memories

rox. me. arnie. at a 'canes game!

canes vs kootney

cant help but miss working with them :)

** picture taken from arnie's website **

calgary stampede- july 7

yesterday= CALGARY STAMPEDE with jess and bill= great fun, lots of memories, and craziness :) then again, we dont usually do anything without the craziness :)

we started out our day by picking jess and bill up around twenty to nine. we were forty minutes late :) yay us! jess wouldnt let us get away with that though.. nor would she let us forget it. we headed out to calgary, taking the way that jess said was fastest. only her reasoning was odd and she said it was fast cuz dan has a radar detector. so she said, "you can drive like, 180 and not get caught cuz theres like.. hardly ever any police out here anyways!!" well, thankfully we didnt get caught- although dan didnt drive 180. im still not sure it was shorter though.. but we will go with her idea i suppose!

of course we had to grab some food at the first town we got to- after jess' crazy detour. we stopped at a&w for some yummy breakfast sandwiches and then continued our way.

once we got to calgary we parked the truck at the c-train station, bought some tickets, and boarded the c-train. it took us to the stampede park at fast kilometers per hour! and it was crowded. and it starts off fast and so you almost lose your balance.. im not cut out for that stuff.

anyways, once we got to the park we played a few games and won some stuffed teddies and such. we also walked through the animal barns...

...and took wonderful pictures of ourselves on cute little fake horses. dans "serious riding face" cracks me up. seriously! take a look at the next one.

of course i had to crop it from one of the pictures jess took of us. but this was another "serious riding face" and he was having fun being strange. and he was making us all laugh. so its all good :) oh i do recall him saying, "that better not end up on facebook, jessica!" does this count as facebook?! :)

we went to an arena to watch some horse acts and this was the show riders. they did all sorts of fancy maneuvers and so on with their horses and it was pretty cool.

and then there was a guy who came in with four pretty big horses. they were standing in groups of two, each group behind the next. and then he stood on the backs of the last two and had them walking around the arena and eventually galloping.. except it led to this:

what happened was, one of the horses he was standing on wiped out some how. i didnt see it. i just saw a horse on his back all of a sudden. however, the front four horses kept running and, since they didnt have anyone to control them, the front horse (the one on the right) ended up crashing into the fence. im not sure how he ended up with two legs on either side of the fence cuz quite honestly, when he crashed into that fence he looked like he was going to land on his back on the other side. but he managed to twist himself while falling and ended up like this. im happy to report that all the horses, as well as the rider, were okay! :)

next was the rodeo! the best part, basically. the part we really came for because, who goes to the stampede and not the rodeo!?! there was everything from riding bucking horses to roping calves and barrel racing and riding bulls. it was great and nobody got seriously injured.

just like last year, we got rain. so we ended up going out for supper. and thankfully, when we were done our supper, the rain was done raining. so we spent the remainder of our night watching performances around the park, playing a few more games, and even going on a ride! me agreeing to go on one ride of my choice with dan made him happy. mostly cuz i refused to go on any with him at first! im not a rides person. they make me feel sick :(

we had a wonderful day with the four of us! of course, jess has a bunch more pictures on her camera that ill have to try get a hold of one day. and i got more pictures on my camera too but i was just too plain old lazy to upload them all onto my computer and here. so these will have to do for now!

tonight i getta head to lee's house to help make wedding invitations! its going to be a great time im thinking :) and i cant wait. even if i dont getta see dan cuz of it.

ill be back at dans brother and s.i.l's place 2mrw.. his brother is heading back to the wack for gradmas 90th birthday! wow.

my phone situation is still down the tubes. still dont have a phone. i tried to get a new one and the guy said i could have $150 off! ... the fine print was i could have that off IF i renewed my contract for the full 3 years again. i dont think so mister! telus sucks!!

anyways, hope your all having a great week so far! i sure am :)

in response to anonymous

ahh finally back online :) our internet at home is down and so im at dan's brother and s.i.l's place. not just to use their internet- dont worry!

