The Rasmussens

Mental Health

2011-11-30T21:38:00.005-07:00

Hello all!

I figured it was time for an update or two.

This year of nursing school is packed full of "blocks" or 6-7 week segments where we focus on one population or subject at a time. September and October I was in Senior's health where I was at a Lodge in Bridgeland, Calgary. November and December I am in MENTAL HEALTH!

So far, I am really enjoying mental health. I find mental illnesses really fascinating. The main diagnosis of the people at this centre is schizophrenia. The brain is such a complex organ and can do so many things to a person! For my clinical placement, I am at a community mental health centre where there are lots of interesting characters. For example, I have a resident whom I have to refer to as "Jesus" because he thinks he is the real deal. DOB December 25 and everything. He is a really nice man though and has been fun getting to know.

I also really like this setting because of how closely you can get to know all the residents. I ALMOST know all of their names now and we have 2 1/2 weeks left? Yikes!

One thing I do NOT like about this facility, however, is the nasty smoking that goes on. 70-75% of the residents smoke and have access to a "smoking room" in the centre. This is literally a room with glass windows looking into it from all sides that people go into to have a smoke. It is nasty. Whenever the door opens, it floods the building with cigarette smoke and it's super smelly. My clinical group is doing a presentation about smoking and mental health for our lecture class this coming tuesday and we're discussing the issue that smoking can be in such a facility as this. It will be interesting.

Anyways, wish me luck for the remainder of my placement!

Crazy Summer

2011-08-14T16:55:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since I've updated my blog so I thought I'd just say a little hello and go from there.

This whole summer has been pretty crazy and busy. I've mostly been working at a nursing home in SE Calgary where I've had many great experiences working with senior citizens. It feels nice to know that you can brighten someone's day just by smiling at them or talking to them for a few minutes. Anyways, I've been working there pretty regularly so that keeps me busy.

I've gotten a few things ready for school in september. I applied for student loans (which is a hassle and I still haven't heard back from them yet) and also for a police check which i hope I get back before the nursing faculty gets really mad at me. Anyways, little stuff like that. It will all get done soon I hope.

I was able to go to Utah in July for a few days and visit my sister, Erin, and her new little baby, Ezra. He's pretty darn cute. Looking forward to visiting them in a couple weeks when they come up to Canada for a visit.

Other than that, not a whole lot. Jared's birthday is Tuesday and our anniversary is on August 21. Crazy! I can't believe a year has already gone by. We are going to Edmonton for the weekend so we can relax and have a good time. We got a good deal so that we can spend two nights at a hotel and get tickets to go to the water park at West Edmonton Mall. I'm excited to get away for a while and spend some time with Jared.

Anyways, other than that, life has been good. I'll try to post more.

Steph

How to: Pimp Your Ride

2011-06-09T21:50:00.005-06:00

While running today, I saw some people drive who had some rad ways of "pimping" out their vehicles. Here are a few...

The classic leopard print steering wheel cover

Headlight eyelashes...really??

And the ever-so-lovely Hello Kitty seatcovers.

If I ever decide to pimp my ride, I will definitely include these fine specimens. The end.

Pupusas Tonight!

2011-03-31T14:44:00.003-06:00

This is a Pupusa

Don't ask me what it is but I will be eating it tonight. Looks pretty good, don't you think?

I'm a Little Bit Country

2011-03-29T20:13:00.002-06:00

Ohh Keith Urban... Sometimes when I need a little pick-me-up, I like to listen to a little bit of Keith Urban or other country songs. Despite the twanginess that comes with the territory, they usually are really upbeat and make me happy!! (Well..., minus those country songs that are about your wife and dog dying or something...). Today, I invite you to enlighten your soul with a little Keith Urban (although I know some people who would rather shove nails in their ears, AKA Jared and my dad). Just do it, though. It will totally make you feel better :) P.S. On another happy note, I have a job interview on monday for a healthcare aide position! I hope I get it!

The Job Hunt Begins...

2011-03-12T16:32:00.003-07:00

I've been meaning for weeks to get on the job-hunting bandwagon but I've either been doing homework or doing something else that has been keeping me busy.

Finally, I got Jared to help me with my resume this weekend because it was probably the last thing any employer would want to lay eyes on. After much frustration and time, I finished it!! I sent off about nine online applications today to different places in Calgary to see if I could get a job as either a Nursing Attendant or a Porter.

