Two Hundred

I've started a couple posts recently, but haven't uploaded them because my last post was my 199th published post and I wanted 200 to be something special. I finally decided to write something and get it over with. So without further adieu, I give you my

For those of you who've been reading since the beginning, I thank you. We've been through a lot together here on the blog. You were with me when I used to talk about boys and how stupid they were. When I went on my trip to Australia you eagerly anticipated the days when I'd post pictures. Hey, remember when I created my 101 things to do in 1001 days? It's over now and I think I may have gotten like, half of them done...  And oh my gosh! You were there when I went on my first date with Joe (!) back when I called him Johnny.

There are so many memorable moments. I'm just going to put a bunch of labels at the bottom of this blog post and you can feel free to browse through them at your own leisure. 

Thanks for reading everyone! And here's to another

I don't plan on ending this thing any time soon, so I'm sure we'll get to 400 :) Who's with me?

High Class

Hey friends,

I'm trying to think of something fun to share with you but I'm drawing a blank.

Nevermind! I just thought of something...

Yesterday we took our team photos for the new rugby season. We were all dressed up in our gear and got our photos done for the FIRST time on the Pronghorn logo at the U of L stadium. You'd think it wouldn't have taken so long considering we're the most succesful team the school has. Oh well.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you the last photo we took.


Beauty.

Greetings from Ontario!

You know what's annoying? Just recently I had a totally clever topic to talk about in my next entry, but I didn't write it right away and now I've forgotten it. I know, I'm sorry. I'm a terrible bloggist. Blogger. Whatever.

But anyways, I'm in Ontario! I'm here with the rugby team and we're here for Nationals. We've played two games so far and play our final game tomorrow morning. I wish I could say we'll be playing in the final for the gold, but we just lost our game this morning, so instead we're fighting for bronze tomorrow. No big deal though. We've done a great job. We've been completely undefeated up until this point and tomorrow's game shows promise.

Anyway, enough about rugby - it's all I've been talking about for the past 2 months - here's a photo from our daytrip to Writing-On-Stone. We had great weather and tons of fun climbing around in the hoo doos. If you ever find yourself in Southern Alberta, go check it out. It's tons of fun for everyone. (And getting into the park is freeeee!)

PS - guess who got 90% on her psychology test, this girl!

I'm a Pronghorn

On the Pronghorns we have this little book of memories that gets sent around the team. Each day after practice the book is sent home with a different girl. She fills a page with things about her and the next day in practice she gets to send it home with another girl. A couple days ago, I got to take the book home. I was so stoked. The next day I spent the afternoon carefully making my page beautiful. I'm pretty proud of what I did, so I thought I'd share it:

Photos! At Last! Love Me!

And just pretend that it didn't take me almost two weeks to upload them... heh heh, where was I? Oh yes.

And heeeerreee they are!

Our game against the UofC Dinos

Against the UVic Vikes

On the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver. We just won a million dollars.

Another ferry shot. Hands up!

What's a trip to Vancouver without the Olympic torch??

Sadly, I didn't get any shots of our game against UBC. But just know that we won :) and it was awesome.

Falling Behind

Oh my word. Three of my games have gone by and I haven't told you about any of them.

We've won all of them so far! Woot!

Our first game was in Calgary on Sunday the 19th against U of C. It was an exhibition game so coach told us to just go out there and have fun. No pressure. Except I was scared out of my mind! This was going to be my very first game in the two years since I tore my ACL and I was understandably nervous. But you know, it turned out okay. In fact, I feel like it was one of the best first games of the season that I've ever played. We won 38 - 0. Did I mention that the Pronghorns rock?

Our second and third games took place just this past weekend in beautiful British Columbia. on Friday we took a morning flight out to Victoria to play against UVic. We stomped them 64 - 0. I loved Victoria, it's so pretty out there and it also reminded me of New Zealand. On Saturday we took the ferry to Vancouver and did some sightseeing. I met up with a couple friends from high school and they took me around to see a bit of the city. It was pretty fun. Sunday was the big game day against UBC. This was the one that the whole team was anticipating. And it turned out to be a good one. It was a pretty physical game, but we came out on top with a 36 - 7 win. We got home around midnight last night. I took some pretty sweet photos, but I'll have to upload them later.

