Eating chocolate pancakes....

... is so much better than going to 8:30am classes in a life-sized deep freezer.  The temperature outside this morning is a whopping -50C with the windchill.  OH.  MY.  GOD.  No way I'm going to class.  My 10am class was cancelled, so instead of venturing out into the frozen world that is Saskatoon, SK, I stayed home printing resumes for the career fair and making chocolate chip pancakes.

So much better!

There's something eerily familiar about all of this....

That's right.  January 28th (that's today) feels like -39C in Saskatoon, SK.  Taking a "snow day" away from university was looking very tempting this morning, but I managed to make it out of bed and to my 8:30am class... and 3 minutes early at that!  Impressive?  I think so.

Perhaps the guy on the radio this morning summed it up best when he gave the weather forecast:  "And a low today of snowy, cold, blizzardy, freezing, blowing, don't drive on the highway, stay in bed."  (And after all that, he didn't actually say what the low temperature was... I cringe just imagining what it might be!)

This all seems eerily familiar... last January Saskatoon was hit with the worst blizzard the city had seen in 50 years.  Here's to hoping that I will be able to find my car in the parking lot after classes today!

It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood...

Interesting story, brought to my attention by friend/ex-boyfriend/co-inhabiter of my apartment building, Doug:

Check out the news story here, thoughtfully provided by a 10th floor resident in my building.

What's most ridiculous is that I didn't hear about it until 3 days later.  Looks like I need to watch the news more often!

Grad photos

So I said in the last post (written only 45 minutes ago) that I needed to update more often.  So here we go!  How's this for frequent posting?!

I had my grad photos at uni this week.  Because I'm in Music Education (a 5-year combined program, which means that I will have two degrees at convocation in May) I had two sets of photos taken - 1 set with the Education colours (purple and black), 1 set with the Music colours (red and black), and then a few photos with a combined purple/red/black gown, and a few casuals also.  These shots all look pretty similar, but here they are anyway.  There are other poses in the bunch, but at 2:48am this is all I feel like posting.  Haha.  Bedtime!!! 

Bachelor of Education (Secondary)

Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Saxophone)

The combined red and purple, showing my 2 degrees in Music and Education

Casual shots

And finally a different pose!

Good night, my crazies!

Life and photos

Life has been chugging along as usual, and things are incredibly busy (but wonderful!).  'Tis the season for job applications and interviews, resume perfecting, portfolio building, etc.  It's nuts!  But things are just peachy, as always.  I visited Reid again today and he is doing SO well.  I noticed a huge improvement in his speech (speed of delivery, diction, just everything), posture, alertness... it was amazing to see him again, and in such good shape!  He's actually planning to go to the Saskatoon Symphony this weekend.  Awesome!!!!!

It's 2am and I really should be going to bed, but I felt like I should share some pictures before hitting the pillow.  :o)

These are a couple of pics I took at the Saskatoon Club last night after the screening of 2 films made by a couple of my friends from uni.  The lighting was neat, and the city seemed to be so still, with the exception of a few people walking down the street alone, crunching the snow under their feet.

The view from the front door of the Saskatoon Club

The venue for the post-film screening drinks and mingling

A Saskatoon city street at 11pm on a Wednesday night... quiet but beautiful.

And what keeps me up until 2am, you might ask?  Well.  If you are indeed interested, take a gander at the following pictures.  I decided to get a head start on my crafty little IMC projects (I've already made all of my "warm fuzzies" for my campers, stickers and all - and I will write on them once I get to know my girls, of course), so I went shopping for some candy, erasers, candy bags, ribbon, etc. and came up with this: 80 goodie bags, ready to go for IMC!  I'll probably make a bunch more once I get more Hershey's kisses, but for now here they are:

The ones on top of the table are completely finished.  The ones on the floor still need ribbon and tags, but I ran out of ribbon at midnight and didn't feel like getting creative with finding somewhere that sells ribbon 24 hours a day.  Besides, IMC isn't until June.... I suppose I do have time!

A close-up of the little gift bags.  So crafty!

There you have it.  I really need to update this blog more regularly, as I'm sure I have pretty good stories from day to day (like the story of our Music Theatre rehearsal on Wednesday that had almost all of us in tears, shouting our lyrics, and reeeeaaaally singing from the heart, more than some of us ever had before.... what an experience that was!).  But, like I said, life is crazy.  The pace never seems to slow down.  That's not always a bad thing, but it just means that sometimes the blogging suffers.... so be patient and I will make an effort to update more often!

Cheers!

