Day 4- The Busiest Day. Posted by Happy Blogger , 8.3.10 at Monday, March 08, 2010, in

It's now tuesday in Vancouver, and the day ahead is going to be very eventful. We set off to curling in a taxi, and began to make our way to the arena. On the way, we were stopped by this guy trying to sell us some stuff. At first, I was slightly reluctant, and it would have been my instict just to turn them down, but the items that they were selling seemed to be so convienient! They were lanyard's that were decorated with either Vancouver 2010 or all the flags of the countries that competed in the Olympics, and had a little plastic cover in which you could put your tickets in- very convienient, so you aren't searching for your ticket going to the events. I paid for 5 of them and distributed them to my family. They were 10 dollars each, which seemed kind of pricey- but hey, when was I ever going to get an oppurtunity to buy these again?


Personally, I didn't think curling was going to the that exciting. Growing up, my mother would always watch curling, and would often change the channel to check the score. I never really understood the game, but we had the tickets, and had nothing better to do that morning.


The arena was surprisingly cold, but I couldn't do anything about that then. The matches started, and it was hard to focus on a certain match. I would try to focus in on the Canada vs. Great Britain game, but they were on the furthest side from me, which only made it more difficult. By the 8th round, things began to get really tense. I was actually following the games, and cheering on our womens team.


In the midst of everyone cheering on Canada, there was a guy in front of me, who would turn around in my moment of Canadian pride and would 'shush' me. I would understand if I was the only one cherring loudly, and I was being distracting to the athletes, but the entire place was screaming for Canada, and honestly, how much would change from shutting me up? ( I am very loud, and I know that- but still). Pfft. Grumpy old man.


It was a tense game between Canada and Great Britain, but Canada pulled through.


After curling, we met up with my cousin and went out for lunch. We ate at Urban Fare- which is similar to Sunterra- an expensive 'better' super market. But none-the-less, they served up a mean hamburger. Just minutes after lunch, we were back on the road again, going to meet my cousins boyfriend, who was to meet us to go to the Canada vs. Germany hockey game. Getting off the train was hectic. There were guys at the bottom of the escalators who were practically begging for tickets to see the game. We moved slowly through the large crowd- I had to force myself NOT to moo. Once in the arena, we sat down, and had great seats, about 20 up, and had a clear view of Luongo in goal. I had never been to a hockey game before- and the huge hype of the Canadian hockey team was immense- probably one of the best games to see for your first time, eh? There were points when the pucks were moving so fast, that it would take me 20 seconds to realize that they even got a goal. (Talk about slow, an entire arena is screaming, and you still don't clue in-). Anywho, Canada kicked Germany's butt, and they made it into the quarter finals. Go Canada.


Proceeding the game, we quickly ran over to BC place, where they were holding a 'Victory Ceremony'. We were on the 4th level, and had seats SS. 'A' was closer to the stage- so you do the math to how far we were up. I can't say I remember all the medals that were awarded that night, I just know that I was there to see Ashleigh McIvor get her gold. Following the awards ceremony, Billy Talent played. They took down these 'sheets' that were covering their stage, and started off their show with lazers shooting off the stage. I reacted with a squeal, and everyone else cheered.


Devil in a midnight mass... I remember liking Billy Talent a few years ago...the guitarist hasn't changed his hair at all...Silent night for the rest of my life....


We didn't stay for the whole show, because it was getting late, and we were growing tired. On the way out, my cousin met up with some of her friends that she goes to university with. Ofcourse, we were to awkward to go introduce ourselves, instead we pre-occupied ourselves with a game...


Imaginary Corners! I wasn't paying attention, and Slyssie ran into me screaming CORNERS! I nearly fell over- 'That must have been 10 points!' she told me. 'Yeah, well, if I can knock you to the ground, I get 20!'. (When I play games, I get really into it, and often times it becomes physical. Ie. In dance, we play musical chairs, and I have honestly thrown my sister off the chair on to the ground- you see- into it). In all my excitment, I backed up a little bit, and took a run at her. Did I notice she wasn't paying attention? Ofcourse not! So there she goes, flying to the ground, knocking her glasses off. (Oops, my bad).


