Thursday, April 27, 2006
Thirty-first Post Ever...
Well, here we are...we passed the thirtieth post with no problems....Ok, I made a blog for TCOOR, so you can go here and see our blog. (it's still a work in progress, we have yet to have more than two members...so yeah...just wait...it'll get there)
Anyways, so for Easter weekend, I was too old this year to do an easter egg hunt, so I went to Auntie Kendra's house two days before the hunt, and I helped her put all the stuff in the eggs, and put all the stickers on the eggs (the stickers are so the girls can distinguish who's eggs are whose) and then I helped her make an AMAZING bunny cake...Auntie Kendra, your cake making genius will never cease to amaze me....
And then we were gonna have the hunt outside at the House of Mirth, but it rained (really really hard) so we switched to plan-B: go to my house. So we came to my house with all the eggs, and the cake and all that stuff, and we got here, and there were SO many people in our house....it was nuts!!! Like since I had been gone on Thursday, Uncle Hugo and Auntie Tracy had gotten there, Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Torrey were there, and then...a tone of other people showed up just to hunt eggs...so we had like...the whole family here...And we celbrated mom's birthday...shes ** now...heheheh. And everyone stayed really late, and Auntie Kendra stayed the night, so we could all go out together to celebrate Uncle Torrey's grad together. So it was loads of fun. And the only people missing were the Rogalsky's...they've been at the easter egg hunts ever since they started like..FIVE YEARS AGO! and they weren't there...it was really sad.
And while everyone was here, dad snagged 'em, and made them work! So our basement is all electrified, and plumbed and there is drywall going up, and subfloors being installed and yeah! It's almost done...sort of...not really..but I'm still excited!
And so on Sunday afternoon we all went out to this EXTREMELY good greek resteraunt...and we celebrated Uncle Torrey's grad, as well as Easter. It was really fun.
AND THEN....we had an open house at our house on monday, and EVERYONE was there...both sets of grandparents, some of my moms siblings, some of my mom's moms siblings, one of my dad's siblings...it was even fuller (yes...fuller) than on saturday....
Anyways, and then just this past Sunday, we went Sun Running...but Sun Walking is more what you would call what we did...
It took us about 2 hours and 16 minutes to walk ten km. But then...we had to stop for Starbucks, and at the pit stop and all that jazz. But ya know what?!?!?! They had a record-breaking amount of people sign up for the sun run this year...about 50,700 people! And the announcer guy at the very beginning told us that if 50,000 people all walked ten km, if you put all those lengths end to end, it would fit around the equator 13 times!!! Thirteen times around the earth..that's crazzy!!!
Anyways, I missed Justina at the sun run...it wasn't the same without her...but we tried to have fun anyway, and I think we accomplished that.
SO yeah, that's my life..now that I'm up to speed I won't have to be so..rushed about this whole posting thing.
~XoxoxoxoxoxO~
(Pictures to come later, our computer is acting up right now, so I can't load any....sorry for the inconvenience)
Amanda at 10:18 AM
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Thirtieth Post Ever...
WOOHOO!!! Thirty Posts!!! Let's celebrate by...starting a comittee!!!Ok, this comittee is going to be called TCOOR. (The Comittee Of Official Randomness) Everyone who loves random, or who is random, or who does random things, is welcome to join TCOOR. So yes...anyways..that was my celebration of my thirtieth post.
Now! Back to official blogging. Well, since last I posted, we have had an Easter egg hunt, I had a fun sleepover at the House o' Mirth, and some other stuff has happened. So yeah...I have to go for now, but!...I will post Easter pictures later! I just thought I would update you on my life...
Oh! And tommorow we are running the sun run!!! Woohoo!
Anyways....got to go...
~XoxoxoxoxoxO~
Amanda at 11:21 AM
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Twenty-ninth Post Ever...
OK, about our fifth day in China...it really wasn't that long...we got up in the morning and we took the subway out to Tienamen Square. (I learned one of the strangest things about Tienamen Square. It was the site of a massacre that took place WAY back when a bunch of college students tried to get the communists to see what a democracy would look like through a demonstration. Well...once the army got out there, one of the soldiers thought they heard a gunshot, which resulted in the army shooting down all of the colledge students. Pretty extreme...if I do say so myself.) {In the picture you can see the Forbidden City on the other side of Tienamen Square, and how FOGGY it was that last day!}
Anyways, we walked all the way across the square and I was surprised at the amount of people there were in there, and it wasn't even a special day! Anyways, when we got to the other side, the gateway to the Forbidden City was even more jam-packed with people! Locals, tourists, local tourists..everyone was there! Well, probably not, but there were so many people! We walked inside one gate, and then through another gate, and then there was the Forbidden City! We wanted to go inside, but we didn't have enought cash! So we satisfied ourselves with going up into the gate. I'm sure the city would've been even more fascinating, but the gate was pretty amazing too, as gates go.
