl wanted to see Harry Potter but the rest of us had already seen it and were too cheap to go again. We tried to ask nicely to get let in for free but were rejected (surprise, surprise). We walked all around the mall and spent a long time in the pet store! We walked in and immediately asked to play with the puppy in the window. It was very hyper. I don't even know what kind of dog it was, but it was cute. Eric loved it and couldn't get over how adorable it it was. haha. Lots of tug of war and belly scratching. It was fun.

On the way home from the mall we stopped at Wendy's for lunch. I got a chicken sandwich just as a break from my normal burger. I also got a frosty... always a good choice. Anyway Wendy's was delicious, as it always is. While there we discussed what to do for the rest of the day. Eric suggested tennis and we decided that was a good idea.

We stopped at home and picked up tennis rackets and balls. Drove to Friedman and picked the court with the most shade, even though it wasn't that shady. We played some informal Colette & Alana vs Carl & Eric. Carl quit very early and then just sat in the shade. It was extremely hot and humid... Eric's shirt was soaked halfway through. Colette and I played Eric and lost 11-5, then Colette and Eric had a one on one match. At one point it was 10-5 for Colette... but then she lost 12-10. lame! Oh well. It was fun (except probably for Carl) and different.

Once we got home Eric showered (good idea) and then we all just sat around the computer and watched videos on youtube and the site "Today's Big Thing." They were pretty funny and it was nice and relaxing. Always need a little downtime, you know. :) For dinner my parent got pizza from Pepperoni's. I don't eat Pepperoni's regularly but it was excellent. We had a Hawaiian pizza and a Barbecue Chicken pizza. SO DELICIOUS. ahhh and there was so much chicken, it was fantastic. They made salad too, but we all know that's not nearly as important or interesting as the pizza.

After dinner we decided to watch a movie. We eventually chose to go to Blockbuster to rent one, and after much debate got 'Shooter' with Mark Wahlberg. It was a great movie. I actually ended up watching it again the next day with my mom. Anyway, it's about this sniper who leaves the military because they left him for dead somewhere, but he survived. He's pretty much the best sniper in the world. A few years later some government people approach him about planning an assassination attempt on the president so they can use his expertise to stop an attempt that is supposedly going to take place. Then, once he plans it out, they start chasing him making it seem like he was actually going to do it and they had nothing to do with it at all. Anyway he's running away from them trying to reveal the truth and stay alive. Ah, it's so good. Maybe I'll watch it again before I have to return it.

After the movie was over, Carl and Eric headed back to Worcester :( They were thinking about staying the night, but that would have resulted in a lot of driving for Carl on Sunday. Oh well. They were here for a solid 12 hours and it was awesome. I'm so glad they came to see me!!!!! I love my friends =D

Summer Camp

Quote of the day: You have to step and slide! - Steve
Song of the day: Homesick at Space Camp by Fall Out Boy

I saved somebody today.

This is my fourth summer as a lifeguard, and I never had to save anyone before this summer. Today was my second save. This little kid, Chris, can't swim but managed to kind of walk to water that is over his head. All of the sudden I head "somebody help me!" and the next thing I know I had hopped in and grabbed him. He was fine - maybe a little shaken - but fine.

This summer at camp has been crazy. The first day, my canoe flipped over in the river and we (two kids and I) had to swim back to the dock (see picture). The next day I made my first save ever. I was guarding the deep end and some kid had an asthma attack, but I grabbed him. Pretty much the same story as today's save. He was fine. I was soaking wet in my shorts and shirt. Saweeeet.

Alyssa had to jump in the river last Friday to rescue a Brockton counselor and 2 kids whose canoe tipped and couldn't swim. The kids had lifejackets, at least. Amy jumped in the river a couple weeks ago to save someone. She also had to get in the pool last week to grab an Autistic kid who was totally fine but was convinced he was drowning. He was holding onto a noodle and touching the bottom. Ruston saved a kid failing the swim test today. A few weeks ago Meagan jumped in the pool to grab a kid, though he was okay by the time she got there. Not really sure what happened there.

Either way, it's been ridiculous. In addition to the frequent life saving taking place, we have a bunch of Autistic kids with one on one aids coming to camp Monday to Thursday. It's interesting, to say the least. We've also had a couple of groups from other Boys' Clubs come to camp for a day. More obnoxious than interesting. The first 2 weeks of camp were filled with rain. Lately, it's been quite sunny. It's nice, but very very hot.

Every Friday is pizza day. That's awesome. Fridays are also theme days. First, red white and blue day before July 4th. Then Crazy Clothes Day. I wore a crazy drag suit and a tie dye shirt I had just made. Last week was Halloween in July. Colette and I dressed the same and said we were twins. Several people got us confused... success! This coming Friday is Ronald Snodgrass's birthday... a carnival day. Ronald is an imaginary camper that was made up several years ago. Every year we have a big party on one day and say it's for his birthday. It's really fun!

Guarding hasn't been too bad. Swimming lessons are tough and frustrating but hey, it happens, and it's expected. Canoeing has been okay in general. We have a much better system this year than we used to, so that's a plus. Despite this, I really hope to have a different job next summer. The organization and communication from the bosses is lacking, and it bothers me a lot. Plus, I'm bored. Three years working at the same summer camp is too many.

Luckily, my coworkers are awesome. The lifeguard team is the same as last year, plus Ruston and my sister. I really like working with Colette and I'm glad to be able to spend time with her during the summer since I'm away all year at school. The counselors are pretty cool, too. I love most of the returnees from last year, and about 10 of us hang out every Friday night doing various fun things. Most of the new counselors are from my graduating class of THS. It's a little weird because I knew them in high school but we weren't really friends... but it's not too bad.

Sometimes I work at camp on the weekends, guarding for private functions like graduation parties and church functions. I like extra money so it's all good as far as that's concerned, even if it can be very boring.

I think that's about all I've got about summer camp. It's a love/hate relationship....

Taunton River Adventure!

Quote of the day: WHERE ARE WE?!?! - us
Song of the day: Use Somebody by The Kings of Leon

I decided to write this entry like a book, with very short, titled chapters. Enjoy.

1. Intro

Last Sunday, Josh and I went on a canoe adventure on the Taunton River. We had decided a while before that we wanted to go canoeing, but didn't decide on the place until the day of the trip. We had options - Sabbatia Lake, Watson's Pond, Lake Rico, Taunton River, and others I'm sure - but we just couldn't decide. We finally agreed to go on the river; we would go upriver until we got tired then turn around and float back. Good plan!

2. The Launch

The first struggle of the day was attaching the canoe to the truck. We were taking his dad's truck because it had canoe racks in the back. We grabbed the canoe from the backyard (funnily enough, the same exact kind of canoe I use at camp) and muscled it up onto the racks. From then on we were just confused. He didn't really know how to use the canoe racks so we had to go ask his sister. She helped us tighten the sides and we put straps over the top. It seemed fine. It wasn't. By the time we were driving past THS the boat was perched precariously on the racks. We pulled over and realized that we had kind of failed miserably at the tying it down part. We figured out what was wrong though and fixed it, and made it to our launch point.

We decided to launch in East Taunton, near the River Bend Condominiums. We parked the truck and hauled the canoe down to the river. We got in with no problems. Josh sat in the front and I sat in the back and steered. And off we went!

3. The Softball

So we're paddling along, discussing how the whole river looks the same, and I see something floating in the river. I thought it was trash at first. On the way by I realized it was a softball floating along with the current. I decided I wanted it. Josh and I canoed backwards for a minute and caught up to it. I picked it up and was excited. Then I accidentally dropped it back in the river. But I managed to grab it again. Success. It was a really dirty softball with one side of the stiches gone. I don't really know what to do with it, but it's very cool. "First souvenir of the trip!"
4. The Cows

After canoeing for a while, past the first bridge, Josh said, "is there something in that tree? a person?" I was confused, but as we got closer realized there was indeed something moving around in a tree on the riverbank. Come to discover that it was a cow! Several cows, in fact. Black cows, chilling underneath this tree. They looked at us with crazy eyes and kind of followed us as we went by. They were on the edge of a field but they walked in the field along with us until we were out of their range. It was a little freaky but pretty cool.

