142. Bring a Sand Dollar Home Without Breaking It

This past summer I went on a vacation to Gabriola Island for a week.  One of the Northern Gulf Islands off the coast of British Colombia, Canada. To get to the island we had an hour flight from Calgary to Vancouver, then a fifteen minute flight to Nanaimo.  From there we took a ferry over to the small island with 5000 residents, Gabriola Island.  I traveled with my best friend, and we stayed with her aunt while we explored the island.  There are a few bucket list items I crossed off during my stay, this post will discuss one of them.

When visiting California a few years ago, my sister and I each found a couple sand dollars, but on the flight home, they broke in our luggage. The moment my friend's aunt mentioned sand dollars she had found the week before on a local beach, it became my goal to find one, and bring it home safely.

One of the mornings we got to Twin Beaches just before low tide, with rubber boots and bags to look for sand dollars.  It didn't take long to spot the purple and white disks lying in the sand.  I was surprised to learn that sand dollars are originally purple before they die, the turn white after death.  There were thousands of sand dollars, both purple and white; I was worried about stepping on them, they are very fragile.

It didn't take long to find dozens of beautiful sand dollars.  When we returned to the house, the sand dollars were left outside in the sun, which bleached them from a off yellow to white.  I have an underwater camera, which I talked about in 120. Use My Underwater Camera Underwater; it was perfect for this vacation by the ocean.  I was able to take pictures of my finds under water.  The bottom picture is a photo of my friend and me looking down at the camera while it was beneath the water's surface, while we looked for sand dollars.  The coast is a beautiful place to explore, sand dollars were only one of the many creatures we looked for.  The atmosphere on Gabriola was peaceful and relaxing, the perfect vacation.

124. Go To The Calgary Stampede

My hometown is an hours drive from Calgary, so it's hard to believe in eighteen years of living here I had never gone to the Stampede.  I finally went this summer with a group of friends, and saw what was bringing a great numbers of people to Alberta.  In preparation for Stampede I bought a cowgirl hat that I absolutely love, though I felt funny wearing it.

I have gone to smaller rodeos in the passed, so the main thing I really wanted to see was the chuck wagon races.  I bought the seventeen dollar standing ticket.  This allowed me to go to the seventh floor of the Grand Stands, where I could see the chuck wagons, and later the Grand Stand Show.  The chuck wagons were exciting, and fast; luckily no horses got hurt during the races I saw.  The Grand Stand Show was very random and confusing.  Some performances were creative, while others were unusual. The most exciting part was one of the acts was the band Kiss!  Because of the major flooding in Calgary all concerts in the Saddledome were canceled.  Kiss was scheduled to play, show they were incorporated into the Grand Stand Show.

What I learned from my first Stampede:

1. It is extremely busy and crowded, and it is best not to go on the last weekend, because it is even busier.

2. Every unhealthy food you love is there: chocolate dipped cheesecake, spiral spuds, corn dogs, and deep fried butter.  Yum!

3. The ground makes your feet very sore after hours of walking, so wear comfy shoes!

I had an amazing time at Stampede; it is a great place to spend time with friends.  It will probably be a few years until I return, but I will keep my cowgirl hat till then!

Dodge Ball is Awesome!

When I started university I had no clue I would be joining a dodge ball team.  The residence I lived in was organized into towers, and each floor of students in the towers formed their own team.  I lived in the Kelsey Tower, and was on the third floor, so my team was called 3K.  Most people believe that dodge ball is a game only played in high school gym class, but at the University of Alberta it's a fast paced, serious game.

Before each game the teams do a chants that have been used by the floors for years, and we stand to sing the national anthem.  Playing dodge ball with 18-21 year old guys is scary, they can throw the ball extremely fast.  When we play each team has ten guys, who position just in front of the back wall, and go to the front when they want to throw.  In front of the boys are seven girls, which are called shaggers.  Shagger's role is to dodge incoming balls, then after they hit the wall, they stop them to prevent the balls from rolling back to the other side.  It is hard to explain, but the games are entertaining to watch, and even funnier to play.  I love the team spirit that comes with dodgeball, it is by far my favorite sport to play, and now that it is summer I miss it greatly.

