Hey!
So here is the week in overview... On Tuesday we did groceries and went to see The Dark Knight Rises (I started a post about this film and how reflective it is of today's society and then gave up when I realized I am not actually still in school and don't need to do these things). It was great, by the way.
On Wednesday I made Mom's stuffed shells (cheesy and spinachy) and it turned out quite well if not a little hard. I tried to use the hold-warm function on the oven because Tiemus had some unexpected bus complications but the cheese on the top overcooked. Otherwise it was a huge success.
On Thursday I went to the 8th annual Stitch and Pitch to see the Mariners play (baseball) against the Kansas City Royals. The Mariners won, which seemed to surprise and impress quite a few people :D Additionally, there were all these knitting booths from shops around the city that were set up and selling things and the baseball game was filled with singing and dancing and lemonade and hot dogs!
Last night we went bowling and I did very, very badly and then we went to a diner for some delicious midnight food.
We are trying to plan on some karaoke either tonight or next weekend.
At this time I would like to give a big Happy Birthday shout out to Sam!!!
You should also know that I am busily applying for jobs all over the grid (the Ontario grid, thus far) and I will let you know if anything at all exciting happens.
With Love,
Amanda
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Hey there, Canada!
Hey!
So today was knitting day! I love knitting day, it always makes me happy. Today, not only did I go knitting with Tiemus' mom, but I also went with his aunt and grandmother who are always a pleasure to hang out with! My scarf (the second one, now) got significantly longer and I am hoping to have it done by next Saturday because I think I would like to knit a shawl! This past week I have seen so many people's projects and it just makes me want to work harder to get to that level. His aunt had an especially beautiful scarf made of like a lace sorta deal. It was gorgeous. In six or seven years, I hope to be able to make something like that!
This evening we just hung out and ate delicious Thai food! Then there was youtube surfing and beer. Sometimes it's nice to just relax :D Anyhow, just letting you know how things are! Last night we hung out at a skateboard establishment for the art walk (a bunch of businesses in the area display art) and we watched dudes learn new tricks and cashed in on the free beer and just hung out. We also had garlic fries and other food at a nearby wings establishment and chilled in both a beautiful park an a beautiful bookstore for some time. Also, preceding all of this, I managed the bus system all on my own!
Now here's the scariest bit of news. Tiemus' parents have invited us to skydive with them for our birthdays! I am actually considering this which by the way, I consider nuts, but I think it could also be a nifty experience!
Anyhow, that's the news for today!
Love you all and miss you!
Amanda
So today was knitting day! I love knitting day, it always makes me happy. Today, not only did I go knitting with Tiemus' mom, but I also went with his aunt and grandmother who are always a pleasure to hang out with! My scarf (the second one, now) got significantly longer and I am hoping to have it done by next Saturday because I think I would like to knit a shawl! This past week I have seen so many people's projects and it just makes me want to work harder to get to that level. His aunt had an especially beautiful scarf made of like a lace sorta deal. It was gorgeous. In six or seven years, I hope to be able to make something like that!
This evening we just hung out and ate delicious Thai food! Then there was youtube surfing and beer. Sometimes it's nice to just relax :D Anyhow, just letting you know how things are! Last night we hung out at a skateboard establishment for the art walk (a bunch of businesses in the area display art) and we watched dudes learn new tricks and cashed in on the free beer and just hung out. We also had garlic fries and other food at a nearby wings establishment and chilled in both a beautiful park an a beautiful bookstore for some time. Also, preceding all of this, I managed the bus system all on my own!
Now here's the scariest bit of news. Tiemus' parents have invited us to skydive with them for our birthdays! I am actually considering this which by the way, I consider nuts, but I think it could also be a nifty experience!
Anyhow, that's the news for today!
Love you all and miss you!
Amanda
Friday, 20 July 2012
Goooooooood Morning!
Hello everyone!
This week has been pretty relaxed. On Wednesday night I went to the Knitter's Guild ice cream social. There was ice cream and yarn-o (basically bingo) and Nanette helped me fix my scarf -- I've managed to mess it up several times now and I'm not so good at tearing out only the last few rows and being able to pick up my work again! If only I could just NEVER drop stitches, life would be a lot easier.
Last night I went to Iman's parents' acupuncture school to watch a hippie documentary with no narration, no dialogue, no speaking of any kind. It was very pretty but an hour and a half of silence isn't really up my alley. As we're walking out, Iman leans over and says "the cinematography was beautiful, the soundtrack was amazing, but the dialogue was missing something..."