** remainder of post (in regards to previous post) deleted on july 6, 2009. go here for details**

friends and alcohol

**edited july 6, 2009**

i realize what an "up-roar" i caused with the post that was previously posted on this page. honestly, i had no intentions of "preaching" or pushing my rules and views on any of you. i had no intentions of hurting people or making them angry, and i definitely didnt intend to put people against me or to offend anyone. after having that post up for a few weeks and getting three anonymous commenters telling me where me and my thoughts could go, i decided to remove the post.

i realize that perhaps it wasnt my business and that maybe i should have kept my mouth shut. in my defence, i had no idea you guys even read my blog. its totally fine that you do- i was merely seeking help from others who read my blog and arent directly involved in the situation.

despite the fact that im removing the post, i am not taking those opinions back. i would have brought it up to your face, (like a few of you suggested i should have done) but quite honestly i feel i would have gotten a similar response. and i didnt really have any idea how to bring it up.

i think it was rather rude to suggest to me that i need to find new friends. and it was also rude of some of you to act all nice and friendly to my face and talk bad about me behind my back. people, if your so mad at me, why are you acting like im your friend? the only person who i can say did not do this was jon. and as weird as this may sound, im glad he didnt act all friendly to my face. i mean, yea of course it hurt that he acted like that to me, but at least i knew he was mad.

michelle and i were discussing it at work and our manager over heard. she pulled me aside and said, "jess, i know that right now having all your friends upset with you and telling you to find new friends may hurt and seem like a real crappy situation. but in a few years you'll look back and be glad that it happened because from this all, you'll figure out who you can trust and who your real friends are". and you know what?! she couldnt have been more right.

to anonymous 3: sure, people come up to you and say what a nice group it is and all that nice stuff. but they dont know the inside of the group. they dont know the dirt that really happens in the group. they dont know about the back stabbing, the chosing, the gossip, the drinking, the swearing.. all that stuff. right? and yes, every group has that. but dont try to butter the group up and make them sound all innocent and perfect. nobody comes even close to that!

if you all want to remain mad at me for this- okay. i once said i didnt ever want to be on the bad side of "the group" because they could be so rude and mean. well them being rude and mean was true. however, i think perhaps being on the bad side of it for a week or however long was maybe even good for me. it made me realize what kind of people i was actually spending time with. it made me think. and it made me force myself to stand behind my words, despite the fact that it was making people angry.

all in all, i decided losing friends over this wasnt worth it- although it did make me think and realize that perhaps some of you just arent worth trying over. maybe you all should think about this: if you have no problem talking bad about someone with other people in "the group", how do you know they arent talking bad about you behind your back?!

i hope removing this post has made you all happy. honestly, deleting it made me feel shitty. it made me feel like im not free to express my opinion on my own blog. and it made me feel like im not free to ask others, who arent directly involved in the situation, for help. and that really sucks.

and as a last note: if you dont like what you read on here.. dont read it. nobody is forcing you to come to this site and read what i write. and if you want honesty from me- you will find it here. its my little world to express how i feel about whatever i need to get off my chest.

and yes jon, perhaps i should get a journal- but i cant ask people for help and their opinions in a journal. and thats what i love so much about blogging.

- jess.

lalala, lalala, lalalalala ohhhh!

the last few days have been smudged into one big blur of memories. happy memories, that is. or well, mostly happy :) i worked every day so far this week which, to be honest- got to be slightly tiring. 'specially when you got a concussion. a self-proclaimed concussion that is ;) hey! its not just pulled out of my hat. its quite the possibility. i just havent had it doctor diagnosed yet. just jessica diagnosed :) and it happened at work, of all places. in between the two soup and sandwich stations is a cooler which contains all the meats, cheeses and cream cheese, etc. so anyways, i was on my side and i was leaning across the cooler to grab something. and this guy i work with was on his side and didnt see that i was leaning down in there cuz well, theres a shelf above it. so his view was blocked. now as a side note, these cooler lids are hard to close. as in, i always have to basically punch them hard in order to get it un-stuck. and i guess thats close to what he did. and he let it fall. on my head. and it really hurt. of course, he felt horrible and when he said sorry a bazillion times i just kept saying, "its fine!" and laughing so that i wouldnt cry. i felt like my head had officially split in two and that my brains (whatever was there in the beginning anyways..) had all toppled out. oh well. so yes, my reasoning behind this concussion is logical :) right?