51. Ride A Mechanical Bull (Or Moustache)

Riding a mechanical bull has been a goal of mine for a couple years.  I knew there were a couple country clubs in my area that each had one, so I made a goal to ride one last weekend.  Technically, I did not ride a bull...but a moustache.  At Knoxville Tavern there is a mechanical moustache; it still counts because it is just like a bull, but instead of having a bull's head, the edges curve up in the shape of a moustache. After paying five dollars I climbed over the inflatable arena to the big moustache and jumped on.

I had no clue what to expect; I sat up on the huge saddle with the rope in one hand, and the other hand above my head.  The ladies on the sidelines screamed and cheered, and I heard my boyfriend yell out my name in encouragement.  Soon the machine started to move and jerk, I only lasted about four or five seconds because one quick movement tipped me over.  The first photo shows me on the bull, the second is when I fell onto the mat.  The quality of the photos is horrible, because of the lighting in the club, and the quick moving bull; I wish I had a better picture.  I will definitely try this again, preferably on a true mechanical bull.  I will know more about how it works and feels, so I will hopefully beat my record of four seconds!

A Day On The Mountain

Living in Alberta gives many opportunity to go snowboarding to many beautiful ski hills.  Last weekend I drove three hours to Banff and stayed in a hotel, then went snowboarding at Lake Louis the next day.  It was an awesome day of spring snowboarding.  Like every time on the hill there are many painful falls, but every time I evolve into a better snowboarder.  I have improved greatly since my post 13. Master Heal And Toe Edge On My Snowboard.  The snowboarding in the center of the bellow picture is me!

I had a fantastic day at Lake Louis.   The conditions at the hill were the best I had experienced all year.  It was a great way to end the winter and begin spring.  I am looking forward to start completing spring and summer bucket list items!

67. Make A List Of 100 Books, And Read Them

I have finally made a list of 100 books I want to read (Reading List).   I started the list with books I always wanted to read, then went online to find others that interested me.  Creating a list of 100 books took a while, but finally I can start reading.  I left the last five as random choices, incase I go to the library and see a book on the shelf that I want to read, that is not on my list.

After making my list I went to the library, and bought a library card. Getting a card was only $15, and is valid for a year; I could never afford to buy all these books from the store.  While I was at the library I check out my first book Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James.  I have decided not to write a post about each book (thats not what I want my blog to be about-), I will simply rate each book out of five, where five is the best and one is the worst, once I have finished it.  I am excited to start reading all theses awesome books!

My Green Onions Grew!!!!!!!!

As I showed in Grow Green Onions I started growing green onions like I had seen on the internet.  I had my doubts about whether or not it would work, but it did!  I left them suspended in water, in my residence room when I went home for spring break.  A week later I came back to discover they had grown to the size that I bought originally in the store.  They continue to grow rapidly, reaching over 40 cm long.

At that point I realized I don't eat many green onions...ever.  It was really cool that it worked, but this plant was growing too quick. Because it was taking up room on my desk, I ended up chucking them.  This would be an awesome idea for people who don't live in tiny residence rooms, and like to eat lots of green onions.

Get An External Hard Drive...NO EXCEPTIONS

I got my first laptop a year and a half ago, and honestly it's one of my most valuable possessions.  Everything important to me is on it: my photos, my music, and my schoolwork.  I don't know what I would do if I lost it...that's why I'm so glad that a guy at the Apple store recommended I get an external hard drive, and I listened.  An external hard drive is a must!!!  A week ago when I was working on my laptop, and a can of hairspray from the shelf above me, fell hitting me on the top of my head, and then hitting the laptop.  Creating a large dent right above where the hard drive sits.  After I turned it off, the laptop would not get past the loading phase.

