House of Bead

Lips

2010-06-14T17:07:00.003-06:00

This was a nice little pic I had sent to me today....
I was maybe going to change the word liquor to coke. haha.

flat tires and $20 bills

2010-05-17T12:00:00.000-06:00

welp, I've decided to get back on the blogging train.....I'm not really sure why I've had such a mental block this last month when it comes to blogging....probably because most evenings I've been more attached to my phone, then to my computer. But I vow to do better.

Anywho, I was loading photos onto my computer, and these are some of the gems I discovered.
This is the night of Amy's move to Raymond, and what a night it was.....she got a flat tire.

Note how full her car is....and how we had to unload the whole back to get to the spare.

$20 for the man who helped.

Dreading the drive home going 80km/hour following her in the mini-van.

More pics of the last month to come soon!

THE GOOD TIMES

2010-05-03T11:02:00.019-06:00

I woke up this morning and stared out at the dismal weather scene going on in Edmonton. With drab weather, I can't work. I don't like when I can't work.
This led me to ask myself why I wasn't still in Dubai.
This led me to check the weather in Dubai.
34 degrees.
Beautiful.
This led me to think about times when I was in Dubai.
This led me to the "My Pictures" folder on my computer.
This led me to looking at pictures of our little jaunt to Dubai.
This led me to a lot of laughing as I found pictures I forgot had been taken.
I thought I would share some with you.

Picture 1.
Close-ups of our future husband (and I say 'our' because there will be a debate about who actually wins his heart). So dreamy. Especially in gold-sequined tops (and I pluralise 'tops' because there were multiple costume changes, all revolving around a gold-sequined theme).

Picture 2.
Being scammed into paying 10 Dhs for a fuzzy picture of Bonnie and I wearing plaid with shields. Winner.

Picture 3 + 4.
Our friend/tour guide/photographer at the fort.

Open mouths were not allowed. "No good. No good." Just to prove a point, I couldn't even find a picture where Bonnie had an open mouth. He deleted them all.
He also felt like he could pose us however he wanted. I don't think my father would ever be caught dead doing another pose like this one.

Picture 5.
One of the greatest restaurant mascots found. Someone drew him with a double chin. That isn't a photograph of someone who has a double chin- the artist consciously said to themselves, "Hey- I am going to draw our restaurant mascot with a double chin. This will make people flock to my restaurant." They also had a waterfall in the middle of the dining area. These people have it all figured out.

Picture 6 + 7.
Matching wife-beater-mullet-men. So hot right now.

Picture 8.
The new wave of fashion accessories: snakes. Just taking his pet for a night out on the town...

Picture 9 + 10.
Making us belly dance in the middle of the store. The best part of these pictures though is that in the second one, we can see our friend trying to take a picture of Raquel. Creepy. Somehow at the time it was hilarious though.

Picture 11 + 12.
"Why are you taking pictures with an old man?"

"Take pictures with me- I am young."

Picture 13.
The belly dancing lady who wouldn't let us take pictures. She just conveniently walked in front of every picture we took- or stuck her hand over the lens. Classy.

Such a good trip.

Motivation

2010-04-16T17:53:00.001-06:00

Well, it would seem that I've lacked blogging motivation over the last few weeks. I'd go so far as to say that I've lacked motivation in general. I moved into a house on the west side of lethbridge, and things are good there. I have sweet roommates, and am enjoying a change of scenery, but I'm not going to lie, when I say I still feel just as lost as ever.

I bought this....

Which I'm pretty stoked about......It gives me something to do at least. And who knows, maybe I will go to law school.

We went down to Utah for conference, and had a ridiculously good time. My lovely cousin Joanie was kind enough to let us crash at her house for the duration of our trip. She's such a sweet heart. We're already forming plans to go to New Zealand together next spring.

Other than that, life's good. I'm still trying to decide what I wanna be when I grow up, and where I wanna live, but I'm just taking it one day at a time. For some reason, I decided now at the tender age of 21 to go through my midlife crisis, and change my career already.

I miss everyone, and I think that people should post on the blog more regularly. I have no idea what anyone's up to for the summer. But if anyone's ever in town, there's always room at my house in my empty queen size bed for you. Not gonna lie, sleeping in a queen size bed by myself is pretty dang lonely. I roll over, and over, and over, and I'm still just in the middle of my bed with way too much space. I guess there's worse things than having a bed that's too big for me.

And just in case you haven't heard, my new nickname is bonvontronald. yeah, I'm just that cool.

PS. I miss Dubai, and scarf season.

head coverings were made for me.

Edmonton bound

2010-03-26T12:00:00.000-06:00

I'm headed to edmonton this weekend to celebrate Amy and Erin's Birthdays! Love those girls. Handball and curling will be some of the activities involved (two of my favourite activities ever).....This is how excited I am!

The only thing that could make this weekend even better would be a little of this....

I packed my slingshot and goggles!

Haircut # 5 it is.

2010-03-19T13:17:00.001-06:00

So I got my haircut...and you wanna hear something funny. The #5 that seemed to be so popular, is the exact picture I showed her when I got my haircut last August...meaning, you guys already know what looks good on me... So I did it again..

And I don't know if you sensed it, but I secretly want to be Katie Holmes (minus the fact that she's married to Tom Cruise). A couple years ago, I had 2 different people tell me within a week of when Batman Begins came out, that I looked just like her.....that's a stretch....I know....but hey a girl's gotta dream.

(I might be wearing a blue shirt to match the #5 pic.....just sayin'.)

(And I didn't actually do my hair - just judge the cut.)

Haircut Help

2010-03-17T23:18:00.000-06:00

So I'm getting my hair cut....and need some help...asap. vote for my haircut please!

If you don't like any of these - feel free to post some suggestions.

Straight up gypsy

2010-03-17T00:55:00.001-06:00

I know that everyone is having a tough time keeping track of my comings and goings, so I figured this was the easiest way to let everyone know. I'm moving to lethbridge...yup...true story. I never really got a temp job in Calgary, and days when I had no work lined up, it just wouldn't be fun to stay alone at my house in Calgary by myself all day and do nothing. So, I've decided to move to lethbridge. No, I'm not moving back in with my parents. I'll live with some girls on the westside, and actually Tom and Tracy will be my landlords (yay!). This means that I will be much closer to this place.

I have a deep and abiding love for Waterton. Seriously magical. When contemplating my options, and thinking that I could either spend days in May and June in Calgary, or just live in Lethbridge/Waterton....the decision soon became very easy.

The water in Waterton is freezing, but always provides a good time! (right Amy?)

Hiking is in my blood....(it's genetic).

You can see wildlife anywhere you go...yup that's a moose.

And it means spending time with family....doing ridiculous things. Like going backpacking with 2 of my brothers.

And almost starting a forest fire.

Moral of the story - I feel good about Lethbridge. Let's hope it feels good about me.

As well, I make a solemn promise on this blog so that I may be held accountable.
I WILL NOT MOVE AGAIN TIL SEPTEMBER.

But I sure will miss this....

I might have to make a quick trip up for cinco de mayo.

Copy Cat Video

2010-03-14T23:10:00.003-06:00

VIDEO! - click on that to view

Hey Bonnie, since you loved that last comercial, I thought you would like this copy... maybe not though, in light of the recent iphone fiasco. I hope its all better now... or at least soon :)

Rachel

P.S. I have no clue how to embed youtube videos...

We're going to Eclipse for my birthday!

2010-03-11T20:22:00.011-07:00

"I'm in love with you and I want you to pick me instead of him."
oh jake, you have the best one liners..

Old Spice

2010-03-11T19:11:00.004-07:00

In case you missed watching Ellen today, she showed this commercial. love love love it.