5. The Unidentified Creature

At one point, I don't remember when exactly, we were paddling lazily up the river when we noticed some bubbles. These were no ordinary bubbles. These bubbles seemed to be coming from underwater in a straight line, as if something was swimming below the surface creating them. We watched as the bubble path was appearing, but nothing ever popped up to claim them. Weirdddddd.

6. WHERE ARE WE?!

Since Josh and I both have terrible senses of directions, we pretty much had no idea where we were the whole time. We asked that question many times but of course never got an answer. A few times we paddled by someone's backyard or something and hoped they would be outside so we could ask. No dice. I even stood up once to look around but couldn't figure it out.

In case you're wondering, here's a map of our trip:

We followed that white line with the red dots from the lower lefthand corner to the upper righthand corner, then back down. Along the way we saw lots of turtles sunbathing, and many of them jumped off their perches when we approached. It was cool. I like turtles.

7. The Bridge

After canoeing upriver for a while, before we met the cows, we came upon a bridge. We weren't really sure where it was but we did notice that current moved much faster in that area. It was really tiring actually, getting to the bridge. I had to take a little break after we got past the really fast part. The same thing happened when we got to the second bridge, where we turned around. The second bridge was on 44, and we saw a sign on the road that said "Welcome to Raynham." Turns out we canoed 2.44 miles up the river from our original starting point. That took about 80 ish minutes. The return trip with the current took about 50.

8. The Sparrow

After we turned around we decided to relax a little and let the river carry us back. For a while there was a sparrow flying above us among the trees. This little sparrow seemed to be having the time of its life. It wasn't going anywhere that we could tell or trying to do anything in particular. It was just flying around for the fun of it, diving and swerving all around. It was so neat. I'd like to be happy and careless like that sparrow.

9. The Geese

About halfway down on the way back, we spotted some birds swimming in a row ahead of us. We kind of thought it was a mommy bird and her babies. Josh got really excited... apparently he likes ducks. Anyway, it turned out to be a flock of geese. They seemed to all be adults, or at least almost full grown. We caught up to them while they were swimming and then watched them swim to the bank and have a party. It looked like a party, anyway. They were all eating grass from the riverbank, and a couple got out of the water to go up a little further. They all seemed to be having a grand old time eating the grass together. I guess it was a good day to be a bird!

10. Making It Interesting

"Let's try to slide under that tree over there."
"Why?"
"Well, if we're on an adventure, we might as well make it adventurous."
"Good point."

We had to go limbo style to get under the tree limb. It was awesome.

11. The Auctioneer

When we were almost back to our starting point, we thought we heard a voice. It sounded like somebody talking about money very loudly. Finally Josh suggested that it was an auction. Upon closer listening it definitely was. We went down a little sidepath from the river to see if we could get closer, but we couldn't find this auction. We could hear it though. There were too many trees and riverbank in the way to see anything. It felt like we were sneaking around and spying, but we were just curious. hahaha. It was sweet though and I wish I knew what kind of auction it was. Can you imagine canoeing up to an auction? and bidding on something? ahahaha it would have been great.

12. The End

After over 2 hours and about 5 miles of canoeing, we made it back to our starting point. We pulled the boat up with no problem, attached it (properly) on the first try, and made it back to Josh's. It was kind of struggle to get the boat off the truck and over the fence back into the yard, but it wasn't too bad. It was such a fun trip!!

We had burgers for dinner (delicious) and watched the movie Italian Job. I had never seen it but it's one of Josh's faves and I will say that I was definitely not disappointed. I thought it was a great movie.

Sunday was such a good day. : D

Blogged out

I just wrote three blogs in a row. I'm blogged out for today. But I have so much interesting stuff to write about... I'll make a list:

City Band
Tie Dye
This weekend- Thurs and Fri
Away We Go
Canoeing - DONE
Summer Camp - DONE
Piano
Coming up this weekend - Carl's meet and Alfie's visit

Look at all that great stuff to look forward too. Wooooooo

Beach House

Quote of the day: I talked to this kid Mike, he said he calls you Grandma. - Toni, to Ally
Song of the day: Get the Party Started by P!nk

At the end of June, Juliana's parents let her have their beach house in Naragansett RI all to herself for a week. Pretty much it was a weeklong party. I could only make it down for the last Saturday to Sunday, but that was enough for me.

I didn't get lost getting there and I arrived in the early afternoon on Saturday. Molly had been there for a few days already. It was a happy reunion with Jules and MoPo! We walked to the beach and I met some of J's high school friends. We chilled at the beach and tanned for a while. To be honest I don't remember all the tiny details and don't have any pictures to remind me! Oh well. I do remember we ate pasta for dinner!

And Toni finally showed up and we were happy to see her!!! She made an interesting first impression on Jules's friends. hahaha

Anyway we had a bit of a party that night. I fell asleep on the couch at 10 and wanted to go upstairs but they wouldn't let me. Molly finally let me go up to bed (I was in a sleeping bag on the floor of a bedroom) at around midnight. In the morning when I woke up I found Molly sleeping on the floor as well, and Ally and Toni in the bed. Whatever haha.

We spent Sunday morning cleaning and packing up the house. I went home around noon. I was sad to leave my Riley 3 girlies!!

When I got home I went to meet my friend Susan at Friendly's. We were friends in high school but never really hung out. I like Susan a lot though so we made plans to get ice cream. It was fun and great to see her again! Susan loves to knit and makes these really cool hats, so a while ago I had asked her to knit me one. It's black. and it's so awesome!! perhaps I will take a picture later and post it. She also brought me a book called The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which I read in about a week and was fantastic. We hung out again the other day.. but that's a separate entry. :)

Canobie Lake Park

Quote of the day: You CAN'T eat that on the ride! -Ferris Wheel operator
Song of the day: My Best Friend by Weezer

On June 16th, Amy and I went to Canobie Lake Park. I had gotten two tickets for my birthday and I decided to bring my bff with me!! Work hadn't started yet and we wanted to go on a weekday. So Amy came to my house and I drove to Canobie Lake!

We had such a great day. We went on a bunch of rides and didn't have to wait in too many lines. There was basically nobody there except for all the teeny boppers on school trips. We saw a sweet peacock, too.

We wore our bikinis and matching Phelps Phan tshirts. We both had capris on so when we went on the Boston Tea Party ride we took those off and left our tshirts on. I don't know if you've ever been to Canobie Lake, but they have this great ride called... the Boston Tea Party. This ride is an oval shape. 16 people to a boat. You go up, turn around, come down and get very wet, and end up back at the start again. You get absolutely soaked. We went on it a bunch of times in a row because you might as well and the line was tiny.

BUT when we were done we were sad. Our shirts were all wet!! andddd our bikini bottoms were all wet so we sure didn't want to put our shorts on. SO we just put our sweatshirts on and walked around in bikinis and sweatshirts. We got lots of funny looks, it was great. This is us looking sad because we had no regular clothes to wear :(

At lunchtime we waited in line forever to get hot dogs and fries. Ah well, that's amusement parks for ya.

At the end of the day, we bought caramel apples. They were delicious. The lady who ran the ferris wheel told us we couldn't eat our apples on the ferris wheel... but we did anyway. Rebels. Overall, amazing day. It always is with Amy!! <3

Lake Party

Quotes of the day: I thought it was Colleen doing all the screaming, but it wasn't. It was YOU! -Dan
and
I'm going to lull them into a false sense of security! - Mr. Rose
Song of the day: Swim by Jack's Mannequin

So. It's been almost a month since I last wrote a legit blog entry. I apologize. I didn't think anyone actually read this thing but I've been informed that I "need to start blogging again."

