june 12- mini roadtrip

instead of giving me a birthday present, dan decided to take me on a mini road trip to waterton on june 12th- our 15 month dating anniversary :) so, around lunch time on said date, dan came to pick me up and we headed out to waterton. we drove through prairie and native reserve and through the foothills before the mountains and finally, the mountains. and- just because- i sat in the middle of the truck the whole way up there :) talk about romantic! ;) oh. and i totally ate chips that he thought smelt and tasted gross. so he refused to kiss me. not so romantic. but hey, doesnt mean i didnt try to steal a kiss or two!

anyways. this is cameron lake. it was our first destination. its a lake approximately 10 miles from the town of waterton. its way up in the mountains. and, there was still ice! dan figured the water was no more than 1 degree! and only that because the whole lake wasnt ice- just near shore. and it was kinda slushy ice. a man even kayaked through it.

on our way back from cameron lake, we came across a bear! dont worry. we were in our truck. MY truck! (i wish.) i was pretty excited that i saw a brown bear. but dan insists that it wasnt a brown bear. it was a "cinnamon black bear". sheesh! technicalities aside, i saw a bear :)

and we also saw a mountain goat. which dan claims was a "nice goat" and if he would have been able to hunt within the park, this one would be no more. hunters these days!

next stop- boat tour. i got to be seventeen years old again since it was half price ($17.00 for 17 and under, $34 for 18 and up! crazy!). the tour took approximately two hours and it went from one end of the lake (in waterton, alberta) to the other end (in goat haunche, montana!). it was pretty cool. the only bummer was we didnt really see any exciting wild life. as in, no bears or moose :( oh well.

during our 25 minute stop over in goat haunche, we took a picture of us on the beach :) i had a great idea that, since this was the last boat tour of the day, we should just "accidentally" miss the boat and stay there for the night. that was until dan showed me the proof that a bear had been very close in the area not too long ago. then i decided there was no way i was staying there for the night.

after the boat we went for supper at a lounge so we could watch the stanley cup game. or well, part of it. (wasnt that hot pink suit NASTY!?!!) i had a blt which was basically just the "l" since half of it had no "b" and half a piece of "t" while the other part had the "b" "l" and "t". 'twas odd but yummy :) i love small towns. we went for a walk after supper to get some ice cream and there was a radio guy doing his radio show live there so there was live music outside and it was just so peaceful and cool and "close knit".

after our walk we drove up to red rock canyon. the mosquitos there caused us only to stay long enough to get like.. four pictures. i decided to share this one with you :)

and finally we pulled out of waterton, making two more stops on our way home. our first stop was to the "bison enclosure". its a huge fenced in area between the foothills and you can just drive in and see the buffalo's in their natural habitats. its cool. we found a herd of at least twenty grazing by a small lake of water. and then we found this buffalo and his friend taking a snooze elsewhere. lucky me got this great picture just as he looked up to check us out :)

our final stop of the day was at the old man resivoire. theres a HUGE dam there and the water level difference on either side of the dam is quite amazing. and shocking.

by the time we made it home we were both quite tired and ready for some sleep. the day was great though. one i would definitely like to repete.

not only did i get to spend an entire day with dan.. i also got to cross one more thing off my "thirty till may 2010" list. :)

henderson lake & june 1st picture

may two.eight.

yes, we spend lots of time at henderson lake.

june one

"jessica actually feels like fishing! weird? definitely."

and so we went fishing... but caught nothing :(

and then our "first of the month" picture for my thirty till may 2010.

its not the best picture ever but hey.. they're memories :)

we probably looked like some great old tourists! yipee!! :D

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and today we're off to court to fight dan's ticket. since he wants to be rcmp and cant if he has x# of demerits (cant remember the amount). well this sherrif gave him a ticket that brought his demerit level too high so he's hoping he can fight it off today and bring it back down. i have my fingers crossed for him! this could change our lives...

as well, tonight im going out with all the girls from my class for coffee at starbucks.

"night out with a group of girls" thirty till may 2010

have a great day!!!

