Random Thoughts for Today

The blogging world sure is quiet lately. Things must be busy, as the Christmas season always is.

School has been a bit crazy lately. I feel like I have been so unproductive the past few weeks, though, I have two exams down, and only three left to go. Then it's off to Asessippi, and into the cold. It is already cold, but when we are going out there, it's supposed to be just as cold. I may end up being a wuss and staying back because I don't really want to freeze my butt off. I hope I can go for at least one day, though.

In the midst of studying and school work last weekend, I did manage to help my mom paint Nick's old room, so I can hopefully move in there sometime soon. I'm pretty excited. It's really dark chocolate brown, with one tan coloured wall. Today my mom and I went and bought fabric for a duvet cover. It's an animal type print, with a dark brown corduroy border.

I'm pretty excited for Christmas to come. I can't wait to go to Pinewood and spend time with family and eat lots of good food. :) It should be good.

Anyways, that's all my news for today.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Well, that's it, busy. I feel like I have been really busy lately, but the other day I looked back on the week that had just passed and I didn't know what it was that was keeping me busy. School is pretty intense right now because exams start next week. This week is the week that teachers like to demand huge essay's and assignments. I don't understand why. Just to make their students' lives miserable?

The snow is beautiful. It is snowing outside right now and it is lovely. It looks so fluffy and nice. I can't wait for our first big dump of the year.

Speaking of snow...a snowboard trip has already been planned. I am going out to Asessippi from a Thursday to a Monday and staying with James' aunt and uncle. They live about 10 minutes drive from the hill, which is nice. It will also be nice to visit with his family again. They're fun.

I cannot wait for Christmas. Pinewood is going to be a lot of fun. Being close to extended family is a gift.

Anyways, those are my random thoughts for today. I should probably get started on my English homework.

Friends...

School Update.

I started school a few weeks ago. I was pretty nervous the first two days because I didn't really know my way around the campus and it's huge. I also didn't have any friends, so I felt like a bit of a loner. Friends came pretty easily though. My very first day of school, in my second class, I met a girl who is an exchange student from Germany. She is pretty sweet. She and I just kind of hung out together and then eventually most of the international students became friends with us. There is about 10 or 15 of us now.
I went through a lot of course changes because I didn't want to take art, and physics was boring. I have a huge spare today because I had a math test before lunch, so I was done a half hour early. So, my spare is dragging on. I've been out of classes since 10:45 this morning, and my next class starts at 2. I met Karmen, my boyfriends sister, in the hallway and she said she was going to visit her mom at CBC, so I went with her to visit. We stayed there for a bit and then we went for a nice little drive. And now I'm back at school. I did a bit of homework, but I got a bit distracted.
Not much else has been going on in my life right now. I started violin lessons last week, or the week before. I can't remember. It's been pretty alright. I have had quite a bit of homework, so I haven't practiced much. I'm looking forward to this year of violin more because I'm actually doing fiddle stuff. I am borrowing my cousin Micah's fiddle book in exchange for my grade three exam books. So it's working out pretty well.
Anyways, I should probably get back to homework before I have class.

Let me start with yesterday. Yesterday I went to the University of Winnipeg for orientation. It was pretty good, but there were a few weird people there. I had two nice tour guides that gave me the grand tour of the Collegiate/University. I know my way around somewhat now. Hopefully I won't get lost too many times. Anyways, after that I went to visit Heather Wells, my boyfriend James' mom, at CBC (she works there and does the morning news updates). I got a grand tour of CBC from a friend of Heather's. I watched Janet Stewart do the 'noon minute update'. It was cool. I left CBC and went to James' house for a little while and then went out for lunch to Moxies. Quite an eventful day, I'd say.

So, today was my first day of classes at University of Winnipeg Collegiate. I only had two classes today, art and biology. Art was a bit boring, and I think I am going to change it for physics because I don't think I will do well in art. I haven't been in an actual art class since grade seven, so I'm 'out of shape' in the art department. Biology was quite interesting. Most of the things we discussed today were review, but it was a whole different view of how science is taught in different places. It was quite a bit less awkward than art. In art hardly anybody talked and it was mostly new people, so it was pretty quiet. Biology was a different story. There were probably about ten or twelve new people, but most people knew each other, so there was chatter almost the entire class. There are three international students in my biology class. One who is from Mexico, one from Brazil, and one from Germany. The girl from Germany, Louisa, was very nice. I sat beside her and had a nice chat with her at break. I hope that tomorrow goes as well as my biology class did. I liked it a lot.

