Christmas Cards

I am not really that big on Christmas cards, however, this year we all wanted to go together and take a picture of us roommates to send out to some family and friends. We pulled on our ugly sweaters and had some fun. Can't wait to see the finished product, but here are some samples for now!

Swing and a Miss

This last weekend we decided to get a round of golf in. The weather has not been that great for golfing as the rain keeps coming, so we wanted to take full advantage of a nice day.

So far this year I have golfed more then I have any other year. Being in Edmonton, there are so many courses to chose from, and so we have played 6 different ones so far. It was supposed to be 7, but last night we got rained out after a crazy storm that hit the city.

My big goal for golf this year is to score under 100. This is the first real year where I have golfed 18 holes, before it was just 9 that we would do. 100 is a pretty good score for the average golfer. Take into account that I have never had a lesson, just worked off of tips from friends and family, and 100 is an even better score!

"The Eng" showing us how it is done

Part of my problem in the past is that hardly any of my friends know how to golf, or just don't enjoy it like I do. This was all solved when my roommate Brett decided she wanted to take up the game. She has even bought her own clubs now, and we try to hit the course at least one a week, weather permitting.

Brett trying to stay out of the water.

The other thing that has really helped is that "the Eng" loves to golf! He is a really good golfer himself and has been able to help me with my game this year.

I think the best part about golfing this year has just been getting out with friends and having a couple of laughs. I am a highly competitive person, but with golf it doesn't seem so much about winning as you are only competing with yourself. Plus who can get mad or not be having fun when you have views like this!

Esks Opening Night

Well it is that time of the year and the Canadian Football League is back in action. We are pretty lucky here in Edmonton to have a decent team and a huge stadium to watch in. This year is also really exciting as Jenna, one of my room mates, is a cheerleader for the team!

Jenna doing her thing!

I have to say that I never really liked CFL football until one of my good friends Keith started to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Since then I have followed the game, and have actually started to go watch a few games. As with most sports it is much more entertaining to watch the game live then on TV.

Edmonton vs Calgary

With Jenna now part of the show it was fun to watch and see her in action. Those girls really do work hard on the field. With the CFL season being from June until November, the weather is highly unpredictable, and can go from 30+ degree days to -30 days as well.

My other favorite part of the game is the fireworks. I absolutley love a good pyro show, and no one does it better then my friend Shaun! He was on hand that night to help out with some touchdown celebrations and the half time show.

Shaun doing his thing in the end zone

Can't wait for the preseason to be done, and get this season under way, and a few more home games.

Times are a Changing!

We have been having a lot of changes happening around the house lately. Yes the snow is finally starting to melt, and spring cleaning has been happening, but we have also been seeing some new faces around the place.

Last May we had a 3rd roommate move into the house. I grew up with Kristen and danced with her for years, and Brett knew her through mutual friends (crazy how small this world is). We have had lots of fun having Kristen in the house. She is in her last month of medical school, and will be a full doctor in just a couple of weeks! It has been great having a resident doctor (literally) as both Brett and I are not so fond of hospitals....

As we spend the last month with Kristen in the house, we have welcomed a new roommate into our ever growing house. Brett's younger sister Jenna was selected to be part of the 2011 Edmonton Eskimos Cheer Team! Jenna is just finishing up her schooling in Red Deer, and is moving stuff into the house each week. Our basement is officially being transformed into a livable space not just storage...

Brett and I have been living vicariously through Jenna as she is pretty much a rock star now. The stories that she has from the cheer team already are pretty cool. Yesterday she had her first official photo shoot as an Esks girl!


Looking hot Jenna!

Movie Review: Black Swan

Last night Brett and I decided to go and check out a movie. We had both been wanting to see the Black Swan movie, and as it was cheap movie night we thought it would be the perfect way to spend a night before we both took off for Christmas.

The movie looked a little out there, but I love dancing, and the movie had gotten some really good reviews so I was really looking forward to seeing it.