My first visit to Reid

I went to visit Reid yesterday for the first time since his accident in Taiwan.  It was SO good to see him.  Granted, it was an adjustment to see him with the physical changes he has experienced since the accident, and his voice and his speech sounded different... but he is doing SO well considering where he came from and what he's been through.  He remembered me and gave me a hug when I walked into his hospital room, and we had a nice conversation about travel, the weather in New Zealand/Taiwan compared to the cold winter at home, Music Theatre Ensemble, Greystones, etc.  I am going to visit him today or tomorrow to drop off a Greystones CD and a couple CDs/DVDs from Garry and Kathy Gable of Music Theatre pictures and performances.

I couldn't resist copying some of the pictures from the CD for myself first.  Here are a couple photo highlights of Reid's performances ("Arlen at the Club" - 2004):

Reid's solo - "Wail of the Reefer Man"

Reid, Stacy, Carolina, and Aaron

That was a great show.... but speaking of Music Theatre, I have rehearsal in 5 minutes and I still have to round up my music from my locker before heading to Quance.  So I must be off.... but yeah.  It was great to see Reid again, and I know there are going to be a lot of challenges on his road to recovery, but it warmed my heart to see an old friend again and to be there to support him.

Kia kaha, Reid!  We love you!!!!!

Christmas, family, friends, music, and other good things!!!

It has indeed been a while since the last blog post.  So, where to start?  Christmas was wonderful.  My parents and I went to Winnipeg to visit the extended family, while Karyn and Nook stayed at home with his family (we had our own Christmas all together just before New Year's).  Our time in Winnipeg was rich with family, friends, food, and laughter.  And I can't neglect to mention snow.... ahhh, a white Christmas it was indeed.

We spent some time in Stonewall visiting my grandma before Christmas.  It was great to see her, as she had just gotten out of the hospital after suffering a stroke.  She seemed to be doing very well, although she now uses a walker to help her to get around:

And Christmas Eve wouldn't be the same without our traditional "twinkle tour", where we drive around aimlessly looking at pretty Christmas lights and getting into the festive spirit:

Christmas morning was spent at Auntie Donna and Uncle Jack's house.  We opened presents and enjoyed a wonderful brunch, which was prepared masterfully by Sean and Uncle Jack in Donna's absence (she left them very detailed instructions before she left for work, mind you!).  By the end of the morning, even the poor snowman under the tree was exhausted!:

We also enjoyed more family fun with Photobooth over the holidays.  What a great looking group!:

My cousin Sean, an avid curler, was in a bonspiel that began on Boxing Day.  We were able to catch a bit of the action (as well as provide a family cheering section!):

My cousin Diane recently had a new baby boy, Carson.  It was wonderful to meet (and cuddle!) him, while also catching up with Diane, her fiancee Trevor, and her adorable and very busy 17-month old daughter Marielle.  Here's the newest star of the show:

I was also able to catch up with my friend and International Music Camp co-worker Jane, as well as her cousin Elaine, who was my pen pal from elementary school (she was in my Uncle Ron's class in grade 4, and I met her when I visited his classroom in grade 3).  The three of us didn't realize that we had this connection until earlier this year.  Crazy!:

It was a pretty whirlwind holiday, but we still managed to find some quiet time.  The world can be so still and quiet on a winter's night:

After our journey to Winnipeg we headed back to Saskatchewan, where my friend and IMC co-worker Kendall came to visit me for New Year's.  It was great to see him again!:

Kendall went home on Thursday, and I'm now back into things full-swing in my last semester of university.  And I'm just as busy as ever, in case you were wondering!  I'm taking 5 classes, and I'm keeping myself busy with rehearsals and performances.... this semester includes Greystone Singers, Music Theatre Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Saxophone Choir.  Oy.  Life never slows down for me, but that's just the way I like it!  It keeps me out of trouble... most of the time.  :o)

Music Theatre is going to be a BLAST this semester!  The theme of our show is "An Evening of Torch Songs."  I'm singing some great tunes - "Black Coffee" (my solo), "Every Time We Say Goodbye" (group number), "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (group number), "The Honeymoon is Over" (group number), "Why Was I Born" (female quartet - Johane, Chelsea, Courtney, and me), "Who Will Love Me As I Am" (duet with Courtney), and last but DEFINITELY not least....... the best group number imaginable.... "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago!!!  "Pop!  Six!  Squish!  Uh-uh... Cicero! Lipshitz!" (if you've seen Chicago you'll know what I mean!).  SO EXCITED!!!!

Greystone Singers is also a lot of fun, and we're really busy already.  This weekend is our retreat (ie. intensive rehearsal weekend).  We rehearsed from 6:30-9 tonight, and tomorrow we are singing almost all day, starting at 9:30am.  That being said, it's utterly ridiculous that I'm still up and blogging at 3:03am when I have to be leaving for rehearsal in a mere 6 hours..... I should sign off now.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and a very happy 2008 to you all!