A fetish for the Amish

2010-03-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

So I have this thing for Amish people. I don't know why but I really really really like reading books about them....a lot. This is a book I recently read about forbidden love among the Amish. I probably liked it so much because it paralleled my own life.....

This is the book I'm currently reading. Once again about Amish forbidden love.

I'd highly recommend it.

If only there was more Mormon forbidden love in print.

Ashton - you write - you should get on that.

You would definitely have a market for it....aka.....pathetic me.

Reality dating...

2010-03-09T22:40:00.001-07:00

This just goes to show that not everyone who appears on a tv dating show has it all together..

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/09/dating.game.killer.death/index.html?hpt=T2

And after watching the Bachelor and seeing these 2 end up together.....

I have started to lose all hope in reality tv shows.

And if that wasn't bad enough...

I foolishly watched all 2 hours of Jason and Molly's wedding.

After the love poems about butterflies, and the sappy release of doves, I wanted to shoot myself.....but at least Molly's dress was pretty.

For a quick trip down memory lane and what we thought of the bachelor last year - please view these old blogposts....

http://houseofbead.blogspot.com/2009/03/bonnies-search-for-love.html

http://houseofbead.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-do-not-believe-that-giving-up-reality.html

http://houseofbead.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-been-couple-days-now-and-im-still.html

Butter Bonnie

2010-03-04T23:33:00.006-07:00

Dear Apple,

You suck.

Sincerely, Bonnie Leishman

So today I was at market mall, shopping (ahem....my father thinks i was dropping off resumes...let's keep this our little secret), just doing what I do, when tragedy struck. I was on my phone, and as per usual Butter Bonnie turned a little clumsy, and dropped it on the pavement. AND IT BROKE. A wide range of emotions followed this accident. I do recognize that I'm partially to blame, but who makes a phone that shatters? I mean really, they have to know that clumsy people use iPhones too. So since I was at market mall, it was very convenient to pop into the Apple store to find out what the deal would be to get it fixed. The guy that I talked to just shook his head when I showed it to him. He's obviously seen a lot of people come in with the same problem, and then he told me it would cost $240 to fix the screen. Bonnie doesn't have a job. And does not want to pay $240 to fix a stupid phone. Life sucks.

But enjoy my story through pictures. This brought a little joy into my otherwise awful day.

1. The initial terror realizing what had happened.

2.I was so shocked, I turned as white as a ghost.

3. Then I realized that I needed to fix it.

4. Intense anger ensued.

5. So I had to figure out where an Apple store was to find out the fixage details.

6. And then I became furious at the idea of paying $240

7. Pretending to be positive. At least I have a phone.

And it still works....sorta.

8. Straight up wishing that someone would just take care of my problems.

9. HELP!

10. Tears were shed.

11. My bottom lip was quivering and sad.

12. I just want my iPhone back.

And to top it off, as I was doing this post, an Apple commercial came on for iPhones.

Seriously, life sucks.

Bonton's meat market....etc.

2010-03-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

So today I went job hunting again, I dropped off resumes at 24 different offices. Shoot me. please. Yesterday I went to 15 different ones. And I made a map. But I'll save that post for another day.

But there was a few highlights to my day. I discovered BonTon's meat market.

And I bought a shoe rack for the back of my door.

My shoes have never been so happy.

First Weekend in Calgary

2010-03-02T21:56:00.000-07:00

Crave Cupcakes....Thank you for introducing me to them Erin.

It was so yummy we sent Erin back in for another round.

On our way out to the country to go huntin'.

You really liked those wings didn't you Cathy?

Erin and her smelly bucket. At least she looks cute.

Cathy drawing her dead CRX for us to shoot. And then looking astonished when Erin actually hit it.

These girls like guns.

Me thinking, "I can't believe they are actually letting me touch this....."

I may or may not have been very very excited to have completed one more step on my quest to be a redneck.

The different foot attire was slightly ridiculous.

I really like to lean back when I shoot. Erin likes to shoot birds.......

I know how to load a gun - this is scary.

We look fine..

Erin and I are such mountain women.

On second thought....maybe we are asian.

Bonnie lives too close to Peters.

2010-03-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

I may have gone to Peters Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday last week.

I just arrived in Calgary to stay on Friday.

Advice

2010-02-28T01:03:00.003-07:00

I realized that I NEVER post on this blog. So here's a little something for the game tomorrow:

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air etc.

2010-02-21T14:19:00.006-07:00

I giggle shamelessly every single time I watch this clip.
It's my guilty pleasure.

Norwegian Curling Team

2010-02-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

I want these pants real bad.

Seriously, they are divine.

Who knew you could have fun in Lethbridge? (and Missoula).

2010-02-17T23:03:00.002-07:00

This is what I've been up to lately.

Melissa and I worked out. As usual we look gross. I have developed a deep deep love for the U of L gym, and will miss it when I move to calgary.....

My shirts are actually getting smaller from all of my working out. I think they are supposed to be getting looser but oh well. You can't win 'em all. I put on my favourite Che shirt, and the sleeves were very very tight. Let me flex to demonstrate for you.

These 2 got married. So happy for them!

And we got a photoshoot out of the deal.

I also got to be #2 with this guy. I have never laughed so much. Highlight of #2, having him dip me while we were dancing, and him almost falling over, because he was so inebriated. If only he knew my name. And he wasn't quite so obnoxious.

We went here for the long weekend. I love family holidays. They are my absolute favourite. If/When I grow up, I'm going on road trips all the time with my family.

While on the shopping holiday I bought 5 pairs of shoes for $81.30 . I'm very proud of them. I saved $283.70.

I worked today at my real job. And this is what I had to deal with. They do not pay me enough.

Ok maybe it's more like this.

I've been watching a lot of olympic coverage. It's also my favourite topic of conversation with my patients, and I bring it up as often as possible. I absolutely love the games. Maybe a little too much. I remember when they had the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and I watched 18 straight hours in the cabin in Waterton one day. I don't even think I went to the bathroom or ate food. I probably left Ross high and dry at the Big Scoop too, now that I think about it, because I sure didn't go to work that day. I could quote all of the Tim Horton's commercials perfectly by the end of those games.

Maybe I've spent too much time in front of the TV, but I think these two kind of look the same. What do you think?

Wang Meng - gold medal winner in women's short track 500m.

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley - stud of the Harry Potter movies.

White lies.

2010-02-11T00:29:00.000-07:00

Also, check out this link, and the movie with it. Then text my phone with your opinion of whether i'm going to be held accountable. I'm nervous.

http://melissalowry.blogspot.com/2010/02/confession-time.html

it's come to this.

2010-02-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

So i went to see another movie with melissa tonight. Tonight it was "when in rome", last night it was "dear john", tomorrow who knows. All I know is that I'm addicted to the fro-yos at the movie concession, and will probably go every night until someone stops me. I get this low-fat mix with banana, mango, and strawberries. YUM! I'm turning into a regular, and by tomorrow I think I'll just say, "give me the usual", and they will know what i'm talking about.

Who knew you could buy heaven for just $4.69.

Anyways, so I was driving home by myself after the movie, when I saw this sign and it hit me.

I hadn't been to the new wendy's yet. So I did a u-turn, and headed for the wendy's, and the next thing I knew tears were streaming down my face. Now these weren't happy tears, these were straight up sad tears. First, I felt guilty for going to wendy's at midnight. Bad bonnie bad. Second, many many memories of wendy's in edmonton washed over me.

(me enjoying a snack wrap in edmonton surrounded by my besties...can't you just feel the happiness?)

And I realized that I have no clue who will go on burger runs with me in Calgary.....and now i'm totally second guessing this move. I was completely fine with everything, until I realized that it takes a special person to understand my love of wendy's and fast food, and I don't think those type of people exist in Calgary.