That's all I have time for right now, but I hope to get those photos up soon. Bye for now!

One for the Road

Hey friends!

I've got a bit of time to kill at the institute before Friday Forum, so I thought I'd write up a quick little blog while I wait.

Problem is, I don't have much to talk about. Maybe I'll just give you a rundown on what my week's been like. . .

Insitute started on Monday and I am loving my classes so far! I'm taking an Isaiah class with brother Wood and a New Testament class with Brother Reid. If there's anyone reading that has an opportunity to go to institute, do it! It's tons of fun and a really great way to spend an hour of your day. (Plus you get free parking)

My school classes are going well. I feel like I look like crap all the time because of my training in the mornings and then badminton class in the afternoons, I'm always in sweaty gym clothes! But on the days when I only have lectures, I make myself look pretty to make up for it. My poetry class is interesting so far. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a challenge. I sat next to this awful girl in my last class and she made the meanest, snippy comments about everything that people said! I'm never sitting by her again. I think I really like my evening psychology class. I've made two friends in there and we seem to get along really well.

I've been working hard in rugby practices and I think it's starting to pay off. The soreness has gone in my legs and it's getting easier for me to keep up with the rest of the team. Our first game is on Sunday and I'm both nervous and excited for it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Aaannd, that's my week. Sort of.

Ooh! Johnny took me out on Tuesday and we saw Despicable Me. It was so cute!

GUESS WHAT

I made the team!

You are now reading the blog of the newest member of the UofL's Pronghorn Rugby team. How do you feel about that? Cause I am SUPER STOKED!!

Do you know what this means?? It means that not only is #95 on my 101 list complete, but #65 (go to 3 University Sporting events) is also going to be completed very soon. Woot woot!

95. Try Out For The Pronghorns

I'm doing it! I'm going out for the University rugby team. When I made the list, I wasn't initially planning on trying out this year because I didn't feel ready. However, my high school coach (who is also the manager of the Pronghorns) contacted me and encouraged me to try out. Last week, I got the go-ahead from my doctor and started going to practices. The first couple days were brutal; I was so sore afterward. I'm still sore, but it's getting better.

So far, I've made it past the first cuts. Today we had fitness testing and I didn't make a total fool of myself. I'll keep you posted on whether I make it. I imagine they'll have made final cuts by the end of this week.

Wish me luck!

Happy First of May!

Since I've been home, I have been working a lot on a video with photos and videos from our vacation. I've just put the final touches on it and am in the process of putting it on dvd to show the family. After that I want to upload to youtube and then embed the video onto my blog for all of you to see. Except, I can't quite figure out how to embed videos here.

So if anyone knows how do this, some advice or instruction would be greatly appreciated!

I kind of feel bad for not saying anything interesting in this entry, so I will leave you with something nice to look at:This is Jarryd Hayne: fullback for the Parramatta Eels and one of the best footballers in the NRL.

He is also best friends with my cousin's husband and he got us tickets to see one of his games while we were there. We also got to meet him after the game. He and I are pretty much besties now.

Day 18: A Photo To-Go

Sunday, April 18, 3:23pm

I'm in a parking lot. And I'm blogging. I love this mini laptop.

We went to watch my cousin Vita play his rugby match.
He's the one with the ball being awesome. It runs in the family.

Kiss Me and Smile For Me

Well aren't you a lucky bunch? Today you are getting 3 posts-in-one from yours truly. Why the excessive blogging, you ask? I shall tell you.

1. Today is Wednesday. That means another installment of the Wonderful Words of Wednesday.

b) Today is also the last day of March. That means you get a recap of my month.

iii. Today is also the day I leave. For Australia that is! So of course I must say goodbye to you lovelies.

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First thing's first. Dub^3!

For those of you who are new, Dub^3 is short for WWW which is short for the Wonderful Words Wednesday. This is the segment where I talk about words that I like and you smile and nod and pretend to be interested. (Yes, I can see you smiling and nodding through the computer)

On friday, I learned a new phrase: Kitty Corner. I've heard it before and I know what context to use it in, but I've never been entirely sure of what it means to be "kitty corner" from something. When giving directions, if the place you are referring to is diagonally across from another place of reference it is said to be kitty corner from it. For example, "My house is easy to find. It's just kitty corner from the school over there."