I've also started with the planning of Tiemus' birthweek! He's so going to hate me for all the excitement I have planned but he can't escape me :D
Tonight we are going to some thing at a skateboard shop with prizes and raffle tickets and beer. I don't really understand, but one of the prizes is fanny pack so I think I am going to cross my fingers and hope for that one. It is currently pouring rain! It sounds like the apocalypse outside.
And speaking of the apocalypse, did you hear about the shooting in that Colorado theatre during the release of The Dark Knight Rises? The gun violence in Canada and the US is getting way out of hand. There is actually an article in the Metro about how a woman who narrowly avoided the Eaton Centre shooting and wrote about it was killed in that movie theatre. It makes me heartsick to think of the number of innocent people that have died in recent months at the hands of shooters who themselves are under the age of 25 or 30. The most recent arrest in the Scarborough, Danzig Street shooting was a 19 year old boy. It sounds like something out of a film. Anyhow, please know that Tiemus and I are taking all reasonable precautions and that I am happy July 4th is behind us because the fireworks make me jumpy and terrified.
Also, I now have the ability to call your phone with my skype! I am pretty excited about this prospect because it means I can now call all of you without having to schedule times and have skype training sessions. I'm gonna go lay down and listen to the rain for a while.
Love you all!
Amanda (PS, 2 weeks until my birthday!)
This week has been pretty relaxed. On Wednesday night I went to the Knitter's Guild ice cream social. There was ice cream and yarn-o (basically bingo) and Nanette helped me fix my scarf -- I've managed to mess it up several times now and I'm not so good at tearing out only the last few rows and being able to pick up my work again! If only I could just NEVER drop stitches, life would be a lot easier.
Last night I went to Iman's parents' acupuncture school to watch a hippie documentary with no narration, no dialogue, no speaking of any kind. It was very pretty but an hour and a half of silence isn't really up my alley. As we're walking out, Iman leans over and says "the cinematography was beautiful, the soundtrack was amazing, but the dialogue was missing something..."
I've also started with the planning of Tiemus' birthweek! He's so going to hate me for all the excitement I have planned but he can't escape me :D
Tonight we are going to some thing at a skateboard shop with prizes and raffle tickets and beer. I don't really understand, but one of the prizes is fanny pack so I think I am going to cross my fingers and hope for that one. It is currently pouring rain! It sounds like the apocalypse outside.
And speaking of the apocalypse, did you hear about the shooting in that Colorado theatre during the release of The Dark Knight Rises? The gun violence in Canada and the US is getting way out of hand. There is actually an article in the Metro about how a woman who narrowly avoided the Eaton Centre shooting and wrote about it was killed in that movie theatre. It makes me heartsick to think of the number of innocent people that have died in recent months at the hands of shooters who themselves are under the age of 25 or 30. The most recent arrest in the Scarborough, Danzig Street shooting was a 19 year old boy. It sounds like something out of a film. Anyhow, please know that Tiemus and I are taking all reasonable precautions and that I am happy July 4th is behind us because the fireworks make me jumpy and terrified.
Also, I now have the ability to call your phone with my skype! I am pretty excited about this prospect because it means I can now call all of you without having to schedule times and have skype training sessions. I'm gonna go lay down and listen to the rain for a while.
Love you all!
Amanda (PS, 2 weeks until my birthday!)
Monday, 16 July 2012
Oh the Places We Will Go!
Hey guys!
So I have been slacking. I apologize!! Let's recap some things...
What I forgot to tell you about Wednesday was that Tiemus got himself a spiffy new haircut! After his haircut we all went to a place called Wing Central (I usually forget this and call it Wings like the band but apparently I am on the to of my game today) and had some delicious food. They have these waffle cut fries (waffle cut fries are big here) with this garlic stuff on them and they're amazing! Anyway, I am sitting around this table with Tiemus and his two closest dude friends kind of staring into space when I realize that the conversation I am not really participating in is about hair product :S
On Friday I spent the day with Iman and his friends. We had Duke's which is a delicious seafood place that clearly has other things like burgers and fish and chips rather than just having chowder and calamari. I went with Tiemus to a Duke's the first time I was here and tried his chowder and it was actually quite good. This particular restaurant was on Lake Union (there are a few of them and so now I've been to two locations) and we sat around basically eating on a raised dock. Then we walked around Fremont which is one of the cute neighbourhoods I had yet to explore. They had a little river and a walking trail. We also walked by a Google building that looked a little sad considering how rich I imagine them to be!