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!

picture of us- houses- thankful for

so i started thinking that maybe blogging was pointless. i mean hey, you cant blame me. do people even read this? and sure, maybe im not spending near as much time on facebook anymore but now im just spending that time on here instead. true, i have found a whole pile of very interesting blogs to read and totally couldnt give that up. but my thoughts were more on if writing in a blog nobody reads is pointless? i decided yes. and i also decided no. yes because whats the point then really right? on the other hand, i decided it wasnt pointless because i totally love blogging. its like, therapy (?!) for me. no, no, no. i dont need therapy. i just love writing and it allows me to express how i feel and stuff. so i shall be continuing to blog- for now. and ps. if you actually do read this, please leave a comment. id love to know its not as pointless as im starting to think :)

anyways, i have yet another "dan and jess" picture to share with you people. (i really love this camera. dan actually lets me take pictures of him!! miracle? definitely!)

dan and jess. henderson lake. april 28 '09

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yesterday was one of those days where dan and i went, "hey we're basically broke. we're trying to save.. lets go do something that costs nothing but lets us have fun and dream". so we went for a short stroll at henderson lake and then we took some pictures of houses we like. by henderson lake. now those of you who live out here will know that the houses by henderson are rather large and cost way more than dan and i may ever make in our entire lives. but that doesnt mean we cant dream right? and that doesnt mean we cant steal their exterior design and build a smaller version on our own gorgeous property one day, right? so here. take a look at these two houses. they're my favorite on the lake front road.

maybe i just like this one cuz it looks small and cuz of the colors. and not to mention the fact that it looks.. inviting. know what i mean? i definitely love it.

however, this one is my favorite. i love the colors (it reminds me of anne of green gables) and i absolutely LOVE the huge front porch that is covered. talk about hanging out with friends and family on that porch during the nice summer evenings. yup. if we build i think i want this place. or well, my place to look like this one. its perfect! ♥

talking about houses, most of the blogs i read are about interior decorating and stuff and so its kinda gotten me into the mood lately. if i could be an interior decorater, i totally would! any day. so yesterday i drew this. one day i want to have sooo many books that i could fill almost an entire room with them. so this is for one of the walls in my "dream" library. we shall see what happens eh?

books! yesterday i was driving down the main street in town and saw a sign that said "book sale" in the window of this second hand, super cheap book store. ive been to this place before. the long wall is all christian books. perfect eh? so of course when i saw that i had to go check it out. they were 50% off! so i bought 11 books. for $60. yea, i know. so much for saving. but how could that be wrong?! its cheap. and ill always have them. and a million people borrow books from me. and sides, itll get me that much closer to that library :)

well, in conclusion ill just quickly catch up on my thankful list.

for tuesday, april 28: i was thankful for getting the chance to dream about our future with dan and for having the pleasure of going out for a cheap dinner with dan and his brother and future sister in law. it was nice :)

wednesday, april 29: i am thankful that so far we havent received the forecasted 20cm's of snow.

//* two days till grad!!!

catching up after a few days of NOT blogging

sunday

today. again
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first things first. my thankful list. of course, currently im not very thankful for the snow that is falling, not to mention the radio broadcaster who crushed my hopes by announcing that i should except 10 to 20cm of snow tonight! and about that much 2mrw. bless the girl who told me thursday and friday will be sunny with highs of 6 and 9. im sure hoping that will force the snow accumulation to disappear. hopefully! anyways, its alberta. i should have expected it. and i shouldnt have cheered too loudly when the snow was basically gone already yesterday!

anyhow: back to that thankful list. saturday, april 25. what did i do saturday? o yea. im thankful for another chance to make some money as well as getting to hangout with all my friends at boston pizza for a few hours. not only that but i am as well, thankful that im not the one who got into the accident i saw. yikes!

sunday, april 26. spent my day at dan's and then at my place. im thankful for the chance to see the four little baby goats and for getting to spend my entire day with dan!

and today, monday, april 27. im thankful for getting yet another chance to make money for my future. and for being capable of picking up another shift on wednesday. that makes my work week monday-thursday with grad on friday and recuperation from the "stress" on saturday. not to mention i might possibly be house sitting for dan's brother and sister-in-law wednesday-saturday.

