It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll :D

The Painting Job

This is the slideshow of the paint job our house has been undergoing for the last week. Allan, the man doing the job, took this past weekend off, but he's very efficient and he'll probably be done tomorrow or the next day.

On another note: this morning I went for my G2 (again, I know) and passed. Third time's a charm, apparently. Thank goodness I passed.

If you were wondering about the name of this post, it's the title and chorus of a song by AC/DC that I happen to really like. The first verse and chorus lyrics are:

Ridin' down the highway /Goin' to a show /Stop in all the by-ways/ Playin' rock 'n' roll/ Gettin' robbed/Gettin' stoned/ Gettin' beat up/ Broken boned/ Gettin' had/ Gettin' took/ I tell you folks/ It's harder than it looks/ It's a long way to the top/ If you wanna rock 'n' roll/ It's a long way to the top/ If you wanna rock 'n' roll/ If you think it's easy doin' one night stands/ Try playin' in a rock roll band/ It's a long way to the top/ If you wanna rock 'n' roll

The driving part is why I mentioned it.

-Laur

To delicious creatures, great and small

They don't come more delicious than this. So I touched up the picture in Picnik to show you all JUST how gorgeous and yummy she is.

The first picture I received of Erica with her eyes open. Precious.

-Laur

Straight flush

I learned how to play poker from my friend Peter during Earth Hour. I'd say that's quite an accomplishment.
-Laur

Earth Hour

Saturday night from 8 pm to 9 pm is Toronto's Earth Hour. Everyone in the city, and anyone else outside the city who wants to participate, is encouraged to turn off all the lights and electronics in their home (minus the necessary ones like fridges and furnaces and such) and enjoy an hour of very limited electricity use. I know I'm going to participate, I just don't know what I'm going to do.
I told my friend Irina she could come over and we could drink ourselves into a happy stupor by candlelight, but something tells me that's not so healthy. We can't watch TV because that's an electronic device. I wish this was happening in the summer because then I would take a blanket to the park and lay under the stars with some friends and a snack, or I would go down the street to my neighbour's house and roast marshmallows over their fire (which happens to be in the old body of a bbq). But it's cold, so I don't know what to do.
Any ideas?

-Laur

They call me mellow yellow

We're painting the house, and guess what color? If you guessed brown, I'm going to have to disappoint you. The color is called Dorset gold, and it's a lovely warm tone of yellow. My entire main floor will be that color in a few days, with one accent wall in the family room painted Maple Syrup. I'll let you imagine what that particular shade resembles.
Anyways, the house already looks way better than it used to, and I'm so excited for it to be finished. We got new lighting for the kitchen and family room, and as soon as Alan, the man doing the painting, does the ceilings in that half of the main floor, we'll set about installing it.
I'm actually going to have one of those nice houses that I always admire when I go to my friends' houses. How exciting!
Pictures to come, from before and after.

-Laur

Big things on a sad day

On Monday my very close friend Peter's father died suddenly. Peter is only a year older than me, recently graduated from the Shulich School of Business and now an accountant at the prestigious Ernst and Young. His younger sister, ages with Sarah, just started at York. Mr. Albert's death came as quite a shock, and I'm still unsettled, but mostly I feel badly for Peter and his family. The funeral is on Thursday.

But amidst this tragedy, good things are happening, and I don't know how to feel about it. I learned yesterday that I'm going to be FESA's (Faculty of Education Students Association) social director next year, so that's pretty cool. I'll be in charge of organizing fundraising events, socials, and the year-end formal. I haven't been involved at all in the last 4 years of my university career and I'm really looking forward to getting back into it next year.
Also, in terms of my home life, big things are happening. Mom finally decided that it was time to paint, so we hired a painter and he starts on Friday. YAY! Pretty colours on the walls! It's going to make our house look SO much better. And, on top of that, we're getting a new car, a 1999 Chrysler Concorde in beige. Our red Nissan Sentra is from 1990 and is threatening big time to die, so much so that it screams bloody murder every time we start it up, so this couldn't have happened at a better time.
I'm excited for all these things to be happening but at the same time I feel horrible about Peter's loss. I hate being so conflicted.

-Laur

Departure

My flight leaves Toronto at 7:15 am on May 5^th. Gramma, according to her plan, leaves for Toronto on the 13^th.

What an adventure.

 

-Laur

Running over...

On Wednesday March 12th, at 4:48 pm Edmonton time (6:48 pm Toronto time), my second-cousin Erica Kay Bell came squalling into the world, 2 weeks early but welcomed and appreciated nonetheless.

This is the closest I think I'll ever come to being an aunt. I'll be spending my whole summer close to this blond cherub, this tiny gorgeous being with incredibly skinny fingers and a squished face from her quick journey into the world. I'm going to take pictures like a fiend.

My cup runneth over.

-Laur

Approaching

Canada Blooms 2008

Enjoy the slideshow. Mom and I had a lot of fun.

-Laur

10 degrees Celsius to my happiness

The weather, as some of you Torontonians may have noticed, was just delightful today. On Friday as it snowed and blustered outside the bus on my way from school to work I just about cried, longing for the days of frozen precipitation and temperature drops to be over. Today, apparently, I got my wish :D

Next Thursday my mom and I are going to Canada Blooms at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Nothing shrieks SPRING! like Canada Blooms to me, and I'm so glad we're going this year. Last year we didn't go because Mom didn't want to (ergo was too overwhelmed with her newly single life) and I really missed it. Canada Blooms, for those of you who don't know, is a huge flower and garden show that takes place in the middle of March every year in Toronto. It's a multi-faceted show, with landscaping companies, horticultural societies, and big home and garden stores like Home Depot and Rona presenting their best garden and outdoor living designs. The flowers are GORGEOUS and the designs are breathtaking. Since I won't be around to help maintain the garden this summer I wanted to do this with Mom more than ever. And I want to test out my new camera on the flowers, to see if I can hone my photography skills just a little more.

I'll post some of the pictures after the show. For now I have to get back to work on my Filming Literature essay.

Cheers!

-Laur