Anyways, after that, we caught a cab back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and headed for the airport. We had to sit and wait for an hour or two for our plane, and then it was a long, squished flight back to Vancouver. And then we got home, at like one o'clock in the afternoon on Monday. (we had left at five o'clock pm on the same monday...) When we had supper at home, it was really wierd to think that just that morning, we had been in Beijing CHINA!!! Pretty strange if you ask me... Anyways! That was our trip to China! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I got to sign off now and go do some school, so I shall post about our Easter weekend tomorrow maybe!
T-T-F-N...ta-ta-for-now!
~XoxoxoxoxO~
Amanda at 2:25 PM
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Twenty-eighth Post Ever...
Here I am, at the House of Mirth, sitting in a recliner at 9:00 am on a Saturday morning. (For those of you who don't know what the house of mirth is, it's auntie kendra's house.) We are having the Easter egg hunt today, but since it RAINED! (uhhh) we have to have it out at my house instead of at auntie Kendra's. The hunt has always been at auntie kendra's house!!! Except for the past year, and now this one, that it's rained too hard!!! Geez....what is this world coming to...raining on Easter! PAH!!! (I don't think that's a word, but whatever)I got to help auntie Kendra, and auntie Claire make all the little Easter eggs, I got to stuff them, and sticker them, and I get to help hide them. And...I got to help auntie Kendra make the sweetest, most cutest bunny cake with Easter eggs that I have ever seen! It's pretty sweet being fourteen, I must say. And tomorrow...Mom and I get to make pie!!! It's for Monday when we're having our open house thing at ..duh...our house! So everyone cool is gonna be there...so be there..or be square!*
And Happy Birthday to the most fantastic selfless woman in the world...yes...you know it...MY MOTHER!!! Love you mom.
Well, I have to get dressed, so that I can actually be seen in public...so yes..I shall be leaving now.
Ta-ta!
*I do not know why I said that, it's totally not like me, so be there or be...uncool. I guess.
See y'all later!
~xoxoxo
Amanda at 9:00 AM
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Twenty-seventh Post Ever...
Well, I'm back again!Grandma and Grandpa Wall just got here like...an hour ago, and Nicole and I decided to do this art project auntie kendra showed us. It's called pointalism.(sp?) So you take a picture, and put it onto another piece of paper, but just in dots...here's the one I did of elmo: Idn't he just adorable!!! (Top=normal, from the computer. Bottom=Dots from me!)
I love elmo, he's soo cute...anyways..that's pretty much it...just wanted to show you!!!
And here's the one Nicole did of Woodstock, and it's easter-y..so it's all good!!! (again, top is from the computer, the bottom one is the "artsy" one)
He's pretty cute too, I must say! Anyways...I'll post more later!!!
Quote for today:
Tell a man there are 30 billion stars in the universe, and he'll believe you. Tell him that a bench has wet paint on it, and he'll have to sit on it, just to be sure.
~xoxoxo~
Amanda at 2:08 PM
Monday, April 10, 2006
Twenty-sixth Post Ever...
Hello everybody!Our fourth day in China! (just in case y'all were wonderin', I'm doin all this cause I have to for school! And cuz you all want to know!!! RIGHT? of course right..) moving on!
We got up at a normal time, and we "subwayed-it" down to the zoo. We almost got lost, if it wouldn't have been for this really awesome communist police man! He told us where to go, more like pointed..but watever! Then we found this wierd square place...it was like a..communist gathering place or some such wierdness. We then went to the zoo! Coli and I wanted to go into the aquarium, because I like them much more than zoo's...but it would've cost us like 100$ REAL dollars to get in..so we didn't go..sad. So we went into the zoo, and we
saw the panda bears!Did you know that all the panda bears in any zoo in the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD are leased from China, and they're not cheap! Anyways...we saw the pandas..they were so cute, and we got these funky little coin things that have a panda on one side and then a Chinese monument on the other side...it was so funny, cause they spelt "Great Wall" wrong...the put "Graet Wall" I laughed. Dad laughed. I don't know if mom and Nicole laughed, I'll ask them and get back to you...ANYWAYS, then we saw the lesser panda, which looks kind of like a red racoon that's been stretched out, and it's so cute!
