I had to finish up work for a few days and we were in the midst of packing but we still managed a pretty good visit. Matt and Ali went to Elk Island Park for a hike one day and another day I took Ali and Mary to the Art Gallery of Alberta. They just reopened it after making some big changes and it was pretty cool. My favorite part was the Degas sculptures and the Yousuf Karsh exhibit. You could even take your own "Karsh style" picture and email it to yourself. I hate both of the ones taken of me but I think these ones of Ali and Mary are cute. What do you think?
We had lots of laughs and good food and their visit went by too quickly. Hopefully we can get together again soon and things won't be so chaotic! I wouldn't mind going to Thailand again- it's our turn to visit, right?
It might come to a surprise that I have another sister. I spend a lot of time with Steph since she lives nearby but I do have a sister that lives far away. Well, she came to visit us. This was excellent because we went out to eat at a lot of yummy places (oh and it was nice to spend time with her too! Haha!). My heart is through my stomach.
We went to Olive Garden with Dad and Sharron the first night and then to Chili's with Mom the next night. Delicious! I did have to work on Remembrance Day but managed to hang out with Jac a lot afterward. We had some amazing sushi (in a HUGE boat) and then saw The Box (which was disappointing). I was pleased to learn that my non-reading sister has been reading a little because she has a lot of time on her hands at work these days. I immediately lent her three books in hopes that she will continue with this and become hooked on reading. I was able to do it with Steph in the summer and as a result she finished 10 books! I gave Jac a few "sure things"- The Lovely Bones, Midwives and Helpless so hopefully the reading bug will bite her too!
I haven't been really sick but I've felt run down for almost a week now. Sort of like I have a constant sleep deficit even though I'm sleeping a lot. As a result I stayed in most of the weekend. Lucky for me, Mom made some of her world famous chicken noodle soup and some homemade buns to go with it. It was perfect timing! I've got a hard work week coming up so hopefully this will sustain me!
Thanksgiving weekend was fantastic. We went to my Dad's on Saturday and had a massive ham dinner and played a lot of Balderdash. Leah finally got to meet my family (I mean, I've only been with Matt a decade so it was about time). On Sunday we went to the local fire station for a pancake breakfast. It was probably the nicest pancake breakfast I've ever been to since it included eggs, hash browns, bacon and sausage, a fruit and cheese platter, numerous kinds of juices and Tim Horton's coffee. I think Leah was charmed by the small town atmosphere.
After the pancake breakfast we headed over to my Mom's house. She did the turkey meal this year with all of the Ukrainian food favorites. To clarify, we actually aren't Ukrainian, we just like the food and there are a lot of Ukrainian people in our area. As usual, the crowning glory was the pumpkin pie! I'm drooling a little thinking about it.
We played more games at Mom's house and watched some TV. Basically we just relaxed a lot. The next morning she made this amazing cinnamon cake thing and had a bunch of fresh fruit for breakfast. So delicious! How did everyone else spend their Thanksgiving?
Up here in Canada it is Thanksgiving weekend. I was browsing through my massive list of channels (having TV is so weird sometimes) and I found this little gem. I know they have them (with just the fireplace) around Christmas but I didn't realize they did it for other holidays too. Isn't that turkey dangerously close to the fireplace?! 
I wish I could see them more often! I hope that Zeus stays healthy. I was teasing Dad about Venus gaining weight. I wish I had a house so I could have a pet. Aren't they adorable?
I was able to get Friday off of work so I could go to my Dad's house and celebrate his 56th birthday with him. It was a fabulous meal (as always) of BBQ chicken, pork chops, salad, roasted potatoes and fresh buns. We also had the traditional DQ ice cream cake which Sharron added even more Reese Peanut Butter Cups to. Like it wasn't fattening enough already. It was delicious and we all stuffed ourselves. After supper we played Balderdash (which we call Bangladesh after Sharron slipped up and called it that years ago) and it was really hilarious. Some highlights included Foumart (An unsuccessful chain of grocery stores run by Mr. T) and Fingers (A movie about a gang of fingerless pirates who are unable to cut open their lemons and ultimately die of scurvy). Jules won for the first time too so that was nice for him. In case you're not familiar with the rules of Balderdash, they give you a word, movie title, name, etc and you have to make up a fake definition and then hope people choose yours as the correct definition. If you look closely at the picture you will see that we are all idiots and accidentally played from finish to start. Oops!