And now I'm worried.

To make matters worse, I pulled up the window to order a spicy chicken go wrap.....AND THEY WERE OUT OF CHICKEN. If you thought I was emotional before, well this just put me over the edge. so I had to get a jbc. I mean, jbc's are good and everything, but they aren't a spicy chicken go wrap. And the prices down here are $0.20 more than in Edmonton. I know I'm not a starving student anymore, but this might just break Dr. Leishman's bank if he has to pay that extra 20 cents every time. I just don't know what to do.

Then I came home, after my depressing Wendy's run, and ate burnt french fries. What a night.

(and i think someone took my wisdom teeth out without telling me......)

Things will get better...right?

I have bad news

2010-02-09T20:49:00.001-07:00

So nothing is official, until it's on the blog. And I thought it was time to share this with the world. I am moving away from Edmonton after 4 years. Sniffle, sniffle I know. And moving to Calgary.

Some of you may be thinking, "Bonnie, how could you leave me?" Rest assured, that you will still see me on a fairly regular basis. This I am quite sure of. I have been doing a considerable amount of thinking (a novel idea), and I think it's time for me to move on with my life, and see what else the world has to offer. That sounds really trite I know but it's true. Now that I'm done school, I kinda wanna see what else is out there. It will be a completely different social scene (this could turn out badly), and there are better job opportunities for me.

I feel like I am stuck in a rut in Edmonton, and that change would probably be really good for me, which will not be easy. I really do love my Edmonton friends!

(You guys are freakin amazing)

I can count on one hand the number of people that I know in Calgary.

(and no josh - this isn't my man hand)
This move is scaring the crap out of me. I can't believe I'm really doing it.

Which means, Bontron is going to have to bring her game face in order to make this work.

BYE Edmonton

You have been very very kind to me.

HELLO calgary

Be nice to me.

Wish me luck! Because let's be serious. Not everyone can handle the ridiculousness of this girl.

How to be a celebrity

2010-02-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

I figured with our TV (and modeling) debut we should be prepared for how to keep climbing the ranks. This is the list I found on Wikipedia.

1 - Have a personality, any personality. Without this, forget the rest. Check
2 - Work on your singular talent, whether it's cooking, acting, singing, writing, whatever. Do we actually have talent? Other than always being ridiculously good looking.
3 - Try to reach the widest possible audience. Homemade saucy videos and raunchy reality shows seem to be a good ticket. (Not everyone will be invited, but if you are - you're still not there yet). Youtube here we come.
4 - Get the best agent you can. Don't "jump into bed" with just any, but when you find a good one be loyal. That way you'll share the same interest - YOU. I nominate Shtoon. She knows how to get things done.
5 - Invest your own money with a Record Label to release an album starring you (it's called co-production). I'll call Dr. Leishman on this one.
6 - Get a good publicist. You must be on front pages or inner covers. Always get a full page somewhere or a page where your mug dominates. (If you don't get this, forget the rest). What in the heck is the difference between a publicist and an agent?
7 - Start anywhere and smile. Work your way up in circulation. I think we have this one down pat. First Britney, and now this.
8 - Participate in cameos. Lend your face, your voice or both. Ads, Charity announcements and Feature appearances known to help. Let's look into making a church video. This will increase our circulation.
9 - Monitor your popularity with polls and participation in Awards. (If you picked a good agent, s/he will help here big time).
( I have been checking youtube every 20 minutes....)
And here's the one tip they gave
Have a website, blog or both and network them.

Am I letting this go to my head?

Or more importantly, should I focus on modeling or acting?

Confession Time

2010-02-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

(a) Lalalalove the Ellen movie.

(b) I think I'm addicted to postsecret. I spent a good hour in a bookstore the other day reading one of the postsecret books, and I keep checking their blog everyday, even though I know they only update it on Sundays.

Perhaps that's my secret.

Texas Toast will be the death of me

2010-02-03T23:20:00.001-07:00

I went to the gym with Melissa today...and as per usual, we worked out....hard. I was sweating my brains out. I actually think my IQ is dropping. And so when I got home, I was more than happy to smell my mother's stew coming from the kitchen since I had gone straight from work to the gym and was famished. So I walked into the kitchen and had a bowl of this.

And then I discovered that my mom had also made this!

I should make this very clear. I'm not actually going to the gym to lose weight. I'm going so that I can eat what I want, and not feel guilty. So tonight at dinner, I paid no heed to anything, and ate 3 bowls of stew, and had 4 pieces of toast. Count it. 4 pieces of freakin texas toast. My mother informed me later that I ate 800 calories of toast. It's a good thing I went to the gym today. I'm just hoping that at some point, a little guilt sets in.

ELLEN

2010-02-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

You can say you knew us before we were famous.

Also check out the clip on youtube with ellen calling the burj dubai...

Letter to a Unsuspecting Sucker

2010-02-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Jake -

If I could magically go back in time and you could magically become a follower of this blog, I would have you read THIS -

http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/bachelors-vienna-drained-exs-savings-on-boob-job-201032

And then say NO WONDER YOU'RE FRICKING SINGLE! You can't pick out the weirdos even when everyone's telling you they're a weirdo!

Sincerely,

Shtoon

PS - For all the non-Jake-real-people that are reading thing, Vienna reminds me of Beth. As in, Beth Harker. It's strange, and not much of a complement to Beth...

What have I done to myself

2010-02-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

So I've never gone to the gym. Ever. Like seriously ever. When I was in second year, I'd always hear about Cathy and Melissa going to this thing called " the gym", but I never really understood what "working out" meant until last week. Bi-ped gave me some serious inspiration when I read a post she did about the goals that she had set for herself, and it made me realize that I have a lot of free time and should put it to good use. So to the gym I went with Cathy and Brittney. And did it ever hurt. We went 5 times last week. It was awful. But it's getting easier. And now that I'm in lethbridge I have Melissa. Who is an amazing workout partner. She should be charging me money to work out with her. I bought a pass to the u of l gym for the month and we intend to use it. Wish me luck on this whim of mine and hope it sticks. Check out melissa's blog for more details and pictures.

On a side note.

Lethbridge just got it's 2nd wendys. And it's about 30 seconds from my parents house. I haven't been yet. And I'm seriously contemplating the idea to avoid it all together. Good idea? Bad idea? Melissa lives on the west side so she can't stop me easily. But it's like what they always tell you at church... When put in certain situations you should know ahead of time how you will react and what you will do. Help!!

On another side note.

I went to work for my dad today which consisted of me on a date with a paper shredder. It was magical for the first part of the date until the 2 hour mark hit. Turns out a paper shredder will be a crappy date and then I didn't want to be there anymore. So I did what I do on all bad dates.

I called my mom.

And she drove out to pb to get me which saved me from an awkward end of date hug and then my mom and I went shopping in lethbridge
together. It was wonderful and my afternoon was salvaged. Moral of the story. Paper shredders may seem like a lot of fun but once you get to know them better.... You find out that they aren't.

(I did this from my phone - so don't judge any spelling mistakes)

DRIVE BY SHOOTING (no pun intended)

2010-01-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

My visa ran out. Problem. Dhs 750 problem. Who knew it was only 30 days? Not me.
My father and I had to go to the gong-show immigration office to get it renewed, and on our way back home we drove past our neighbour chilling on his lawn.
What was he doing?
I kid you not- he was checking out his golf swing using a mirror.
Now, he has a yard with a very large wall that would prevent anyone from seeing him- but no. He is on the patch of grass on the corner of our street practicing his golf swing in front of the mirror he took off the wall of his entranceway.
So what did we do?
What any terrible person would.
My father drove me back home so I could get my camera.
We then circled the block twice so we could get a picture.
It wasn't even a fear that he would see us- he was way into his swing.
It's another wonderful day in the neighbourhood.