But seriously, kitty corner? I hate cats, why do we have to bring their offspring into this? It turns out, the original word that was used used to be "catercorner", but people had trouble remembering "cater" so over time it got replaced with "catty" and it has now become the "kitty" that we hear today.

reference!

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H'okay, moving on...

It's time to recap my resolutions for March.

1. Write a journal entry once a week.
It's fairly obvious to see that I'm doing well with this one. I've recently bought a new notebook to serve as my journal. It is red and I love it.

2. Find a job.
Found one. Still have it. I watch Tim's kids.

3. Get my license
Boo yah! I got it. I can't remember what I did back in the days when I didn't have it.

4. Work out 2-3 times a week.
Just when you thought I'd given up, I surprise you. I've surprised myself. I've been running and biking all month. I love getting my endorphins in the morning. Toby tells me that only two props are returning to the Pronghorns this year, so if I can get my fitness levels up and my knee up to snuff, I will have a spot on the team come fall!

5. Stop gossiping.
Oh goodness, every month I hide my face in shame when I come to this goal. This is the only one that I've made no progress on :( but maybe now that I've gotten the other ones out of the way, I can focus on this. (yeah right...) I should make a T shirt that says "No gossip zone" . . . =O OMG! That's a good idea!

So as you can see, March was my month of progress. I can cross my license goal off my list entirely and my workout goal has now taken effect. Rugby has made its way back into my life this month, I got some vaccinations, Elder Bednar came to Lethrbidge and gave an awesome firside, I made a buttload of shirts, I created a weekly blog-segment, I babysat a lot, I hung out with Plausible, I told Pirate Steve (and you) about Plausible, I played in the Kiwanis with my orchestra, I donated blood, Selina came to Lethbridge on Saturday (we've been together every day since she's been here) and I finally got to play Beatles Rockband - it was everything I imagined and more. Oh, also - this Monday for FHE we had a scripture study night. I was so pleased with how it turned out! People actually showed up with scriptures in hand, ready to participate. I am so grateful it was a good night, I think we should have another one before the end of the year.

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Ack! I can't believe it! I'm leaving for Australia soon! Depending on when you're reading this I could be on my way right now. Please don't miss me too much, friends. I will be home soon. I am going to try my hardest not to miss you so that I can enjoy every moment. I still have no idea what the computer/internet situation will be like down there, but I do know that I won't be bringing my lap top. As I promised, I will try to take a picture everyday specifically for this blog. I can't say I'll be able to upload everyday (if at all), but you will see them eventually.

If you happened to notice what time I'm posting this, you are quite the observant person. It's so late/early because I've been up packing all night. My friend, Star was pestering me over a week ago to start packing and I just laughed. Sorry pal, that's not how I roll. With every single trip I've been on, I have never started packing more than 2 days before I leave. I don't put anything in my suitcase until the night before. I've been using this system for years and I don't plan on changing it :P

Anyways, enjoy the next month without me! I hope I'll be able to give you at least a couple updates to share the fun I'll be having. I also hope to find me a hot Tongan to bring home. Fingers crossed.

Dang.

Don't you hate when you go to say something, but someone interrupts you and so you wait and by the time you get the chance to speak, you've forgotten what it was you wanted to say?

Try having that happen with a blog.

I kid you not, all day long I've been thinking stuff up and there have been some really awesome brain things going on inside my head, but now - pfft! it's gone.

I came onto my laptop to do one thing and one thing only: blog. And then all of a sudden I found myself on Facebook. And then on someone else's blog. And on some other random site that I have never been to before. Goodness gracious, it's a good thing I don't have some big important date to go on or else I'd probably miss that too. Or -- do I??!

No, I'm good. I nearly forgot that my life has a severe lack of love interests for the time being. There's lots of the we're-just-friends type, but none of the maybe-something-more kind. Le sigh.

Boys are awesome.*

Anyway, let's move on...

As you know, I've been running my buns off lately. It's going really well! I feel really good. Today I took my cousin and my trek sister out to the rugby club to practise some contact drills. It was great. That is my favorite part of rugby. However, I made a worrying discovery: I can't fall properly on my left side.