anyhow, im not the only one with problems. dan had an ingrown toenail that he took to the walk-in clinic to get fixed yesterday. the doctor took a knife and made about four cuts and now dan has a disgusting chunk of skin missing and its covered in blood and yea.. gross. so we're a very... unhealthy(?!) couple right now. go us!

yesterday i helped his sister-in-law pack a few boxes. theyre moving to a new house tomorrow.. i think shes pretty excited. i definitely would be. minus the packing, cleaning, un-packing, more cleaning part. which i guess is basically all of it. im pretty skilled at moving, considering ive moved four times. of course, i was young for at least two of those times. and i only really remember packing myself for the last time. well okay.. not packing myself. i meant packing my stuff all by myself. it makes me proud :) of myself lol

today we went out with amy and mr. x. he will remain nameless until further happenings. if happenings occur.. we shall see. anyways, we went bowling :) i lost both times. not to worry. i had fun. and bowled like a "cool kid". as in a sat on the ground and bowled between my legs. yup, im cool :) and had fun being cool too! then we went to tim hortons and then yea.. the rest is history ;) ill post pictures one day. when i get them from her. (i forgot my camera :( bad me.)

2mrw is the word and deed baseball tourny. M1 and M2 are both playing in it. so maybe ill go cheer them on. else i could always go help the "s.i.l 2 be" go move. itll be fun cuz im guessing the entire family will be there. yay for family :)

amy just updated her status to: amy ... had an awesome time tonight :) yay for awesome friends!!! glad she had fun :) so did i! now im off to get the entire scoop from her and then off to bed.

night y'all!

a quick note to jen

dear jen
i miss you
come home!
please?
love jess

ps. cant wait till the 24th :)

turning eighteen

monday: i had zero birthday plans. i figured that five of my friends were out of town anyways and that, since oma was out from holland, i would just spend my birthday at home with the family, dan and possibly shane.

tuesday: dan and i decided to go to coco pazzo (an italian restaurant) for supper. we decided to text whoever was left in town to see if they wanted to join us.

thursday: made reservations for twenty!!!

saturday: eighteen people showed up to celebrate my eighteenth birthday!! :)

june 6, 2009. michelle, melanie, connie, me, jacqueline

i realized once again just how lucky i am to have such amazing friends!

id like to thank everyone who showed up as well as thank the many people who sent my birthday wishes :)

est and bre and ontario and missing them

i was invited to the rcs grade 12 grad celebration. i would have been graduating with them, but am not. which is okay. however, part of me wants to go super bad. another part of me wants to just stay home and save my money. but then i found this under bre's pictures on facebook:

and it made me homesick for those crazy girls in ontario.

i miss jeb and our crazy trampoline nights at bre's- making sparks with our fingers and laughing b/c we could see them spark in the dark.

playing sims with bre almost every saturday afternoon. all afternoon.

making fun of becky with est.

working with bre every week.

our video nights and sleepovers. and me wanting to watch sound of music b/c i figured it would keep me awake. cept i ended up falling asleep.

me not even getting to say "bye" to bre cuz she wouldnt wake up after our all nighter.

the memory book bre and est put together for me that is now under my bed and looked at quite often. i think i cried when they gave it to me. and quite honestly, im almost crying now.

"hair in my eyes like a highland steer"

and the quotes in that memory book: "We are very sorry if this scrapbook has caused people in Alberta to think we're insande weirdos, causing them to think you are too, there by leaving you with no friends! But if anyone doesnt want to be your friend, tell them to give us a call. We will take care of it. And if you ever get bullied..." "And if you are ever sad you must remember that we are there for you in Ontario." "Jess.. when you are sad, upset, thirsty, unhappy, disappointed, in tears, mad, angry, steaming, laughing, cyring, screaming, bawling, hungry, hyper, laid back, tired, excited, hurting, constipated, sick, barfing, or JUST PLAIN BORED, look at these pictures. They will probly make you laugh."