oh and i did mention that my oma and taunte nel are out right?

no idea why but i totally love this picture. just the colors and the different generations. its pretty amazing =)

so tonight perhaps will end up being boring. dan may or may not be working. i hate those days. not knowing what is happening at night. unsettling! and somewhat like living on the edge. maybe ill see dan :) or maybe ill spend the night taking pictures of... stuff. on second thought- maybe ill just stay inside tonight with a book and a cup of tea. or maybe ill work on the project i started so long ago and still havent finished! here's a sneak peek of that:

go on to photography school? - thankful for

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it has always been my full intention to finish high school only to then continue working whichever job i have, save up my money, and then buy a house, get married and start a family. however, those of you who really know me lately will be aware of the fact that love taking pictures. my old phone was the most amazing phone ever, simply because it allowed me to take some pretty great pictures. what i loved about having that phone was that it was so tiny i could take it absolutely wherever. not always true for a camera. but, as all things do, this phone died. so of late i havent been taking as many pictures. i miss it. thats the most simple, straight-forward, honest truth ever. its like, half of me is missing. haha okay maybe not quite that bad but i honestly really wish i had something that would allow me to continue taking pictures.

so anyways, lately ive been contemplating continuing on to some sort of photography school. or at least take a course in photography so that i can improve. way improve. i need the help. the only problem is the closest college i could find offering a photography course is in calgary. thats two hours away. not exactally close. so i would be needing a place to rent or something. which is where my money problem comes in. not to mention id be leaving dan for way too long. he already said i should go and that i can come visit and that he will definitely come visit. but while part of me wants to go, part of me is saying, "jess. forget it. its just another one of your stupid dreams." so in other words, part of me doesnt want to go. not really. my problem is, which side is pulling harder? and am i even any good?!

and so im coming to you. the three pictures at the top of this post were pictures i myself have taken. yup, me! :) im pretty proud of some of my pieces, especially those three. ive even entered the top one in a photo contest, although there were way better pictures and it didnt win :( but theres always way more contests.

as well, two of my "thirty till may 2010" items are picture related. or well, could be. one definitely is and the other one.. well thats what got me started wondering if i should continue on to photography school. (#17: enter at least two of my pictures in photo contest; #14: take a course in something that interests me)

anyways, back to you. please let me know honestly what you think of those pictures, as well as what you think about what i should do. im still not sure if i really do want to go or if its a passing thought, but your opinion matters.

so... let me know!! thanks :)

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o. and as a side note, im thankful for getting the chance to see oma and taunte nel again! :) however, not so thankful for the piles of snow we got last night! ill have pictures of that for you 2mrw! and i am not kidding when i say piles. it makes me sad to remember the fact that yesterday i was wearing flip flops and a short sleeve shirt. and now today.. back to the boots and long sleeves :( ugh!

number six: cook supper for mom [omlet]

despite the fact that i got fired from my cooking job, i still whole-heartedly enjoy cooking. especially when the weather is gloomy, therefore making my mood somewhat gloomy. cooking seems to have that special ability of making me feel somewhat cheery and ok again. and so yesterday, while the sky was grey and rain was pouring down on us, i decided to agree to mom's request of me cooking.

let me warn you that i do not usually follow recipes. i mean yea, i have my binder with recipes in there but when i cook it sometimes consists of me throwing a pile of stuff together. and even if i follow a recipe, i usually add at least something the recipe doesnt call for (my favorite being mint extract. try that in your cookies instead of vanilla. its amazing!)

this is what you will need for this omlet i made last night. however, feel free to add other things, such as red peppers and tomatoes. we didnt have those in the house so thats why i couldnt add them. here is the amounts of what i used:

1 dozen eggs

1/2 package of bacon

pickles cut up

a green pepper cut up

pepper

maggie optional

cheese already shredded or shredded by you

the next step is to pull out the frying pan and fry your bacon. my mom wont be too happy with you if you are currently chuckling at her way bent out of shape frying pan. the other one was in the dishwasher and truth be told, i was way too lazy to get it out and hand wash it. so this pan had to suffice. it did :)

then crack your dozen eggs into a bowl and whisk, whisk, whisk. this is the step where i added my pepper and maggie but if youd rather wait.. well go for it. i just thought this was the perfect time to do so :)

now add your cut up pickles and green peppers as well as any others you may have decided to add and once again, whisk.