So. I'm gonna work backwards and start with recent things, then perhaps work my way back to some of the other interesting stuff I've been doing. woohoo!

Okay! It's hard to work backwards. Forget it. We're starting with the lake party at Steve's!

On June 14th Steve invited all the swimmers to his family's house on Lake Quinsig for a party. It was lots of fun. Carl didn't know where Steve's house was so I met him at WPI and we went together. Kaitlyn was visiting from Utah and it was great to see her. Dan, Jenny, Bobby, Eric, Colleen, Minh, Chase, Lauren, Alford, Ricardo, Conn, and Steve's friend Casey (and his new black lab puppy Ares) were also there. When Carl and I arrived a bunch of people were sitting on this huge yellow tube known as Big Bertha. I swam over and they just pulled me up on the tube. Awesome. and I was so pumped to see Kaitlyn!!

After chilling on the tube for a while we all went up to the house on the porch for some food... hot dogs and beans courtesy of Steve's parents, and lots of other good food that swimmers brought. Colleen asked me to go tubing with her and I was all over that. I'd never been tubing before but it was SO amazing!! Col and I hung on this tube and Steve's dad drove the boat all around the lake. Col fell off once or twice but I hung on the whole time.

Then we went on the jetski with Steve. Col was in the middle and I was in the back. I got so much air!! ahhh it was so much fun. I'd gone jetskiing once before but didn't remember it too much. Anyway I love it. I so want to live on a lakeeeee!

After we got back from tubing some other people wanted to go tubing. I rode in the boat with Kaitlyn while Chase and Colleen tubed. Chase was terrible, he kept falling off haha. It was great though. Then it was time for Minh and I to have a turn! It was fun again. I feel off once and Minh lost grip a couple times. I kind of skidded across the water when I fell off, it was crazy. Awesome though, of course!

For the rest of the day we all just hung around and enjoyed each other's company. We made some sweet s'mores and played air hockey and pinball in Steve's basement. No idea why there is an air hockey table and pinball machine in Steve's basement, but it rocks.

When it was time to leave I brought Carl back to WPI and drove home. It was such a good day!! (and look at Jenny and I, so cute in our matching sweatshirts!!! :)

By the way, that morning I played a gig with the City Band. It was for this Portuguese Social Club pretty closeby my house. We had to march around the block at a painfully slow pace. Ah well. It wasn't too bad, and I got 40 bucks. And Tom told me some interesting stories while we were waiting around, and my mom even came to watch. Sweet.

Blogging fail

I've been an irresponsible blogger lately. So sorry. I'm going to continue that trend right now as well....

maybe in a couple days. :)

Win

Quote of the day: Score! - Mom
Song of the day: Luckie St. by Cartel

Guess what came in the mail today?

A laptop charger.

WIN.

Remember a while ago I said I thought I had lost my charger on the airplane? Well, we called the airline and they said they would look for it. Then, I found my charger but never bothered to call the airline back. Today, a charger arrived in the mail... it looks perfectly good and should fit my computer. Haven't tested it yet but fully intend to leave it at home while I'm at school in case I ever forget my charger, I now have an extra one I got for free. Woohoo!

Saturday

Quote of the day: Five and a half dozen!!?!!?!?!! - Colette
Song of the day: Clockwatching by Jason Mraz

So, not too much happened today! Woke up, went to the gym. Saw a couple people that I know there which was cool. It was shoulder day today! I also talked to some random guy who is a phys ed teacher and went to Quinsigamond College in Worcester. He was impressed that I was lifting and doing shoulders because not many females do. I talked to him for a while and that was pretty neat.

When I got home I had time for a quick shower and lunch (mom had made pancakes for the sister) and went to work. Today I was supposed to lifeguard at Lewis Park, where I work in the summer. Somebody had rented it out for a high school graduation party. Now, I was guarding for 6 hours and saw no recent high school graduates in my pool. I only saw little kids and their parents. And a lot of the time the pool was empty, like in the picture. Whatever. It was easy money haha and they gave me some food, too. I met this deaf girl and her mom and it was so interesting because they kept signing to each other. I would like to learn sign language! Also saw these triplets, these cute little girls who were probably about 4 years old. One was blonde and two had light brown hair. SO adorable. aha. Oh, and I also saw Mr. Clark (Alyssa and Garrett and Ryan's dad). He works for the Boys Club now. It was very interesting to talk to him all day. Overall it was a good day at work!!

When I got home I watched the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with my mom. I also ate another hamburger (that's what my fam had for supper). It was SO good. Apparently it had never been frozen. Also some macaroni salad and cole slaw. My sister attempted to bake cookies but they came out as 2 completely falt and connected cookies (one on each cookie sheet). Messy but tasty, haha.

Tomorrow I'm playing a short gig with the city band, then going to Worcester for a lake party at Steve's. Woohoo!! Can't wait to see all of my swimmer friends (except Andrew of course). Kaitlyn has flown back from Utah for a couple days and I can't wait to see her!!!!!

Right now I'm watching the movie Hidalgo with my mom. I tried to watch it the other day but got distracted by "So You Think You Can Dance." Gotta go! :)

YAY!

GO PENGUINS!!

2009 NHL Stanley Cup Champs!

Sidney Crosby, #87, Captain of the Pittsburg Penguins

Youngest captain to ever hoist the Stanley Cup

Sidenote: This is the first time since 1979 that the away team has won game 7 in a professional sporting championship, when the Pittsburg Pirates did it in the World Series.

Note to Self

Song of the day: Pennsylvania 6-5000 by Glenn Miller Orchestra

To Do!

• get a haircut
• buy black tie
• get car inspected/stickered
• appointment for physical
• frame the autographed Prairie Dances score
• make plans with Susan
• Mashpee SuperSwim?
• snack for Steve's on Saturday
• plan Canobie Lake trip
• play piano

So today I went to TGIFriday's with some of my friends from Lewis Park; Alyssa, Amy, Meagan, Steve, Chris, and Casey. It was fun! I had a tasty buffalo chicken wrap. yumm.

After coming home for a bit I went to the Y. Everyone in the weight room was very friendly today! Some random guy spotted me for me decline bench press and another helped me with my machine rows. It was good and for the first time in 3 days the workout took less than an hour, and I was happy about that. Overall it was a good workout, chest and back. Although my butt, quads, and hams are absolutely killing me from yesterday's deadlifts. ouch!!

I hung around at home and watched most of the movie Step Up 2 on TV. Then we ate dinner and Colette and I watched Office Space. Well, I watched most of it and had a shower in the middle. Whatever.

At 8 pm the 7th game of the Stanley Cup Finals began. The series is tied (obviously) 3-3 between the Pittsburg Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. So far the home team has won every time, and the game is in Detroit tonight. I want the Pens to win because I like Sidney Crosby (he's Canadian, cute, the captain, and only 22!) Only 15 seconds left in the 3rd period, 2-1 for the Pens. GO PENGUINS!!!

Going Home & Pub 76

Quote of the Day: Your bag is in Chicago. - United lady

Song of the Day: Home by Foo Fighters

So there's a crapload of stuff that I wrote about my trip to Winnipeg, but I'm not really interested in it anymore since I wrote it a while ago. So I posted it all (slightly out of order) to maybe read later but I'll just finish up now and be done with it!

I had a lot of trouble falling asleep the night before I went home, and I woke up on my own at 6. My alarm was set for 630, but there was no way I’d fall asleep again so I just got up. Ate a granola bar and got all my stuff together. Uncle Dave picked me up a little before 7 and drove me to the airport. I was there by 715. By 730 I was sitting in front of the right gate for my 904 flight. Woohoo.

Everything went fine as far as my flights were concerned. From Winnipeg to Chicago I sa next to this guy from Savannah, Georgia, who was fishing like 300 miles North of Winnipeg. He kept telling me how cold it was up there and how he couldn't believe the amount of ice that was still frozen. I guess that's to be expected from a Southerner. He had a great accent though.