** sorry for posting that picture, ladies. hope you dont get too mad**

tim hortons camp day!

camp day. an annual tim hortons "holiday". this year, our tim hortons held camp day on june 3rd. in other words- today. and it was great :) the turn out (so far, seeing as its only 1:30) was amazing. the amount of money being raised to help send underpriviledged kids to camp: unbelievable. the number of volunteers- approximately twenty! (and that was just when i was there!). yup. i think its safe to say that this years tim hortons camp day will be a great success. and you can help! all you have to do is go to your local tim hortons on their camp day and buy a coffee. a coffee? yes! thats it. because all the money made on coffee's on your tim hortons camp day goes to help sending kids to camp! so go get a coffee!!

this year i wasnt scheduled to work for camp day. so i got up at quarter to seven and headed in to work to volunteer. and boy was it ever worth it! not to mention fun :) yes, i realize i wear my hat low. but honestly, it doesnt bother me. and i never noticed until this picture! lol

the drive-thru team was still getting timed so, they were scrambling around, trying to get things together. fast.

and the army arrived to help!!! we had a few soldiers inside, pouring coffees or handing things out the drive-thru window. there were also a few guys helping with the car window wash. and there were a few standing at a table by their truck, dressing up kids and taking pictures! thanks for showing up guys!!

we also had free face painting for younger kids (donations obviously accepted!) the kids loved it!

*** for more information on tim hortons camp day, go to http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/about/news_archive_2004a.html ***

- please note that this article is from 2004. however, the information is still correct! -

girls night out

lee. rox. rach. me. sus. june 2nd. starbucks

so last night was our graduating class of '09 "girls night out"! we spent it at starbucks talking about lee's engagement (naturally) and other things that have happened in our lives since grad. somehow everyones lives have changed, even within just one month!

lee is getting married to calv in september. so right now they're busy planning a wedding, looking for a house, and searching for some cheap furniture.

rox is working on her nursing course and is still working at the old age home. she says she misses me b/c now she hardly gets a weekend off! haha!

rach is still at tim hortons but bought a car :) although the guy who sold it to her lied about the year, id say its still a pretty nifty sunfire :)

and sus has every intention of heading out to ontario for a few months sometime within the summer. shes still working as a waitress. making great tips, i might add! i know where im applying next!!

it was nice getting together with them again and just being "us". i hope that each and everyone of their futures turns out for the best :)

love you girls!! xox ♥

basically jess

jess and jess. may 1, 2009.

bad picture but hey, its us :)

its been quite a long time since ive hungout one-on-one with jess and yet every time we manage to find a few hours to get together, i have a complete blast! theres just something about her that makes me act four billion years younger than i am. and its not completely a bad thing.. right?! i mean, we all need time to goof off and have fun with friends. and if you met jess- well i guarantee you'd be acting goofy too :)

i met jess at work. the very first shift we ever worked together, we landed on front counter. both of us. same till. it was so fun! then eventually it came out that she use to go to ccs (the "other" christian school" and went to the lethbridge nrc. so we had our religion in common too. that just made it better.

after brad and i broke up, jess started scheming. her intentions were to hook me up with mark, her boyfriends brother. it didnt work. mark was "just way too quiet for me and.. hey what about mark's friend? the guy with the curly hair? he seems cool!!" and so she started her match making all over again. quite obviously her skills work because, well here i am. dating dan. her second cousin (or so) and one of her good friends.

so anyways.. jess is dating bill. theyve been dating approximately six months longer than dan and i. so we both have our separate lives with our guys and occasionally the four of us get together to hangout and watch some movies and have some good "old fashioned" fun.

but today i gotta go shopping and watch a movie with her. all by myself! it was great. and i realized just how lucky i am to have such a great friend. to have such great friends in general. and so, i wanna leave you with this:

friends are special

dont give up your friends for a guy or for anything else

cherish them

love them

spend time with them

and remember how lucky you are to have them!

exciting news!

jessica is super super excited may 27

jessica is pretty pumped up may 28

why?!?!

BECAUSE HER FRIEND IS ENGAGED!!

thats right!!!

last night i got a phone call from lee. she was so excited and said she wanted to tell me this in person but just couldnt wait!

then she said, "cal and i are getting married!!"

i was SO excited!!!

and i getta be a bridesmaid :)

and i was so excited for her that i forgot to say congrats lol

so...

congrats lee and calv! :)

more grad =)

shelly's dress was SO huge that us girls decided we just HAD to get a picture of us all peeking out from behind it. it was gorgeous on her though :)

all our shoes :) rox. me. susanna. shelly. rach. ♥

rox. me. sus. shelly. rach. too bad lee had already left.

me and shelly ♥

sus and i ♥

i love this picture! this would be jon. he's the "hair model" (well, we nick-named him that!!) and he's basically the ONLY guy in our class that will talk with us, much less let us take a picture with him!