Today I found out that my music teacher from Spirited Music that I had last year is coming back! At the end of last year he said that he would probably not be returning, but now he's back! He's the best violin teacher I've had so far. I'm pretty excited about it, but I hope he doesn't want to teach me more classical stuff and Suzuki stuff. Fiddle is much more fun.

Well, that's all my exciting news! I'll keep you all posted on how I'm enjoying school!

Scattered Thoughts

First of all, Ontario was great! Eric, Joey, and I had so much fun together. We visited with my grandparents, some family friends, and a few cousins. We made a few fun stops like Canada's Wonderland, where we rode some pretty crazy roller coasters, and Dave's Guitar Shop, which was one of the most impressive guitar shops I've ever seen. Even though I don't play guitar that much, I thought it was quite impressive.

Second, our house has been on the market for two months now, and today I was browsing for property south of Winnipeg, and I found a really nice river property. I want to live south of the city really badly, but it all depends on if our house sells and how my parents feel about living there. Hopefully they're cool with that...

Third, I'm still feeling a little bit nervous about school. I went back to school shopping last week with my mom and got all the stuff I need. Now I just have to wait...

Anyways, that's just some random stuff on my mind right now. Not too much is goin' on. I haven't felt very inclined to write anything lately.

Living the Summer Life...

Wow! I can't believe that it's already August! Where has the summer gone?! I feel like I haven't done anything productive at all this summer. All I've really been doing is hanging out with friends and sitting around like a bum. At least, that's what it feels like. I think August will be a little more exciting.
This weekend I'm flying out to Ontario with another cousin and we're driving back to Winnipeg with another cousin...I'm pretty excited. We're doing some fun things like hanging out with friends of the family, and going to Canada's Wonderland. I think it will be really fun.
I have some other things that are in the works of being sorted out, so perhaps some of them will work out and keep me occupied.
This summer I have given reading a second chance. I really used to hate reading, but the only reason I read was because I had to for school. I'm reading books that I actually enjoy now and it makes a world of a difference.
I've been thinking about school starting in September more than I normally do because I'm going to a new school. I'm a bit nervous, but quite excited. I think it will be a good change. My schedule is packed full of educational goodness. Haha! The way the schedule works at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate is pretty neat. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are all the same and Tuesdays and Thursdays are the same. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have a full schedule packed full of English, Precal, Chemistry, and History, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays I only have Art and Biology with the afternoons off! I'm especially excited about the fact that I'm done at the the end of May and I may be going to England! Hopefully that happens!
Anyways, not too much has been going on lately, just...life.

A Good Start :)

Oh boy! This blogging dealio is not the greatest for me. So much has happened since the last time I posted.

1) My brother Nick got married a few weeks ago, which was really good. I got to see most of my family from Ontario which was great, and I gained a sister in law! The whole wedding week was very busy, but it was really good. It was a lot of fun to hang out with all of my family that I haven't seen for a really long time.

2) I went to the University of Winnipeg Collegiate for a meeting about my course selection for next year. I was a bit nervous going into it, but it turned out to be really good. The schedule is pretty sweet. I have Tuesday and Thursday afternoons off, and I don’t have to go to school in May and June if I don’t want to! I’m pretty excited. The only thing I'm nervous about is the building itself. It's huge and I feel like I'm never going to know my way around it!

3) I went to the Winnipeg Folk Festival this weekend and it was very good. Some of the best performers I saw there were: The Weakerthans, J.P. Hoe, Calexico, The Beautiful Girls, The Acorn, Apostle of Hustle, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and Hayden. The weather was the sucky party of the weekend. On Friday and Saturday it rained pretty much all day and it was very windy and only about 14 degrees. It was a challenge to stay dry and warm. Overall it was a very good weekend though. The music is worth it.

4) I am planning to go to Ontario at the beginning of August to do some fun stuff with two amazing cousins of mine. We are going on a 'road trip' back to Winnipeg from Southern Ontario. I think it will be very fun. Travelling is a blast!

Anyways, that's all that's new in my life at this point. I'll try to keep my blog more up to date than I have been!

Two things...

Two names you go by:
1. Chelsea
2. Kelso

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. A polka dot tank top
2. Gym shorts

Two of your favourite things to do:
1. Play fiddle music
2. Hang out with my family

Two things you want very badly right now:
1. To be at the beach
2. My family from Ontario to be here already...