I felt slightly embarassed, but not as much as she was. I've vowed to NEVER play that game again- or atleast not with her.


We took the bus home, read about some religion in a little panflet someone handed me. I thought it was funny and planned on keeping it- but I was forced to recycle it. Oh well.


Like every other night so far, got into PJ's and watched Glee.


What? I like repetition, okay?
-Happy Blogger

Day 3- Stanley Park and the Men's Aerials Posted by Happy Blogger , 3.3.10 at Wednesday, March 03, 2010, in

Yet another beautiful morning in the city of Vancouver. I was awoken by the sounds of some trucks picking up the garbage- beautiful way to wake up by the way- and sat down at the table with a muffin and OJ. My aunt and uncle had gone out for a few moments earlier that morning on some business, but when they came back at 10 am, they urged us to get ready and come down stairs as soon as possible. So I ran and put on any thing I could grab, and headed downstairs. 'You might want to get your camera's out, girls' my aunt told us. Oooo what could it be...? I looked around and couldn't understand what I was supposed to be looking for, though it was parked right in front of me; A glorious white-stretch limo. 'We have a limo for a couple of hours- so let's go for a tour through Stanley Park!' Great. I'm going into a strecth limo, and the clothes I put on was a pair of nearly wrecked sweatpants and a black sweater! Anywho, we got in the limo, took a few pictures of everyone in the limo, and began to drive through Stanley Park.






Our limo driver was super nice. She would explain a little bit of history of Vancouver, and certain tourist attractions we were driving past. We saw the 5 rings from behind, a canon where a gun shot would be going off everynight at 9, a mermaid in the water, and various destruction in the trees. ( I can't really remember what happened to the trees- but it looked devestating). We pulled up near Ferguson's point, and had lunch at the Tea place up there.






The restaurant appeared pristine and fancy- Great- not only did I look crappy in the limo, but now I look even worse in the restaurant. I ordered fish n' chips. You could tell the fish was freshly battered and cooked, and the fries were tiny but delicious. Whilst looking at the dessert menus, I saw a dessert I had never heard of before : Poached Pear Claufoutis (pronounced Claa*foo*tee not Claa*fow*tiss). Though the name seemed interesting enough to order, I went with the chocolate molten lava cake. Twas delicious.






Back in the limo- and back to the condo. I met up with my older cousin ( who was running very late might I add) and took a cab to Lonsdale Quay. From there we boarded a bus that took us up to Cypress. After a 25 minute cab-a 40 minute bus ride- we had to walk another half hour to get to security. On the way, we noticed that the person walking in front of us might have competed in womens mogales. Apparently we weren't the only people that had noticed, and people started to take pictures of and with her, and showed the wave of people her medal. She was very sincere, and told the crowd of people to cheer on her brother, who would be competing in men's aerials.






My cousin was stopped at security. You see, I could carry in my avian bottled water, but she wasn't allowed to bring in her own water bottle. Security escorted her outside and watched her as she dumped the contents. The whole time she was muttering 'You wanna taste it? It's WATER!'...'I know it's not you, it's the System...stupid system'.






On the way to the stands, we got pictures with Quatchi and Miga, and some random dude with a top hat who was a one man show trapped in a curtain. We found our seats (PING PONG PING) and was rudely told by the guy behind us that we were in his seats, and that if people came to take their seats, we would have to move. We didn't talk back, though tempting as it was, and watched him as he walked (humiliated) to the section over where his seats.






The event commenced. The jumps were so cool, and everyone there could flip with ease and make it look effortless. I felt bad for the guys who could fall or wipe out- especially this one guy who caught his toe edge, and went face first right into the snow- ouch!


We walked, we talked, we took a sea bus, and on the way home, picked up a pint of ice cream each. We walked along the waterfront, got a picture of the flame, with the flame, of the golden rings, with the golden rings, and headed back to the condo. We watched some glee, ate ALL the ice cream and went to bed.


...we really shouldn't have eaten all that ice cream....