do not forget about your bacon that is by now smelling wonderful!! this is where you attempt to refrain from grabbing a few pieces and eating them. i however, failed this attempt. nobody will know :) ... doesnt this picture just make your mouth water!?! especially when i click on it and it blows itself up into a huge picture of mouth watering bacon! mmm!! :)

after the bacon is done, drain the fat into a cup to set aside till hardened. you wont be needing the fat for this recipe but just dumping it down the drain wont do. not great for the drain :) so my dad's always taught us to set aside fat and stuff in a cup till it hardens. then we just throw it in the garbage.

once you have completed that last step, mix the bacon with the egg, pickles and peppers and then pour into a pan, like this one. i used a 9x9 pan but anything else would work as well. it just might end up a little thicker or thinner. using the 9x9 it came out quite thin. i wouldnt suggest using a larger pan unless you like it extremely thin. then place it in the stove and cook until almost done. then add cheese, place back in oven till melted and serve! my favorite is on toast with mayo. but thats just me!

also, i'd like to apologize for not having a picture of the finished omlet. i did take one but cant seem to find it anywhere on my memory card. i will certainly post it once i find it.

and now... just for interests sake (or lack of interests sake! lol), here are some more pictures of other things i have made. if you want the recipe i will try to get that up for you.

and as a side note: with the posting of this post, i have now half-way completed yet another thirty till may 2010. blog at least twenty-two times in a month. twice. yay!

thankful for

today i am thankful for getting to spend time with lee, and for the rain?!

lee and i . edmonton trip- grade 10 . good times :)

**sry it's so fuzzy. it was a photocopied version of the real photo**

now of course, with every thankful list comes a list of things a girls hopeful for. here's mine:

1. that we don't get snow like was forecasted 5cm is just too much! sides, spring was suppose to stay around.
2. that dan has to seed tonight so i can join him, of course :)

there's a plus side to the rain we just received and are continuing to receive at the moment. it smells gorgeous :)

thankful for

yesterday i was thankful that we finished our grad stuff and today im thankful that i getta go to an auction and that i getta spend the whole day with dan! :)

... more 2mrw!

picture - thankful for - the changeling. more facts

amy and i . april 13.2009

friday, april 17th- thankful for friends and the time spent with them

saturday, april 18th- thankful for getting to spend time with dan

sunday, april 19th- thankful for family, both mine and dan's.

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after watching the changeling ive become rather interested in what really happened. sure, hollywood claims it was based on a true story, but how true is the movie compare to the story? after doing a little bit of internet reading on what happened, i discovered that, while the movie did have all true points, they left out one very important thing. gordon northcott, who murdered all those boys, wasnt the only one. his mother was also living on that ranch with him and sandford clark (the little boy who brought the happenings on the ranch to light). she was the one who decided all three of them would take a swing at walter collins. that way the murder of him couldnt be pinned on either of the three, solely.

i do not understand the sickness in this world. how can one man be so perverted and sick that he can so easily kidnap you boys, hold them in a chicken coupe, molest them and then murder them alive with an axe? it disgusts me and frightens me all at the same time. i am glad this man got the death penalty he deserved, although part of me wishes that instead of him being hanged, the parents of the children he tormented should have been allowed to murder him with an axe as well.

what also bothers me is that his mother, sarah northcott, did not get the death penalty because she was a girl. she too was involved and should have gotten way more than a 12 year jail sentence. in fact, i think it was mostly her fault for raising her son the way she did, and then being responsible for the happenings.

perhaps i will do some more research and post it here once again.

... if your interested?

ps. if you wanna read my first bit on the changeling, here is the link:

http://my-daily-thoughts08.blogspot.com/2009/04/friday-5-thankful-for-last-nighttonight.html

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!!! :)

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!

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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.

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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.