I have to say that this is the worst movie I have ever seen. It is weird, creepy, and just messed up. The only good thing about it was about 5 minutes of the dancing, and the rest.... well lets just say it was not good.

Please save your money and go see another movie this holiday season. You will be thankful you did!

Bah Humbug

It should come to no shock to many of you that I am not a huge Christmas fan. I am not sure exactly what the reason is, but I though this year I would really make an effort to enjoy the Christmas season.

When I returned from Agribition it was great to see my roommates again. There was also one added addition to our house.... A Christmas Tree!

 

Now this was not all terrible. I do not really like decorating trees, so it was great to have it done and me not have to be part of it! The only problem that I had with it was that it was up before December 1st.... In my parents house we always have had a real tree, and it usually goes up the week of Christmas. So to see one up this early was a bit weird for me.

The best part of the tree had to be 2 decorations that caught my eye. Our newest roommate Kristen is also and Edmonton Oilers fan so I was thrilled that there was someone else on my team!

We told Brett maybe she could get a Saskatchewan Roughrider ordainment, but there was no way a Vancouver Cancuck ordainment was going on our tree!

Painting the Town Red

This weekend Brett and I were both in the city. This is a rare occurrence so we thought we would make the most of it.

We had both been wanting to head to the piano bar in West Edmonton Mall, and thought it would be the perfect night to do it. We got all dressed up and headed to West Ed.

The night started off with a stop at Hudson's to watch the first 1/2 of the Rider game. Brett is a rider fan, and I wanted to watch my friend Keith play.We then headed over to The Red Piano. This place is hands down my favorite place in Edmonton. It has a great crowd, and is just a ton of fun!The singers and performers are amazing! We sang everything from AC/DC to Eminem to Cyndi Lauper! We spend about 4 hours there, and it seemed like just a few minutes. We are already making plans to go back!
We didn't get any pictures of us girls there, as Brett would not let me take any pictures. Lets just say that there was bit of a height difference! More on that to come this week!!

The Search Begins

I love the house that I live in. I love where it is located at, I love my room, just everything is great about the house.... except 1 thing.

We pay A LOT in rent! It is not only the rent but when you have a 3 bedroom house, with only 2 of you living in it, it gets expensive. Brett and I have decided that we are going to try to move to somewhere that is a little more affordable, but try to same in the same area, or the SE (don't worry not in Millwoods!)

I have started to do a little bit of looking. I have been fortunate that I have always lived in a pretty new place. And I am pretty particular about the places that I live in. Currently our wish list looks like this:

• 2-3 bedrooms
• 2+ bathrooms
• New or renovated kitchen
• a yard (so no condos or apartments)
• parking for 1-2 vehicles
• in a good part of the city

Looks simple right. But it's not! There are a few places in the Silverberry neighborhood that look alright, and there are also a bunch of new townhouses that are just about finished in Terwilliger.

Hopefully as soon as Brett gets back we can start looking. We have to give notice on May 1st, which seems like a long time, but it's really not.

I will keep you posted on any places that we find.

Catching Up

Now that the Olympics are over, I have so much catching up to do both around the house, and on my blog.

Ever since the Olympics have finished I have been encouraged to get healthier. With my new job I have access to our hotel gym. I am making a promise to myself to work out at least twice a week. I have also been trying to accomplish one of my 101 in 1001, which is to go skating 20 times this winter. So far I have only been twice, so need to get my but in gear.

I have also been trying to get home as much as possible. Not only are there baby calves everywhere, but we also have 7 5 week old border collie puppies. If there was such thing as miniature border collies I would have one in a minute! Personally I don't think that there is anything cuter.

My roommate Brett also left to Costa Rica for 6 weeks. This means I have the house to myself, and can get caught up on lots of projects that are partially done. The first thing on my list was to do my taxes. I finished that last night, and now I am moving onto finishing my Thailand scrapbook.

We have also booked out tickets to New York for May long weekend. I have been making lists of things that I would like to do while we are there. One of my new finds is the The Museum at the FIT . Hopefully the girls will also wanna stop here too!