-Happy Blogger

Day 2- Richmond Oval Posted by Happy Blogger , 2.3.10 at Tuesday, March 02, 2010, in

What a beautiful morning in Vancouver! We could kept the windows open all night, and there was a fresh sea breeze. It was 8 am and everyone in Vancouver was awake except for my cousin; you see, we are complete opposites. She wants to stay up, I want to go to bed, I wake up early, she sleeps in- you get the picture? Anywho, my Gramma and my aunt were up and sitting at the table drinking some coffee, I joined them for a glass of orange juice and a muffin, and waited for sleepy-pants on the mattress to wake up.


When everything finally got into motion, we prepared to head to Richmond Oval for long track speed skating. Traffic was crazy throughout the Olympics, so we practically walked everywhere. So we headed to the train station, went to Aberdeen, and made our way to the oval.


At the very beginning of the walk, we were offered free hot chocolate. Now, who could give up free hot chocolate? Not us! It wasn't very good, but it was nice to drink something warm. We walked along the water edge, following a swarm of red. Rocks clinged to the edge of the water, and at some points, you would find little inukshuks that people had made out of the rocks. How clever.Photo up!


We got free Olympic tatoos on our hands, and got a 'GO CANADA GO' sign for cheering loudly for the volunteers. The line up for security wasn't to bad, and we went to our seats. We were sitting right behind all the camera's that were covering the events. I was sure I was going to get on TV. This was my shot at fame! Canadian Fan Meets Stardom! But no- us Canadian fans were nothing in compared to the Netherlands. They would dress completely in orange- including wigs, bert and ernie hats, huge signs. I'll know to pack this stuff the next time I go to the Olympic-if there is another oppurtunity? Anywho. I honestly had never really watched speed skating, so I never really knew what was going on- but that really didn't matter! The entire stadium would boom with Canadian fans stomping their feet and cheering on our athletes. It was such a rush to be a part of. Kristina Groves got 3rd at this event.


After the event, we walked back to the train station, and I can mostly remember being on the train for a long time. We took a train to my aunts friends house for supper. I honestly have no idea where they lived, or how we got there, but it was dark by the time we got there.


For supper, they made roast beef, yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, fresh bread and veggies! After supper, I was starting to doze off on their couch. I remember seeing glimpses of Ice Dancing and curling, but I was too preoccupied being tired. It was only my second day and I was exhausted! What is this? I caught my second wave after eating some tirimasu. It was getting late, and they were gracious enough to drive us home. We got in, put on our Canadian pants, and watched Glee.


Glee... so good... just one more episode....zzzzzzzzzzzzz... nope


-Happy Blogger

Day 1 - The Arrival Posted by Happy Blogger , at Tuesday, March 02, 2010, in

It was nine in the morning when we left for the airport. My Gramma and I would be travelling together, and we were to meet with the rest of the crew in Vancouver. So off we went. Check-in, security, gates, coffee... the regular.


The entire week leading up to the Olympics, I was going crazy. I was too excited to sleep, and I was usually bouncing off the walls, but it was weird, when the time came to go, I was completely calm. The flight was only 45 minutes long, and I had barely enough time to start the movie 'Whip It' that I had selected to watch. Oh well.


Getting all our luggage went fairly smoothly considering I had the huggest duffle bag I had ever seen. We set off for the train station. The train was fairly new, and for the first few minutes, you felt like you were riding a roller coaster. Up and down and Up and down. It was rather futuristic and Vancouver felt like an amusement park. We got off the train feeling positively optimistic- but little did I know how far we would have to walk. It was only a twenty minute walk, but I could have sworn I was towing my luggage for 3 hours- atleast that's how I felt. The duffle bag was awkward, and strained my back when I would walk with it. Every few minutes I would switch sides, so each side got it's equal share of torture. Preoccupied with my luggage, I had to keep track of Gramma. If one thing I was NOT to do in Vancouver would be NOT to lose my Gramma. Lucky enough for her, my duffle bag was rather noisy and she would be able to hear me 'from miles away'.


We finally reached my uncles condo; A nice place along the water. We unloaded, sat down for a few seconds, and were off again. I was sent on a task with my cousin to go get some groceries. We headed down to robson where they have a very futuristic looking safeway (made out of glass and you have to take an escalator to get to it-cool, I know). My mother sent with a bagillion safeway cards, so we were set. On our little excursion, we also bought the season of Glee, and the movie Whip It-as my cousin didn't finish on the plane either.