We'll see how it goes...I've been checking my emails about three times every hour even though I know I'm probably not going to get any responses until at least monday. Sigh...I hate waiting.

Hopefully this will be me sometime soon!

Julian Smith- I'm Reading a Book (Good for a laugh or two)

2011-03-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Jared and I have been watching a lot of random Julien Smith videos on youtube. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite one so far. The expressions that he makes make me laugh so hard!! Let me know what you think.

Family Day (aka Laser Tag Day)

2011-02-25T12:22:00.004-07:00

Family Day is a delightful day, is it not?

This year for Family Day, Jared and I went to Shakers (pretty much a Chuck E Cheese) with a couple from our ward. We felt a little out of place the moment we walked in since everyone appeared to be 10-years-old or younger...

We tried the rock wall first since Jared is a rock climbing buff. He was very glad he didn't decide to bring his climbing shoes or else he felt like he would've looked like a real tool... The wall didn't end up being too difficult (although it was for me and Emily, the wife of the couple we were hanging out with). We couldn't make a fist for about an hour after that. Of course, Jared and Nathan (the husband) had no troubles.

After that, we went for laser tagging. We hoped this would redeem our trip to Shakers since it didn't seem to be too impressive so far. Waiting in line, we realized we were twice the height of all the other people in line and I can't believe that I was once that tiny! We got into the room where we put on our backpacks and grabbed our guns and I realized I was wearing a white sweater...bad idea in a room full of black lights! The little kids decided that they wanted to take us on and "destroy" us so we accepted their challenge. For the first game, I sat in one corner of the room for the entire time because a bunch of kids kept on coming back. Anyways, we ended up defeating them terribly. Is is sad that we were super pumped and excited about this?

We played a couple games after that and we, like before, did a pretty good job at beating them. After the second game, kids began to ask us to be on their team. In the last game, two of our backpacks died and we still ended up beating them pretty bad as you can see by the picture below...

After that, we made a Peters run and then played some games with our upstairs neighbours, Michael and Brenna.

A pretty decent family day I must say.

JULIAN SMITH - Techno Jeep (Original)

2011-02-02T19:44:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted anything in a while and I saw this video by Julien Smith on youtube. Thought it was pretty crazy what people can do with random objects. Posted it. You love it.

I'm Feeling Fashionate Today

2011-01-13T12:53:00.003-07:00

Lately, I've been wanting to find a new fashion for myself. All I ever wear is jeans and a t-shirt or a hoodie. I want to start looking fab!! Money would help me in this situation...maybe I should get a job...

Natalie, my new neice!!

2010-12-18T21:32:00.002-07:00

I got to see my cute little neice for the first time today! She is beautiful and Brian and Sarah are sure lucky to have this little girl :) ain't she perty?

P.S. I think she looks hilarious in the second picture ;)

So Bored That I Made A Video

2010-12-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

As a result of being bored yesterday, I decided to fix up a video that I had taken in April of the missionaries burning their clothes. It probably wasn't the wisest idea to make a fire pit on our concrete slab...we got in trouble for this later from our land lord.

BORED.

2010-12-09T15:16:00.003-07:00

Why is it that I've been wishing for this moment for so long (to be done school and have time to relax) and now suddenly I'm bored. I need something to do! Preferably something Christmasy!

I watched "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" yesterday, one of those old stop-motion movies they made back in the day that I still love...I even started crocheting an afghan that I'm thinking I probably won't finish. I don't really feel like I'm accomplishing anything...at least I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday.

Does anyone have any IDEAS?

Christmas Vacation Project

2010-12-06T22:15:00.003-07:00

Since today was my last day of classes (HOORAY!), I've decided to start up a few projects.

First of all, I want to read books, not textbooks or journal articles, but REAL books. I borrowed a stack from my mom went I went to visit my parents this weekend and I hope to get
a large chunk of them read. Hopefully this will include the 7th Harry Potter since I barely remembered anything from it when I went to see the movie.

Second, I want to make something winter chic...like a hat or a scarf or something. I can either knit or crochet it, the trick is just finding a pattern that I can understand. I usually like to do something while I'm watching movies or tv so I could multi-task and watch all my Christmas movies in the process! Yay!

By the way, if anyone has some patterns that I could use, it would be greatly appreciated. ;)

Third, I want to do nothing. This sounds opposite to everything I just wrote but while I'm not studying or doing homework, I just want to chill and collect my inner Zen. Ahhhhhhh. Can't wait.

