All Good Things Must Come To An End....

2010 has reached its close and with bittersweet feelings that I say goodbye. It has been an amazing year with many ups and downs. Definitely one of the best though.

School has been one of my saving graces this year. When I look back on all that I accomplished and everything that I was able to be a part of, I am overwhelmed. This past year has honestly changed my life.

I'm a nerd and found this picture today. It makes me somewhat happy though!

I spent the summer in Virginia and it was phenomenal! Spending time with Kyle and Jess and their family was such a highlight. I don't know what I would do without Jess in my life. She was my rock over the summer. When I got a little crazy and my mind wouldn't cooperate--she was there! And I loved everything about Virginia. Heck, I even loved my job! Who knew...me and bugs! But to be honest, it was really just all about being able to work with Kyle and spend more time with him.

I love Christmas. And this Christmas was extra special! We travelled up to Hinton to spend the holidays with Kennedy and Eric and their little ones! A day with the Holts is always one to remember. But we got an extra surprise this Christmas! Shayla went into labor 5 1/2 weeks early and it was a Christmas miracle! There was one bed available in all of Alberta. So at one in the morning on the 23rd, they ambulanced KJ and Shayla to Edmonton and baby Jonah James Wood was born that night. He weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces, which is a really good size for being a premie baby. Jonah was transferred down to Lethbridge on Sunday and is still in NICU but doing really well. And he is honestly just the cutest little baby anyone ever did see!

Christmas is always a special time. I have many fond memories with my family around the holiday season. But each year, right around 10:00pm on December 24th, my dad and brothers approach me with this wildly desperate and pleading look in their eyes....and I just know. I know that I will be spending the next 2-3 hours wrapping their Christmas presents for them. My dad actually came to me earlier in the month this year but decided to dispense with the theatrics because he knew I would just do it. I've recently come across this blog about 1000 awesome things and thought this was so true. Don't you just love wrapping presents and how it is the best thing when the wrapping paper lines up perfectly!

This is un-awesome.

This is awesome!!

I want to be better at noticing those little things that make life awesome!

Do you want to know how I spent all last Christmas...???

Yup! That is what I did. And this Christmas hasn't been a whole lot different! It's been amazing and relaxing and just what I needed.

So this year has been amazing! But I am going to make 2011 even better!!!

PS- Happy Birthday Noah!!!!!!

I can't believe how big you are!!!!!

What a stud muffin!

Suddenly I See

I woke up this morning and could see the twinkle in the angel's eye on the Christmas tree. Big deal? Yes! Normally I just see some blur of a color blob. Miracle? Practically. I had laser eye surgery on Friday. Now, I'm sure I know what you are thinking. "Really Katie?! You?? You are such a wimp when it comes to anything like that." And it is so true. But it honestly was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

And really, it wasn't that bad. The appointment was about 4 hours long but the actual operation takes about 1 minute per eye. Just before I went under the knife, I found out that my parents helped pay for the surgery. I have the best parents in the entire world. When they put the numbing drops in my eyes, they couldn't tell what were tears and what were drops.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Well actually it's not really that cold outside but I am definitely not complaining! I've decided that I wouldn't even mind if we don't have a white christmas! But knock on wood!

School ended with a bang. I didn't have any finals so I've basically been done for a week, and then plus some extra tutoring here and there. I realized more about how much of a wimp I am though. The last week of school I practically lived in the IB Commons lab working on a project for my Computerized Accounting class. It was a group project but I have issues 'letting go' so I kind of just did the whole 40 hour ordeal on my own (for some odd strange reason my partner didn't mind in the slightest)! I was helping another group set up their company and the guy, Ron, called me Stevie. I didn't correct him and so it went on...and on and on. "Look at the numbers that Stevie calculated for depreciation." "Check to see if Stevie has the same invoices." "Stevie, how did you set up your payroll?" After a couple hours I was getting ready to leave when one of the guys I tutored came over and asked, "Katie, could you come and look at our accounting case? Our numbers aren't working." Ron asked what my name was and then apologized profusely because he said he had been calling me 'Stevie' for the past few hours. I laughed and said, "Oh really! I hadn't even noticed!" There was a girl named Stevie in my last ward so I wonder if Ron had ever met her. Ok so dumb story but...well that's as good as it gets.

I came across this video and thought it was the most clever thing I've seen in a long time!