When we got back, My aunt and uncles friends and their kids were over, and we sat around, watched the Olympics. (The condo didn't ahve cable, and we had attempted to get reception by attaching a coat hanger to some wires and hanging it from the ceiling. Silly-you might think, but it worked).


Later in the evening, we went out to a place called "Posh", which was a japanese restaurant, where you can cook your entire meal in a boiling pot. They ordered for the table, and it was up to you to cook your own food. They brought out this 'bacon' looking food, and starting putting it in the pot. The 'bacon' was actually think strips of beef- but how was I supposed to know that? We threw in some veggies and some tofu and called it dinner. Yum.


We got back to the condo, when I realized I left my tooth brush at home. Go me. I slipped into my polar fleece Canadian pants that screamed "I'm Canadian" everywhere. Could you tell which country I was rooting for?


We got home fairly late, but we insisted on staying up and watching the first episode of Glee.


This would become the first of many nights!


-Happy Blogger

Vancouver 2010 Posted by Happy Blogger , 1.3.10 at Monday, March 01, 2010, in

This year I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the Olympics with some family. I knew it was the Olympics, and I knew it would be exciting, but I could never imagine anything going any better then it did.


I was down in the heart of Vancouver for 10 days, and had the most incredible time! It was an amazing experience, and I would like to share a journal of every day that I was in Vancouver.


So, I'm going to start a series of blogs sharing every little detail (that I can remember) and try to capture every moment of my time there. Whether it was trying new foods, watching my first hockey game, or freezing up on Cypress.


Let the blogs BEGIN!


-Happy Blogger

Tickle Me Purple Posted by Happy Blogger , 15.2.10 at Monday, February 15, 2010, in

It all started when I was five. I remember my cousin telling me her favorite colour was green. If her favorite colour is green, my favorite colour should be green too! Then she told me her favorite colour was purple. If her favorite colour is purple, my favorite colour should be purple too! Then she told me her favorite colour was blue. If her favorite colour is blue, I guess I should stick with purple. And to this date my favorite colour has been purple, and hers is still blue. I guess some things never change.

Funny enough, all my solo dresses for competitions have composed of 'green and/or purple'. My very first one was a tiny little green velvet thing, lined with gold, followed by a green velvet dress lined with silver, followed by a purple sparkly dress, followed by a green sparkly dress, followed by a green velvet lined with purple. Get the picture?

I remember watching a video of all the family's on my Dad's side of the family filming a thing for my Grandma's 70th. We all did 'spoof's' or reenactment of parts of my Grandma's life. One of the families filmed my Grandma and her obsession with the colour purple. It's one of those things, 'you know your a Kehler when you love Purple'.

Once in Gr. 9, I was wearing a purple shirt, and I had a random girl come up to me and tell me that I was 'meant for purple'. She went on some rant about how purple compliments my skin tone, and my green eyes, and my hair colour... blah blah blah. I guess we were meant to be.

This year when I was opening my birthday present, I screamed when I saw my very own pair of purple spandex leggings with a matching bandeau. My uncle exclaimed, "I think we just found out what makes the Happy Blogger happy".

My mom went to Australia for 3 weeks, and brought back my sisters and I some gifts. She told us to close our eyes and hold out our arm -(places objects)- open your eyes. I opened my eyes to a glorious pair of purple knitted uggs. At that moment, I could care less that my sisters got the same boots just different colours, and I screamed. My sisters thought I was obnoxious, but I was just too excited.

This weekend, I went to Cross Iron Mills for the first time. The only reason I really went there was to go to Forever 21. I was browsing in the store, when I came across a pair of purple cords. I swear to God it was love at first sight. My friend looked at me telling me I'm crazy. 'I'm not crazy, I'm in LOVE!' I believe are the words that I responded with. To top that day off, I bought two toques and a Star Wars shirt. I swear I could have possibly the happiest person alive.

I'm tickled purple!

-Happy Blogger

Sunday Mornings, Go For A Ride Posted by Happy Blogger , 24.1.10 at Sunday, January 24, 2010, in

Well, well, well.