After opening up my laptop I found that the dent made by the hairspray protruded into the hard drive, along with wrecking the wire over the hard drive.  I believe people should not be scared to open up their laptop when it have a problem, just be careful not to void the warranty.  In my Macbook Pro the warranty can be void by removing the battery; other laptops are different.  All you need is small phillips screwdriver.  My screw driver has a size #0 and #00 phillips bit and 1.5mm and 3mm flat head bit; for $2.00 this screwdriver fits all my computer needs.

After deciding what the problem was, and doing research on replacement parts, I booked an appointment into the genius bar.  They confirmed that the hard drive, and the cord above it were wrecked.  I had Apple replace the cord for $16.73 plus $39.00 for labor.  I did not have them replace the hard drive because that would cost over $150 for 300 GB.  Instead I waited, and went to Memory Express, where I bought a 1 TB hard drive (1 terabyte = 1000 gigabytes) for $90.  After spending over a thousand dollars for my Mac, I wish Apple didn't rip off the customers when it comes to repairs, and parts.

I took the hard drive home, to install it myself.  It's not as hard as it sounds; I removed ten screws from the back to remove the cover, then two more screws to free the damaged hard drive.  I disconnected the cord from the old hard drive, and connected the new one.  After everything was all closed up, I was good to go!

A video I referred to while installing my hard drive, it is very good for Mac users:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uptvZsYd97U

Now that my computer is ready to go, I put in the disks that contain the operating system in. After the operating system has been install I plugged in my external hard drive, and transferred everything that was on my old hard drive to my new.

One of the bonuses of my Macbook Pro is Time Machine (I don't know if there is something similar for windows).  When I plugged in my external hard drive it made the computer the same as before it crashed; all my apps, files, and settings were restored.  Above is my 500 GB hard drive; I got it a year ago at Apple for $130.  Today you can by them cheeper, and bigger; I recommend looking at Costco.  I am very grateful I have an external hard drive, and I think everyone who has a computer should have one too!

P.S.  Sorry, I know this post is long...

Grow Green Onions

On the internet one day I came across a photo of someone growing green onions.  I'm not going to make this a bucket list item, just something I want to try.  I am very interested in whether it will work.

I've had some green onions in my fridge for a couple weeks, and only the outside layer is dry so I hope these onions will work.  I cleaned them off, and cut most of the green end off of them, leaving only the white, and the roots.  Then took the onions and wrapped a couple elastics around them to hold them together.  I slid a couple chopsticks I had laying around through the green onions so they made a X, so the roots could be suspended over a bowl into the water.

It seems that people have had great success growing their own green onions.  Sometimes the green grows quick enough that it looks like a store bought onion within a week.  I'll will be so excited if I can successfully grow green onions!

Back To Yaha Tinda

I live quite close to the Canadian Rockies, yet I rarely visit them.  I go skiing a few times each winter, and some years I go to Banff, but besides that I only see the majestic mountains on the western horizon.  People travel great distances to see them, and living so close, I often forget how amazingly beautiful they are, and how lucky I am that I live here in Alberta.  Over my Christmas break my boyfriend, and I took a trip out west for a hot dog roast, and to hike to the Bighorn Falls.  I have gone camping at the Bighorn Campground before on a school trip a couple years ago (84. Go Camping).

In the morning a few days I headed out west, and hiked out to find the Bighorn Falls.  It is not a long hike from the Bighorn Campground, within fifteen minutes the falls were in our sights.  The frozen waterfall was beautiful; the water hung in icicles, under the ice we could see the water flowing like it was in a tube.  I wish I could see a video in fast motion of the water freezing, it amazes me that such a powerful waterfall has been drawn to a halt.

It was fun taking pictures by the base of the falls, and then climbing up the cliffs beside it to take photos beside the waterfall.  It was a little scary climbing back down to the ground. 

Yaha Tinda is beautiful; I am so lucky I live close enough to drive to see it.  In the summer I hope to go camping out there, and explore the area when it's warm.  One of my favorite parts is that there is no cell service, so everyone turns off their phones, and enjoys spending time focused on the people around them.