On Saturday I went knitting with Tiemus' mom :D This is becoming one of my favourite parts of the week. I finished my triangles scarf and it looks AWESOME and I've started a new pattern that has already caused me to pull the scarf apart and start again three times but is pretty cool and now that I've really gotten going I am much more comfortable with the stitches. We went through the pattern book and marked a few pages on the scale of things I could do and there was one that I was quite afraid of. It was the big scary intimidating pattern that looks really cool (it's a pretty scarf made out of sock wool, it's quite nifty). I decided to man up and do the complicated pattern with all the adding and taking away of stitches including my new least favourite thing to do -- knitting three stitches together. I have since learned that if you're going to drop a stitch, this is where it will happen! Saturday night the guys were all over so we went for Chinese food and then they played video games and I struggled with my knitting (only to drop a stitch and not be able to find where this happened for several rows).
Yesterday was the day of all adventures! Tiemus promised me earlier in the week that we would go mall shopping. So we decide we're going to check Google maps for the fastest transit route (it's not set up for Timmins transit, but when you get walking or driving directions you can also get transit directions and it will tell you what time the next bus is and where to make your transfer and it's pretty cool). Anyway, the first suggestion Google maps makes is for us is to walk the 36 minutes because there is no easy way to get from here to the mall without going way out of our way to transfer so i tell Tiemus I can do that and he looks at me a little skeptically and warns me of this hill. Seattle is made of all kinds of hills, I think to myself. Not a big deal, I tell myself. So first, before the hill, we climb like a thousand stairs. LIKE A THOUSAND. So I'm going up the stairs and at first I'm kinda jogging up them and then I am kinda walking up them and then I a kinda feeling like I might throw up from the burning sensation in my lungs. From the road the stairs looks to be about half the height they actually were. After the stairs we're on a slight incline and I am trying very hard to stop stopping and taking breaks and then I see the hill. This is no hill, this is a practical joke. Cars struggle to get up this hill! I told Tiemus I would like a ski lift FOR this hill. I am still struggling to breathe from the damn steps. I am leaning forward so far I feel like I could reach out and do a push up while walking up this hill AND it goes forever. Then we went to the mall. We went shopped for hours and he was very patient and he tried on some jeans that look quite snazzy on him and are a bit tighter than his last new pair of jeans because he keeps getting thinner. We ate mall food and then we went to target and we all and all had a good time. Then we walked home. Again, I know I have mentioned this before, but downhill is always worse than you expect. Especially this hill because you have to lean back so far to be considered upright. So I am walking down this endless hill and I can feel my calves cramping. At some point, I requested Tiemus just push me down the hill and get it over with. I think I am going to walk back up and down those steps on a semi regular basis now that I know how hard they are, but this hill is going to be a shopping only hill!
When we got home, I tore out my scarf for the last time and then I completed the beginning end of the pattern and the first panel of the repeating part without consequence so I am hoping I have mastered his pattern enough and if not, when I really screw it up, I will be bringing my scarf with me for assistance.
Plans for this week -- grocery shopping tonight (we've been saying this for a week, but we vowed tonight is the night). We are having dinner with Tiemus' mom on Wednesday because she has something to do in our area and then she has an hour and a half and then we are meeting with her knitter's guild! I've got to design Tiemus' birthday surprise (he reads this so that's all the hints I am giving out) and do a lot of cleaning because the weekend does not mean happy things for this apartment. I think we are hoping to go back to bowling on Friday night and Saturday is knitting day which I will either spend in Edmonds as usual at the knit shop or at Tiemus' grandparents depending on where his grandmother wants to do her knitting that day :)
Sorry it took me so long to update this! I hope this extra long post makes up for the lack of Amanda I have been providing as of late.
Love you all and miss you terribly!
Amanda
So I have been slacking. I apologize!! Let's recap some things...
What I forgot to tell you about Wednesday was that Tiemus got himself a spiffy new haircut! After his haircut we all went to a place called Wing Central (I usually forget this and call it Wings like the band but apparently I am on the to of my game today) and had some delicious food. They have these waffle cut fries (waffle cut fries are big here) with this garlic stuff on them and they're amazing! Anyway, I am sitting around this table with Tiemus and his two closest dude friends kind of staring into space when I realize that the conversation I am not really participating in is about hair product :S
On Friday I spent the day with Iman and his friends. We had Duke's which is a delicious seafood place that clearly has other things like burgers and fish and chips rather than just having chowder and calamari. I went with Tiemus to a Duke's the first time I was here and tried his chowder and it was actually quite good. This particular restaurant was on Lake Union (there are a few of them and so now I've been to two locations) and we sat around basically eating on a raised dock. Then we walked around Fremont which is one of the cute neighbourhoods I had yet to explore. They had a little river and a walking trail. We also walked by a Google building that looked a little sad considering how rich I imagine them to be!
