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?

122. Learn To Walk In High Heels

After buying my beautiful dress for graduation I knew the next thing to do was buy some fancy shoes.  Since my date was 6.3'' I quickly decided I was going to be wear heels.  It's not that I've never wore heels before, just that these four inch heels are easily the highest I've ever owned. I was unsure of my new shoes when I first tried them on at the store; I imagined one clumsy step resulting in me falling on my face, but I bought them anyways.  Soon after bring them home I added bucket list item 122 to the list, and began practicing.

I started by googling how to walk in high heels, and learned the technique of going heel then toe.  They recommended going gradually through the different heal heights and styles before going to the four inch pump, but I didn't have the shoes, or the time for that.  I began where the heels whenever I was at home.  I'd wear them while studying, cooking, or even watching T.V.  Once when hanging out with one of my friends we had a high heel wearing contest to see who could where their pumps the longest...I won!

Wearing heels to graduation was extremely fun!  It made the occasion feel even more special, because it was the first time I had wore my new shoes out of the house.  I found walking in heels on grass was difficult, because the heels would slip through the dirt; I ended up aerating the grass.  I'm happy to say I never fell once, though my feet did get sore from all the standing, and walking.  Now I'll have to find more excuses to wear my high heels!

54. Learn To Play The Harmonica

So, I'll be honest...I completed this bucket list item a little while ago...well actually a little more then a little while...ok, around two years ago.  I have a few bucket list items that are from my originally bucket list, that I completed before my blog started.  Well I have to catch up sometime, so I was thinking now.

It was the spring of 2010, and I was running around Walmart waiting for my Mum to be done here grocery shopping, when I saw the harmonica for sale with an instruction booklet.  I'm always up for a challenge (like look at that list to the right), so I thought why not, and grabbed the harmonica, and went to the till.  I found the harmonica easy to learn, soon I was playing all the songs in the little beginners book that came with it.  I started translating old clarinet music I had lying around.  I eventually bought the Harmonicas for Dummies book from chapters, but honestly I didn't find it very useful.  The harmonica was a short lived hobby, I soon got bored, and moved on to a new challenge.  It is a very unique instrument, I would recommend anyone who plays an instrument to find one to try.  I learned a lot from my little harmonica, and had a lot of fun with it.

I pulled out my little harmonica today, and remember how I used to play it.  I was nowhere near as good as after I got it all those years ago. After a few minutes of playing with it, and taking a picture, I slid my harmonica back into my past.

89. Explore A Castle

It's been a while since my castle exploring, but I got distracted, and never finished writing about my bucket list items I completed on my trip to Europe.  When in Italy I stopped at a smaller town called Assisi (this is also where I completed 7. Try Gelato).  I had no clue I would get to see a castle, or even get to go in one, it was a pleasant surprise.  My tour guide lead us on a short hike, which took no more then ten minutes to reach the castle.  There was a small fee to enter the castle, but it was definitely worth it.

After paying the fee my friends, and I went exploring.  I kept thinking how this would be the perfect place to play hide and seek.  There were passageways going every where connecting to smaller rooms, and towers. It was quite the workout going up the continuous spiral stair cases to get to the lookout towers, but the view from the tops was incredible.  One of the best parts was going through the small tunnel that connected the castle to another tower; they were dark, and while walking through them it was easy to forget the world that existed outside the castle walls. One day I would love to get the opportunity to visit another castle, probably in different european county.  It would be fun to explore it, and compare it to the castle in Assisi.