Spent 2 hours in Chicago and went to McDonald's in the airport. It was $7.02 for a grilled chicken sandwich meal. I didn't have 2 American pennies (legit!) and I gave the guy a 10, so he gave me 3 dollars back instead of making change. So that was okay. I guess he didn't want my two cents (ha, ha). On the downside the fries were much too salty. Oh well.

From Chicago to Providence everything was fine. Throughout my travel day I read about 200 pages in my book. Sweet.

When I got to Providence my dad was almost at the airport. I waited for my suitcase... and waited... and waited some more. To no avail. Apparently they left it in Chicago. It turned up on my doorstep that night at 2 am. My mom kindly went and brought it inside in case it started raining.

Anyway my dad brought me home and I chilled out for a while, ate, and showered. I went to Pub 76 around 7 to play in my high school's annual show there. Devon also showed up to help out the trombones, as well as Mr Bilodeau and Mr McKenzie on trumpet, and Mr Francis, Mr Cook, and Mr DaSilva on sax. It was a lot of fun. I saw some of my band friends and played lots of good music, including a not bad improv solo on I Mean You. It was cool to be a "guest" at the pub for the first time. woohoo!

The THS Jazz Band at Pub 76 last year (2008)

My mom had dropped me off (I was unsure of the parking situation since I arrived after the food was served and as a result, everyone else) , so I called her and she picked me up and took me home. When I finally got to bed, I slept til noon the next day. Awesome.

Now I'm just home doing the usual things. Today I went to the gym and did deadlifts for the first time. They were very tiring... not sure how I feel about them. Also made Kraft Dinner for supper and did some laundry. Watched Shiloh on TV, Wanted on DVD, So You Think You Can Dance on TV, and the end of The Incredible Hulk on DVD. Then played a little piano!!! now, bedtime!

Tomorrow I have a lunch date with my Lewis Park friends at noon. I'm excited! :)

Winnipeg pt 3

Quote of the day: I'm glad we had this talk!! -Oma

Saturday night Tim, John, Melissa, and Evan all came to Candace’s around 7:30. We stayed at Candace’s for a while then Auntie Barb drove us (in the mini van) to the bar Silverado’s. There was dancing and stuff and it was a lot of fun. I was sleeping at Candace’s that night and when I got back I fell asleep right away.

The next day we didn’t do much; I slept in and in the afternoon Melissa came over and we watched He’s Just Not That Into You which was actually pretty good. At around 5 we went to Barb’s for the family gathering. Everyone was there except Tyler which was too bad. We had burgers and smokies and some great dessert. It was nice to see everyone at once, especially since I only get those big family experiences in Winnipeg every year or two. John drove Oma and I home but we had to stop at Candace’s on the way home because I forgot my sweatshirt and my cupcake there. We happened to drive by her on our way… she was driving back to Barb’s to drop my stuff off. We did the trade in the middle of the road.. haha. Anyway we got back and nothing too eventful happened.

Monday Auntie Debbie picked me up at 1230 and we headed over to Kim’s (16) school to pick her up. Kim only had a math exam and a meeting so she was getting out of school early. She goes to a really tiny private school called Westgate Mennonite Collegiate. Deb explained to me that Westgate is in a really old rich part of Winnipeg surrounded by a very rough neighborhood. Interesting. We were planning to go shopping but first we stopped at Eva’s Gelato and got some delicious gelati. The man behind the counter was nice and kept giving us little spoonfuls of different flavors. He had this little spoon machine that dispensed these tiny plastic spoons. It was awesome. I ended up with one scoop of Chocolate Kiss (rich chocolate with cherries) and one of Dolce de Luce (caramel). Kimberly had one scoop of Mocha and one of Coconut Explosion. Debbie had one scoop of Choco Torta, a combo of the dolce de luce and cheesecake flavors with chocolate cakeish pieces in it. We determined that all flavors are heavenly. After gelato we went to the big Garage store in town. I bought several shirts and one pair of Capri sweatpants. Most of it was on sale which was awesome. Kim and Deb bought some scarves. Then we went next door to Warehouse One where I bought some more shirts. It was quite the shopping spree!

The plan was for them to drop me off back at Oma’s so I could drive the Crown Victoria and Oma over to Uncle Don’s, so nobody would have to drop us back off. On the way there we drove around the University Of Manitoba (where my mom and several other relatives attended), and it was pretty neat. We also drove through St. Bonaface, the very French part of Winnipeg, which I didn’t even know existed. We also passed the stadium where the Goldeyes (baseball team) play. It was fun.

I got back and showed Oma my new clothes, as well as telling her that I would like it if she knit an afghan for me. Earlier that day she had asked me if I wanted one, but I was unsure. I decided while in the car with Deb and Kim that I would really appreciate one, and Oma was happy enough to knit one for me. As soon as I asked her she took me downstairs to check out the color selection, then upstairs to choose a pattern. In the end we decided on an “easy” pattern that will be 8 ‘strips’ wide. I wanted my school colors so it will go doublewide maroon/single white/double black/single white/double maroon, much like the collar and wrists of my swim jacket. Cool.

After the afghan picking I drove us over to Uncle Don’s house for dinner. We had pizza and it was good. We hung around and watched some baseball until the Bachelorette came on. The current Bachelorette is Canadian, which is why my Oma watches, and it’s just a girly reality show that interests Kim and Debbie. It wasn’t too bad but I probably won’t follow it.
After the Bachelorette finished at 9 Oma and I drove back to her place. I called home and started packing. I showered and stuff and went to bed when I was done packing.

Winnipeg pt 1

Quote of the Day: Somebody gonna get-a hurt real bad! -Russell Peters (quoting his father)
Song of the Day: Superstition by Stevie Wonder

The entry posted prior to this was written at Uncle Ken's house. He picked us up on his way home from work and then brought us back to Gilia after dinner, talking, and relaxing. At Ken's we ate burgers and fries (the fries had seasoning on them.. awesome) and I watched a comedy DVD of the Canadian comic Russell Peters with Tyler, Adam, and Shawn. He was pretty funn, I liked it. Auntie Lori also took pictures but she didn't send them to me yet. After Uncle Ken dropped Oma and I back at home, we played two games of croquinole before bed. I won both games!

Wednesday morning I had cereal for breakfast. Auntie Barb and Melissa picked us up at 10:30 and we headed to Polo Place Mall. First thing that happened was Oma cut her thumb on the railing in McNally Robinson. Super. Anyway she was bleeding but we got some bandaids on her ad kind of took care of it. Melissa and I went into Garage and I got a green belt which is pretty sweet. We went in some other stores including Blue Notes, where we each got two tshirts. I got a pink one with a cartoon of a bowl of cereal and a carton of milk that says, “Soulmates,” and a grey one with two dice on it that says, “That’s How I Roll." Melissa got one with a cartoon of a porcupine and a balloon that says, “Impossible Love,” and one that has a cassette tape that says “omg I’m so retro!” haha they had some pretty funny shirts. We also went in the Bay, where Oma and Barb bought some things, and Roots, but I didn’t buy anything in there. After shopping we went to Prairie Ink, a restaurant in the bookstore. I had half of a Santa Fe BBQ pizza with a ceasar salad. It was really good!

We went to pick up Emily from school and went back to their house. We chilled out and watched TV, and got A&W for supper at my request. We watched “So You Think You Can Dance?” and then Barb brought us back home. After finishing the chocolate cake from Monday, I played some Lewis Black for Oma and we talked about swimming for a while, then it was bedtime!