Happy Holidays!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

2010-11-29T22:22:00.003-07:00

Our state fair is a great state fair, don't miss it, don't even be late! It's dollars to donuts at our state fair is the best state fair in our state...

Do you ever find a movie that just makes you smile?

I found this movie at HMV on the weekend and I've forgotten how much I love it! My parents have it and I can't remember the last time I watched it so I decided it was probably due time to watch it again. I know it's pretty old and most people won't be familiar with it but if you ever get a chance, it's a must see.

It's a happy day today, folks! :)

What movie makes you happy?

An Ode to Erin

2010-11-22T21:18:00.003-07:00

Despite my mountains of homework, I really didn't feel like doing much tonight. Maybe it was because Jared wasn't feeling well and we were watching more Seinfeld or the fact that it's winter and everyone just gets tired this time of year (at least I do). Anyways, to procrastinate and take up some time, I decided to go on blogger and read some blogs that I haven't read in a while, in particular, my sister, Erin's.

I have always looked up to Erin as I've grown up and I still do. She is always so creative and we always had so much fun when Brian and I were little. She would make me and Brian dress up and we'd film our own movies. One film, called "The Fatty Azzes," I starred as the evil villain stating "heaven help me, I'm a cheese puff." Brian's character "Slim" started losing weight so the "fat club" or whatever it was started getting after him. In the ending scene, Brian was found laying on the ground dead surrounded by potato chips and a knife. Finally, "Who was the killer?" It was Rocky, our dog, of course.

Anyways, getting back to Erin. Erin has always been so clever. Anyone who knows her can vouch for me when I say that she comes up with witty comments and songs on the fly. She was recently my maid of honour for my wedding three months ago and I couldn't have asked for a better one. She helped me do my hair and make-up for the big day and it looked beautiful. She is also always thinking of new little projects or crafts to do whenever she has free time. I love it whenever Erin comes to visit which is rare because she lives all the way in Utah (thanks Darrin, haha just kidding). I love it whenever she, Darrin and Isaiah come to visit and I'm always sad when they leave. Now that she has a son, I'm sure she will pass all her witt and charm on to Isaiah and that he will be just as great.

Thank you for being such a great example to me as I've grown up. I hope you don't think this is too cheesy but I love you and I hope I can be just as great as you are someday.

Love ya, sis!!

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

2010-11-20T19:47:00.004-07:00

Today was a good day...

Jared and I were invited to go tobogganing on a sweet hill near the Foothills Hospital. It was a fun time besides my numb fingers and toes. Near the end, we had 6 people pile onto a tube and we went zooming down the hill...literally!! We had three people lie across the tube then two more lie across them and then one more on top. What a ride...

After the tobogganing, we went to Tubby Dog to "fight" down some delicious hot dogs. I got the A-bomb which is ketchup, mustard, nacho cheese and crunched up potatoe chips piled high! Jared made his own adventurous hot dog...the "suicide dog". He had jalapeno and banana peppers, Frank's hot sauce, and wasabi. Pretty much the hottest hot dog money can buy and somehow he enjoyed it. Our friend Jeff got one wrapped in bacon, deepfried, with ham, ketchup, mustard and a fried egg on top. BUT the best hot dog that they make, in my opinion, is the Cap'ns Dog. This consists of peanut butter, jelly, and Cap'n Crunch cereal. Delish!

Now I will finish the evening by uploading more of my wedding photos, Huzzah!

P.S. I'm conducting the singing for the primary presentation tomorrow. Wish me and my little chillin's (below) good luck!!

P.P.S. Jared just made a blog. Go visit it at http://www.amonkeyinabarrel.blogspot.com/

HAPPY DAY!!

2010-11-19T23:14:00.004-07:00

The wedding photos are finally here!! The ones taken the day before our wedding by Dana Schaffer in Cardston finally came into my possession today!! They look so good! She did fantastic!! They will eventually all get posted on facebook, however, it's taking a long time. I don't think Jared was nearly as excited to see all the photos as I was. I drove all the way to SE Calgary in the crappy snow to pick up the disc of photos from Jonathan and Amanda's. I COULDN'T WAIT, OK? They are grand.

Here's a sneak peak...

Seinfeld on the mind...yada yada yada

2010-11-18T22:28:00.003-07:00

Ahhhhh Seinfeld...a show I could watch forever.