On Saturday I went knitting with Tiemus' mom :D This is becoming one of my favourite parts of the week. I finished my triangles scarf and it looks AWESOME and I've started a new pattern that has already caused me to pull the scarf apart and start again three times but is pretty cool and now that I've really gotten going I am much more comfortable with the stitches. We went through the pattern book and marked a few pages on the scale of things I could do and there was one that I was quite afraid of. It was the big scary intimidating pattern that looks really cool (it's a pretty scarf made out of sock wool, it's quite nifty). I decided to man up and do the complicated pattern with all the adding and taking away of stitches including my new least favourite thing to do -- knitting three stitches together. I have since learned that if you're going to drop a stitch, this is where it will happen! Saturday night the guys were all over so we went for Chinese food and then they played video games and I struggled with my knitting (only to drop a stitch and not be able to find where this happened for several rows).
Yesterday was the day of all adventures! Tiemus promised me earlier in the week that we would go mall shopping. So we decide we're going to check Google maps for the fastest transit route (it's not set up for Timmins transit, but when you get walking or driving directions you can also get transit directions and it will tell you what time the next bus is and where to make your transfer and it's pretty cool). Anyway, the first suggestion Google maps makes is for us is to walk the 36 minutes because there is no easy way to get from here to the mall without going way out of our way to transfer so i tell Tiemus I can do that and he looks at me a little skeptically and warns me of this hill. Seattle is made of all kinds of hills, I think to myself. Not a big deal, I tell myself. So first, before the hill, we climb like a thousand stairs. LIKE A THOUSAND. So I'm going up the stairs and at first I'm kinda jogging up them and then I am kinda walking up them and then I a kinda feeling like I might throw up from the burning sensation in my lungs. From the road the stairs looks to be about half the height they actually were. After the stairs we're on a slight incline and I am trying very hard to stop stopping and taking breaks and then I see the hill. This is no hill, this is a practical joke. Cars struggle to get up this hill! I told Tiemus I would like a ski lift FOR this hill. I am still struggling to breathe from the damn steps. I am leaning forward so far I feel like I could reach out and do a push up while walking up this hill AND it goes forever. Then we went to the mall. We went shopped for hours and he was very patient and he tried on some jeans that look quite snazzy on him and are a bit tighter than his last new pair of jeans because he keeps getting thinner. We ate mall food and then we went to target and we all and all had a good time. Then we walked home. Again, I know I have mentioned this before, but downhill is always worse than you expect. Especially this hill because you have to lean back so far to be considered upright. So I am walking down this endless hill and I can feel my calves cramping. At some point, I requested Tiemus just push me down the hill and get it over with. I think I am going to walk back up and down those steps on a semi regular basis now that I know how hard they are, but this hill is going to be a shopping only hill!
When we got home, I tore out my scarf for the last time and then I completed the beginning end of the pattern and the first panel of the repeating part without consequence so I am hoping I have mastered his pattern enough and if not, when I really screw it up, I will be bringing my scarf with me for assistance.
Plans for this week -- grocery shopping tonight (we've been saying this for a week, but we vowed tonight is the night). We are having dinner with Tiemus' mom on Wednesday because she has something to do in our area and then she has an hour and a half and then we are meeting with her knitter's guild! I've got to design Tiemus' birthday surprise (he reads this so that's all the hints I am giving out) and do a lot of cleaning because the weekend does not mean happy things for this apartment. I think we are hoping to go back to bowling on Friday night and Saturday is knitting day which I will either spend in Edmonds as usual at the knit shop or at Tiemus' grandparents depending on where his grandmother wants to do her knitting that day :)
Sorry it took me so long to update this! I hope this extra long post makes up for the lack of Amanda I have been providing as of late.
Love you all and miss you terribly!
Amanda
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Swimming!
Hello!
So today I went swimming in Lake Washington with Iman and some of his friends that are in from out of town! It had a bunch of algae, but the lake was pretty warm, especially compared to Big Water on May Run. Tiemus had to work but we met him back at home and ordered pizza and had a nice, relaxing evening. I'm sure there is lots of swimming in our future! It's been getting over 30 degrees with the humidity, but here the breeze is so nice that it's not at all like at home when it gets that warm. It was supposed to be hotter Saturday but now it is supposed to rain. No one here ever checks the weather -- especially during when the rain is common (aka not summer) because the forecast fluctuates so much that it's not even worth it.
Anyhow, that's the news today. Oh and on a sadder note, we won't be able to make it to Calgary for Diane's wedding.
Love you and miss you!