This morning I woke up around 10:45 and had a toasted bagel and a banana for breakfast. Oma let me take the Crown Victoria and I drove to Seven Oaks Pool to swim for a while. I have only driven the car once before and it’s huge, so before I left the neighborhood I drove around a little to get used to it. At Seven Oaks they have a nice 50 m pool which was split into a diving well, 25 m pool with lanes, and whatever was left was the shallow end for playing etc. For a while I was the only person in the pool, but at the end there were lots of kids there for swimming lessons. I swam 3700 meters, which is about 4000 yards, and left after an hour and 15 minutes. When I got back I had a shower and Oma and I ate leftover spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. We watched a little television and then we played Scrabble. I won 323-232. It was a close game until I made “strudel” and used all my letters for a 50 point bonus. It was fun, anyway! Then we watched Jeopardy!, which I always enjoy.

We left the house at 6 pm and I drove to River East Collegiate with no trouble. We arrived there for the jazz concert at about 6:15. We went in the auditorium and saved seats for Uncle Dave, Cousin Sam (11), Melissa, and Auntie Candace. There were four acts in the concert, and John was in three of them. The first was the Jazz Band, which is REC’s lower level instrumental jazz group. It’s a really big group and they played 3 songs. John had a bari sax solo on the first and was very good, as were all of their songs. Their third tune was Sing, Sing, Sing, which I love. Next was Jazzmyn, the lower jazz vocal group. They weren’t too bad. It was mostly girls and their outfits were (awful) black leggings with their choice of colorful dressy long shirt/shirtdress. So they sounded good but their outfits were mostly bad. After Jazzmyn was Vocalease, the better vocal group. They were awesome. John sang a solo on a song called Fever which was pretty sweet. I didn’t known John could sing at all, but he was awesome. Closing the show was the Jazz Orchestra, the one-to-a-book instrumental group. Their first song, Sophisticated Lady, featured John on bari sax and also gave him a chance to show off his talents in circular breathing. On the next song, Dali, John and this other kid Jacob did a cool two-saxophone dueling solo thing which was SO impressive. I just thought it was great. The third song was a Duke Ellington chart that had some good piano, French horn, and clarinet solos. Finally, the band played Superstition (the Stevie Wonder song) and John sang the vocals on that, and was very capable as far as singing like Wonder goes. Overall the concert was great and I really enjoyed it.

I drove Oma, Melissa, and Candace back to the Hodge’s where we caught up with Auntie Barb and cousin Emily (13), who had just come back home from Emily’s jazz concert. Hers went well too, apparently. We hung around a bit and showed Barb and Emily some video of John’s performance while eating grapes, watermelon, and Amish friendship bread (which was delicious). John came home for a bit then left, and Tim came home as well. I checked my email and Oma and I left shortly after ten and made it home safe! We watched some tv, I ate a Snickers, and then we went to bed.

Today I got up around 10 and Oma and I had scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. We hung around for a few hours, then John called and I went to pick him up from school. As soon as we got back we walked over with Oma to Boston Pizza. We shared a large BBQ chicken pizza which was delicious!! Then we all walked back to Oma’s house and John and I played cribbage. In the first game he was leading for a while, then I got the lead and ran with it. The second game he won quickly. The third game was a tiebreaker and it took a while but I won. Then we watched some Corner Gas with Oma and I called my house and talked to my Dad and sister.

Winnipeg pt 2

Quote of the day: I don't know much about being a millionaire, but I'll bet I'll be darling at it. - Dorothy Parker
Song of the day: Frank Sinatra by Cake

Okay so I typed a big entry but I can't upload it onto Auntie Candace's computer so that will have to wait. And the quote of the day today didn't come from anything funny from the day, but oh well. And there's no pictures. Sorry. I'm going to pick up where the entry I already wrote but didn't post leaves off. You'll have to wait in suspense for the time period in between.

Yesterday Candace picked me up at Oma's and brought me to her house. I'm staying for two nights. Last night we watched Eagle Eye, and it was very good. We also ate some chicken fingers, spring rolls, and ice cream. Pretty much we just hung around.

Today I went for a short run on the treadmill. We went with her best friend Cheryl on some errands to the mall and Water World and Sobey's and such. We also went and saw the Marilyn Monroe exhibit at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It was interesting. The best part of the day was when we went to The Cupcakery and got a dozen mini cupcakes of assorted flavors. They were delicioussssss!!! We bought them and then proceeded to eat 9 of them just standing in the store. The chef guy was amused, to say the least. Now we're just hanging out for a while until some of my cousins come over, then we're going out for the night. Should be fun.

Tomorrow we're planning just to hang out and she's going to put me to work helping her sort photographs. We're going to Auntie Barb's for dinner with the rest of the family. woohoo!

Apparently it snowed in Calgary today. hahahahahahahah

Return to Winnipeg

Quote of the Day: Look, short sleeved dress shirt and tie... oh. -Auntie Barb
Song of the Day: On the Road Again by Willie Nelson

So, I made it to Winnipeg. Oma doesn't have the internet (or a computer) so I don't have much opportunity to post anything. I will write something on my computer and post more soon!!

Went for a run today, probably about 3.5 miles. I meandered around Oma's neighborhood, and miraculously didn't get lost. yay. She has a great neighorhood for running, lots of nice sidewalks.. not to mention it was beautiful outside. Once I came back and showered Oma and I went to the mall and got cheesecake ice cream in waffle cones from Laura Secord. yum!

Last night I saw most of my family and today (well, now) am seeing the rest. Good stuff. Nice to see everyone again (first time in 2 years)!

After they all left yesterday Oma and I had our own MNC. I skunked her, then won one, then lost one. So I won 3-1 in the end. I think we're going to keep a running score for the week though. We're also going to play croquinole. Woot! :)

Calgary

Quote of the day: Would you like a free week at Curves? ...I thought you looked interested in fitness. -Some lady
Song of the day: We Are Family by Sister Sledge

Tomorrow I'm off to Winnipeg from Calgary. It's been fun, I must say. All my cousins are much different than when I last saw them... they're all five years older so a lot has changed.

Saturday was pretty relaxing. Woke up at the crack of 11, got dressed and ate honey nut cheerios. Autumn (13) came over and chilled for a while, then we headed to the Botterils' with Grandma. We hung there for a bit and then took Clare (9) to the South Centre mall. It's all under construction so it's kind of gross but it was fun to walk around. There's a bunch of expensive stores there. The goal of our trip was to get Autumn's cell phone fixed/replaced. It took a long time so Clare and I chilled out on the couch outside the store and fooled around.

I like Clare a lot. She's only nine so she doesn't remember me but we get along really well. She's an easygoing kid with lots of enthusiasm. As we were walking around the mall I would lightly push her into walls and plants and things and ask her why she was walking so crooked... ahah. She took it well though and played back.

For lunch we went to the food court and got Edo Japan. I had shrimp with veggies and rice... very good. No purchases at SC except Autumn got a hat. I would have gotten one too but Susan is making me one just like that so I didn't bother buying one!

After the mall we took Clare and Autumn back and came back to the grandparents'. Auntie Lori, (step-)Uncle Mike, and Geoff came over for burgers. They were really good. I get along with Mike well. Dessert was lemon meringue and rhubarb pie. Mike and I fought over the lemon pie. It was good though!!

At 10 step-cousin Olivia (19) picked me up and we went to meet her friends at Donagals, a pub. I've never been to a pub before but since the legal age here is only 19 she thought it would be nice to take me out. It was pretty cool. I met like 10 of her friends and they were all interesting. It was nice just to be able to go to a bar, low key, chilling out with some cool people. I never really talked to Olivia too much before so it was nice to get to know her better as well. She was enthralled at the fact that in the States there are actual fraternities and sororities and frat parties, etc. She goes to school in BC so it's different there. I told her she should come visit and we can go out and party together. That would be fun I think.

We got back to Lori's at around 2 and I slept over there. The bed was very comfy! I got up at about 930 and got dressed and stuff but nobody else was around/awake. Eventually I got a bagel and Gram came and picked me up. We went back to her place and got ready to go to the lilac festival with the Botts. We drove over there and acquired Erin (15), Hannah (12), and Clare. We went to Calgary's Lilac Festival, this big street fair with vendors and food and stuff, named because it takes place when the lilacs are coming out.