THE ONION

2010-01-29T12:26:00.001-07:00

I met up with my long-time-no-see friend Anna Ray today, and she shared this gem with me. I laughed. Gotta love the Onion.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/dubai_debt_crisis_halts_building

POOP ART

2010-01-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

if we ever hung out anymore, i'd have a really good idea about what we could do.

Playing, and other such things.

2010-01-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

So I'm home from dubai, and as everyone knows, very very very unemployed. I know that I should go look for a job, but I am having a very tough time motivating myself to make a resume and drop them off. I have a couple weeks worth of work in lethbridge starting next week, so I figure I may as well enjoy it while I can. I have done such activities as making headbands with my sister, and sister-in-law, going for lunch with friends, reading a book, and making some goals for the next little bit. If money wasn't such a big deal, I would be quite content to do this forever, as I feel that I'm being productive, and really enjoying my new freedom. SO until I find a job, I'm going to keep on playing on my teeter totter....

Jobless

2010-01-25T12:55:00.001-07:00

This is how my conversation with Amy went today as we were both on our computers, thinking about how Amy has to go to fabricland, and I still need to unpack, de-stink my clothes, and clean my room.

Amy: "Bonnie, this is sad. We both have university degrees, no jobs, and are still in our pajamas."
Bonnie: "I know."

2010-01-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here are my pictures in no particular order. The one with me and my brown friend will be using in my upcoming engagement announcement. As well, the one in the desert with the awful hair, it was a rough ride dune bashing as you can tell. Enjoy, and maybe i'll take some pictures of what i bought, and post them.

Dubai farewell

2010-01-22T11:17:00.001-07:00

ok, so the last few days here have been great. we did some last minute shopping and i bought a bunch more scarves for the concert. a guy from one of the stores who thought i was half-arab asked for my email address. he's the one who proposed to me. i think he's going to make a bid soon on the dowry. we went to church this morning, and then spent the afternoon at the beach. we justified it because we are going to church all over again in 2 days. we leave here in about 20 minutes for the airport, and fly out at 215am... gross. overall this trip has been great. i'm not going to lie though when i say i'm ready to come home for a rest. i can't believe how much we've done on this trip, and there's really not anything else left for us to do. i'm very grateful for the chance that i've had to go on this trip.. it has definitely opened my eyes to the world more, and i have a new found appreciation for lebanese food, especially hummous. i'm going to start buying it all the time now. i'll call as soon as a get home to let you know i've made it. we don't foresee any problems getting home though. and i have a full suitcase full of extra stuff i've bought. i may or may not have purchased 34 scarves on this trip. don't judge too much. if anyone asks, they were all for the sugar beats. mom, if you ever want to go on a shopping trip, i suggest the middle east, the prices over here are amazing.....probably a quarter of the price in canada. anyways, i'll call when i get home. talk to you soon. love bonnie.

Dubai day # 9, 10, 11

2010-01-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

ok - so since i posted last we have done interesting cultural events. we went to a cultural breakfast monday morning at some centre for cultural understanding. the food was surprisingly good. i ate breakfast ahead of time because i was concerned it was going to be fish heads on rice, but it was donuty type things, some really good bread, and some rice. there was also a question and answer period with the lady who ran the show. very very interesting. of course we talked about their traditional garb, and arranged marriages, and what not, but overall a very informative session. we then went and did some shopping at another market, and as usual i was a sucker, and bought more scarves. i also bought some silk for dresses....wink wink mom. i got 2 yards of 3 different colours. and the man promised me it was the finest indian silk he had. we also checked out the spice souk, and the gold souk. i'm starting to get sick of people selling me their crap. that night we went shopping at one of the many many malls here, and i got a new bag because my orange one has a broken zipper. and i may or may not have picked up a few other items.

then tuesday morning we went on a tour of the jumeirah mosque, which is the only mosque in all of the UAE that non-muslims can go in. the tour was actually led by 2 women, who spoke about islam, and answered questions. once again - very informative. my one complaint with the religion is the call to prayer every morning at 6 am. i hate it. they have loud speakers that blast everywhere, and wake me up everytime, as they tell people to hurry up and get to the mosque to pray (in arabic). that afternoon we went to the beach, and then we went on a desert safari that afternoon and evening. we got picked up at our house at 3pm by some crazy driver, and he drove for an hour to take us to the desert. we went dune bashing, and it was fun, until i got sick sick sick. like i was green. about to vomit. i'm not joking. they have pictures of me looking a ghastly colour. i had to ask the driver to stop and give me a bag. thank goodness he was just about to pull over for sand boarding (just like snowboarding), or i honestly would have upchucked everywhere. for the record, i didn't. but i was so close it was disgusting. and i have no idea who would have cleaned it up. i feel gross just thinking about it. after the dune bashing (which was riding in a jeep up and down the dunes), we went for a camel ride (it was short), and then there was a bbq with a belly dancer. kinda a weird experience. i can say i've done all those things, but i don't know if i'd do it again. my stomach is starting to feel queasy all over again just typing about it. i'm not even joking. we got back home at about 9, and i collapsed on the couch while everyone else watched a movie.

today we got up early and did tons of shopping at the outlet mall, and at dragonmart again. i bought red boots. i love them. and i might have bought a purple pleather jacket. don't judge me. i really like it. then tonight we took it easy again. i'm going to have to come home and take a rest from this holiday. i'm absolutely exhausted every day. and the thought of the long flight home doesn't make matters better. tomorrow we're doing a little more sight seeing, and then some beach time, and back to the global village in the evening. i didn't have a chance to buy any scarves today mom, but i'll get some tomorrow. i hope you like lime green. i should probably go to bed, and recover and get ready for tomorrow. see you all very very soon. i will be arriving saturday at 3:24, i'll know who my true friends are by who shows up at the airport. no pressure. love bonnie.

ONE DOWN...

2010-01-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

We've identified one of the CMBP writers.

Bri's going send a hey-what's-up-do-you-keep-in-touch-with-anyone-else facebook message and, voila!

Anytime you need me to do any detective work, my rates are cheap.