Then we saw all the other animals, which was kinda...ya know..same old same old...you see one zoo, you've seen 'em all kind of thing right? Right. So then we ...hold up! I bought this really funky cute scarf thingy at the panda exhibit..it's so cute, and I saw it at the hotel and I decided I had to have it, but it was like $20, so when we got to the panda exhibit and I saw it in the gift shop I freaked...cuz it was only like 5$! And Nicole and I got HUGE lolipops from this little stand thing, and when we were going out of the zoo, we saw this cool sign that had all of these things you can't do. If you look closely at the middle one at the very bottom, it says you're not allowed to blow stuff up!!! How crazy and cool is that...so we had to take a picture =)
Anyways then we went to KFC and got take-out for Nicole and I, then we "cabbed-it" back to the hotel and then mom and dad went to Pizza Hut for lunch while Coli and I watched "ELF." Never ever watch that movie..it was so dumb and wierd and lame and completely pointless. Then I think we went to the market before bed...but we didn't buy anything, we just browsed. And then we went to TGI Fridays for supper, and then we went back to the hotel and slept...and slept....cause we had walked SO FAR in the past two days...but that's all you ever do in China...is WALK! anyways...got nothin else to say 'bout it...so I'll post our last day later!
See y'all!
~xoxoxoxo~
Amanda at 12:13 PM
Friday, April 07, 2006
Twenty-fifth Post Ever...
Hi!!!(yet again)
Well, I can't post about China becuase I'm not at home, so I can't get pictures. SO!!! I'll post about my day so far!
Well, this morning Stephanie called me when I was sleeping, and then I woke up, and did some school, and then I had to go to swimming lessons, let me tell you, NEVER AGAIN!!! omgoodness..these little girls in my level are like in grade 5 and they think they're sooo good, and that they can do whatever they want, and they're all a bunch of spoiled SLACKERS!!! Not really, but w/e....and then we went to Walmart, and mcdonalds for lunch, and then we came to the school because I'm going to stephanies house today after she gets out of school.
ANYWHO!!! I have to go....so I'll talk to you later!!!
~xoxoxoxo~
Amanda at 2:38 PM
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Twenty-fourth Post Ever...
Well now...more about China??? Good, cause it's more interesting than my life at the moment, all we're doing is school....and eating, and sleeping, and more school..except I'm going for a sleepover tommorow..that's exciting! Anyways..more about China...Our Third Day!
Our third day in China was mostly spent at the great wall...we left the hotel at seven am (China time) and it took two hours in a car to get to where we wanted to go...and then once we got there, we had to hike for like five minutes up to the ticket gate, and then we bought tickets for the cable car, and for on the wall, and then we hiked another ten minutes up to where the cable car left. The cable car was between five and seven minutes long (by the way, we rode in the same cable car that President Clinton rode in, way back when in 1998) and then we got to this place where we had to walk up about twenty stairs and onto a platform. In the summer the platform had tables on it and they had a sort of mini resteraunt thingy going on, but we were there a couple days too early. Anyways, then you go up some MORE stairs into the actual wall. Then the amazing-ness started. The wall is like...two people's arms-length+ across, and about 4000 km long, I think.
We only walked a tiny little section of it, I think about seven turrets, but it was still breath-taking. We could see for miles!!! And there were turrets that you could see, all the way across the WHOLE mountian range! That is one great wall! And to think that people had to build this, without cranes, or computer planning or ANYTHING!!!
It's absolutely mind-boggling. And at the end, we had to climb up 405 stairs to reach the last turret that we could walk on, after that the wall just crumbled again(becuase you can't restore the whole thing!) Anyways, when we finally got back down to the platform, we took the trolley back down and walked past some street vendors selling all kinds of souveniers. We bought three different tee-shirts, one for me, one for Coli, and one for Dad, mom bought like eight sets of Chinese chop-sticks and dad bought a hat. And then came the two hour car ride home! It was really nice to sit after climbing at least 500 un-even, broken down, steep stairs. When we finally got back to the hotel, we decided to go to KFC for lunch. And then we walked down to the silk market, the one that was like a 25 minute walk away! (you can see how we were so tired after we got home, we walked ALOT!) Nicole bought a little gift for one of her friends, and we got our last name on a silk hanging-thing in calligraphy. I don't remember where we went for supper, probably McDonald's though. And yeah, we went back to the hotel again, watched a movie and went to bed.
So yeah, it was really cool seeing the Great Wall, and now my life's goal is to see the seven wonders of the world...not sure what they are exactly but like the Taj Mahal, and the Pyramids, and the Colesseum and stuff like that....
Anyways, I'll post the next day later, I'll see you guys!
~xoxoxoxo~
PS: if you want more pictures go here!
Amanda at 3:41 PM
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Twenty-third Post Ever...
Hi! (again)Well, I'm back to blog more about China...so here goes:
Our second day in China was merely spent walking around, exploring Beijing. We walked for like..almost all day! We went to Starbucks that morning becuase mom needed coffee...they had some really neat starbucks Beijing mugs too.
And then we shopped at the Pearl Market, I don't think I bought anything the first day...I know Nicole bought something, but I can't remember...anyways! And then we walked back to the hotel, stopped at McDonald's again, had some lunch, and decided on what to do next. We were gonna do the zoo, but I was so pschyed about the shopping, I wanted to go to the silk market...so go to the Silk Market we did!
We bought gramma some really pretty silk, and I think dad bought a backpack.