"may i present to you, the graduating class of 2009!"

class of 2009

Congratulations, Class of 2009, WE DID IT!!!

Last night was the night where the last chaper of our lives closed and a new chapter swung itself wide open, welcoming for endless possibilities. Where we go from here will vary from person to person but in the end we will always have these school years in common. Rox is going to go to college for nursing. Steve B is going to finish his last three years at college for agriculture. Leanna is going to travel and one day marry Calv. Steve D is working for some building company. Shelli is going to continue on to Dordt and major in music. Susanna is going to Ontario to see what happens there. I am going to work and then do who knows what else with my life. School? Marriage? I guess I'll see! Rach is working right now- also at Tim Hortons. Not sure if college or anything is in her future. Jordan is working for Green Prairie, his dad's HUGE hay company. And Jon will continue on to be an architect. And he will be good at it!

Last night was probably the last time all ten of us will ever be together. Our class always has been a "guys" group and "girls" group sort of class. Divided, really. Even last night while we were getting ready, the boys were in on one side of the room, us girls on the other. Its sad really, that we still don't get along. Although we get along now more than ever.

It was nice seeing everyone come out to celebrate grad with us. Thanks to everyone who I invited that came =) It meant alot!

And while I didn't like my hair at all, I think it's VERY safe to say the night was a huge success!

my king of grumps =) ♥

a bad picture but hey, now you get to see a somewhat better picture of the dress!

rox and brad

jess and i ♥ she's my BC trip buddy and my work buddy and one of my bestest buddies!and this was after i took my big poof out. i did NOT like it. and i still didnt like it after i took it out. oh well :)

the guys. jordan, jon, steve d, steve b

connie. me. lana. ♥ love u girls!!

Of course, these aren't even CLOSE to all the pictures i got on my great camera. I'll add more later. For now though, this post is already long enough. And I'm hungry. Not to mention the smell of bacon and eggs floating in from the back deck. Mmmm!!!

On a last note though, I am VERY thankful that I am now completed highschool. With B Honors no less!! :) Sure, sure, not A honors but hey, I did it!! :)

Once again, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT FOR ME LAST NIGHT, AND WHO GAVE ME CARDS AND GIFTS!

friday 5 - thankful for - last night/tonight

when did you last sleep in a tent? his summer when our family went camping with the oostlander's. us girl's all slept in a tent :) good times!
what comes to mind when you think about relieving yourself in the great outdoors? umm... sure?! if it's necessary
where’s the best place you ever went camping? well our family went to great falls this past summer and it was alot of fun. pineries in ontario was pretty great too :)
what’s your favorite camp food? whatever basically. dan and i made some pretty good breakfast :)
what’s your sleeping bag like? its black with plaid inside of it and its uber warm :)


yesterday i was thankful for dan, jess, bill, and austin and a great day off! :)

so last night jess, bill, dan and i got together, along with austin. i went to jess' around 4pm and we cooked up some potatoes to go with the already made chicken. we cut a pile of potatoes into wedges, coated them in vegetable oil, and then spiced them. i spiced half and jess did the other half. of course, mine were better! :) :P jk
here's the spices i used:

1. salt
2. pepper
3. garlic
4. seasoning salt
5. paprika

im proud to say our potatoes turned out pretty yummy :) then we watched a movie which was sad and very emotional and made me extremely angry.

it's called the changeling and its got angelina jolie in there. it's based on a true story in the time when telephone's were new and people in los angelos used trolly cars to get everywhere. its about a lady who's son gets kidnapped and then the police finally find her boy two months later. except it turns out its not her boy! and she keeps telling the police that but they dont wanna admit they messed up so they throw her into a phych ward. meanwhile this other cop is investigating this juvenile case on a ranch. it turns out that the guy and his little cousin who live there kidnap young boys, lock them in their chicken-coop and then kill them with axes. yea.. its pretty gruesome but it was just so good. and since it's based on a true story maybe i'll do some research on it and tell you all more :) we will see.