Amanda
So today I went swimming in Lake Washington with Iman and some of his friends that are in from out of town! It had a bunch of algae, but the lake was pretty warm, especially compared to Big Water on May Run. Tiemus had to work but we met him back at home and ordered pizza and had a nice, relaxing evening. I'm sure there is lots of swimming in our future! It's been getting over 30 degrees with the humidity, but here the breeze is so nice that it's not at all like at home when it gets that warm. It was supposed to be hotter Saturday but now it is supposed to rain. No one here ever checks the weather -- especially during when the rain is common (aka not summer) because the forecast fluctuates so much that it's not even worth it.
Anyhow, that's the news today. Oh and on a sadder note, we won't be able to make it to Calgary for Diane's wedding.
Love you and miss you!
Amanda
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
The Cleaning Frenzy!
Hey Guys
Sorry about the few days of silence! I was lazy for a couple of days but today I am all kinds of productive. I woke up, made Tiemus' lunch and tea, finished Game of Thrones and am onto the 2nd book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Yesterday or the day before, I finished my first skein on my two skein scarf. I am unsure how I want to proceed (there is a matching up the colours or making the colours continue to go in the same order kind of conflict going on constantly in the back of my mind) so that is on hold. I woke up this morning and I picked up and then I scrubbed Tiemus' window sill until there was no mold left to be seen. Then, since I had the bleach, I washed the walls around his bed. You see he has these blue and white flannel sheets that he didn't wash before using and the last time I was here he was blue and so were the walls around his bed. Anyway, then, since I had the bleach out, I did the whole washroom. Then I swept all the floors but I just swept the dirt onto the rug and then I vacuumed. And since I had the vacuum out I vacuumed the inside of the couch because its scary and then I washed the dishes from last night that weren't mine but were ruining the perfectly clean look that I was going for. Then I baked some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
All that and it is only 2:20 in the afternoon!
Today is July 11th (7-11) and so the 7-Eleven has free slurpies which we are going to try to cash in on tonight. We might go sailing at some point with Tiemus' friend's cello instructor which would be pretty cool, Tiemus has gone before many times. There is talk of going swimming this week. I may go with Iman and his friends while Tiemus is at work or we may go when Tiemus is off. Torin and I are also considering an adventure to get cuban sandwiches on his day off. Groceries also need to be done so I can experiment with cooking (you can only take mac and cheese and sandwiches so far).
Anyhow, I should shower and do my hair and plan dinner! Just call me the energizer bunny.
Also, all my July-born friends, your gifts have been shipped! No guarantee on timeliness!
Love you,
Amanda
Sorry about the few days of silence! I was lazy for a couple of days but today I am all kinds of productive. I woke up, made Tiemus' lunch and tea, finished Game of Thrones and am onto the 2nd book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Yesterday or the day before, I finished my first skein on my two skein scarf. I am unsure how I want to proceed (there is a matching up the colours or making the colours continue to go in the same order kind of conflict going on constantly in the back of my mind) so that is on hold. I woke up this morning and I picked up and then I scrubbed Tiemus' window sill until there was no mold left to be seen. Then, since I had the bleach, I washed the walls around his bed. You see he has these blue and white flannel sheets that he didn't wash before using and the last time I was here he was blue and so were the walls around his bed. Anyway, then, since I had the bleach out, I did the whole washroom. Then I swept all the floors but I just swept the dirt onto the rug and then I vacuumed. And since I had the vacuum out I vacuumed the inside of the couch because its scary and then I washed the dishes from last night that weren't mine but were ruining the perfectly clean look that I was going for. Then I baked some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
All that and it is only 2:20 in the afternoon!
Today is July 11th (7-11) and so the 7-Eleven has free slurpies which we are going to try to cash in on tonight. We might go sailing at some point with Tiemus' friend's cello instructor which would be pretty cool, Tiemus has gone before many times. There is talk of going swimming this week. I may go with Iman and his friends while Tiemus is at work or we may go when Tiemus is off. Torin and I are also considering an adventure to get cuban sandwiches on his day off. Groceries also need to be done so I can experiment with cooking (you can only take mac and cheese and sandwiches so far).
Anyhow, I should shower and do my hair and plan dinner! Just call me the energizer bunny.
Also, all my July-born friends, your gifts have been shipped! No guarantee on timeliness!
Love you,
Amanda
Sunday, 8 July 2012
Gooooood Morning!
So yesterday was a pretty fun Saturday :) I slept in, Tiemus went to work, and his mom came and picked me up. We walked through this little street market thing in a place called Edmonds and I saw the cutest hanging window ornaments. I *almost* caved and bought one for Mom but they were kind of expensive. They had all kinds of them but my favourite was a teardrop kinda glass base with a glass hummingbird hanging from it! We then grabbed some food and went knitting at the knitting shop. You should know that Edmonds is all old-timey and cutesy and that the knitting shop is legitimately an old yellow house on a street corner and I did not see a single sign outside but the ladies that run the store are surprised when people who live in the area don't know they're there. Granted, one of the stores that Tiemus' boss runs is in this area and they're having a really hard time picking a noticeable enough sign that passes the standards of the municipal powers. Anyhow, we go into this shop and suddenly I am picking needles and a pattern and yarn and before I know it I am sitting at a kitchen table (still in the store) learning to increase my stitches and making this nifty looking scarf and I came home last night and kept knitting while Tiemus played video games and now I might have a knitting addiction.