P.S. Ben Stewart, I've been trying to find your blog lately, and it seems to have disappeared.  I have been out of the blog world, because of final exams, but your's is one I always enjoy checking.  Well I guess I will have to keep looking for it!

Time For More Elastics

So, completing bucket list items is at a low, because life has been extremely busy.  A few weeks ago I used up my two half pound bags of elastics on my rubber band ball.  Finally last weekend I was able to by more.  I bought twice as many elastics; sadly these ones aren't colored (bigger elastics where only available in tan).  As you can see bellow my elastic ball is going quite well, I have found working on it to be a great stress reliever, so I think everyone should start one!

Circumference:         26.2cm

Diameter:              8.33cm

Surface Area:          54.6cm^2

I'm excited to continue working on my elastic ball; I am quickly seeing progress as it grows before my eyes with each elastic added.  I'm pretty sure my roommate thought I was crazy, when she saw me working on it!  Now the lovely colourful sphere is going to become dull, and tan.  I wonder how many bags till I'll reach ten pounds...?

P.S.  I apologize for the lack of posts lately, I will work on making my posts much more frequent!

My New Fishy...Named Fishy

Throughout my childhood I've had may fish, and well I guess that means I've also killed many fish.  Before moving away from home for university, I decided I would want to get a fish to keep me company (since it's the only type of pet allowed) while I'm away from my family. I unpacked my fish bowl, and a few weeks later I found a pet store.  When I first bought 'Sergeant McShineysides' he was a very lively blue beta, who would always eat his food.  All was great till I took him back home with me for thanksgiving.  I'm not sure if it was the stress of the car trips, but he stopped eating, and soon after getting back from home he died.

Yesterday I bought fish number two.  His name is 'Fishy', and he is a little cutie.  Fishy is much smaller than Sergeant McShineysides, so he eats less, but he is still very active; fishy never stops swimming around his little fish bowl.  While in the bag before I put him in the bowl, Fishy fell off of a five foot tall T.V. stand.  It scared me, and I'm so glad the bag didn't pop.  I feel bad for setting him on the T.V. stand, but Fishy seems to be doing great, so hopefully the fall won't affect his life span!

F.Y.I. Taking photos of a fish is hard!

4. Learn To Juggle

One day I walked into my physics class, and on my teachers desk sat a bunch of potatoes.  I can't remember the purpose of the potatoes, but one of my friends and I decided to 'juggle' a few of the potatoes back, and forth a few meters apart.  My teacher then came in, and yelled for us to stop, and I replied, "But I was learning to juggle!"  That evening when I went home I googled how to juggle and in a few days bucket list item number four was accomplished.

*Sorry!  Picture would be here, but I don't have one, and don't feel like taking one, but later I will, and insert it here!

Juggling isn't as difficult as it seems.  I found simple instructions, and after that all I needed was to practice.  I used golf balls, I didn't have anything else the right size.  These were probably not the best for learning, because they are rather heavy, and I dropped them on my toes many times.  After I got the hang of juggling I practiced with random things around the house, from juice boxes, to oranges, anything that came in packs of at lest three.  Though it was not hard to learn, it's funny to see peoples expressions when I tell them I can juggle.

So I'm Gonna Start Item 27. Make Rubber Band Ball

It has been so busy the last few weeks with homework, studying, sleeping, and meeting new people at university.  I was at Staples a couple weeks ago, and bought a couple bags of rubber bands to start this project, so it's time to start another bucket list item!  I've decided that my goal is to make a ball that weighs ten pounds, people have made them weighing over three hundred pounds, so I hope this is a realistic goal!

I didn't know how to start my rubber band ball, so I began by looking on youtube.  It wasn't too hard, I just took one band, and bunched it into a little ball then slowly began wrapping the other bands around it.  At first it was difficult to make the ball round, but slowly I changed the shape from an oval to a sphere.  I'm not sure how I'm going to weigh it, maybe I'll go to a deli in a grocery store, and ask them to weigh it... Well I know what I'll be working on in my breaks from studying.