Lately Jared and I have been watching Seinfeld whenever it's on TV. I used to watch it all the time when I got home from school in highschool and it never gets old!! Here are some of my favorite quotes....

"A festivus for the rest of us!"--Frank Costanza

"She had man hands..."--Jerry Seinfeld

"These pretzels are making my thirsty!" Kramer

"Yada yada yada.." Elaine Benes

George: "You have no idea of the magnitude of this thing. If she is allowed to infiltrate this world then George Costanza as you know him ceases to exist. You see, right now I have Relationship George. But there is also Independent George. That's the George you know, the George you grew up with... Movie George, Coffee Shop George, Liar George, Bawdy George."
Jerry: "I love that George."
George: "Me too, and he's dying. If Relationship George walks through this door, he will kill Independent George. A George divided against itself cannot stand!"

Anyways, that's enough about my love for Seinfeld...do any of you have favorite quotes??

The argument...

2010-11-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

This morning, Jared and I had an interesting argument...

We were talking about Jonathan and Amanda's little boy, Trenton, and how he's such a cute little ginger and about Jared's friend, Jeff, who is also a ginger. Then Jared happened to mention that there is such a thing as "Kick a Ginger Day". I tried my hardest to make him promise that if we had a ginger in the future somehow, that he wouldn't kick him/her. He wouldn't do it...even after I nearly choked him. Oh well...boys will be boys...

Oh, P.S. Jared said that if it was a ginger girl, he wouldn't kick her....a likely story.

GINGERS HAVE SOUL!

How Embarrasing...

2010-10-11T20:54:00.003-06:00

This weekend was Thanksgiving so Jared and I went up to Magrath and Cardston to visit with our families. While in Cardston, Jonathan (my bro) and Amanda (my sister-in-law) decided they should mention my blog to Jared. HOW EMBARRASING. At least I didn't post anything TOO ridiculous or out there. Hopefully not at least...

Oh life...

Miss, soon to be Mrs.

2010-08-15T23:09:00.003-06:00

In a little over 5 days, I will be a Mrs!!

I can't believe I am going to be a married woman on saturday! It's sooo close I can almost taste it! It hasn't happened yet, but I'm pretty confident it will be one of the best, if not the best day of my life.

Jared and I haven't known eachother for that long, but already, I feel like I know him so well! We have a ton of fun together as can be seen by this awesome 80's photoshoot pic. Nothing but class, folks.

I took him to one of our family reunions a couple weeks ago (I know, people have told me I'm crazy for taking him to a family reunion before we're actually married. It gives him a chance to run away ;) ) and not surprisingly, he fits in pretty well. Welcome to the crazy family, Jared!

Helping the time pass...with countdowns!

2010-07-12T20:52:00.005-06:00

These days, I feel like there is nothing to blog about! Therefore, I will tell you about all the many countdowns I have that keep me occupied.

1 day until I visit Drumheller and my friends there.

3 days until I go to Calgary and hang out with Jared for a couple days.

11 days until the Olsen family reunion starts and we go camping.

17 days until I go to the temple!

18 days until the Nan Olsen family reunion starts.

25 days until my Bachelorette party in Calgary.

40 DAYS until I get MARRIED!!!

Moving out, Moving in.

2010-06-25T21:50:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is the day that I move from my little place in Calgary to Cardston for the summer. I am sad that I am leaving my roommates, especially without a roommate to replace me and pay rent, and I am also sad that I will be even further from Jared. Sad :( ...

It's not a bad thing though! I will be closer to my family who I haven't seen a lot of since September. That will also make it a lot easier for planning wedding things and it will make me more available to help out when I'm needed. I will hopefully also find a job in Cardston. I haven't been that ambitious about the whole job-search yet and I know I need to get on top of things...FAST! In the meantime, I hope the summer goes by fast so that 57 days will just fly by!

June 21st Can't Come Soon Enough!

2010-06-18T19:15:00.002-06:00

Is June 21st really going to be the first day of SUMMER? I sure hope so! Weather in Calgary has been horrible...except for last weekend when it was incredibly nice out!

Jenna and I soaking up some sun with our cool shades on!

My roomate, Tamara, taking a little nap on the front lawn.

Now, it is still rainy...putting a damper on my mood. But I guess it's not the only damper. Once my spring semester finals are over and the weather gets better, than I truly will be summer lovin'!