Last night we grilled burgers outside with the little charcoal grill thing and vegetables on skewers and a bit of pork too. Tonight I believe we are going to play Settlers of Catan at some coffee shop that has a game night. I might need to brush up on the rules though.
Anyhow, that's the news here in Whoville. Tiemus is going to make breakfast soon. Sundays are great :)
Love you!
Amanda
Last night we grilled burgers outside with the little charcoal grill thing and vegetables on skewers and a bit of pork too. Tonight I believe we are going to play Settlers of Catan at some coffee shop that has a game night. I might need to brush up on the rules though.
Anyhow, that's the news here in Whoville. Tiemus is going to make breakfast soon. Sundays are great :)
Love you!
Amanda
Saturday, 7 July 2012
Booked flight from Toronto to Timmins!
Hey guys!
Not a whole lot to report here. I do far less cleaning on weekends. I am spending this afternoon with Nanette (Tiemus' mom) while he works at the school with Iman. Last night there was barbecue and I made more Caesars and they were yummy!
Anyhow, today I booked my flight from Toronto to Timmins for August 29th and I will be landing at 6:55pm. I am going to spend the nights of the 27th and 28th at Shona's in downtown Toronto and will probably be available for some hanging out. I figure it would be nice to spend a whole day not travelling between the travel and the more travel. I'm in no rush, my next obligation is the wedding on the 1st and this will still give me some time.
Anyhow, I should go make my hair look pretty. Love you and miss you!
Amanda
Not a whole lot to report here. I do far less cleaning on weekends. I am spending this afternoon with Nanette (Tiemus' mom) while he works at the school with Iman. Last night there was barbecue and I made more Caesars and they were yummy!
Anyhow, today I booked my flight from Toronto to Timmins for August 29th and I will be landing at 6:55pm. I am going to spend the nights of the 27th and 28th at Shona's in downtown Toronto and will probably be available for some hanging out. I figure it would be nice to spend a whole day not travelling between the travel and the more travel. I'm in no rush, my next obligation is the wedding on the 1st and this will still give me some time.
Anyhow, I should go make my hair look pretty. Love you and miss you!
Amanda
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Happy Independence Day!
So apparently Americans just say things like "Happy 4th" but I think this is silly and insist on Happy Independence Day. Yesterday we had all these plans that didn't work out and instead went to the grocery store, got various brats and burgers and such and grilled them up in the apartment building parking lot. Then we piled into Iman's car and went down to the lake and watched the fireworks. I woke up luxuriously late today and did yesterday's grillin' dishes but most of the apartment is super clean because I try to have all the weekly stuff aside from laundry done before Thursday since Mike is off and home Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Earlier yesterday I walked to the store and the bank (I had directions to the store but I actually looked up where the bank was before I walked down there and went on an adventure all on my own). I'm getting more comfortable which is good because there's a busride involved in visiting Tiemus at the hardware store he's ultimately working at. Essentially he is helping renovate and get the new location up and running and he's doing everything that needs to be done while he waits for this new store to open up. His position is basically being filled by someone who will ultimately be at the new location and thus he won't be doing his usual job until that's all settled.
OH and last night I made the best caesar of my life. It was awesome AND the 750mL bottle of smirnoff vodka was 11.99. Life is good :D I made it with some pickle juice. Yummy.
Now for the weirdest thing to report. It is expected to be sunny with a 0% chance of rain for the foreseeable future. Suddenly, the rain is gone!
I am less than 200 pages away from finishing Game of Thrones (the first book in the series) so I am going to read a bit.
Miss you!
Amanda
Earlier yesterday I walked to the store and the bank (I had directions to the store but I actually looked up where the bank was before I walked down there and went on an adventure all on my own). I'm getting more comfortable which is good because there's a busride involved in visiting Tiemus at the hardware store he's ultimately working at. Essentially he is helping renovate and get the new location up and running and he's doing everything that needs to be done while he waits for this new store to open up. His position is basically being filled by someone who will ultimately be at the new location and thus he won't be doing his usual job until that's all settled.
OH and last night I made the best caesar of my life. It was awesome AND the 750mL bottle of smirnoff vodka was 11.99. Life is good :D I made it with some pickle juice. Yummy.