The Lilac Festival was pretty cool. We all got Mini Melts and I introduced Hannah to the Cake Batter flavor... she loved it. Success. We didn't buy anything else but we got a couple small free things and Gram treated us all to Jungo Juice, which was pretty tasty. We sat on a couch made of bricks which was neat. Some lady tried really hard to give me a free week at Curves. I told her that I don't need it because I swim competitively and she said, "Good for you... I thought it looked like you were interested in fitness." I'm not exactly sure that that's what she was really thinking, but whatever. It was funny to say the least. We had to head back to drop the girls off because Clare and Erin had soccer games. At their house, Clare and Hannah each played a song on the piano for me, and I played a couple for them. I was impressed with their playing!

Gram and I went back to her house for lunch and she made me a great ham sandwich. Then Grandpa and I headed out to Clare's soccer game. It was pretty funny to watch. Her team won 4-0 and she scored a goal from defense. I think it was kind of an accident, but hey, it counts and it was awesome. She was pretty pumped. After her game we headed to Erin's game, which was at a different park. They lost 7-0, unfortunately. Erin wasn't too happy. Oh well. Then we took Hannah home with us and the rest came over a bit later for dinner, chicken and steak. Gram made molten lava cakes for dessert and they were amazing!! They stayed for a while then headed home. Clare hugged me like 3 times before she left, and got my email address. :)

Gram and I watched a movie we rented, Doubts. It was okay but kind of weird. Apparently it won a bunch of awards. Whatever, it's not exactly my style but that's all right. After the movie we checked-in for my flight tomorrow and chose a seat. I got an aisle seat which I'm happy about. Now I'm off to go repack my suitcase... aka shove everything back in so I can make it to the 'Peg!

Nevermind

Quote of the day:.. none yet :(
Song of the day: I Found A Way by Drake Bell

I found my charger!! On my bed under a pillow... I thought I hadn't touched that pillow yet. Success!

We called the airline yesterday and made a case number and stuff... oh well. I had it the whole time haha.

Can't decide if it's dumber to lose it on the plane or dumber to think you lost it but actually have it.

Off to go shopping!

Travel

Quote of the Day: Mommy happy? -Me, apparently when I was little and knew my mom wasn't happy.
Song of the Day: Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters

I arrived in Calgary today! Flights were both good and uneventful. I flew through Montreal and couldn't read any of the advertisements there because they were all in French. Montreal customs was set up to handle like thousands of people but I saw exactly three. On the second flight I watched Yes Man! and it was actually pretty funny. Unfortunately I stupidly left my laptop charger on the plane. Fail.

So, I posted all my New York blogs but there are no pictures yet. Accompanying pictures will be posted as soon as I have battery and internet on my laptop, hopefully soon!

Once I got here Grandma and Grandpa picked me up at the airport. Apparently they didn't see me because my grandma looked completely startled when I waved at her and she saw me. Ah well. haha it was pretty funny.

After a stop we got to their house and ate fajitas for dinner with brownies and smarties ice cream for dessert. Very nice. I met the neighbor and her 5 year old daughter, Saydha, who made me color with chalk and thought my name was Aladdin. haha. Then we went to my Aunt Lori's house and to Second Cup Coffee, Co to see cousin Autumn (13) and step cousin Olivia (my age), who's taking me out tomorrow night. I tried an Italian soda, which is just flavored syrup with Soda water. I got the raspberry flavor. Much better than expected.

Now I am back at Gram's just chilling and trying to play scrabble on facebook and beating myself up for losing my charger.

SO MANY PICTURES WILL BE ADDED IN A FEW DAYS/TWO WEEKS, WHATEVER WORKS BETTER.

New York, part 3

Quote of the day: We rode in a convertible. We asked Jesus; he loves you not. –J & I
Song of the day: Not Coming Home by Maroon 5

Sunday we were booked on a 3 pm bus back to Providence. We were invited to Molly’s dad’s house for brunch, so we went over there at about 10:15. It was a 15 minute drive. When we arrived we met Molly’s dad, step mom, 9 year old sister Carly, and beloved dog Heidi. Molly loves that dog! We played some Apples to Apples with Carly and her friend and ate brunch which was very impressive. Some kind of breakfast casserole (not quiche but very similar), sausage, awesome fruit salad, and amazing croissants. It was really nice. We went for a walk around the hilly neighborhood with Heidi before we had to leave. We drove back to Molly’s mom’s and collected our stuff, and were off to the bus station by 2 pm. We couldn’t really find anywhere to park so Molly just kind of pulled over, and got out quickly to hug each of us. She left us where we had met her on Friday, and we found our way back to the bus area. We got on the bus and it left 2 minutes after.

The busride was rather uneventful. Toni napped and read Angels and Demons, Juliana just sat there, and I listened to my iPod until I had to explain the movie to Juliana and Toni.For most of the time each of us had our own seat, until we got to the last stop before ours, Foxwoods, and a crapload of people got on. Then Toni and I shared and Juliana shared with some random person.

When we arrived in Providence it was raining. Juliana’s dad was there to pick us up, and Toni’s mom was there to pick her up. Jules and I said goodbye to Toni and headed back to the Roses’. I left shortly after we got back because I had to be up early the next day for the parade.

The ride home was a bit of an adventure. Providence has a bunch of new roads that my trusty GPS didn’t know about yet. I was supposed to take exit 20 to get on 195… no exit 20 to be found!!! Exit 19... Exit 21... Oh no. Ended up going in a circle twice and ignoring the GPS and following signs to get on the highway. Made it home eventually but it took a little longer than usual!

What a great trip... so glad I went!! <3

Part 2: New York City

Quote of the day: Sounds like my kind of guy! -Juliana
Song of the day: NYC from the musical Annie

We had decided to go into NYC on Saturday, and that’s what we did. It was great and though the forecast was rain, it was beautiful and sunny all day long in the city.
We were taking the 10:07 train into Grand Central Terminal, so we woke up around 9:15and ate bagels that her mom had gotten for us. We were planning to leave around 9:45 and at 9:40 realized we were still eating and better get ready. I wore my red and white striped shirt so that we could play Where’s Waldo all day. Her mom drove us the short ride to the train station and we made it on time. The train ride was about an hour but not too bad of a ride. Toni braided Molly’s hair and that was the most interesting thing that happened.

Once we got to GCT we decided to take the Subway to SoHo to start the day. On the subway some random guy kept talking to us. Apparently people are friendly in New York. Once in SoHo we walked around a bit and went to a flea market. I got a cool winter hat that I really like and MoPo got some sunglasses. We tried to walk toward Chinatown so we could eat lunch there by ended up in Chelsea instead. We walked “through” the campus of NYU and Toni was fascinated that their academic buildings are dispersed throughout several blocks of the cityOn 6th Ave (“Avenue of the Americas”) in Chelsea we found a street fair and walked through. Juliana finally got the corndog she’s been craving since midwinter. We got some flavored kettlecorn and Starbucks iced coffee ‘fo free!’ . We also passed by Murray’s Bagels, which apparently is famous and Toni “saw it on the Food Network!” She told everybody, even the people sitting outside. We went in and she bought a bagel. I got a cookie… it was still good.

Since we were getting hungry and clearly not getting anywhere near Chinatown, we decided to stop at the next lunch place we walked by in Chelsea. We ended up at this place called Lenny’s, which is a sandwich place that also does catering. I got a tasty “American” sandwich that was huge.

After lunch we got back on the subway and headed to 59th, right at the entrance of Central Park.Before going into the park itself we decided we need to hit the fun stores that are right outside it. First we went into the Apple Store, which is just cool in its design. The whole store is underground except for the glass elevator and stairs that come up to ground level in a small cylindrical glass room. Once you go downstairs its still pretty cool, and all the shelves are only half-height so you can see the whole store. There were cool Apple gadgets all over the place and it was neat to walk around. We went down the stairs to get in and up the elevator to get out. Sweet. After Apple we went into FAO Schwartz, the coolest biggest toy store I’ve ever seen. I loved FAO Schwartz. We took a picture with the “guard” at the door, but it’s on Juliana’s camera so it may be lost and gone forever..haha. When we walked in we saw these huge lego statues of Harry Potter and Star Wars characters. It was sweet.