I LOVE MY MOM

2010-06-09T22:20:00.004-06:00

For those of you who don't know my mom, all I can say is...you should! My mom is the best mom ever! She is the sweetest lady you will ever meet and by looking at this picture, you can certainly see it. Here are some things I love about my mom:

She always goes out of her way to do something for somebody else.
She always comes up with fun crafts to do (like making earrings or watches).
She's open and a good person to talk to.
She loves her kids and her grandkids like no other!
She doesn't judge.
She will always find something to do with you when you're bored.
She makes buns and other delicious things.
She knows all the alcohol questions when we play Trivial Pursuit ( just kidding! ;)...but seriously haha)
She always has books if you're ever in need of a good read. She loves to read!
She notices the simple things in life.
She has a great laugh.
She is making my bridesmaid dresses and all of my invitations for my wedding in August. Could I ask for a better mom?
SHE IS MY MOM!

Just wanted to let you know, I love you, mom!

Love,

Steph (your baby)

Busy Little Month of May

2010-05-30T18:19:00.002-06:00

I've had a busy little month of May! On May 21st, it was my 19th birthday and I celebrated by having a few friends over for a BBQ and bowling afterwards. I owned the BBQ but I failed at the bowling haha. This past friday, I went to Drumheller to go to my friend's graduation ceremony. It was so good to see them all since I hadn't seen them since Christmas time. The picture above is a picture of me and my friend, Alyssa, as we were waiting for the ceremony to start. I came home from Drumheller on Saturday morning and that evening we had ANOTHER birthday party for my roommate, Anne. We just left the decorations up from my birthday party and it worked out just fine. She invited a "few" people over and our house ended up being a little crowded. It was a lot of fun, though! We were trying to go for a camping theme since we had planned to go to Radium this weekend to go camping. However, the snow kind of screwed that plan up. Instead, we decided to make up for it by building a tent in our basement. Our basement was too small for the tent, so it was a little sad looking. We only kept it up for a day and then took it down. I am so tired today because of the party....I went to bed at 4 and woke up at 7:30...buuuuuh. It was well worth it though! Yay May!

Engagement Photos

2010-05-20T19:32:00.004-06:00

For those of you who don't know yet...AKA are not friends with me on facebook or haven't been on for a while...I am engaged!

My fiancee, Jared, and I got some engagement photos done yesterday by a good friend of mine, Keely. We had some not so good ones, some good ones, and some great ones! Here are a few of my favorites!

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN!!!

Spiderman, anyone?

COUNTDOWN

2010-05-13T22:51:00.002-06:00

Grow Old With You

2010-05-06T20:57:00.004-06:00

THE WEDDING SINGER

My roommate, Tamara, has a best friend that is getting married next month so she decided to do a little diddy for her friend at the reception. She wanted to re-write the lyrics of a song and then serenade the happy couple on the guitar. We were talking about it the other day, and we came up with the idea of "Grow Old With You" from "The Wedding Singer." Such a good movie and such a good song! After not very long, I added a couple more verses to the song and fixed up the verse where it says "So, let me do the dishes in the kitchen sink, Put you to bed if you've had too much to drink,"...not exactly appropriate for an LDS wedding...and Tam figured out some of the tabs to the song on her guitar. It's going to be so fun and I can't wait to hear her perform it! She'll do fantastic!

Patience: I'm going to kill you in your sleep.

2010-05-05T15:13:00.002-06:00

It's interesting, patience.
We just had a lesson on patience in Relief Society on sunday about how we need to be patient and how it doesn't come all at once, yet we need to continue to develop patience everyday.

WELL RIGHT NOW, I AM NOT VERY PATIENT!

I just wish a certain "something" would happen so that I could go public and announce it and not be all secretive...

Plus the event itself would just be nice.

ANYWAYS, that is all.

1st Year Nursing Complete! BAM!

2010-04-27T09:43:00.000-06:00

Aaah...it feels so good to have my last final finished! Now I can relax...kind of. I have spring classes that I'm taking that begin May 4th and I need to find a job ASAP, but I'll take the tiny break that I have. Time to celebrate by taking an un petite nap. Peace out, Mount Royal!

Oh, I love technology!

2010-04-09T21:55:00.000-06:00

Oh, I love technology!
But not as much as you, you see...
But I still love technology,
Always and Forever!