Two favourite pets you have/have had:
1. Buddy
2. Caramel

Two things you did last night:
1. Hung out with James
2. Watched "Awake"

Two things you ate/drank today:
1. An ice cream cone
2. A glass of milk

Two people you've talked to today:
1. James
2. Emily

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Taking a grade 3 violin exam
2. Going to Kim's

Longest car rides you've ever been on:
1. Ontario to Orlando
2. Ontario to Winnipeg

Two favourite holidays:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas

Two favourite beverages:
1. Vanilla Coke
2. Minute Maid Berry Juice

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Joey
2. Micah

Nearing the end!

Since Chicago not too much has happened. Some significant things that have happened are:
- I had my last day at Calvin Christian Collegiate,
- I had my last day of grade 10 yesterday,
- I have completely decided to go to the University of Winnipeg Collegiate! Woohoo!

I'm very excited to go to the Collegiate next year, but a bit nervous. When I moved here with my family four years ago, I thought school would be okay, but it really sucked at first. The first week I went to Calvin I cried almost every day on the way there. I had no friends, therefore, no one to talk to. I eventually did make friends, and now I am very close to a few of them. I will miss them, but I think the transition will be good. High school is different than middle school. I think it will be a bit easier this time around.
Nick and Kim's wedding is fast approaching! I am very excited for it! I cannot wait to see my relatives from Ontario. I think it will be a very fun day.
The Winnipeg Folk Festival is very soon too. I'm excited about that each year too because it's like a little mini vacation. It's hot and sunny, there's good music, and you eat a heck of a lot. It's beautiful.
Last note: I had my first exam this morning. It was Geography. I think I did pretty good. I'm glad I only have two left! I think I'm going to go and suntan outside for a bit now!

Beautiful!

I was just sitting outside today in the trees beside my house and as I was sitting there the sun was warming my body from the outside in, and the birds were singing their own songs, and there was a soft cool breeze. Just a few hours previous there was a thunderstorm. How can things go from tremendous downpour and rumbling to bright sunshine and warmth in just a few hours? It amazes me. It truly is great, and the One who does it is truly powerful.

On a completely separate note. The school year is almost finished! I'm really excited for this summer because there are a number of very exciting events taking place. First off, my brother Nick is getting married in exactly four weeks. I'm pretty excited. I think it is going to be really fun. A lot of my family is coming from Ontario and I haven't seen them in quite a while, so it will be fun to catch up with them.
Second, the Winnipeg Folk Festival is fast approaching. That is always an amazing weekend of doing nothing: eating, relaxing, listening to amazing music, and being outside for three long days.
School is going well. I still haven't completely decided what I'm going to do next year for school. There has been a lot of stupid teenage drama throughout my grade lately and I'm really sick of it. I think it would be a good transition if I left next year, because then I would still have two full years to make new friends and the transition into university would be quite easy.

I was recently in Chicago for a band/arts trip with school. It was a lot of fun. We went to the Blue Man Group the first night we were there and it was so cool. They are very interesting people to watch. The only thing I didn't like about that was the mushed up banana that we got sprayed with. We were sitting in the first three or four rows, which are called "poncho seats" because you get things sprayed on you. Other than that it was pretty cool. We also went to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra which was kind of boring, but they were really really good. There was a violin soloist who played with the Symphony the second half, who was amazing. The thing that wrapped it all up was the Midieval Times dinner theater. It was so much fun. We got so into the spirit and we had a blast. On the way back to the hotel we sang the entire way back. It was really fun. Here a just a few pictures of my adventure:
This is a picture of "the bean". You can see the entire skyline of Chicago in it.
This is a picture of Wheaton College where we had our band session. It was a beautiful campus.
My friends and I standing in front of the Billy Graham Center.
This is at the Midieval Times dinner. Our knight was definately the best looking. All of the girls went crazy over him.

Creation Calls

I have felt the wind blow, whispering Your name
I have seen Your tears fall when I watch the rain

How could I say there is no God
When all around creation calls
A singing bird, a mighty tree
The vast expanse of open sea

Gazing at a bird in flight, soaring through the air
Lying down beneath the stars, I feel Your presence there

I love to stand at ocean's shore
And feel the thundering breakers roar
To walk through golden fields of grain
'Neath endless blue horizon's frame

Listening to a river run, watering the earth
Fragrence of a rose in bloom, a newborn's cry at birth

-Brian Doerksen

This song is so powerful to me. It has just been stuck in my brain for the past few weeks and it's amazing. Everytime I sing it in church, it fills me with this weird sensation and I feel so loved and accepted by God. I just love the way our worship team does it as well. When you begin to doubt God, just think about this...and His amazing creation...

The Month of March:

I realize that I have lost most of my blog readers because I seldom update my blog, but I'm going to go for it anyways. In the past month I have had an amazing youth retreat at Bird River Bible Camp, I turned sweet sixteen, there is a new animal in my house (a bird), I got my beginners licence, and I went to Fargo for Spring Break.