As an update, I would like to inform you that I finished reading 'The Lovely Bones' and 'Dear John' (unfortunately I lended out my "Alice in Wonderland- a girl at dance who will be featured in her upcoming play as 'the Cheshire Cat' and was bursting to read it...)

Soon after reading 'The Lovely Bones'- I ventured out with a few friends to go see the movie. When it comes to seeing movies, I'm generally an 'emotional blob', and it was assumed that I would be a tearful wreck while watching this one. Unfortunately/fortunately- I did not cry. I did though, really enjoy watching 'Susie's in Between'. Stanley Tucci was wonderfully creepy- when I got home, I had to tell myself 'He's Julia's Child's husband in the movie--- he's a nice guy!' It was really late when we were driving home, and the roads had an eerie sense to them, and one of my friends blurted out 'Let's just hope we don't get murdered!' The rest of the car ride was tense. The moment I was alone in the car, I was checking around the car and observing any sight of movement. I blasted the radio, and continued home. As I was driving home, I could swear I saw at least 10 white rabbits. It was late at night, and I was growing tired, and I 'thanked' the rabbits. For some weird reason, they made me more aware. They were my little nudge.

As for Dear John, I only finished that books just a couple hours ago. I found myself tearing up at the end of this one. For a while, I didn't even want to finish the book- but I did, and thank God for that. . .

February 20th, I will be heading out to Vancouver for the Olympics. I'm staying with my uncle and my cousin in a condo, that I believe neighbours the hotel where the majority of the athletes will be staying. On Wednesday, I went out to see the Olympic Torch at COP. That morning, they would have a pancake breakfast, and the first 500 people would get a free cow-bell! So that morning, I went out with my Cousin and my older sister, and we got there early enough to only wait in the line for maybe 30-40 minutes- and I would consider us lucky. By the time we could eat our Pancakes, they were frozen (as you can imagine- pancake breakfasts are meant for warmer weather). When we went up to grab a cowbell, I sneakily took 2 cowbells, for I knew someone coming later would want one. I got a picture with the 88' torch, and a picture on the podium. I had to leave early, so I couldn't get a picture with the '10 torch- but I didn't mind. I'm going to the real thing- I seriously feel so lucky.

Have I bored you enough yet?

-Happy Blogger

Procrastination Posted by Sad Blogger , 16.1.10 at Saturday, January 16, 2010, in

We all do it. Don't lie. The following is a poem I wrote while I was procrastinating from doing my poetry homework. Yes, that is exactly how much I didn't want to do it.

pen marks on a page
scribbles, scratches, lines, and doodles
gray on white and black on gray
restrained madness. strange, unusual

water in a pot
bubbles, steam. surface chaotic
ferocity contained
the perfect storm. hypnotic

notes from a piano
out of order, out of key
twinkling follows pounding
bum bum bum then treedle tee

homework for tomorrow
doodles fill the open pages
cooked a meal and wrote a song
unformed thoughts in final stages

From my empty head to your,

- Sad Blogger

Melvin of the Refrigerator Posted by Sad Blogger , 4.1.10 at Monday, January 04, 2010, in

A friend of mine recently approached me, glum and dejected, requesting that I tell her something happy. And being as happiness is a gift I am more than willing to spread, I obliged her behest. The following is the yarn I managed to spin:

There's a man in my fridge named Melvin who smiles and hands me orange juice every time I open the door. He doesn't talk much but he like to wear buttons with little sayings on them and he changes his buttons every morning. Today he was wearing an "I Ringo" button and some rainbow suspenders so I can tell he's happy. Although, he speaks when he has to. Like when I try to put the peanut butter back in the fridge. He knows it doesn't belong there, you see. He'll twist his face up into a funny pout and yell that "NUTBUTTER B'LONGS IN THE CUBBERD" (He calls it nut butter. And he talks funny because he eats too many pickles).

Um. There was this one time, we made the mistake of letting him have a day off. And I say it was a mistake not cuz we want to keep him trapped in there or take pleasure in it or anything. He really likes it in there. He has fingerpaintings on the wall that he makes with ketchup and whipped cream. But he just really wasn't used to the outside world. He'd lived in fridges most of his life. He crawled in his parents' when he was seven and just liked it so much he decided to live in fridges the rest of his life. So he certainly wasn't used to the light. He's come somewhat accustomed to the fridge bulb when it comes on. But he hadn't experienced anything like the sun in a long time. So he kinda stumbled out that one day.

