Sunday, October 31, 2010
Burrrrrrrrr
It's cold here. Suddenly, it's really cold. I am such a wimp when it comes to cold, as I am realizing. I mean, we haven't really gotten snow yet (although it was falling softly from the sky yesterday) and it's only been minus one or two which to the locals is "nice." To me, though it's cold and I don't know how I'm going to survive minus 50. Seriously, they say it get's that cold for at least a week every winter, and other than that the average is minus 30. It's not as dry as Alberta which makes it feel colder. I'm in shock and awe that this is my lot for the next few years. I really have to endure this????
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Sarahstottle posted @ 6:30 AM
Saturday, October 16, 2010
A busy week
Confession: sometimes when I'm undressing in my room, I walk to the window, with the curtains pulled back and look defiantly onto my street and think to myself "I'm naked and you can't see me!" My window is higher up on the wall so when I'm looking out, it's just my head. I don't know why but there's some sort of satisfaction found from doing that.
This week was a busy one. We had a big thanksgiving dinner with some other out of towners from Alberta. The couple that hosted it was the same couple that had us over for dinner our first Sunday. They're really nice. The husband, Josh, reminds me of Jordan a bit. He's blond and balding and built similarly (he's slimmer than Jordan) and he's a very kind dad to his five children. His wife, Jill is one of these: Finds absolute joy in every minute of being a mother to her five children- and we aren't talking easy kids here- beautiful, slim, manages to do everything for everyone even though she's clearly busy with her own situation and does it all with a "it's no big deal" attitude and a gracious pretty smile. She's just so likable too. Let's just say I'm envious of her in many ways. She makes me want to be a be a better person. That's sounds corny but it's true. The dinner was nice, although my beef with thanksgiving dinner is that there's so many yummy things to eat that you only have room for a little of each thing on your plate and by the time you're done that plate of food, you're too full for anymore of the particular things that you enjoyed the most. Never mind about dessert! We visited and the kids played. Considering it was a thanksgiving away from family, it was as good as it could have been.
It was my turn to teach joy school this week. I had already been preparing since the week before, but I still felt like I wasn't ready. Especially since Monday was pretty much a right off. It was ok. The unit we're doing right now talks about rules and obeying rules and how rules are there so we can be happy. One of my days we focused on the rules of nature. One of the examples given was how if bees obey, they make honey, and they shouldn't sting or they'll die. Luck would have it that later that day, Adriel got stung by a bee on his chubby man paw. I don't know what it is about my kid's hands but I find them so darn cute. Chubby and huge. It really bothered me that he got stung. The protective mother in me was furious at the bee for hurting my little boy. His poor finger swelled to a disproportionate size. He was quite upset that the bee didn't obey the rules and that it died.
Last night was mine and Kyle's first night out. It was the harvest ball. We got a babysitter last minute, a young woman from our ward, Madeline who's 16. She was great with the kids. Adriel was SO excited about having a babysitter to play with him. It was nice to get out. The harvest ball here is different from the one in Nanaimo, in that there's no dinner. It's just a dance with entertainment and stuff. We weren't really sure what to expect. The theme was "a night at the gallery," and it was put together by an architect bishop and his wife. It was amazing, the effort they went into to make it look like an art gallery, complete with studio lighting. It featured art done by people throughout the stake. Kyle and I thought it was a really nice set up. What disappointed us, though, is that hardly anyone came. I'm not sure exactly how big the stake is, but there was hardly anyone there from our ward alone! We had a nice time though. We visited with another couple named Laura and John. Laura explained to me that she has a sister named Sarah. I told her I have a sister named Laura. We instantly knew how cool we were. She's my visiting teaching companion and I quite like her. Actually I have to say, there are many very nice people in our ward. I appreciate that.
Today we had a relief society at the church. Jill, the one I mentioned earlier ran this activity. I thought it was a really good idea. It was called "Are you eight cow certified?" Then there were different things- holy cow, cash cow, cow tipping, etc. I was asked to do the holy cow one. How could I say no to Jill, who has five kids and managed to plan and run the whole operation which was complete with cow decorations and she even made the lunch for it!! Holy cow was about family scripture reading. It wasn't so bad. I only had to fill 10 minutes. Cash cow was for budgeting, cow tipping was fun things to do in the Winnipeg area, there was cow grazing and chewing the cud, which was lunch and socializing. There was a pampering part too. It was fun. I thought it was a really good idea. We started out by watching Johnny Lingo too, and although there are many parts to laugh at, including the acting, I really like the message.
