Marzipan

Nice, new cars have nothing on my 1990 Dodge Spirit. I got it for free because Alberta wouldn't let my brother keep it...something about the floorboards being hazardously rusted...but good ol' Saskatchewan doesn't judge anything by its cover! Marzipan has an engine that won't quit and a spirit that won't die, even in the face of life-threatening problems. For instance, almost a month ago I parked her in front of the house, and right away there was a lovely green river rushing along the curb and down the street. Upon lifting her hood, we discovered a large hole in the radiator through which my coolant was quickly and noisily escaping. Thankfully my uncle was able to fix it, and after borrowing Nate's car (which had a peculiar penchant for honking whenever I signaled right) for a week, I was able to get back behind the wheel of my war-wounded auto.
Shortly after this, I was rear-ended by an elderly gentleman who drove slowly away as if he hadn't noticed a thing. The yellow scars on my car's bumper will probably never heal on their own.
In the meantime, I had begun to notice a grinding noise every time I braked, but as I am just a stupid girl, I figured my brake pads were dirty. WRONG. They were gone. Dad was quite pleased to discover I'd let this problem continue for so long, and stayed up till 1:30 am before Easter Sunrise Service to fix it right up...as well as a few other issues he discovered while spending all day with my car.
Now she's running well, and I am thankful for everyone who makes my life with Marzipan go as smoothly as it does, considering how old and feeble she's become. It really is a group effort.

Yesterday, just to remind me not to get too comfortable with her, she decided to shed her rearview mirror.

Abbrev

Hey Johanna in Van, this one's for you: I just found out Jannaya hates abbrev's as much as you do. I said digi cam one day over the Easter weekend, and she freaked out on me. I thought you'd enjoy that.
Man, I look like death warmed over this morning.

Proud

Okay, it's bragging time. My brother and his 4-man team from U of A just placed 11th out of 400 universities at a worldwide math competition in Texas yesterday, making them the only Canadian team to get in the coveted top 40. Go Zac!

Prom Night

Here's a fun moment in life: Dena, Megan, Aubree and I are standing in our living room, waiting impatiently for the boys to pick us up. We've been primping all day and we're feeling fairly hot, holding our oriental salad and broccoli casseroles and wondering why those guys are past the 8:00 pick-up time. Tonight is prom night for the Saskatoon crew, and we're supposed to be at the church fairly soon to do some eating and dancing. We've been looking forward to this for a couple of weeks now.
I head off to my room to check my lipstick, when an eruption of excited shrieks pulls me back to the living room, where the girls are pressing their faces against the window and jumping up and down.
"They got a limo, they got a limo!"
Sure enough, there's a long white vehicle pulling up in front of our house. Call me pathetically dramatic, but I'm so excited I start shaking. Then the girls are like, "Get away from the window so they don't know we've seen them yet!" Heaven forbid our boys should see us acting like such school girls. (We later discover they had seen us quite clearly in the window...not to mention a certain basement boy had been underneath us, hearing the whole thing.)
That kick-started an awesome night. We had a limo ride, then got to the church where a bunch of our friends had already arrived. There were decorations and candle-lit tables, where we ate roast beef, duck, quail, eel, salmon, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce (my first time ever), fruit pizza, and salads. Then we watched a couple of videos we'd made throughout the year, and there was a birthday cake and a scrapbook given for Megan's birthday. Finally, there was the dance. Aubree and Nick taught everyone some of the stuff they'd learned at ballroom dancing throughout the year, and it wasn't that bad! Actually, I was really enjoying myself. Dancing's not too scary when you have someone else who isn't afraid to learn either.
And that was that. It was awesome. Saskatoon's the best...especially Saskatoon boys.

The Vein

Hi. I was just looking through some old school things one day, and I came across a poem I wrote in Grade 12 that I want to share...it's a pretty accurate picture of who I am.

My sister has two eyelids,
as many people do.
But as a child, one had a mild
and tiny vein of blue.

We fought a lot together
when we were six and three.
When she felt snide and justified,
she'd make THAT FACE at me!

Her eyebrows arched up highly,
her eyes half-shut just so.
And then that vein drove me insane
as it appeared to glow.

I usually grabbed her head right then
and tucked it in my arm.
With all my might, I'd squeeze real tight
and she'd cry in alarm.

But one day Grandma caught me
and yanked us two apart.
I had a pout, then figured out
I'd need to be more smart.

My sneakiness kicked in soon
while cleaning toys one day.
I bugged her bad till she got mad
and threw a toy my way.

The tractor hit my forehead.
I nearly danced in glee!
My smile forced down, I made a frown
and shouted, "Mommy, Mommee!"

I screeched about Jannaya
and her awful tractor throw.
But I left out the part about
provoking her to do so.

So then that poor young girlie
cried too hard to speak her mind.
The wooden spoon would meet her soon
by tapping her behind.

So finally I was happy
cause I'd never go insane.
I'd got her good and never would
again see that blue vein.


I love you Jannaya!!!