Dubai day # 6, 7, 8

2010-01-17T12:43:00.001-07:00

Ok, so here's the scoop on what we've been up to lately. Friday morning over here was church at 9, so we drug ourselves out of bed and got ready and went to that. They hold church at a villa about 15 minutes away, and it was actually such an interesting ward. It's made up mostly of americans, and filipinos. For sunday school, they have a separate class for ysa, and there was about 25 people there. And they were all filipinos. In the class there was an interesting discussion about marriage, and marrying non-members. Over here, there's a ton of female filipinos, who are working to send money home to their families, but there's no one for them to marry, so it's a real problem as to what they should do. Anyways, it was a very interesting discussion at church about what they should do, and obviously there is no easy answer for them. After church, we had dinner and took a nice little nap, and then we got ready to have a fire in the desert with the ysa. The stewarts oversee ysa activities over here, so they planned for us to all go out together about 45 minutes outside of the city, and do a little fireside. We acted out the story of shadrach, meshach, and abednego with the fire as our prop - it was pretty funny - but i don't think anyone else understood what was going on. We kind of became friends with this guy from utah who is over here working for some company, he's 28, and probably leads the loneliest life ever as the only single white mormon in all of dubai. he was pretty excited to see us. saturday morning we got up at 7:30 to go see camel races, only to discover once we got out to the track that there were no races that morning, i think we might try again later this week to go. we all looked disgusting because no one had showered from the night before, so we came back home and got ready and then headed to karama which is this sketchy little market that is all knock off crap. I bought some scarves there, and at the one store, the guys that worked there had a field day when we all came in and bought stuff. it was getting borderline ridiculous. i have a video of it that i might share with you. one almost proposed to me, but then after i discovered he was only interested because he thought i was half-arab. but i milked it for all i could and saved a lot of money on what i bought by bargaining him down. it was also sweet in karama because all of these stores have little secret upstairs rooms where they house all their knockoff stuff they can't sell in the open. we got invited to go up more than once, and it was so sketchy with what they were trying to sell us. so that got pretty old, pretty fast. when we got home from karama we were pretty tired and looking for something to do that didn't require walking or thinking, so we drove 5 minutes to this district called satwa and got pedicures done for $10. the beauty parlor we went to was semi-ridiculous but oh well, we were going for the cheap labour. we also went and found this man from iraq who makes bread with cheese inside in this little oven, right on the street. one thing, that i've really liked about dubai is the interaction that we've had with the locals. mom, i'm being completely honest when i say that 100% of the time on this trip i've felt safe walking around. i'm pretty sure whyte ave is a lot scarier. after pedicures we went home and put on jeans to head downtown and check out the marina. the marina here has these sweet yachts so we walked around for a bit and then went and got ice cream and checked out a few more buildings. i can't get over how sweet the architecture is over here. all of the buildings have some sort of quirky thing about them to make them distinct. this really is the las vegas of the middle east. this morning, being sunday, is the first day of the week, and is our version of monday. so we got up this morning, and booked our desert safari for tuesday, and then went to the atlantis aqua-adventure water park. it puts west ed to shame. it's all outdoors, and was one of the coolest things we've done. almost all of the rides are done in tubes, and some of the rides shoot you up instead of down, and to get to most of the rides, you just sit in your tube and get on a conveyor belt, and it takes you to the top. pretty sweet. i also got a pretty good tan today, so all in all it was an exhausting day. on our way home from the water park, we stopped and got some food, and as per usual got a million stares, as 4 white girls went for dinner at a little cafe. i think we're quite the novelty over here because the only tourists are really only europeans. since we've been here, i haven't actually seen any americans. then tonight we came home and got ready, and by 9 we were ready for a night out on the town, and we were in the car heading to the royal mirage hotel to go walk around, and then we all realized that we didn't actually want to do it, and even if we did have it planned for the night, if we didn't want to do it, we shouldn't force ourselves to. so we turned around and went back home, and have been enjoying a nice evening of doing nothing and taking a break. tomorrow we're heading to a cultural breakfast of some sort, and then more shopping i think. and i'm saying once again - that if requests aren't made for me to buy something, than it probably won't be bought. i'm not buying junk just to buy it. so if you want a shirt or other crap, let me know, but if not, i take no responsibility. i'll try and post tomorrow about our day. i can't believe we only have 5 days til we have to go back to freezing edmonton. boo. hope everything is well at home! love bonnie.

Some names

2010-01-16T00:05:00.001-07:00

I want to help your search...awhile ago someone that they might know who it was, and these were the names they listed on their blog. ask bri about them. i think i checked once and he was friends with some of them on fb.

David Bruce, Jared Kinnard, Joseph Rowley, Michael Rushworth, and Brian Early.

If we could actually expose them this would be great.

Anonymity

2010-01-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

I know very little about the Mormon blogging world.

I know we have a blog.

I know Scottietoohottie has a blog.

I know about 'Why Mormon Girls Stay Single'. [Thanks Bonnie.]
And I know about 'Confessions from a Mormon Bachelor Pad'.

The latter of which I had never actually been on until YESTERDAY.

The story goes a little like this - I was on our blog, bored, so I clicked on their blog and started reading, mildly entertained, until I saw something along the lines of:

"... back when we were on our missions in Dublin, Ireland ..."

DUBLIN, IRELAND MISSION! HELLO!

So Bxx and I spent a while last night trying to figure out who the guys were, via facebook stalking and other such means. They would definately have been out the same time he was.

He hasn't quite identified them yet, but I'm now on a mission to make sure he does.

Think about what you might want to do with that information... stalker e-mails, expose them to the world, force them to come up and go on dates with you or you'll reveal who they are...

Such power.

dubai day #3,4,5

2010-01-14T12:59:00.001-07:00

so here's the update from the last few days. the last time i did a real post, we went to the mall of emirates shopping, which was great, i got a few shirts, and then we went to global village. it's made up of a million shops and each area is divided by the country that those people are from. we went to yemen, india, iraq, pakistan, and africa. we never should have gone to africa though, it cost us a bloody fortune, since we had wanted to get our pictures taken with these guys dressed up in african gear, only to discover afterwards that they wanted to charge us money. they made us pay 10 dh which is only like $3 but still, it was stupid. i did buy a painting for a 100 dh from the iraq booth, it's a desert scene and i think it's pretty sweet. then the next day we got up early and drove to fujairah which is about 2 hours away. we stopped on the way there to see some historic mosque called Al Hali (or something like that), anyways, we had a tour guide from pakistan and he was hilarious, and forced us to take pictures...at one point he told me that i "was very bad" at being in pictures, because i couldn't just keep my mouth shut and smile. he then started to say "just teeth and lips" to me....it was priceless. that night we stayed at an apartment of the friends of the stewarts who was out of town, so it worked out really well for us. i ended up going to sleep at about 7pm, i'm way out of whack over here with my time difference, and still haven't totally adjusted. then this morning we woke up early and went snorkeling. the original place that we were going to go to was going to cost us about 150 dh to take a boat out to some island and go snorkeling, but their boat was broken, so we drove another 20 minutes up the road to another hotel, which ended up being way nicer, and was 25 dh less. they gave us all the gear we needed and a tour guide and took us out in a boat to these 3 islands. it was probably one of the coolest things i've done on this trip, since there was tons of fish, and how many people can say they've been snorkeling in the indian ocean. definitely a highlight for only $30. we drove back to dubai this afternoon, and then headed over to the palm, because the stewarts have friends in their ward who live on it, and invited us over. if you don't know about the palm, definitely look it up on the internet. it's this man made island thingy in the shape of a palm tree, and there's these huge mansions on it. the people who invited us over, there dad oversees the Dubai nasdaq. pretty sweet. they told us that we were more than welcome to come use their beach next week, so we might take them up on that offer. and now we're home for the night. church over here is on a friday, so we're going to that tomorrow morning, and then all the ysa is going to meet up and we're going to have a fire in the desert tomorrow night. i still can't get over how good the food is here. we get hummous, and fatoush with every meal, and everything else that i've had to eat has been really really good. that's all that is new here. i can't believe we only have a week left. time is flying by. i'll keep you updated as per usual. love bonnie.

Vampire Diaries

2010-01-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

[Am I technically allowed to post anymore? Probably not. Whatever.]

I know y'all are more occupied with sun and sand and schwarma right now, but I thought I'd let you know that a friend from work just lent me THE FIRST TWO BOOKS OF THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.

That she says are way better than the TV show.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Dubai day #?

2010-01-13T23:22:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, you'll get more of an update later tonight - but we're here in Fujairah for a few days sightseeing and enjoying the ocean. We're going snorkeling today in the Indian Ocean, should be pretty sweet! And i'm not just buying junk, I bought a painting from Global Village, from this artist from Iraq, it's pretty sweet! Anyways, gotta run! Love Bonnie.

