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!