Haha I just realized I could blog from my phone. How convenient! Maybe this means I will blog more! Ahh...the joys of technology.

I'm a slacker...

2010-04-03T23:38:00.000-06:00

I looked at my posts...the last time I've written on here is in December. It is now April. It's official: I am a slacker!

So needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do...I probably won't catch all of it, but I'll do my best!

JANUARY:
A new semester of school in my nursing program! I basically spent the month just getting back into the swing of things with new courses, one of them being a clinical course where I was placed in the Rockyview Hospital on Mondays...from 6:30am-2:30pm! SO EARLY! It's been a great experience though, and I've had many opportunities to learn new things both in nursing, and in communicating with people in general.

FEBRUARY:
February I remember being pretty fun...it's really all a blur right now! For Valentines Day, my roommates and I and some friends of a friend got together and had a Valentine's breakfast spectacular! We made pink, heart-shaped pancakes with fruit and whipped cream and had pink lemonade! I love themed things! Other than that, I can't really remember a lot of what happened...probably nothing too important.

MARCH:
Jam-packed full of awesomeness!
First of all, there were quite a few YSA activities that were really good this month. There was Battle of the Bands at the beginning where people would get together and create bands and then audition with a set-list of about 5 songs. If they made it, they played at the activity and the judges would decide who won. The winners go to the regional talent show in May. Also, there was One-Act-Plays which were also really good. Everyone worked really hard and there was a good turn out. There were some really funny ones.

One other thing that happened this month: I met the boy I'm going to marry.
We met in Institute (yet another reason to attend such activities) and have been dating for a month now. It may seem pretty fast to some, but it just feels like the right thing to do. I had been dating someone not very long before I started dating Jared (the boy I'm going to marry) and I could never picture myself marrying him but with Jared, it's different. I'm completely happy now!

APRIL: I'm in Utah for Conference and visiting Erin and Darrin! My parents drove up the day before I did so when I drove up with my roommates and some friends (about 10 of us in total) I met them at Erin and Darrin's and off we went to St. George to go hiking at Zion National Park and just have a good time! I'll post pictures later!

Christmas Holidays!

2009-12-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas and I'm so sad that the holidays are coming to a close! I've had so much fun this Christmas so far. I've visited my friends in Drumheller, gone home to Cardston for Christmas, went to Vegas for a couple days (details and pictures later once I have a cord to upload all my pictures) and now I'm in Utah at Erin and Darrin's with my family! I kind of feel like a jerk for being so concerned with what my friends are doing and not paying as much attention as I could to my family who I only get to see a few times a year. I'm hoping to pack in all the family time I can now, especially since there's only a few more days until we head back to cold, cold Canada (but to make all you Canadians feel any better, it's pretty dang freezing here too. Vegas was warm, though!). Tonight for New Years, I'll be going to the house of my aunt and uncle, Wilf and Laura, who live not in Utah as well. I'm excited to bring in the new year and see what kind of exciting things will happen this year! So much has happened, and I'm sure so much more will happen as well.

So if I haven't told you before, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My First Race!

2009-12-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

So a while ago, my roommate, Anne, decided to sign us all up for a 5k race. She wanted to get a big group of us to go because it was cheaper for a larger group, and being students, we aim for anything cheap.We signed up for the Salvation Army Santa Shuffle which was to take place on December 5th. So the day finally arrived! Unfortunately, the day before the race, a huge blizzard blew into Calgary and made road conditions extremely crappy. As Anne and her sister were heading to the race, their car got stuck and they weren't able to make it. Luckily for Tamara, Catherine and I, we only got stuck a few times and were able to power through in her Buick. Jenna and her sister showed up in a different vehicle.

We started at around 10:20. We were supposed to start at 10:00am but, as you know, weather conditions were bad and we ended up being a little late. However, we kept on going, I ran ahead to see how well I could do and it ended up that we passed a whole bunch of people (probably because they were walking). But after 5.8km, we all made it to the finish line! I think my time was around 30 minutes (the time clock froze) and Tamara made it about 35 minutes. Jenna and Catherine showed up at around 40 minutes I think. Afterwards, we got free Subway subs and lots of treats. Yay for running!

GLEE!