In rugby, it is very important for one to know how to land properly when one is tackled so as not to bring injury upon oneself. If one can't land on one's left side, that means one can't get tackled there. And if one really hates getting tackled on one's left side, then that throws one off because one would be more worried about one's knee than the ball and essentially, the game.

So. Why does this matter to you, dear reader? It probably doesn't. But, be grateful for your knees. If you have two fully functional knees that you don't worry about everyday, be grateful! Knees are more important than you think. And if you don't have fully functional knees and are bound to a wheelchair, I apologize for my whining. I am still grateful for the one good knee I have left and I am especially grateful for the wonderful progress my bad knee has made. (I can sit cross-legged again!)

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I didn't get everything that I thought of today, but whatevs, maybe it'll come to me later. As long as the awesome brain things going on inside my head aren't interrupted again.

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*- In case you didn't catch any of the sarcasm** dripping off of that comment, here is an alternate phrase that can be used in the context without any sarcasm: Boys are lame.

**- They should invent a font specifically for sarcastic comments. And if that actually does happen, let it be known that I blogged about it first. Maybe. Well, I dibs it, how about that?

I've Been Suffering Withdrawals

ACK I missed you!!

I know. I'm lame. It's been 6 days since my last blogging sesh and I'm freaking out. However, my blog-fast was not intentional. There have been many blog worthy moments that have happened (like Cora drinking a slurpee), I just never wrote them right away and then next thing I know, BAM! I can't get onto the internet.

But worry no more, my lovely followers. I have returned with many a story to tell...

I've started running!! Hooray! I am no longer getting fat sitting around my house all day. Everyday this week I have ridden (or driven. Because I can!) out to the rugby club and ran my butt of around the field. I hurt, but I hurt so good.

Along with running, I've also started going out to Churchill's rugby practices to help coach. I guess you could say that that was my motivation to start running. I freaking love those girls! Some of them are wicked athletes that make me jealous and some of them aren't as confident in their abilities. It's that second group of girls that I love to help. I love giving everyone a chance so it's going to be sad when Toby has to make the final cuts.

On Friday night I watched A Hard Day's Night at Denise's house. Did you know that the Beatles made some movies back in the day??? I only just found out last Sunday, so I was quite excited when Denise extended the invitation for me to watch it with her. I rather enjoyed it. They were so funny! The way they acted reminded me of another band from England, McFLY. I don't know what it is about those Brits, but they sure like to goof off!

Guess what I'll be doing three weeks from now. Just guess. Alright, I'll give you a hint. That one song by Chantal Kreviazuk is a pretty good hint. . . If you guessed that I'd be leaving on a jet plane, you'd be right! My Australian vacation begins on the 31st of this month. We will stop in New Zealand for the weekend on our way down, spend three weeks in Australia and then on our way home, we stop in Tonga for four days. Are you jealous? If you are, don't be because we've had to get a bunch of vaccinations to prevent us from picking up some tropical virus while we're in Tonga. Trust me, we aren't going to have any fun... Okay, we might have some fun, I was just trying to make you feel better.

Here Comes the Sun

I have been in such a good mood lately and I love it! I think it's because of all the warm weather we've been having. Warm weather for me equals sunshine and bike rides and afternoon strolls. I've been outside everyday since March started! I've been riding my bike and walking in the coulees - it's fantastic!

Also, the beginning of March marks the beginning of rugby season! I've been going to the past couple practices for my high school rugby team to help out. They even say that I can get a hoodie this year, woot! I love rugby. Rugby, rugby, rugby. I can't wait until I can try out for the University team in the fall. Or at least until I can play a game sometime with somebody. I've even got the motivation to go running. I can't wait to break out my cleats and go running. My only wish is that I had some rugby friends around that weren't busy with life. I'm sure if Jazz were here she'd do it with me, but she's in Texas :( I'm sure I'll find someone...

What's your favorite thing to do on a warm, sunny day?

Happy Anniversary!

Oh my goodness! Do you know what today is? It was a year ago on this day that I had my ACL reconstructed. It was the worst day of my life, but the results have been amazing.

This means that I no longer have to wear my brace when I play sports. That means I can play rugby again! Competitively! There is nothing more that I have missed this past year than rugby. Everytime I heard about how well our University team was doing, it always made me sad because I missed out on my chance to be a part of it. But now I've been given my chance again!

I should do something to celebrate...