Dubai day # 2

2010-01-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

Today is going to be a shorter post, since we're headed out and about shopping in about 10 minutes. We're headed to the mall of Emirates, which is supposed to be ginormous, but I don't think it's as big as the Dubai mall. Then tonight we're going to Global Village, which is where there's markets with things from all over the world. It's supposed to be kinda like heritage days in edmonton, but a million times better. Yesterday we went to the beach for a few hours right in the middle of the day, and i got a slight burn, so as you can tell the weather has been really nice. I guess there's been "arctic winds" coming in, but i sure can't tell. Every day is usually about 24 degrees with the slightest breeze so the weather has been absolutely perfect. Anyways, we went to the beach and then headed over to a mall for lunch where we used a couple coupons. The Stewarts have this book where there's a million things that are 2 for 1, so we plan on using that quite a bit over here. We also got marble slab for dessert, so yummy. Later that afternoon we went to dragon mart, which is the kilometer long mall of chinese crap....and i mean crap. But i picked up some nice pearls, and some cute wallets, so it was still a success. Then later that night, we went downtown to see the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building, and we also went to see the Dubai fountain (original name i know) which is the world's largest fountain, and they did a show set to music with it. As you can tell, it seems like everything over here is the world's largest..... So yesterday was another great day, with a mix of shopping and sight seeing. I'm not sure if I'll get off a blog post tomorrow morning. We're headed to fujeriah for an overnight trip. The Stewarts have friends there, and they're away to some other country for a couple months, and they're letting us stay there for the night. We're going to do some snorkeling there, as well as some sight seeing, which should be sweet, because it'll get us out of the city for a couple days. Fujeriah is only a couple hours away though, so the drive through the desert shouldn't be too bad. Anyways, that's what is new here. Hope everything is well at home. I may or may not do serious damage at the mall today with "my" credit card. Love Bonnie.

Dubai day # 1

2010-01-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

So we've survived day #1 here, and things have been beautiful so far. We took off yesterday morning, and walked downtown and hopped on the metro to Union Square. Union Square is about a 15 minute walk to the creek, and so we got to the creek and walked around for a bit and then took a water taxi across for only 1 dh, which is like 35 cents Canadian. That took us to a market, where we did a bit of shopping, and I purchased a few scarves and what not. We also bought some food at the market, the place was full of dead flies, but the food sure was yummy. ( I thought you'd enjoy that mom). Shopping over here is different, lots of bargaining but the guys you're buying from still know how to get your money. I guess I need to learn to be willing to walk away from what they're selling, in order to get a good deal. After the market we took the metro home, after walking for over an hour to find it. Oops, i guess next time we'll bring a map. We did a bit more planning of other things we wanted to see while we are here, and then went down to watch Devon's dad and grandpa get a haircut from some locals. Her grandparents are here while we are, and have added a little flavour to the trip. We all went out to dinner last night to this place called the Eat and Drink, and her Grandpa paid for all of us, so they've been super nice to us. Don't worry - I tried to pay. And their Grandma always has an opinion on everything, but it's hilarious. The one thing that I've noticed over here is that you never just see women out and about. At dinner, of course we were the only ones, and even at the markets, it's all guys. The food over here has been really good so far. They have fruit drinks that are ridiculously good, and then this thing called a shwarma, which is like the burger of the middle east....it's delightful. For today we are planning on heading to the beach in the next little bit, and then it's off to dragonmart - which is the kilometer long chinese mall of crap. I'm excited! Hopefully I don't break the bank, but I'm going to do as mom said, and "buy a lot of stuff". I brought an extra suitcase over here for a reason. If anyone has a request for me to buy something - let me know! I can buy scarves over here for 10dh which is only $3, and freshwater pearls for only $10. I'll keep ya posted on our adventures!

Safely in Dubai

2010-01-10T00:21:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, so we made it here last night at about 3 in the morning, and the city itself is beautiful. Our flight to London, was long, it felt like it took forever, and then we had a 4 hour layover there which really didn't feel like that long since we had a bunch of lines to wait in, and that was probably the right amount of time to leave for us to still be able to catch our next flight. We flew to Dubai straight from London on Emirates, which is this super nice airline, but I slept for 5 of the 6.5 hours. so I can't say I really enjoyed the service or the movies. Anyways, we were a little delayed getting out of Heathrow, so we didn't fly in til 2, and we had to pick up our car, but it worked out great because Devon and her dad came to meet us at the airport, and then driving to their house which is about 15 minutes away was a joke because there was no one on the road. So it's now 11:11 am here, and we're just kind of getting rolling for the day. I think I've already adjusted to the time difference, even though it's 11 hours difference, and so we should be ready to go out for the day soon after we eat some food. I think our plan for the day is to head to the beach for a little bit, and then do a bunch of walking and sight seeing downtown. Our plans for the week are to go to the Palm because the Stewarts have some friends who live there, and you can only go if you have an invite there, and we'll go to the Atlantis for a day (check it out online), and probably camel racing, a desert safari, and a whole bunch of shopping! I'll try and keep you posted every day with what we've been up to. Don't worry about us! We've already practiced doing our countoff, I'm #1, amy's #2, raquel's #3, and devon's #4. Well, we're just about to head out! Love, Bonnie

Remember Us

2010-01-08T21:09:00.001-07:00

This is Cathy, and I just wanted to formerly say bon voyage and Devon you better return them all in one piece! I shall miss you all dearly (and have already been missing you Devo) and Amy and I are ridiculously jealous of your escape. We will try to have more fun than you though, so that we feel better about what we're missing out on. Eat, drink, party, repeat. Story of our lives. Keep us posted and we'll return the favour! LOVE YOU GIRLS!

With all the love in my heart,
Cathy xoxo

2010-01-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm writing this post from my phone mostly because I'm too lazy to go outside in the cold in the van to find my laptop. I'm still at rachels house so I'm not even sure if my laptop is still there or if it's been stolen. And I'm writing it from my phone just because I can. Anyways, I feel like a blog post from me is far over due. Christmas was great. Beyond great. Spending time with family is my favourite as evidenced by Scott thinking I'm a home body but then I also had the chance to spend time with close friends. It was getting to the point that I was looking forward to Dubai because it would be a rest from all the parties and social events I had been to. But don't worry Devo, I won't actually let the fun stop once we get there. Some highlights from Christmas would definitely have to be our new years party in waterton. "it was epic" in the words of crc. Christmas was also a chance to catch up with Melissa who's here from boston for the next coupleonths so that has been great to see her face! I guess overall what I learned this Christmas is how blessed I am. I had a convo with my cousins wife about if I knew how lucky I was to have the things I have and to be blessed with the parents I do. And I think talking to her opened my eyes in that I know my parents have spoiled me but that I've always worked hard so that they can still be proud. I'd like to think that being such a good kid pays off. And my final highlight of Christmas was the fact that cody's nephew remembered a whole week later that my nickname was bontron and asked every 15 minutes when bontron was coming over. Success.

The Burj cont'd

2010-01-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

So last night was the opening of the Burj Khalifa, formally known as the Burj Dubai.
[They changed the name. Possibly after Dubai got financially bailed out by the Sheik of Abu Dhabi who gave them $5 billion. His name is Khalifa. I would want the world's tallest tower named after me too.]
We sat on our roof and had the most perfect view of the tower. It was insane. I can't describe it, so I thought I would put up some pictures. Fireworks all around the buildling- 360 degrees. And keep in mind- the building is almost 1 km long... do you know how many fireworks that would take?!
I felt like I was in Gotham city.
Or it was the Apocalypse.
It was magical.

And because I can't describe it- check out these videos:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8440219.stm
http://www.ameinfo.com/220359.html- stick it out until 3:00 and then it gets good!

I'm a little excited. Can't you tell?

PS- freak it takes long to upload pictures!