Merry Merry Christmas!

PS- After Friday, I'll be able to wake up in the morning and be able to see!!!

I'm Still Alive!

School is coming to a close pretty quick here! I have absolutely loved this semester! It hasn't been too stressful and I have filled my time with a lot of tutoring...a lot!! For the most part it has been a great experience. But my inability to say no has gotten me into trouble once again!

My roommate, Jen, asked if I could tutor some of her friends in their University Stats class. I wasn't sure how their class would differ from the class I took, but I said I would meet up with them and take a look with what they cover. I looked through the front of their notes and the content looked somewhat familiar....so I thought, "hmm, why not". That weekend I took a hard look into their text book and realized this wasn't just any old University Stats class. No, it was a Psychology University Stats class. Oh great! I spent 8 hours that weekend studying their class! What had I gotten myself into!?! But so far so good. I just have to spend more time going over their material than I do all of my own classes combined!

The formulas are absolutely crazy!

And they have gotten progressively worse since these ones.

But really, school has gone well so far. I am excited for the next few years.

I just want to brag about one of my students for a minute. Her first exam didn't go so well when she got a 63% on it. She really wanted to do better so she signed up for tutoring. We worked really hard together. Her next exam she aced with a 97%! I was so proud of her.

Wouldn't you love to come home from church to this?!?

Some guys thought it would be funny to put crayfish in our sinks and tub. We decided to thank them and cooked the creepy crawly little guys for their supper. Crayfish turn a bright orange color when cooked...gross.

I just took a picture with my phone so quality is poor but this one was really big and disgusting....take my word for it!

Melanie, my good friend from England, called me last week! I miss that girl so much. Anyways, she randomly got a phone call from this guy who said, "You don't know me but I recognized you at church today with a picture I have of you sticking your tongue out." Needless to say she was a little creeped out! But the guy went on to explain that he was a friend of mine and his name was John (well actually he would have said Elder Spencer). John is on a mission right now in the same area where I was when I was over seas nannying. He is serving in my old ward and has gotten to meet all of my dear dear friends over there!

This is the picture he recognized her from....she wasn't impressed!

But isn't she gorgeous! I miss her like this dickens and think she needs to come over here to visit!

A Weekend of Firsts

Finally! Something to report! Although I will admit it's kind of bitter sweet. For obvious reasons I can't post everything but some of you know what I am talking about. So I have moved into good ol' Lethbridge on the West Side and it has been great! You all know my goal has been to be more outgoing and try and get out more. Well, I think I have been doing a pretty bang up job with that. This past weekend, there was a YSA activity "Battle of the Airbands". And no, I didn't dress up and dance around like a crazy person pretending to play an air guitar...but I did take part in a skit in between the acts while people set up. That is me taking leaps and bounds I must say!

Here is the skit that we did. Haha. It went really well.

BonQuiQui

I was girl number 1...not BonQuiQui. Ha that was my roommate, Jen. She fit the part perfectly!!

Then on Saturday, I went to my first hockey game ever! Yup, ever! I feel like I am officially a Canadian now. But before that excitement began, I was taken to the Calgary Tower for dinner. It was amazing! We had Calamari as an appetizer. I had never had it before and I didn't even gag. Impressed!? It's chewy, like everyone says, but not too bad. And the view, outside the window, was amazing.

He had timed things perfectly with the Sunset and everything...

But a date isn't a date without it's awkward moments. When we were first seated at our table, my date excused himself to use the restroom. The waiter came over and asked what our plans were for the rest of the evening. I told him we were going to the hockey game and it was my first game ever! We chatted for a bit and then my date returned to the table. The waiter looked over at him and said, "So, you're out with a Virgin tonight!" That didn't make things weird at all...The waiter then clarified that he meant I was a Hockey Virgin. I am positive there were better words that could have been used.

The game was amazing though! It was the Flames vs. Oilers face-off. I have always had friends say that Hockey Players are hot and sexy but I never saw the appeal. I always imagined black eyes, missing teeth--you know, the beat up look. But I must admit there was some definite eye candy on that ice as the game was getting ready to start. And our seats were 10 rows from the ice! I couldn't believe how close we were. I have never been much of a hockey fan but there was a moment or two when my eyes welled a tear.

There were so many people!

And we were so ridiculously close!