The people there are insane! Not litterally, but it's just SOOO different there. Like there are all these young people, sitting in their little stalls, and they're like, "Oh! Lady, you want purse. Best price for you!" and then you get there and they like start at like 100$ and you tell them no way! And then they go a bit lower, and ALL of these people have calculators, so they hand you the calculator, and once you start bartering for that thing, you don't get away until you buy it! It's absolutely crazy! I started to talk to this one lady about a pair of shoes I thought were kind of cute, so I asked her how much, and then the calculator came out. And then after she tried to sell me on a couple of prices (no pun intended), I decided that they weren't comfortable, so I just told her no and left. She came bolting after me, "No! Very gooda gooda! You want! Come back, I give you best price!" And then she grabbed me and I'm like...woah! seriously! It was pretty wierd. One girl actually chased dad all the way downstairs trying to get him to buy me(or mom, can't remember) a purse. She had it down to like 20 yuan. (which is like less than $5) Anyways, it's pretty fun even still. And you can get SO much different stuff!!! Like mom bought this weird fruity-sugary thing and I didn't taste it, but it looked pretty wierd.
Anyways, enough about shopping, their driving is just as incredibly odd! They all just sort of obey the rules. We did a full U-turn in the middle of a six lane road! And no one honked, but they honk for everything else! We had a cabbie, who honked 50 or 60 times in a 9 minute cab ride! 'Twas unbelievable! And the pedestrians!!! If we tried to cross the street here, the way they do there, we would all be dead in 10 seconds flat! It's just....so....CRAZY!!! I don't know how else to describe it.
We also saw a whole WHACK of street-side vendors. A lot of them sell jewlery, some sell socks, some sell shirts, some sell DVD's...we saw one guy selling turtles! Like real live mini turtles! I wanted one, but I didn't think I could smuggle it through customs...there was also a guy selling puppies...(I wanted one of those too, but again, trying to bring it back into the country would be a LITTLE hard)..and there was yet another guy selling these PUNY rabbits in these even PUNIER cages...poor rabbits..they all hardly had room to turn around, and they were all stacked up in a cardboard box! I just wanted to buy them all and set them free.....Nicole and I both got very squeeky on more than one occasion! (LoL) We went to Pizza Hut for supper, and had stuffed crust pizza, and one bowl of salad from the salad bar. It's wierd, you only have one shot at the salad bar, so there were all of these Chinese girls going and making HUGE towers out of the salad...they must do it alot, cause some of them looked like proffesionals, the way everything was layered perfectly...
Anyways, that was pretty much our second day....I've typed enough for one day I think, and I need to go do some school, so I'll stick some pictures in this narrative of mine and get going!!!
See everyone later!!!
xoxoxo
Amanda at 12:27 PM
Monday, April 03, 2006
Twenty-second Post Ever...
Well hello!!! We are back from China, we got back at about 1 p.m. yesterday, after a REALLY LONG flight, and yeah. We're HOME!!! It's awesome.Anyways..about China...I 'm not going to write everything in one post, or it would take FOREVER to type, and read...so I'll post about our first day or so...so, here's my story...with pictures!
We left for the airport at about ten in the morning on March 27. We parked in the Air Canada Employee lot, and took a bus to the internationals part of the airport.
And then we had to go through security, and on the funky moving sidewalk things, and we had to sit for about an hour and wait to get on the plane. As my mom said, we had to leave so early in the morning (our flight was at noon), so that we could learn how to hurry up and wait.
And we got on the airplane, and we sat WAY at the back, in like row 30-something. We had chicken and rice for dinner on the way there, and they served us some wierd noodle-cup thing just before we landed. Anyways...once we got there we were met by one of the cool guys with the little signs that you always see standing around in airports...and no..we didn't get a limo but we did get an extremely elegant car.
It was all roomy, and leather and really nice for tired people. Anyways, we were all REALLY REALLY tired when we got there, so we went and checked in to the hotel first thing, and then dad said we had to go do something because we couldn't just go to bed at six pm. Mind you, it was three AM our time!!! So you can understand how tired we were. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to go, I was WAY too tired, but we went and saw Bo Bo...the watch guy that all of the Air Canada pilots go see when they're in Beijing, well, that just got me pumped! Seeing all of the cool stuff you could buy, it was awesome, I was still tired, but at least I was excited...anyways, that night we bought three watches (one for me, one for Coli, and one for Auntie Kendra) and I bought myself a sweet pair of glasses, which you will see in later pictures. Anyways, after that we went to McDonalds and had a little snack, then we went to bed. (at like eight o'clock) And that was our first night in China!
I'll blog the rest later...right now, I'm still pretty tired so yeah...see y'all later!!!
BYE!!!
P.S: you can click on the pictures to get the bigger version!
xoxoxo
Amanda at 5:19 PM