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!