2009-12-03T00:26:00.000-07:00

So I've been watching this new show on TV lately called "Glee". It's in its first season and so far, it's sooo good! It's basically about this Glee club who are forced to get a new Glee instructor after their original one was fired and how it all works out. I love it because they redo a lot of popular songs, both new and old, but they all still sound original. They have a really talented cast as well. My favorite character, I must say though, is Artie the paraplegic. He's just so hilarious! Plus, he used to be in a boy band called NLT (Not Like Them) so he's a super good dancer and singer. It's ironic though because he's confined to a wheelchair and can't do any actual dancing. Oh man!

Kevin McHale as Artie in Glee

Kevin McHale in NLT (Not Like Them)

I SAW IT!

2009-11-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

Yup, I saw New Moon last night. So good!!! Although the acting was better than the first, some parts were still pretty hilarious. AND OOH JACOB. Can Bella crack her head open in every scene so Jacob can rip off his shirt to stop the bleeding?? I'm pretty sure this movie pushed me way over to the Jacob side of things. Those are just my thoughts though. Think what you may...

Preference!!!

2009-11-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

Last night was Calgary's YSA preference dance. It was tons of fun!

I ended up asking a guy named Eric who was in my ward to go with me. I had never spoken to him before, he was just on a random list of guys who hadn't gotten asked yet. My roommate, Jenna, and I decided to ask someone to preference so we just went and asked them! I was so nervous but it ended up working out really well!

Before preference, a big group of us and our dates hung out at one of their houses and we each were allowed to spend $4 on dinner that we would all combine into a big dinner. After we did that, we drove a short distance away to a park to go ice-blocking. It was so much fun! We tried to make a large train of us to go down the hill, but that ended in disaster haha. But we had a bunch of races, a bunch of wipe-outs (I have the bruises to prove it), and a bunch of dirt-stains all over our clothes. Good times!

Then, we headed back to the same house we were at before to get ready for preference. After we had all gotten ready, we all left in separate cars to get to the chapel. Eric and I carpooled it. When we got there, it was all winter theme (it actually reminded me of the types of high school proms that you always see in the movies) and they had a little photo-booth set up where you could get your pictures taken. The dance ended at 12 and then we all went our separate ways. Oh what a night!

P.S. Thanks for letting me borrow your dress, Erin!

Here are some photos!

A BACKSTREET TRIBUTE TO ANDREW- Love Anne

2009-11-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

So...preference is coming up. My roommate, Anne, asked one of her really good guy friends to come because she knew they'd just have a good time. She still wanted to find some creative way to ask him, though, so she was planning on writing him a funny poem or something. But they went to school together in Grade 6 and danced to a particular Backstreet Boy song so I spruced it up a bit so she could use it to ask him. This is what I do instead of writing an essay!

To the tune of "I want it that way"

A BACKSTREET TRIBUTE TO ANDREW CUCOU
Sung (potentially) by Anne Woznow
Written by Stephanie Olsen

Friday, it's dance time
Won't it be sublime
But we'd be so great
Will you be my pref date?

And we'd be so cool
Kickin it old school
Give it to me straight
Will you be my pref date?

CHORUS:
Tell me why
I'm writing you this lame song
Tell me why
It's taking me so dang long
Tell me why
I really need to concentrate
will you be my pref date

And be go way back
Further than 2 Pac
Check it, or checkmate
Will you be my pref date?

CHORUS

Yes I've been slackin on my temple trips
Yes I know that it's been a while
YEAH
No matter the distance, I'll make it someday
Just give me a little smile!

I fit in my shirts
Your tickles now hurt
Will you, will you, will you, will you...
BE MY PREF DATE

Yeeeaaaahhhh

Ain't nothin but a dance
Just give it a little chance
I hope you appreciate
Will you by my pref date?

Will you be my pref date...???

October, You Sly Devil!

2009-11-07T00:21:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER IS OVER ALREADY? SERIOUSLY??

Besides my mass of schoolwork and lame midterms, life in Calgary has been a lot of fun! There were a lot of fun YSA activities in October. We had an Improv acting night, a pumpkin carving night around Halloween (Tamara, my roommate, and I carved a wicked spider) which had so many cool ideas, and just recently we had a Human Battleship FHE activity!

We also had the privilege to hear a CES Broadcast from Pres. Uchtdorf who gave an awesome talk. He always incorporates good stories in to his talk. He even dissed Shakespeare! Shakespeare!! " 'To be or not to be is not the question.' If I were to rephrase this I would say, 'Knowing that I am a child of God...' ". SO GOOD!