We went a little further and came across this kiosk thing where these guys were playing with rectangularly shaped bean bags and doing some tricks. They were actually pretty fun, and I learned some stuff. The guy tried really hard to sell me one and I took it… but I put it down a few feet away when he wasn’t looking… I didn’t really want to buy an $8 beanbag that I probably won’t play with. When I took one the others just said they live with me and would use mine… not really true anymore, but oh well. Going up the escalator led us to the Harry Potter section of the store. They had lots of cool memorabilia including wands, a sorting hat, the Marauder’s Map and other little collectors items and figurines. I noticed that on a wand sign they spelled “Professor” wrong and "Voldemort". FAO FAIL! Aha. I was proud of myself for noticing. We kept going and walked through the Barbie section and the plushie section.

Molly got really excited in the plushie section because of all the stuffed toy dogs. Molly loves dogs. LOVES them. Every dog we saw in NYC she tried to pet. It was absolutely insane; Juliana was holding her back by her braid. Ahahah. Awesome. “I touched it guys, I touched it. It brushed up against my leg” she said after stalking one dog for a block or so. Anyway in the store she loved the dogs and kept petting them. It was funny to watch.

The big piano was my favorite part of the store. This piano is so cool. When we arrived they told us to take off our shoes and we could go play on it. I played some random notes, then I played the melody part of Heart and Soul. You had to listen pretty carefully though because there were other people stomping on different keys as well. Then Toni and I decided to play Chopsticks. At first we tried to play an octave apart from each other, but were too short to be able to play parts by ourselves. So we collaborated on the first section and it sounded really cool. I’m sure we looked silly jumping, but it was awesome. I played the second and third sections and I heard a lady say, “she’s really good!” As soon as I finished the song Juliana made me get off because there were other people waiting…. Man I wish I had one of those for myself. I think it was like $200,000 though. Oh well.

We left FAO Schwartz and got ice cream cones from a truck on the way to CP. I got mine dipped in chocolate…yum! We ate our ice creams as we wandered around Central Park, and we eventually found a grassy place to sit down and people-watch. We were facing the road that people run & bike on that goes around the park. We hung out there for a while and took pictures. It was fun and relaxing, especially since we’d been walking a lot. We spent most of the day walking up and down 5th and 6th avenues but we saw all kinds of stuff because of it. On our way out of the park we saw two guys practically handfeeding a squirrel. Woah.

After CP we decided it was time to head down toward Times Square, which is predominantly 42nd to 46th streets. Since we were walking down Fifth Avenue we of course had to stop at all the fancy stores.

First stop: Louis Voutton.
Notes: They have great bathrooms. No purchases.

Second Stop: Tiffany & Co.
Notes: Their bathrooms are also nice. They call them “lounges.” When we walked in an employee told us we need to be ‘empowered women’ and that we ‘deserve the best’ and that (since we’re from around Boston) someday we are going to meet a guy who loves sports, and after a while he’ll ask us to marry him, and then after 3 years he’ll want to have kids, and these kids will be two 6’ 2” and 6’3” beasts who will be forced into football by their father and blah blah blah and you don’t want to be with someone like that do you? I’m not really sure what the point of the story was except that we should tell whoever it is that we want Tiffany’s. Juliana said that this so called undesirable husband sounds like exactly the kind of person she wants to be with, and I told the guy that my kids are going to be swimmers. He tried to change the story as if my kids would be swimming without the permission/approval of their dad… I don’t know. I say my children can do whatever they want as far as that is concerned. Anyway he was really nice and pointed out to us the famous Tiffany Diamond. Apparently when discovered the canary diamond was 284 carats…. Cut down to 128. Still huge, but over half gone? That’s ridiculous. We perused the diamond floor as well as the metal floor and it was very sparkly. No purchases.

Third Stop: Abercrombie & Fitch
Notes: it was plaid day. All the guys had plaid shirts on and jeans and the female employees were wearing plaid shirtdresses. They were all model/employees. One girl just had to stand there and move a little to the music. Imagine getting hired purely to stand there and look good? The music was too loud and we didn’t spend long here. Again, no purchases.

We went in some other random stores and attempted to get cheap tickets to see the Little Mermaid on Broadway. The available tickets were the exact opposite of cheap, so we didn’t buy any. We also crossed 52nd Street, where BeBop was founded. In jazz history I learned that BeBop began at Minton’s Playhouse and Monroe’s Uptown house on 52nd St, hence its original title of “52nd Street Jazz.” We didn’t walk down but I took a picture of the sign.

Destination: Time Square
Hooray! We made it! Upon arrival we made a beeline for the M&Ms store, where they were giving out free samples of their new “Strawberry Peanut Butter” m&ms. They tasted a bit like eating peanut butter and jelly and were pretty good. The store was cool because a couple of the walls were lined with columns of m&ms in many many colors and mixes (example: The “taxi mix” had yellow, white, and black m&ms).The only thing I bought in this store was a squished penny for my dad’s collection. 51 cents… probably the cheapest thing in the entire store. After that we stopped by the Lindt store, which also had a wall lined with chocolate. I got a free sample of a Lindt truffle…. So good. I took a picture of Juliana in front of the chocolate wall and as she was taking one of me an employee told us no pictures were allowed… then offered to take one of both of us “before my boss sees me.” It was great.

We were getting hungry so we decided to find a place to eat dinner. Molly knew of an Italian restaurant she had eaten at before, so we went towards it. WE ended up at Scarlatto’s, a nice Italian restaurant next to the one Molly had previously been to. I had spaghetti and meatballs which was very tasty. There was a guy constantly refilling our water glasses and there was bread with oil. Their bathrooms were rather small. Overall dinner was very enjoyable.

We planned to take the 8:48 train back to Mount Kisco, so after dinner we headed over to GCT. They others wanted to stop at Starbucks on the way, and while they were inside I took a couple pictures of a “Bubba Gump” sign across the street, as well as some pictures of Times Square in general. We had been taking “where’s Waldo” pictures during the day so we took a couple more and got on the train as scheduled. Molly’s mom picked us up at the station and brought us home, where she had birthday cupcakes waiting for us. My birthday is in April, but Molly, Juliana, and Toni all have their birthdays at the end of May, so it was a little bday celebration. The cupcakes were from a new local bakery and were pretty delish.

That night we hung around Molly’s house. We all felt gross from being in the city all day so showers were the first thing on the agenda. Afterwards we got our beds ready, started watching “Inside Man” with Clive Owen, and continued eating the cookie dough from the night before. It was still good. I was the only person who managed to stay awake for the whole movie (ironic since I didn’t drink any coffee) but I enjoyed it. On the bus ride home the next day I had to explain the ending to both Juliana and Toni. Ah well. Toni slept on Molly’s air mattress and refused to move, so Molly and I shared for the night. I think we all slept like babies! I know I did at least.

New York, part 1

Quote of the day: Guys! They said it’s okay to marry your first cousin… I have a cousin who’s my age! -Molly
Song of the day: Here It Goes Again by OK Go

Molly invited Juliana, Toni, and me to come visit her in Mount Kisco, NY a while ago. It took a long time to plan because we had some communication issues, and nobody really had the vehicle or will to drive down there. Molly’s place is about 3 hours drive from Juliana/Toni in RI. We finally decided on the Greyhound bus and I pretty much planned it. Our bus was supposed to leave Providence on Friday morning at 8:30 and arrive in Stamford, CT at 12:30. Molly would pick us up there. Since I bought our tickets online we had to pick them up an hour before our departure time at the bus station.