I am hoping to get back to Time to Share every Wednesday. Stay tuned to see what I have to share tomorrow!

Discovering the City

Although I have lived in Edmonton for 2 years exactly today (wow time flies) there are many parts of the city that I have not discovered yet.

Last night Brett and I decided to go skating at Hawrelak Park last night. Neither of us had ever been in that area, and heard that it really was beautiful.

Lets just say that it definitely did not disappoint. While down there it seems like you are not even in the city anymore. There is a huge pond that is great for skating, and even a little building to put your skates on in.

Around the area there were lots of people running, snowshoeing and cross country skiing. It really is a neat area. In the summer it is also home to lots of festivals and just a great place to get away.

We are planning to go back a few more times this week, so I will make sure to bring my camera this time!

Undercover Boss

Last night after watching a disappointing SuperBowl, Brett and I decided to watch a new show called Undercover Boss.

The idea behind the show is that an executive of a major company goes undercover as a new employee as some of the most ground level positions within the company. They then see how the employees are treated, issues within the company, and along the way possibly find some of their shinning stars within the company.

Last night featured the company WasteManagement. The president of the company went into the company to do positions such as sorting trash, cleaning porta-potties, and collecting trash.

Along the journey he seen first hand how some of the ideas and policies that he had put into place were not working, and some significant changes that needed to be made.

2 of my favorite parts in the show were:

1) how the truth was not hid. The reality of these peoples lives and the challenges that they faced were not covered up. Everything from employees having to urinate in tin cans while on the road, to an employee who was doing the job of 3 people, and not being compensated for it.

2) One of the featured employees cleaned porta-potties. This man made one of the most discusting jobs look almost fun. This man made the best of his situation, and had fun with it. He was so inspiring that the President of the company invited him to speak to all employees on having a positive attitude while at work.

I am really looking forward to next week to see who the next company is and the lessons learned along the way. I think that for anyone this show has a lot of lessons that can be learned, whether it be from management techniques, or how to treat your employees.

Stay tuned for more show highlights!

Vacation Time!

Each year a few of my girlfriends and I try to take a vacation somewhere in May. It works great because everyone is out of school, work hasn't gotten really busy, and there are some great deals.

Last year we went to Vegas, and my sister met us there for 5 days of fun in Sin City. It was a blast, and now we are trying to figure out what to do for 2010!

Crystal and a few of her friends are going to Nashville for a few days. This seemed like a great place to go... except that is $700 just to fly there!! We decided that unless a seat sale came on, there was no way that we were going to do that.

So then came the next question... where to do? We really liked Vegas, and wouldn't mind going back. We also thought about going to New York as well. LA also sounded like a good option, but we really are not sure where to do. Any advice on great places would be appreciated!

For now we just be looking for seat sales to happen, and checking expedia daily!

The Countdown Is On!

With less then 1 month until the Olympic games begin, the excitement is definitely in the air. Last night the Olympic torch made its way through Edmonton.

Brett and I headed down to Churchill Square to see the torch, and see the cauldron be lit. Although we were not sure what to expect, it was a pretty neat thing to see. There was so much pride and excitement in the air.

Although I am disappointed in some of the approaches that the Olympics are taking, I think that it will be an amazing few weeks to watch out Canadian athletes compete in their home country. I know I will be glued to the TV during that time!

The Gifts are Wrapped...

I spent the last 2 days wrapping the Christmas gifts that I have bought. I am not the usual gift wrapper. I hate the usual boring and ugly Santa or candy cane wrapping paper.

Last year I spent far to much money on just the wrapping paper and ribbon, so I toned it down this year. My roommate always laughs at me because you can say that my gifts don't really look "Christmasy".
Personally I think they look great! And I even tried to get a little in the Christmas spirit by using red paper and white ribbon.... that's close as it's going to get. My personal favorite is the silver paper with pink zebra striped ribbon... now tell me that doesn't give you some Christmas cheer!