anyways, tonight is lana's birthday party! should be very fun :)

hope you all have a fantastic weekend! i sure plan on it!!! :)

to my nineteen year-old, gorgeous girl ♥

Happy Birthday, Lana! ♥

april 16 is a very important day, for one reason, and one reason alone. its lana's birthday. and this april 16 is specifically her 19th birthday!

lana is someone extremely special. she's always there for her friends, ready and willing to give a big hug and some encouraging words. ever since the first day i met her i knew she was one of the best, most sweetest girls out there in this world. and she has lived up to that ever since.

for a few months, i got the privilege to watch her work with some elderly people. she's careful with them and her love for them comes out in the way she works with them. ive been there to watch her face fall completely when finding out one of them passed away. and while that was before i saw her work with them, i knew then that she cared a great deal for each individual one.

now she has a boyfriend, something that seems to have turned that inside light on even brighter. watching them together makes me happy because i know that she's extremely happy being with him.

lana will always be one of my good friends, no matter where we go or what we do. i love her to death and cant wait to see what the rest of her years will bring to her :)

i love you super much, girl! xoxo

amazing photography site

for all those, like me, who are in love with photography- i found an amazing site!
http://www.shundiinphotography.com/

her pictures are gorgeous!

_______________________________

-

yesterday afternoon/evening was "work on grad powerpoint and memory speech" night. i arrived at rox's house around 4ish and we set right to work. by ll pm that night, my sides were aching from laughing, my head spinning in search of memories, and my eyes begging to go to sleep. susanna joined us around 7 and the three of us started our memory speech. the one thing im glad about with this speech is there are three of us. so instead of the boring old grad speech, we can kind of make it into somewhat of a dialouge. the guys, well they might not be too impressed with us, but hey, we gave them the chance to write it! and we are being nice... but they just did stupid things. and we just have to mention them! like steve d eating the spider cuz we told him he wouldn't dare! or steve, steve and jordan making animal sounds in mr w's math class. the poor guy was wondering what on earth he did to deserve that!!

anyways, yesterday i was thankful for the chance to spend time with my friends, making memories and remembering memories.

tonight im in for a night with dan, jess and bill. should be real great :)

ps. dont forget to check out that site!

eleven: get a group picture

[starting at top, left to right] jon o, trav, dan, me, albert, ryan, jon vm, jacqueline,

amy, lana, derek, mel, shane, mich, rox, andrew, steven, and connie.

-

well everyone, may i introduce you to "the group". this is my fabulous group of friends who are always there for me, whenever i need them. this group of twenty some people started with just four! about three years ago it started with lana, jon o, trav and i. then mich and ryan started hanging out with us, making it the two eldest children of the three families. but eventually mel started hanging out with us too and then i started dating dan and so he started joining us, as well as rox. and when vandermaarels moved here the four of them joined us. vanmaanens started hanging out with us occasionally and lately albert and johnny vanhierden have been joining us too for some things, as well as a few other people. but this is pretty much it. "the group".

this isnt the only item that i got to cross off of my "thirthy till may 2010" list. i also cooked supper for mom :) it was soup. and dont bother asking what kind because it doesnt have a name. it was basically a mixture. here's the directions.

• a package of chicken noodle soup powder
• a package of vegetable soup powder
• four sausages, fried till almost done
• seven potatoes, peeled, cut into cubes, and boiled until soft
• a can of tomatoes
• spaghetti noodles

throw it all into a slow cooker with adequate amount of water and keep on high for approximately two hours. serve and enjoy :)

i have a picture of the finished product on my phone but havent found a way to transfer that onto the computer yet.

as for yesterdays "to do" list, i am ashamed to say i only completed #3 and #4. i went to my eye doctor and got my contacts ordered in and i also went to work and finished my videos. and i did work on my desk a little but didnt get too far on that. as for the rollerblading and cleaning out my car... i have an excuse. it was way too windy. oh and #7

oh where oh where is my beautiful weather disappearing to?!!? :(

today i am thankful that i got to see dan. even though it was only for approximately five minutes. but five is better than zero.