The youth retreat was good. I went to Bird River Bible Camp for a weekend, Friday to Sunday, with leaders and friends, and we learned more about God and reflected on our walk with Him. We did the stations of the cross, which is a series of stations that help remind you of what Christ went through for us. These stations are always one of the best parts of the retreat because they are well done. This year they were really well done. I was also on the best team ever, Team Hot Rod, which was based on the movie. It was pretty sweet.

I turned sixteen on the 26th, and on the same day I got my beginners licence, so now I can drive with a family member. It's pretty exciting. I like driving. My birthday and Fargo were associated with each other. The majority of my birthday present was going down to the States and going shopping with my aunt Linda, cousin Kristen, and my mom. We all had a good time and spent lots. :)

I think I've made up my decision for schools next year. I think I'm going to stay at Calvin because I will have good teachers next year that I like. It also seems like the University of Winniped Collegiate focuses more on the arts, rather than the maths and sciences. I would much rather do math and science than English. Anyways, I hope I don't regret my decision and it works out well.

That's all that's been going on in my life for the past month...

Alone on a Friday night, with nothing to do, no one to talk to.

As you probably figured out already, I'm home by myself on a Friday night, with nothing to do and no one to talk to. I'm a little frustrated because I was supposed to do something with someone tonight, but we just couldn't get the plans together. It's somebody that I haven't seen for the past week, won't see all of this week until Friday, and I really want to spend time with.

Life seems like it has been really busy lately, but I don't think it has been. I've just been really tired. I guess all of the sleep I've missed in the past month has finally caught up with me. Lately School has just felt like something that I've had to force myself to go to. I don't want it to be that way because it will just make me not want to further my education in college or university, which I should proably do if I want to get a decent job. That brings me to my next point about chaning schools.

My parents and I went to the University of Winnipeg Collegiate open house on Wednesday night. It was really good and I was quite impressed, but it was a bit overwhelming too. I got the impression that it would be really difficult because they have so many helps. All of the teachers have offices that they are in between specific hours if students need help. They have a tutor who will schedule you in, whenever, for whatever subject and help you. They also have teacher/student meetings, where a teacher will sit down with the student and just ask how school is going. They do this three times per semester. The school itslef is also fairly large and I felt like it was a huge maze when they took us on the tour. I'm sure I would get used to that though.
I told my mom today that she should make a meeting with one of the Dean's from the school just see what the options are and how to plan for a post secondary education. I think that it would be really good for me to go here because they move at a much faster pace, so it wouldn't be as boring and not as much time would be wasted in class. The semesters are like university semsters, from September to December, and then from January to the end of April. I think that's a pretty sweet deal. They say that you need to be self motivated, and I think I am. I think I could do it.

My birthday is coming up soon and I will be turning 16. I think that this will be a pretty important birthday beacuse I will probably be leaving Calvin in September, therefore it will be the last with my friends. I was originally going to go to Pinewood, where we normally go for Christmas break with our family, but then another 'oportunity' came up. Nick has to go to Minneapolis for work, so my mom and I asked if we could come along. He asked his boss if that would be alright, and he said that it was fine. So, for spring break, my mom, Nick, Kim and I will be heading down to Minneapolis. Nick for work, the rest of us for a break and probably some shopping.
So instead of having an awesome birthday party at Pinewood, I'll probably just have a mediocore one at my house, and then head out to Minneapolis. I already have some sweet ideas for it, so it should still be pretty fun. Anyways, I'm going to go find something else to do for the rest of the night...

Monthly Update...haha!

Wow, time flies! I suck at this whole keeping my blog updated thing. Anyways, I had a good Christmas. I went to Pinewood Lodge with my family. That was pretty fun. School's been pretty good. I just had my last exam today. I'm so glad that they're finally done! It feels like I've been writing exams for weeks, but really I've only had 4 this week, one every day so far.

My mom has been in Ontario for the past week, so life's been different. I don't really like being the only girl in the house. I feel like I do everything! Now I know how my mom feels, and I think I'll appreciate what she does even more. She's coming home tonight which I'm pretty excited about. She said that she'd bring me droopies back from the awesome Dutch Shop there. She was also going to see about getting some purple fabric for a new quilt that I want to make. I am planning to move my room downstairs when Nick moves out this summer and I want to paint it purple. Not like a sick, ugly purple, but like a rich, deep purple. Purple Haze... Anyways, I want to make a sweet purple quilt that will match it.

Well that's pretty much it. I don't really have anything else new or exciting in my life right now.