The Burj Opening

2010-01-04T00:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight is going to be one of the most exciting nights Dubai has ever seen. The Burj Dubai officially opens- the world's tallest building. If we reflect back to the opening of Atlantis that I may have forced some of you to watch, the opening show cost a mere $32 million. Tonight is going to be bigger. Tonight is going to be better. And we are 10 blocks away from the building.
I am pumped.
They also have a fountain in front like the Bellagio fountain in Vegas that shoots water up in time to the music. Apparently they have coordinated the lights on the Burj to play to the music too.
Our roof is flat so I think we are going to camp out up here and chill and watch the millions of dollars in fireworks they have flushed into this project. If you get bored tomorrow, Google the opening show. I'm sure it will be all over the news.

This place has way too much money.

This is it in all its glory. It is so big you can't even take the whole building in one frame. My camera also sucks at taking night shots. Or I suck at taking night shots. Probably the latter...

For more information, it is on the BBC homepage today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8438416.stm

The Joy of Forwards

2009-12-29T00:36:00.001-07:00

I hate forwards. Most of the time I don't even open them when they are sent to me. But there is a Philipino single adult lady here who LOVES them and sends them to my Mom on a daily basis. Most of the time they are slideshows of kittens talking about how we need to protect women's rights- but she sent this one the other day. It is terrible. But funny. I thought I would share.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Merry Merry Christmas!
Over here the presents here have been opened, we went to churhc, gorged ourselves on a huge turkey dinner, proceeded to sleep off the turkey coma, watched UP and are now going to bed. I know that it is still Christmas morning there, and thought I would wish everyone a happy Christmas while it was still in the moment!
I hope Santa is good to you. He was certainly good to me. I think I got a whole new wardrobe.
Much love
xoxo
Oh and enjoy. I am sure we have all heard this by now, but I may love it. Not only is it my favorite Christmas song, but it is sung by Glee people.

Interesting Facts

2009-12-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

Interesting fact: Blogspot in Dubai is in Arabic. I couldn't find the sign-in button. I probably reported our blog accidentally and it's now flagged.
Other interesting fact: we were one of the last flights to leave Washington before the storm hit. We have family friends whose son is trapped in DC, unable to leave until tomorrow morning because of the snow. We sat for 2 hours while they de-iced our plane. That meant we showed up an hour late in Doha and missed our next flight... but when all was said and done we only showed up 3 hours late. My poor father who waited for us. The strange part I think is that they de-ice our plane in Washington, where it had barely started to snow, but didn't in Edmonton. Maybe we are just way more efficient at de-icing planes and we don't need to announce it to all the passengers and make it into this huge deal. Americans make a big deal of everything.
In Washington there was also a bunch of Obama propaganda. Bejeweled OBAMA shirts, Michelle's face on a Barbie pink Christmas ball, magnets, keychains, books and even rugs. I was tempted to buy the rug. What I was really tempted to do was buy a huge life-size cardboard Obama and stick it in Bonnie's bed. I didn't though. Be thankful.
Life is good here. If you are visiting soon- be happy. And excited. 24 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. That being said, I am still not getting a tan. I will show up just as pasty white as I left...

Wherever Whenever

2009-12-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

So I love this shirt. It brings me joy. I bought it on a study break with Josh last spring and it has been one of my faves ever since. I love using the very few words I know in French (bein oui! franche mon! avec tu? comme ci comma ca. est-ce que tu boire du l'eau? je t'aime.) This shirt gives me the opporuntity to do so everytime I wear it without fail. I have also shared many special moments with it, including the day documented below, when I dipped my toes in the Atlantic for the first time and ate my first corn dog...precious moments.

So just try to imagine my excitement when Anne told me about this picture on People.com (I never thought her celebrity website addiction would come in so handy)
Shakira and I have the same clothes!! It's lucky that her breasts are small and humble...unlike mine....which are always confused for mountains...and make the shirt look better on me.

I'd rather be in that car.

2009-12-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

I just found this jem (gem?). It's a tribute Puck has made to the cast and crew. I like it a lot! But sometimes it makes me feel kinda awkward...like when's he's by himself in the car smiling and laughing to himself...obviously thinking about a funny/tender moment on set...maybe rubbing kwynn's belly?

Things I want to adopt in my life from this:

-the 4-fingered wave
-eating sweet potatoes for 3 days straight (in hopes to gain the female equivalent of that body)
-playing hookey cookie (rules anyone?)

Melissa gets married...

2009-12-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/14/ryecroft.wedding/index.html

Obsession almost over...

2009-12-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

For the past two months this blog has revolved around New Moon. I was almost ready to be done with it, but decided to keep fueling the fire. I thought it was mildly entertaining, although I am a little worried that Tayler Lautner makes a very good girl.

2009-12-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

Michae speaking:

I love this! It's so funny! Maybe it's funny cause......ahem....*cough*cough*....well maybe it's only funny to me because of my......@%&! that's a 3 letter word for that which we don't speak of. Or rather what I don't speak of and no one knows it for sure! ha ha stumped? thought so!

Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/8009598

Let's Change the Subject

2009-12-09T21:19:00.001-07:00

Ok on a different note...it's Phin's (Finn??) bachelor pad. What wouldn't you give to be there?! I can't think of anything.

Elevator Girl Meet Elevator... Girl?

2009-12-09T19:27:00.001-07:00

This is him? Seriously.

2009-12-08T11:24:00.001-07:00

I never thought i'd see this happen

The Rules

2009-12-07T23:04:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here, packing up my stuff so I can move in next week (sooo excited!) and I come across a book a friend gave me when she got married. The Rules: Time-tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right.

I've never actually read the book, but I flipped to the table of contents and found it highly entertaining...secret to success right here:

1. Be a "creature unlike any other"
2. Don't talk to a man first (and don't ask him to dance)
3. Don't stare at men or talk too much
4. Don't meet him halfway or go Dutch on a date
5. Don't call him and rarely return his calls
6. Always end phone calls first
7. Don't accept a Saturday night date after Wednesday
8. Fill up your time before the date
9. How to act on dates 1, 2, and 3
10. How to act on dates 4 through commitment time
11. Always end the date first
12. Stop dating him if he doesn't buy you a romantic gift for your birthday or Valentine's day
13. Don't see him more than once or twice a week
14. Don't tell him what to do
15. Let him take the lead
16. Don't expect a man to change or try to change him
17. Don't open up too fast
18. Be honest but mysterious
19. Accentuate the positive and other rules for personal ads
20. Don't date a married man
21. Slowly involve him in your family
22. Practice, practice, practice!
23. Love only those who love you
24. Be easy to live with

Should we be following the rules or not...?

Ballet

2009-12-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

Rabbit...Speedbump???

2009-12-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

So the other day my institute class had a pancake breakfast for our last class. I had been standing with a group of students in my class, but then walked away to get another pancake (they were goood). A few minutes later Matt walked over and told me in hushed tones that he had a funny story for me. I said "tell me!" because I love a good story and this is how it went. Apparently 30 seconds after I walked away from that group somebody started talking about Rabbit Hill and naturally someone piped up "Oh I think I know the owner." Then this girl (who will remain un-named) exclaimed "Rabbit Hill??! You mean Rabbit Speedbump? That's the most pathetic excuse for a hill I've ever seen!"

Can you believe I missed that by 30 seconds?! How funny would that have been if I was there? Anyways, I've thought about what I would have done if I had been over the past few days and I've decided that the best option would have been to burst into tears. Agreed?

Albinos......this is so sad.

2009-11-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/29/tanzania.albinos/index.html

New Moon Translation

2009-11-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

My mom sent this to me. It is funny. I maybekindof wish they had done the whole movie. I realize it would get a little old after a while...

It is a little off center. Oops.

let's wear orange jumpsuits....yeah?