91. Learn To Long Board

I bought my long board in the summer of 2011, but only rode it for a couple weeks.  A year later I still hadn't gone long boarding much; cold weather, and lack of motivation was holding me back.  Well in the spring I became friends with this boy (who is now my boyfriend), and he told me how he would like to learn to long board.  We spent every evening for weeks on end long boarding together this past summer.  I would never been motivated to go on my own; we explored the sidewalks, and streets around my hometown.  My face met the concrete far too many times, but never broke any bones!

Now I have moved to the city, and long boarding is a great way to go to university classes, or (as seen above) to get groceries.  Before it was just a fun ride; now it's a mode of transportation.  Sadly I don't get to ride with my boy friend as much anymore, but I do have a friend who I convinced to start boarding.  I like long boarding because it makes up for snowboarding when there is no snow, and wake boarding when I can't be at the lake.  My only concern with long boarding, is that there isn't really a way to stop when going down a hill...

126. Move Away From Home

It has been an extremely busy last few days.  On September 1st I left my house at 5:45am in the morning, and set out on the highway for Edmonton, Alberta.  I'm going to the University of Alberta, and taking Engineering. A couple days ago I moved into residence, which totally counts as moving away from home!  I have started a new chapter in my life, and I'm ready to embrace the new experiences.

The residence I live in is dorm style living; I have a double room with a roommate.  Since I hadn't shared a room since I was four years old (with my little sister), I worried about how I would get along with my new roommate.  At first we were both quiet, but we get along pretty well as we get to know each other.  Having a roommate is an important part of the university experience!

I tried to write a post on the day I moved in, but there have been so many things to do, I haven't had the time.  I have met countless new people, most of which I have forgotten their names.  The university of Alberta has a very competitive dodge ball tournament between the tower floors in residence; I have had fun playing in very competitive dodge ball games.  The University's campus is big, and fun to explore!   Slowly I'm adjusting to my new life, and I see many bucket list items being completed in the near future.

P.S. Tomorrow I start classes, it will get busier, but I will still find time for my blog!

Should Have Been Bucket List Items

For a little over a week I've been gone on vacation to a little lake near Whitefish, Montana.  While there I did many water sports that would have definitely been on my bucket list, but I started doing them far before my bucket list started.  I had a great week, so I thought I would write about these non bucket list items.

Non-Bucket List List

-Try kneeboarding

-Learn to wakeboard

-Drop a waterski 

-Do a 360 on the kneeboard

After I was born, I spent three out of my first five weeks at the lake. At a young age I first tried kneeboarded.  I was small enough that I could kneel on the board, and it would still float, before the boat started pulling.  I had very little control over what I was doing; I would stay directly behind the boat, too small to have the strength to get over the wake.  It was a start; a decade later I was confident, going back, and forth across the wake.  Learning to do the 360 took practice.  After a while I was able to easily spin the kneeboard all the way around, catching the handle behind my back as I made the circle.

After learning to kneeboard, waterskiing was next.  It was much harder then the kneeboard, but I remember being bribed with perigees (my favorite food at the time) to get in the water, and go for a waterski.  I started on the boom, which is shown in the photo above, it's a pole that goes out the side of the boat, making it easier for beginner to learn, because they are close, and can get instructions from the boat driver. Next I tried being pulled behind the boat.  Then after years of practice I tried dropping a ski, it was slightly scary, but after a few tries I did it.  To drop a ski you make one ski boot really loose, then when you feel comfortable you slip your foot out, and put it behind your foot that is still attached to the ski.  This is how you learn to slalom ski, eventually with more practice I will learn to get up on one ski; I should probably put that one on my bucket list.

I started wakeboarding when I was a little older; I think it's the hardest to begin learning.  It's my favorite of the water sports, because it reminds me of snowboarding; I did a lot of wakeboarding this past week.  I have mastered doing switch stands on both sides, and though it's easy to wipeout, it's totally worth it.  Though I didn't accomplish any bucket list items on my vacation, I had fun relaxing in Montana.