Since I had to be there at 7:30 Juliana invited me to sleep over at her house on Thursday night, as she lives much closer to Providence than I do. So Thursday at 745 ish I left my house, and made an out of the way pit stop at the mall to pick up a pair of capris that my mom bought for me and had with her at work. The drive wasn’t too bad and the GPS led the way successfully until the very end. It said I had “400 feet” left to my destination… then when I got to 0 feet I was in front of a house. Hooray! Unfortunately it was number 272, not 190 like I wanted. Hmm. Now the houses on this road are very spread out so I kept going, then got to the point where the road changed names. No good. So I turned around, drove past 272, then 242, and found 190. Hooray for real!

Her mom kept apologizing because the kitchen was messy because they were getting new counters… but it made no difference to me. I was pumped to see Jules and we went out and got fixings for ice cream sundaes, which were deliciouss. I also met her pet poodle, Lexi, who is very shy but a nice dog nonetheless. We watched some “So you think you can dance” and went to bed, of course talking the whole time. I slept on a little foam mattress thing on her floor.

We were set to wake up at 630 on Friday morning so we could leave by 7 am. At 6:10 her mom opened the door and told us we had 20 minutes left to sleep. …. It was confusing to say the least. Anyway I ate 2 peanut butter granola bars because apparently none of the Roses like those ones, and we were off a little after 7. Her dad successfully dropped us off at the train station and we picked up our tickets. We waited around the station for a while and got breakfast sandwiches and coffee/hot chocolate (since I don’t drink coffee). We’re standing there and we hear a guy walk by saying “Rose… Juliana Rose…. Rose?!” And we’re like… uhhhh yea! She left her ticket on the counter at the food place. Silly J. We got it back though so that was good. Then Toni showed up and it was a happy Riley <304 reunion.

We got on the bus and each got our own seat. The trip was less than exciting. Toni and I slept a little and Juliana just sat there. The bus stopped a lot, including at Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, New London CT and Bridgeport. We ran a little late but we got to Stamford at 12:45. Then we had to get out and find Molly. In Stamford the train station and bus stations are combined so we were a bit confused. We walked through and when we got outside we called Molly. She was actually on the same street as us only up further, so she went around the block to come get us.

Me: I think that’s Molly!
Juliana: That’s not Molly.
Me: That is Molly!
Juliana: That’s definitely not Molly.
Both: Molly!

It was Molly. Hah. Molly pulled over and we crossed the street and all jumped in the car, then she drove away. We went for lunch in downtown Stamford at a place called Bobby valentine’s. It had lots of sports memorabilia (He was a baseball player.) I had an awesome burger.

After lunch we drove about an hour back to Molly’s in Mount Kisco and she showed us some sights. Apparently Chevy Chase and Martha Stewart live there and the author of the American Girl book series grew up there. We also drove past her high school, Fox Lane High.

We got to her mom’s house and set up in the living room. A little while her mom came home from work and made dinner, which was very very good. We had chicken, asparagus, and orzo. We spent the rest of the night just hanging around Molly’s house catching up, which was nice because we were pretty tired from our trip and stuff. Molly had bought a huge package of Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough, so we cracked it open… and man was it good. Molly’s dad had 3 air mattress (2 singles and 1 double) so we slept on those in the living room. Juliana and Molly each had their own while Toni and I shared.

It was so awesome to see them again, I missed them so much!!

Daily Things

Quote of the day: Is that ...? I never heard her first name before! - Dad
Song of the day: Leaving on a Jet Plane by the Mitchell Trio

Tomorrow I am going to Canada! woohoo!

Today my sister was inducted to the National Honor Society of Taunton High. I went to the dinner/ceremony with my parents. I deserted my parents at dinner though and went to sit with my friend Susan from high school, whose brother was being inducted as well. It was nice to see her again!! I promised to call her when I get back from my travels and hopefully it will result in some time spent hanging out together. And, she told me she's almost done with my slouchy hat! yay!

After going to jazz band and lifting for both Thursday and Friday at the YMCA, I spent most of the day packing for my trip. I'm still not done. Should probably do that. Also I think that tomorrow I will do my NYC blog while on the plane/in the airport. Good plan, no? My only other real option to fill that time is to read Catch-22, which I just started last night. I love that book. Funny thing is, it's one of my favorites but I've never actually read the whole thing. I had to read it for AP English my senior year, and I read 80% of it but ran out of time to finish. So.... I sparknoted the rest, and once I found out what happened I of course didn't want to read the last few chapters. This time I vow to read the complete novel!!!

That's all for today. Didn't have much to say but felt like writing something. Must pack!!

Easter... again! & other things

Song of the day: Pickin' It Up by Hot Hot Heat

An amazing thing happened to me yesterday.

I found a Cadbury Cream Egg that was hidden at Easter! It was hidden in plain sight on top of the fire extinguisher in the hallway by the side door. Yesterday I accidentally touched the fire extinguisher instead of the wall, looked at it, and was pumped to see this egg there.

My mom said it might be a new record - Easter was on April 12, and this egg was found on May 26. Andrew came home with me and my parents set up our traditional candy hunt in the living room/kitchen area. Can't believe that egg was still there, and the best part is it was just as delicious as it would have been a month ago.

SCORE. :)

In other news, today I baked a cake for my dad's birthday, which is tomorrow. It looks and smells delicious. Can't wait to enjoy it! And although this was made from a box, the other day I made some chocolate chip banana muffins from scratch, and they were awesome, if I do say so myself.

Monday I marched in my 9th Memorial Day parade ever, haha. Since I'm not in high school anymore I was in the Kingston Parade with the Taunton City Band. It wasn't that well attended but it was okay, and I got paid so that was cool. Plus it was nice to see the other TCB people again... gearing up for our summer gigs! After the parade I was really glad I've been going to THS to play, otherwise my lips would have been dead. My dad and I went to the new Henry's Rootbeer on the way home (now known as the Stand Drive In) and it was a little disappointing, but at least the Cake Batter Ice Cream was tasty. :)

This past weekend I went to New York with Toni and Juliana to visit Molly, and it was awesome. Full entry on that soon.

On Friday I'm going to Calgary, then on Monday it's off to Winnipeg for a week. I'm pretty bored at home so I'm excited to be going on a trip!!

Also, yesterday I signed up for piano lessons for the summer, starting once I get back from Canada. So excited!!!!!!!!

No Rain

Quote of the day: I have to be nice... because he had cancer.
Song of the day: No Rain by Blind Melon

I've been listening to my Simple Harmonic Motion (WPI's all-male a capella group; they're really amazing) CD recently and this song caught my attention because it kind of sums up how I've been feeling lately.

No Rain

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
And speak my point of view
But it's not sane, it's not sane

I just want someone to say to me oh, oh, oh, oh
"I'll always be there when you wake" yea, yea
Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today, hey
So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I don't understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there's no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape
Escape......escape......escape......

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
You don't like my point of view
You think that I'm insane
It's not sane... It's not sane

I just want someone to say to me oh, oh, oh, oh
"I'll always be there when you wake" yea, yea
Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today, hey
So stay with me and I'll have it made

I'll have it made (you know I'm gonna)
I'll have it made (you know I'm gonna)
I'll have it made (you know I'm gonna)
(I'll have it made I'll have it made
You know we're really gonna, really gonna have it made
Gonna have it made ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh)

In other news, I went to the Taunton High Spring Concert tonight, and it was awesome. I was very impressed with all of the groups. The jazz band rocked out on "Act Your Age," and the Select Choir rocked out on the "Beatles Revue" which included Mr McKenzie and Uncle Billy on trumpet and Mr L on drums. The wind ensemble was very good (I'll admit, much better than I thought they would be) as was the concert band. The concert choir had a couple good songs. Overall, it was great!

After the concert I went to Friendly's with Sarah, Kevin, Danielle, Tim, and Nick. It was pretty fun. I had a delicious sundae which had a banana and peanut butter ice cream. yum!