2009-11-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Dubai debt crisis

2009-11-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

Will Dubai still be there when we go?

Matthew Morrison

2009-11-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

I was watching the news this morning, and this commercial came on for the Canada Olympic Snowboard team, and I immediately developed a little crush for Matthew Morrison (who we all need to cheer for by the way), and then upon further searching, I discovered that the teacher from Glee is also named Matthew Morrison.....interesting.

Lists

2009-11-26T13:09:00.001-07:00

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/

I don't think i like white people as much as i thought i did.

Wildflower Bathroom Set - UPDATE ONE

2009-11-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

The guy was a no-show. He probably wised up.

I have now edited the ad. It's $19, as opposed to $20. Big step down, but this is all part of the master plan.

I have received no other e-mails about it. I wanted to repost it, so that it would show up on people's 'most recent' feed, but I need the picture to do that. Maybe tonight, at Bonnie's computer.

Note that any of you are free to buy it too. $19 OBO

Vampire romance novels....

2009-11-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/11/25/vampire.romance.novels/index.html

Wildflower Bathroom Set

2009-11-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I would like to publically thank Diandra for her beautiful porcelain wildflower bathroom set that she presented me with on Saturday night.

I love it. *barf*

It is gloriously hideous. So, in the interest of social sciences, and following the mantra that one man's treasure is another man's junk, I decided to conduct an experiment:

1. I took a picture of the aforementioned bathroom set, after removing all price tags. [SIDE NOTE: Who gives people wedding presents with the price tags left on? Especially when it's that ugly and you got it on sale at Winners? Riddle me that, Batman.]

2. I posted the picture and an ad up on kijiji. I was asking for $20 OBO (or best offer, for those non-kijijiites out there) and figured that was WAY too much money for the pile of junk. The plan was to repost the ad every day and ask for less and less, and see at what point someone was interested.

You can see the ad HERE: http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-home-garden-Wildflower-Bathroom-Set-W0QQAdIdZ170693864

3. I waited. It took almost 24 hours for the post to show up on kijiji but NOW...

...SOME SUCKER WANTS TO BUY THE CRAP.

Sorry Diandra, you could have had $20 in your pocket but, no, you chose to give it away and now I am reaping the benefits. Eat that, married woman!

[We'll see if they actually show up. I told them to come by tonight.]

Preference in IKEA again....yeah?

2009-11-24T23:24:00.001-07:00

Battle Studies

2009-11-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know- I may love John Mayer.
I think the Room for Squares CD was played more at my house growing up than any other CD- except perhaps the first Savage Garden CD. That was an absolute classic. It was also the first CD I ever owned. I thought I was so cool. So I have listened to him for the majority of my teenage years, and love his music. I think in real life he is a tool- but that is beside the point. His music is great.
He has a new CD out- it is called Battle Studies. Check it out when you are looking for some chill music. Every once in a while you need it.

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/artist/John_Mayer/438

He is also coming on April 4th (or somewhere around that).
I will be there.
Call a ticket if you want to come.

NEW Moon singing spoof

2009-11-23T23:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BfZsXCIOhg

it's long i know....but still entertaining. we watched about 10 of these, and this was the best one....

New Moon - spoof

2009-11-23T17:04:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJS8RTIO4so

I heart Jacob

2009-11-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ladies- vampires are a thing of the past.

It is all about the werewolf now.

So on Friday we went to see New Moon- opening night. We were excited enough to take on a theater full of swooning, screaming, ooh-ing and aah-ing teenage girls. Sad to say, by the end we had all become them- and were probably more vocal about it.

Also sad to say, Edward is no more. It is all Jacob now. The second Jacob took of his shirt- it was game over. No painted on, hairy, pale chest could compare. I have converted to the Jacob side. I also went wearing a TEAM EDWARD shirt- mostly because it was $5 in Vegas and I thought it would be funny. I may burn it. I also feel we need to get rid of the Edward poster prominently displayed in our living room, and buy this Jacob poster instead. The Sister Missionaries might feel a little awkward though. As will any male who feels threatened by Jacob's body. They thought Shahrukh Khan on our fridge was bad...

The question still remains in my mind: why is everyone fighting over the most boring girl on the planet?

2009-11-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

YAY! SO as Bonnie already said.... It's finally Official. For anyone who doesn't know, we're getting married February 13th in the Cardston temple - WAHOO!
He proposed to me on Saturday. It was a mix of a 'P' Themed day, same as our first date. And a proposal in the river valley at sunset. Very cute. :)
I hope this posts. I'm so bad at blogging...

CONGRATS RACHEL

2009-11-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

This hand has a ring on it now....We need to see the ring!

Uh Oh

2009-11-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

Trouble friends.
I have lost my New Moon knowledge.
My mother sent me this quiz (which I'm surprised you hadn't found yet Bonnie- people.com and about vampires... you are slacking) and I got 4/10. Apparently I am clumsy Bella. Whoops.
Maybe I need to read the book again before we go? Pull an all-nighter? Call in sick to school to finish it? My students will understand... they are probably doing the same thing. I am also debating wearing my Team Edward shirt to school on Friday. I think it will cause mass uproar amongst the students and cause many of the teachers to puke. This sounds like a good Friday to me...

http://www.people.com/people/package/quiz/result/0,,20316279_20318631__1,00.html?quizScore=4

Try it. Tell me you suck too.

Escalator

2009-11-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

I should be doing school work but I thought you would all get a kick out of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSzOdMMovD0&feature=related

D. D. D. What begins with D?

2009-11-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

Lets never forget this.

Bacon Balm

2009-11-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

While I was stalking people on facebook I came across this gem.
Find this in Utah Bonnie and your life will be complete. I feel it is something you can only find in the States. Or maybe at Claires on a bad day. They seem to have funky flavored stuff there sometimes.
Sick.

Canadian Please.

2009-11-09T10:06:00.001-07:00

makes me kinda proud....

bahahahahaha Robert Pattinson.

2009-11-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

he has the most ridiculous hair ever.

Create

2009-11-07T13:06:00.001-07:00

I love the message and the music....

What do you think we should create?

Ellen and Oprah

2009-11-07T02:11:00.001-07:00

Hockey Game + Oranges

2009-11-06T13:12:00.001-07:00

So as mentioned previously, our friends play on a hockey team....and the great coaches that we are...we bring oranges....they love us.

I want

2009-11-05T20:52:00.001-07:00

Seriously, this dress is divine.

Erin's Cooking Corner

2009-11-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Erin will be adding a cooking corner to House of Bead....maybe this will help us in our husband hunting. Tonight she made pumpkin soup!

H1N1

2009-11-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

halloween sneak peek- more to come

2009-11-01T23:37:00.000-07:00

Is this possible? ....

2009-10-30T10:57:00.000-06:00

I'm not convinced that this is legit - what do you think?

Vampires

2009-10-28T13:24:00.000-06:00

"Why women find date-rapey parasites who wear capes compelling must have something to do with deeply primal fears."

I just found this article about vampires - but from here on out - i'm going to try and make this blog less about vampires.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/27/tf.women.love.vampires/index.html

2009-10-22T16:56:00.000-06:00

It has happened.

2009-10-21T10:24:00.001-06:00

Did any of us think that this was actually going to happen?
Apparently it has.
It makes me happy that they are engaged.
I am past the point of caring about Jason anymore.
Particularily because we signed up for Jason's Place and got nothing from them.

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/10/21/jason-mesnick-and-molly-malaney-are-engaged/

The Friend Zone

2009-10-19T18:25:00.000-06:00

an interesting article i found online about dating....

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-mind-of-man-where-all-the-good-guys-are/?cnn=yes