a re-kindling kind of day

yesterday was one of those days that i can actually say im proud of and i had fun! if i had to give every day a title, yesterday's would have been "the day to kindle past friendships". it truely was! i didnt have to work at all so i set out planning on either a) spending my day at home with mom or b) going shopping after putting my cheque in the bank. when mom's plans became clear (she was going to paint) i decided i would follow through with plan b. by myself. then, as i was checking facebook, i read a wall post one of my friends had put up. she could do coffee any night except tuesday and saturday. so i texted her immediately and we settled on last night. great :) at least id have something to do at some point in that day. then another girl texted me, informing me her birthday party is this saturday. after talking to her for a little while i decided, "hey. she's sitting at home doing nothing either. why not ask her to come shopping with you?" so i did. and you know what? despite the fact that i havent hung-out with her in way over a year, and despite the fact that she annoys me sometimes at church and that i almost try to... avoid?... her, well i had fun.

first we hit up the mall and i made a few purchases. i really need to stay away from that place! its dangerous. and btw, did you know you cant use your spc card (student price card) if you dont have student i.d.? talk about stupid! especially since ive never had a problem with that until yesterday. and our school is stupid and doesnt give student i.d. cards. dumb? very! so yea, that kinda ticked me off a bit but whatever i guess. ill just have to find my bluenotes card again and hope that everyone else wont ask for i.d. with my spc card.

anyways... after going to the mall we went to walmart and then to mcdonalds for icecream :) yum! (remember when icecream cones were still fifty-one cents a piece? not no more they aint!) after icecream we went to henderson lake and went for a nice stroll around it. (and saw the cutest rottweiler's EVER! i love rottweilers :))

there were so many people out yesterday enjoying the amazingly beautiful weather. henderson lake was sure getting used. there were people everywhere and dogs everywhere and yes, even a fisherman or two along the edges, fishing in the waters that have thawed out already. the scenery was gorgeous as well. ducks floating in the pieces of thawed waters. canadian geese walking along the shore, or even in the water. sea gulls chasing eachother over head. the sun shining down so viabrantly and so warmly. (and to think ontario had snow yesterday!! i must laugh at you all!! haha). i am extremely glad that spring has finally put its foot into the door. now i can only hope it brings the remainder of itself in!

welcome spring! please be kind and stay!

my plans with my evening "appointment" (:P) was to also go to henderson after grabbing a coffee at tim hortons. however, by the time we got to henderson the wind was starting to pick up so we decided to just stay at tim hortons. i had an amazing night and am very glad that we are re-kindling and keeping that friendship alive.

all i really have to say about that talk was this: do you really know the people around you, or do you just think you do?!!? the two of us discovered that we really do not know some of the people around us that we always thought we did. i know one thing for sure. i wont take people at face value anymore. i will have to get to know them before saying "i really know that person".

in closing, yesterday i was thankful for getting the chance to re-kindle past friendships and for the amazing weather! today i dont have any plans yet. perhaps ill sit at home all day. perhaps ill go for a walk with molly and take lots of pictures for you all to see our great sunshine while youre suffering through snow! :P perhaps ill see if lana wants to do something. or perhaps... well who knows. maybe ill go to the hurricanes hockey game tonight :) go canes, go!

whatever the case is, ill bring my new motto into play. life is too short to waste sitting around doing what others want for you. do what you want for you and be happy and glorifying!

ps. im not quite sure why the bottom part isnt separated by a line between each paragraph. i typed it out the same as the top half... odd!

post two: my girls ♥

rox~me~shelly~rach~suz~mich

we had so much fun that day. all us girls dressed up and headed down to indian battle park to take a million pictures! then we headed off to boston pizza for a delicious meal with the guys. good times!

from left to right around the table counter clockwise: lee, shelly, mich, rox, me, rach, suz

this was our welcoming dinner (also at boston pizza) for shelly when she just moved here.

too bad lana couldnt have joined us.. but she was camping with her family.

from left to right: camp girl. lee. rach. mich. me. rox. suz

this was at circle square ranch for our class trip. we got separated into two teams (boys team. girls team) and each team had to form a line, holding hands. then our hands were tied together. this was all done way out in the forest. we had to get back to camp without using man-made paths. and we had to cross a river :) no bridges allowed! of course.. the boys won :(

lee. me. mich. suz. rach.

celebrating my seventeenth birthday at circle square ranch :)