See A Talking Parrot

This would have definitely been a bucket list item if I new that talking parrots were real!  Up till a few days ago I thought they only existed in movies.  I'm glad to say I was wrong!

I was with a group of friends watching movies at a house that one of them is house sitting at.  After arriving I discovered the parrot.  His name is Jake, and at first he was very quiet, shy in front of the new people, who had just entered his home.  Eventually he started making his weird noises, like random gurgles, or chuckles.  After starting the movie we heard words for the first time, though they were difficult to understand. Later I was impressed when Jake made the noise of a phone ringing, followed by the sound of a person answering, and talking on the phone. Sadly Jake could not say Polly want a cracker.

I was amazed that this bird was able to mimic sounds, and human words; I couldn't stop wonder how, and why Jake made the noises he did.  After googling why do parrots talk, I came to the conclusion that it is to get attention.  When the parrot is alone without any other parrots around, it quickly tries to learn how to communicate with the people around them. Though they can not understand what they are saying, the shape of a parrots airway allows it to mimic the noises they hear around them.  It was a moment of shock when I learned that like in the movies parrots can actually talk.  It was very entertaining listening to Jake, but he is loud in the early morning, and rather messy, so I would never want a parrot of my own.

60. Bake A Pie

Today I proved why I'm not a baker...

I arrive home this evening, and I was determined to cross something off my bucket list.  I quickly decided I wanted to bake a pie, so I looked in the freezer to see if I had any pie crusts.  Disappointed for a second when I didn't find any, I hopped in my car, and drove to town.  After arriving home I found the bucket of Saskatoon berries that I had picked from my Mum's bush the day before.  We have been having problems with birds eating our berries, so as you see in the photo bellow we have put out some "scarecrows" to scare away the birds, and they have been working quite well.

One of the easiest ways to wash berries is to put them in a bucket of water.  The berries float making it easy to scoop them out after they are clean.

Saskatoon Pie

3 cups           -Saskatoon berries
3/4 cup          -sugar
1/4 cup          -flour (or uncooked minute tapioca)
1 tsp            -lemon juice
2                -pastry pie crust

After letting the crusts thaw for fifteen minutes, I placed the bottom crust in the pie plate.  In a bowl I mixed the sugar and flour, then add the Saskatoon berries.  I poured the content of the bowl into the pie crust, then sprinkled the lemon juice on top of the pie.

Before putting my pie in the oven I covered it with the top crust on, and cut slits in the top for steam to release.  The recipe said to bake the pie for 10 min at 425 degrees, then 45 min at 350 degrees.  I forgot to turn the temperature down on the oven, which resulted in the crust being very dry.  The inside was still very good, but it was disappointing that the pie did not turn out perfectly.  Saskatoon pie is my favorite pie, after I pick three more cups of berries I'm gonna try to bake another pie.

Survive Eighteen Years

This isn't a bucket list item...well it should have been.  A few days ago I celebrated my eighteenth birthday!  I now enter a world with far more freedom, and responsibility.  I've never been one to make a big deal about birthdays; I stopped having birthday parties at the age when my Mum stopped organizing them.  Of course this birthday was an exception, it was an important day that marked the transition into adulthood.

I went out for lunch at Boston Pizza with my Mum (if your ever there try the Spicy Perogy Pizza, it's my favorite).  This is where I had my first legal drink!  I ordered a blue martini with my meal, which tasted very good!  That evening I went out with friends to celebrate the significant milestone.  Throughout the day I thought about the last eighteen years, the long journey I took to get where I was now, and the exciting future I have planned.  Now I'm done high school, I'm eighteen, and heading off to university.  Everything is going so fast, it's kind of hard to believe.

P.S. I've been thinking to celebrate my eighteenth that I might go sky diving.  There is a local company, and I've been looking at prices, so I'm deeply considering it!

P.S.S. What do you guys think if I do a few posts every so often like this one, which is not about specific bucket list items?