Friday night we decided to go bowling. Leah was occupied but Steph, Matt and I decided to give it a go. It was a lot of fun and really amusing since it happened to be the bowling alley's 50th birthday. There were a lot of announcements about door prizes (we weren't eligible since we're not league members) and free cake. We had some laughs and kicked Matt's butt. I've always liked bowling. When I was a kid we were involved in league bowling. If I had a regular schedule I would totally look into joining some sort of fun league.
This banner caught my eye at the bowling alley. Apparently five pin bowling is the 4th greatest Canadian invention of all time. I found the list and was a bit surprised that bowling managed to beat out the pacemaker, the electric wheelchair and the zipper. It's fun but does it really change people's lives? Yeah, I don't know about that.
It's Leah!!! She arrived on Tuesday night all safe and sound! She drove to Edmonton from Vancouver all by herself! Brave! So now our apartment is complete! She's been a busy girl- she's already got a job, a bed and a date! Haha! Anyway, I am sure you'll be seeing and hearing more about her soon. Isn't she cute? Matt's family has good genes.
As if having a fridge full of cupcakes wasn't enough, this weekend Steph went home to visit Mom and they did a lot of baking. Because they are awesome and love me they made two of everything. So yesterday I got my tasty care package. I have banana bread, zucchini loaf and rhubarb strawberry cake! I think I will have to start jogging or something or invest in bigger pants. Haha! Leah is going to love living with us!
Wow, look at my awesome new TV that my Mom bought me! Between this and the living room furniture from my Dad and Sharron my apartment is starting to look awesome. Matt is basically in love with the TV and spent a long time telling me about every detail of it. Flat screens are neat! Thanks Mom!!!
After our Korean extravaganza we met up with Stephie, had some dessert (cheesecake, drooool) and noticed that a new comedy club opened up on Whyte. Logically we dropped everything, bought tickets and ended up front row and center. The show was decent although it was a little awkward when one of the comics asked Steph's name and then proceeded to mime sexual acts while shouting her name.
When the show was over we learned that our tickets stubs were good for a free drink at the Chili's next door. We practically ran over there to claim them. We had the most apathetic waiter ever who recommended nothing (when we asked) and didn't care if we just had free drinks. We had spinach and artichoke dip anyway.
After that the night was a bit silly. We moved onto another place, had more drinks, Matt got tired and lame and went home, Steph and I drank a bit more and danced a whole bunch. We ended up eating pizza and hot dogs and talking to this random Korean guy (who was adopted so he doesn't actually speak Korean or anything). It was a lot of fun and I managed to document her first Fat Frank's hot dog. There are a lot of retarded pictures of me over here. I am going to try and branch out a bit so my blog doesn't become dedicated to goofy pictures of me and my sister. Hahah. Maybe I'll be able to throw my other family members in there sometime for variety.
The next morning was a little bit rough- Steph didn't get home until 7 am! But we all managed to get up and going. We picked my stepbrother, Jules, up in Vegreville and I yelled at my other brother who was clearly doing nothing and was just being a selfish ass and refusing to help. Karma's a bitch and he will get his. We got everything from the trailer into the apartment (which is on the 3rd floor! Groan.) in about an hour and we were both so grateful to those that helped us out. Honestly if Jules hadn't come we would have died. Matt and Jules carried so many large, heavy items (often working as a team) and it would have been a nightmare if he hadn't come out. Thank you so much Jules! You really came through when we needed you. Everything was pretty dusty since it had been sitting idly for 3 years. You can see the dust all over my face and boobs in the really unflattering picture of me and Steph. 
We've been in the apartment for a week now and most things are unpacked. It was interesting seeing what we decided to keep. So far we've thrown away or donated almost as much as we've kept. I feel like I'm starting fresh. I think things should be settled by the time Leah comes around.