We'd just been on a big shopping trip and needed to sort out the fridge and he was kinda taking up space. And man did his bones CRACK. It sounded like a drum solo! All of them at once, different pitches and volumes. Crickity-crackalack-tick-cra-cra-cra-crackadacka! He looked kind of embarrassed as we stared at him. And then my mom burst out laughing and we all joined in, even Melvin. He tittered in his little scratchy cackle. He was wearing a big button that looked like a cloud in the shape of a bunny. So we asked him if he'd like to see a real cloud.He started nodding so enthusiastically. I've never seen someone look so silently excited. His whole body was practically shaking with glee as we led him towards the big glass doors to the patio. We slid the doors open and he stared at them in fascinated delight. He'd never seen a door that didn't open on hinges. And then finally, we got him to look up.

Up into the sky, the sun, the clouds. Clouds like he had never seen on that beautiful summer morning. The massive blue blanket of sky kissing the tops of the pine trees in the backyard and the anxious little puppy dog clouds playfully tumbling through space. Melvin looked like he'd danced with an angel. His mouth curled up into a ridiculous grin and his eyes bunched up with overwhelming joy. While Mom and Dad sorted out the fridge, we sat in the grass with Melvin and pointed out all the shapes the clouds made. Dragons and skipping children. Flying squirrels, cars, an old-fashioned telephone. Melvin pointed desperately at his button and shrugged. He wanted to know why there were no bunny clouds.

Just then, Mom appeared in the doorway and called that the fridge was stocked and it was time for Melvin to go back inside. A little tear rolled down his cheek as he stared at his pin and started shuffling towards the house. But then... "MELVIN!" my brother shouted. Melvin turned to us and sniffed. My brother was pointing emphatically at the sky. Melvin shrugged and we yelled in unison, "It's a bunnnnyyyyy!" And, man, you've never seen anyone run so fast. He zipped out the door and tumbled onto the lawn. And we laughed out loud as we pointed to the bunny and jumped around. Happy. Then Melvin gave us each a squeeze and we patted him on the back and he crawled back into the fridge with a husky chuckle. I reached out my hand for the orange juice, and with a wink Melvin placed it in my hand. He's a good friend.

And here's to you, friends,

- Sad Blogger

Orange-Cranberry Scones Posted by Happy Blogger , at Monday, January 04, 2010, in

Good morning folks! I have made a new discovery into the art of scones. Just kidding, but I did come across a great recipe.


The other day I was really craving some sort of food. Nothing too too sweet, so I decided to make scones. I prowled through numerous recipe websites, when I came across a rather easy plain scone recipe. I made my first batch and thought they were rather delicious, and so I decided to expand my horizon and put in additional ingrediants. I remember, a long time ago, I was over at my uncles house for breakfast. In my family, he was the scone king and was famous for his delicious scones. In the midst of making them, he accidentally poured orange juice into the batter. Not letting that stop them, he cooked them up and they were seriously the best scones I had ever eaten. So, I decided to do what my uncle did... but on purpose.


Recipe:


2 cups of flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1 cup of milk


This is the plain recipe. You mix the dry ingrediants in a bowl, then you cut in the butter, then you add and stir in the milk. It should have a thicker consistancy, and then you roll it out into 3/4 inch thick rectangle, and cut into sizable scones and bake for 12 minutes at 425'


Now, the Orange ones. I often times find that I need to double recipe because they get eaten up pretty quickly (at my house at least) and so what I did was instead of putting the whole amound of milk in, I put 3/4 milk and 1/4 orange juice (concentrated orange juice is better because it gives it a stronger flavouring without completely diluting the dough). Add as much cranberries as you want, and bake the same as the plain scones.


As a glaze, I like to mix together about 2 tsp of butter with 3 tsps of powdered sugar (make your own estimates- I do) then I add a bit of orange juice or range concentrate to make almost a thing orange icing. When the scones are ready from the oven, take them out and glaze them right away. Eat them while they are hot (well, not too hot or you might burn your tongue) and enjoy.


Bon Appetit
-Happy Blogger