Now for the weirdest thing to report. It is expected to be sunny with a 0% chance of rain for the foreseeable future. Suddenly, the rain is gone!
I am less than 200 pages away from finishing Game of Thrones (the first book in the series) so I am going to read a bit.
Miss you!
Amanda
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
The Pink Shirt Phenomenon
Hey guys!
So a few of you may remember the story about this pink shirt I bought. It's quite fluorescent. I bought it because I have this blue t-shirt that I bought on the fly and it fit really well so I got this bright pink one and I wore it to Jake's and that night I was accosted by all kinds of people. Strangers telling me to shake it and many other inappropriate things. I wear the more subtly coloured shirt and people don't feel the need to come up to me and talk to me about how I look but I wore this pink shirt and the night was a crazy disaster that led to the bar owner asking some guys to leave. Anyhow, I wore the pink shirt today, probably for the first time since this incident, and I'm walking to bring Tiemus some lunch and I see this guy in plaid pants who has to be at least fifty-five walking toward me. He isn't exactly stumbling but he keeps veering from one side of the sidewalk to the other. He gets to about 15 feet in front of me and he stops and he's wearing bling. He has this honest-to-god gigantic cross around his neck and he starts yelling "MA'AM! MAAAA'AM!" so I smile but I know how crazies work, Toronto taught me this. You give them a tiny bit of attention but you never slow down. So I'm like right next to him but he's still talking at a yell and he says "You're very pretty!" and I say thank you and keep walking. Stupid pink shirt. Anyway, he keeps yelling after me, calling me ma'am of all things, and I say "Have a nice day!" and I swear I did not look back for ten more blocks. I might burn this t-shirt, I swear.
Now, you don`t have to worry. This crazy person was yelling at me in the street but it was a busy, populated, and relatively safe area with lots of eyes and lots of storefronts to escape the crazy man if need be. I would not put myself in an unreasonable amount of risk.
So this morning Tiemus was tired and not interested in going to work so I sent him along crankily and got up and made him a pretty awesome sandwich and cut up some fruit and made a healthy sandwich for myself and walked the 45 minutes to bring him lunch -- how cool am I! I have some dishes to put away and I still haven`t made the bed but yesterday was the big clean up day because the weekend simply is not conducive to keeping things organized and clean.
Tomorrow is independence day! Tiemus and I are looking at going to a bar and watching a soccer game with some people he works with. This bar is in our little area more or less and not downtown so I'm sure it will be busy but not insanely so. The soccer team we are watching is the Seattle Sounders and ask me a question about soccer and I might just stare at you and then shrug but it'll be nice to go out and have a couple of beers and meet some more of Tiemus' people. I've even planned my outfit. It's actually supposed to be sunny tomorrow and about 20 degrees (the heatwave wont hit until like Sunday). Anyhow, I am going to wear my shorts for the first time since I've been here and I'm going to wear my blue t-shirt with a white shirt underneath that you'll probably see out the bottom and I'm going to bring my red knitted sweater and suddenly I am celebrating America's independence!
I now have to make an effort to plan some dinner. I am running out of ideas already. Jeeeez.
Love and miss ya! <3
Amanda
So a few of you may remember the story about this pink shirt I bought. It's quite fluorescent. I bought it because I have this blue t-shirt that I bought on the fly and it fit really well so I got this bright pink one and I wore it to Jake's and that night I was accosted by all kinds of people. Strangers telling me to shake it and many other inappropriate things. I wear the more subtly coloured shirt and people don't feel the need to come up to me and talk to me about how I look but I wore this pink shirt and the night was a crazy disaster that led to the bar owner asking some guys to leave. Anyhow, I wore the pink shirt today, probably for the first time since this incident, and I'm walking to bring Tiemus some lunch and I see this guy in plaid pants who has to be at least fifty-five walking toward me. He isn't exactly stumbling but he keeps veering from one side of the sidewalk to the other. He gets to about 15 feet in front of me and he stops and he's wearing bling. He has this honest-to-god gigantic cross around his neck and he starts yelling "MA'AM! MAAAA'AM!" so I smile but I know how crazies work, Toronto taught me this. You give them a tiny bit of attention but you never slow down. So I'm like right next to him but he's still talking at a yell and he says "You're very pretty!" and I say thank you and keep walking. Stupid pink shirt. Anyway, he keeps yelling after me, calling me ma'am of all things, and I say "Have a nice day!" and I swear I did not look back for ten more blocks. I might burn this t-shirt, I swear.
Now, you don`t have to worry. This crazy person was yelling at me in the street but it was a busy, populated, and relatively safe area with lots of eyes and lots of storefronts to escape the crazy man if need be. I would not put myself in an unreasonable amount of risk.