Tonight we went to an elder's quorum activity, which meant we needed a babysitter again. I know, two nights in a row? It was only for two hours though. This time we got Madeline's younger sister, Hillary. She was nice too. I felt bad though because when I got home, Sloan was screaming and she said it had been about a half hour. Adriel had fallen asleep on the couch and somehow slept through it all. The activity was fun. Jill's husband Josh is the elder's quorum president. So they basically busted out two major activities in a day. Show offs. Anyway, dinner was taco salad. For the chips they used nacho cheese doritos. They were in individual bags and you crush the chips a bit and then just add everything to the bag, and eat it out of the bag with a fork. I thought that was an excellent idea, because it minimizes the mess. Then we played a minute to win it. Apparently it's a game from tv. You're given some crazy thing you have to do in 60 seconds. I think on t.v you win some major money if you can do it. Kyle had to tie a bucket to his head and bounce ping pong balls against the wall and try and catch the rebound in the bucket. He was good at it. I had to try and fling ping pong balls off a towel attached to the floor on one side into a laundry basket 15 feet away. I was not very successful. Once again, not a very good turn out considering it was a fun activity. There were seven couples, all young. It was fun though.
I have some very exciting news. I joined a womens' soccer league!!! I can't even tell you how excited I am to be able to play soccer again on a regular basis. It's obviously an indoor league. It goes until April and then I can play outdoor. One of the moms that I do joy school with mentioned how she's on this team, and she hooked me up. I still remember the day I joined my first soccer team. It was in the middle of the season, and after I played my first game I knew that I loved it so much. I was seven or eight. I was so excited that I remember going home and excitedly saying to myself in the mirror in the bathroom that I was a soccer player now. Jordan caught me and he and Evan teased me about it a lot. Understandably so. I feel that same giddy excitement about being able to play now. It's just casual, no pressure which is exactly what I've been wanting for so long. My first game is on Tuesday. Honestly soccer is one of my most favourite things in the whole world.
And that's the update for now folks. So far, Winnipeg has been good to us. That doesn't mean that I don't miss nanaimo, Katie, don't get the wrong idea. I really wish people could come visit me. I would love that. I know it's unrealistic, but I still daydream.
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Sarahstottle posted @ 7:45 PM
Thursday, October 07, 2010
To have bangs or not to have bangs??
I have a love hate relationship with bangs. I can never make up my mind. I've had side bangs for a long time. I always go through this roller coaster of deciding to grow them out, and then I cut them again. There are times when I think "What took me so long to cut my bangs? I look so much better!" and other times when I hate them and decide with absolute resolution that I'm growing them out. I cut them. I decide a few days later that I'm going to grow them out for sure this time. But then a few days after that there's a part that bugs me, and I fix it, by cutting them shorter. All the while one voice is saying "Who cares if there's a part that is bugging you, you're growing them out, so just let them grow" and the other voice, which usually wins out eventually (hence the fact that I still have bangs) says "But you look dumb like that. Just fix it, and then let it grow out." So I fix it, and it looks way better and I think "Maybe bangs aren't so bad after all. I have long hair, and bangs make it more interesting..." and so they are fine for a while. Then they grow. I don't notice all at once that they're longer, but one day, when it's been the third day in a row that I feel yucky about my hair, I think "Maybe if I just trim this little bit right here..." and so you see, it happens all over again. Bangs. They can make some people look soooo cute, and I'm envious. But then I remember that I don't look like them, that my hair/face wouldn't look like that person's. Ahhhh. I'm still undecided! Aren't you glad that you got to read all I have to say about bangs? I could say more even... You know I have a problem. You know I'm obsessive about hair, and very critical of my own. A part of that is what drove me to be a hairdresser. At least with my bangs, if there's something wrong I can fix it. I can only blame myself. And since I'm so picky about my bangs, I've learned to a certain degree what doesn't look good on me and what does. It's such a touchy thing. If my bangs don't look good, then the rest of my hair is bad. OK. Really I'm done this time.
The weather here has been so nice this week and last week. Sunny and warm. Today it was 25. For a while there I thought the cold was coming on fast and strong. I'm glad it held out a bit. I can already tell you that it's one of the things I like about Winnipeg. I like sun. I know Nanaimo has sun, and that it had lots of sun the last two weeks too, though.
Our license plates are still BC ones, and frankly I don't want to change them. It's sort of like giving in and saying "Okay we live here now and are like the rest of you." I'm not ready. I will not conform. I will always be a BC girl. And right now, I want everyone here to know it. Changing my license plates feels like giving up my BC identity. I know, I'm silly.
I told Kyle the other day that numbers and letters have a gender to me. I subconsciously have always assigned a gender to them since I was a kid, I guess. He thought I was totally bizarre. I thought everyone did that. At least I think I had a conversation with one of my sisters about it once. Bethany maybe? Anyways, A is a girl and B is a boy, (Sorry Bethany) and so on. So, am I the only one?
I spontaneously decided to cut my own hair today. The layers felt too long and like they were dragging down my face, so when I got out of the shower I added my own layers. How hard can that be? Hard when doing to one's self. Especially with long hair. When I pull it out straight above my head, I can't reach the top. And then there's still the whole getting the scissor positioning right when looking in the mirror and not at my actual hand. Long hair and layers are one of those things that doesn't have to be exact and precise otherwise I wouldn't have attempted it in the first place. The jury's still out on how it turned out. I have to actually style it.
Enough about my hair already!
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Sarahstottle posted @ 8:11 PM