So I was somewhat disappointed that there weren't any fights but one of the goals went in off of someone's face and there was blood all over the ice. I could have gone with a not as great view of that...but pretty intense huh!

Wahoo! And the flames won!!!

So it was definitely a weekend of firsts. Now, I know there are several details missing from this post so if you want the rest of the details you will have to give me a call...

And I found this song and now I love it (obvious reasons)! Really you just have to listen to the first minute and a half.

Dream A Little Dream...

It has been quite some time since I have made a new post. It's sad to think that right around the time I decided to start a blog...my life got a heck of a lot less exciting. Even Kody comments on it. Kody has always been one to appreciate a good drama story. He loves it. Not so much the lack of it lately.

Now just wait. When I say that, don't let the image of me being a drama queen come to mind. I'm not. The exact opposite to be sure! Even my dreams don't have drama. Typical people have crazy dreams. Like the 'being lost in a jungle held hostage by an African tribe that wants to sacrifice you to their tiki god but suddenly saved by blue aliens' sort of dreams. But I'm not typical. No sir. My dreams involve me waking up and getting dressed, going to school and taking notes, driving home and working on homework, and then getting ready for bed...(if I'm real lucky their will be a little down time for pleasure reading). Honest to goodness! Those are my dreams! I wish I could say that my dreams were as such in order to compensate for my real life being fun-filled with crazy adventures and excitement...but I'm trying to be good and not lie. My dreams can get somewhat exciting at times though. Like this one night, in my dream I was taking notes in my Management Accounting class and I distinctly remember drawing a picture of a red truck to help me remember a concept. Then the following night, (now this is where it gets REALLY exciting!!), in my dream I got home from school and was reviewing the notes from class, when I saw the picture of the red truck I had drawn the night before!!! Amazing isn't it! My dreams connected from one night to the next!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true." Oh dear. Is anyone else a little concerned for me?

So now that you are reading this and feeling sorry for the sad and studious life I lead, maybe next time you will stop and forgive me for waiting so long in between posts!

New York, New York

So my time in Virginia was coming to a close and it made my heart want to break. I decided to do something on my last full weekend in Virginia....so with New York being only 4 hours away, how could I NOT go!! I booked a bus ticket on the Washington Deluxe and was on my way to the Big Apple....by myself! Not sure if that was brave or just plumb crazy. But talk about adventure in and of itself.

I got off the bus and had no idea where I was, or where I was going, or even how to get there. But there was no wiping the crazy grin off my face as I grabbed 15 different maps, twisting them this way and that, in a lame attempt to get my bearings. I found a subway and was in the process of trying to figure out which platform I needed to be on....and what with my back pack on, my maps in hand, and the deer-caught-in-the-headlight look in my eyes, I just screamed easy target! Ha I had several people come and offer to help me find my way...and then wouldn't it be so great if I were to 'donate a substantial amount to get them a bus ticket so that they could care for their sick aunt's brother's long lost step child'. Yes, twas an adventure. But I found my way to the Broadway Hostel where I was able to get settled in and drop my stuff off so I could go out to explore. I grabbed my maps and was off once again!

There is just so much to see in New York and I knew I wouldn't be able to fit everything in--so how does one decide what to see and what to leave for another time? I took a very logical approach. I hopped on the Subway, picked a random person, and would get off wherever they did. Then it was just a matter of finding where I was on my handy dandy map and squeezing in the many sights....well at least until my feet went numb and I would have to hop on the nearest subway to do it all over again! I was able to see Times Square, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Lady Liberty, and much much more. But the absolute highlight of the vacation...WICKED!

I have wanted to see Wicked for as long as I can remember. So check another one off my list of things that I want to see and do before I die! It was fantabulous! I can still feel the goosebumps on my arms.

So I did it. I went to the Big Apple by myself--the only city where people make radio requests like "This is for Tina-I'm sorry I stabbed you" (ok so I saw that on a tshirt and thought it was funny-i doubt my mom will see the same humor--but don't worry! I was safe!)

Here is a picture of Central Park. It is just taken on my phone so not the greatest quality but it'll do!

Yes, Times Square really is as bright and busy as people say!

And it is impossible to go to New York without taking a picture of the Statue Of Liberty!

I haven't blogged in a long time so it is a little overwhelming to try and get caught up. Yes this was kind of pitsy but I am hoping to stay on top of things now...We'll see how that goes!