So this morning Tiemus was tired and not interested in going to work so I sent him along crankily and got up and made him a pretty awesome sandwich and cut up some fruit and made a healthy sandwich for myself and walked the 45 minutes to bring him lunch -- how cool am I! I have some dishes to put away and I still haven`t made the bed but yesterday was the big clean up day because the weekend simply is not conducive to keeping things organized and clean.
Tomorrow is independence day! Tiemus and I are looking at going to a bar and watching a soccer game with some people he works with. This bar is in our little area more or less and not downtown so I'm sure it will be busy but not insanely so. The soccer team we are watching is the Seattle Sounders and ask me a question about soccer and I might just stare at you and then shrug but it'll be nice to go out and have a couple of beers and meet some more of Tiemus' people. I've even planned my outfit. It's actually supposed to be sunny tomorrow and about 20 degrees (the heatwave wont hit until like Sunday). Anyhow, I am going to wear my shorts for the first time since I've been here and I'm going to wear my blue t-shirt with a white shirt underneath that you'll probably see out the bottom and I'm going to bring my red knitted sweater and suddenly I am celebrating America's independence!
I now have to make an effort to plan some dinner. I am running out of ideas already. Jeeeez.
Love and miss ya! <3
Amanda
Monday, 2 July 2012
Happy Belated Canada Day!
Hey everyone!!
So Saturday night we went bowling to this strange bowling alley that has cosmic bowling after 10 o'clock. This is 10 pin, by the way. They mix colourful pins in with the normal pins and if the ten pin or the seven pin come up and you hit just that pin you get a dollar and if the headpin comes up and you get a strike you get 25 cents (and there are a bunch of other things too). Tiemus won 3.50 and a free game and I won a quarter. It was pretty nifty and the 7lb ball for children isn't even too heavy for me, kinda. Then when it was over, we drove over to this diner and we were in the car at midnight so Iman played O'Canada and I watched Tiemus fumble through the words (he did better than I expected). Then we got to the diner and I ordered fries with cheese and a side of gravy and had some weird poutine that wasn't half bad.
On Sunday, after sleeping in luxuriously late (it's Tiemus' only day off), we got up, got dressed, took some Canada Day pictures with our hats and posted them on facebook! This one is definitely my favourite.
Then we went to Lynn's Bistro to celebrate Tiemus' Dad's birthday! They've know Lynn for over 10 years and she brought a gift to our table which turned out to be man-diapers. Also, Tiemus' Dad always brings delicious wine wherever we go which is pretty awesome. We had such a good time and it was delicious and awesome! His family is always a lot of fun when they get together.
Today I cleaned the bathroom and made up a little cleaning schedule. I washed all of my dishes and picked up all the stuff that ended up being strewn about throughout the weekend (believe it or not, the only thing that belonged to me and was left out was a book!). I just may turn into a clean person eventually. That or I am now living in the twilight zone.
Anyhow, I'm off for a bit. I miss you!
Love,
Amanda
So Saturday night we went bowling to this strange bowling alley that has cosmic bowling after 10 o'clock. This is 10 pin, by the way. They mix colourful pins in with the normal pins and if the ten pin or the seven pin come up and you hit just that pin you get a dollar and if the headpin comes up and you get a strike you get 25 cents (and there are a bunch of other things too). Tiemus won 3.50 and a free game and I won a quarter. It was pretty nifty and the 7lb ball for children isn't even too heavy for me, kinda. Then when it was over, we drove over to this diner and we were in the car at midnight so Iman played O'Canada and I watched Tiemus fumble through the words (he did better than I expected). Then we got to the diner and I ordered fries with cheese and a side of gravy and had some weird poutine that wasn't half bad.
On Sunday, after sleeping in luxuriously late (it's Tiemus' only day off), we got up, got dressed, took some Canada Day pictures with our hats and posted them on facebook! This one is definitely my favourite.
Then we went to Lynn's Bistro to celebrate Tiemus' Dad's birthday! They've know Lynn for over 10 years and she brought a gift to our table which turned out to be man-diapers. Also, Tiemus' Dad always brings delicious wine wherever we go which is pretty awesome. We had such a good time and it was delicious and awesome! His family is always a lot of fun when they get together.
Today I cleaned the bathroom and made up a little cleaning schedule. I washed all of my dishes and picked up all the stuff that ended up being strewn about throughout the weekend (believe it or not, the only thing that belonged to me and was left out was a book!). I just may turn into a clean person eventually. That or I am now living in the twilight zone.
Anyhow, I'm off for a bit. I miss you!
Love,
Amanda
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