Speaking of being a Child of God...nothing says Child of God like a zombie! With the wondrous Halloween festivities, another roommate of mine, Jenna, and I went on a Zombie walk on 17th Ave in Calgary. The purpose of it was to raise food donations but Jenna and I forgot...oops. But that's ok, we looked pretty gross.

Also, on the day before Halloween, Anne and Jenna (2/3 of my roommates) went to Lethbridge with two other friends to go to a dance since Calgary is lame and decided not to have a Halloween dance this year. It was super lame for the first hour with whole 10 people that were in the gym but it got fun within the last hour or so. The costumes were awesome! Some guy was even dressed up like Inspector Gadget. He had an antennae on his thumb that he could pull out to talk on the phone. He had a retractible arm and a propellor on his hat. AND he walked on stilts the whole night. Talent? I think so.

I dressed up like Cleopatra for Halloween

You can't really see too much of my costume, just mainly that awesome double chin.

Anne dressed up like Medussa...

AND Jenna dressed up like Poison Ivy from Batman. She did an awesome job.

It was a good night!! On the actual day of Halloween, we had the missionaries over, made them carve a pumpkin for us and gave them a crap-load of treats. Nothing say "Return with Honor" like Type 2 Diabetes! Enjoy, Elders!

Brian and Sarah came to Calgary on Halloween to come to an LDS Halloween party at a rented out restaurant. I don't think they really enjoyed themselves too much since it was mainly a dance and Brian's not much of a dancer. I hope they had an OK time though!

But anyways...it's November now...sigh. Here comes the pain!!

Midtermzzz

2009-10-13T10:36:00.001-06:00

One midterm down, one to go...for this week! I just wrote my Bio midterm this morning, not as bad as I thought it would be, but still pretty challenging. I spent all week studying for my Bio midterm that I completely neglected the midterm that I have tomorrow. Yay for university!

Oh yes, and I miss Thanksgiving and turkey time all ready :(

I Climbed a Mountain and Didn't Die

2009-09-27T23:33:00.000-06:00

So... I went home for the weekend (Cardston) to hang out with the rents. On Friday night we went to Lethbridge and did a little bit of shopping. I got a nice new winter coat! And we ate some pretty good Edo...yum. On Saturday, we went to Waterton. We figured it was the last chance we'd get to go this season so we decided to go. We got some lunch and then decided to climb Bear's Hump. It wasn't too bad of a climb but once we were at the top it was EXTREMELY windy. I was afraid for my life a few times, that's for sure. Here is proof that I survived!

THERE! Now you can see how high it is!

PROCRASTINATION STATION!!

2009-09-24T21:39:00.000-06:00

WELL...I still have about a gazillion pages to read for school but...One Tree Hill time with the roommates!! I mean, common, books...or looking at this man?? I'll let you be the judge.

I FEEL OVERWHELMED!

2009-09-22T22:02:00.000-06:00

School is up and running. I have 75 pages of Nursing to read for tomorrow, Bio notes to finish for thursday, an assignment for friday, 2 essays for the beginning of next week, plus whatever reading my intructors decide to pile on me next! So glad I'm going home this weekend to eat real food and sleep in a bed that isn't 6 feet high! And REALLY glad I get to go to Utah in 2 weeks for Conference and stay with Erin.

Can school be over now, please?

TOE PARTY!

2009-09-19T19:30:00.000-06:00

Oh hey, it's been a while!

I just moved into my new place in Marda Loop in Calgary 2 weeks ago and, so far, it's awesome! My roommates are really nice and we are getting along awesome. I have three roommates, Jenna, 24, Anne, 22, and Tamara, 24. Yup, I'm the youngen!

Today, I've been pretty busy. I helped out for the food drive this morning with my YSA ward and had a really good time! Service is an awesome thing. After my roommate and I got home, we studied for a few hours and then...off to a toe party!

A professional nail artist was hired to paint our toenails and she did an amazing job! Are they watermelons or are they toes?? I dunno!

My parents are going to be empty nesters...haha

2009-09-02T23:57:00.000-06:00

SO IT'S OFFICIAL. I'm moving out in 5 days and there's no backing out now...uh oh. This is going to be quite the change since I've never lived on my own before and I'm going to miss my crazy family!! We just had our little family reunion and it was great to have everyone here, although the house feels kinda empty without two little toddlers running into my room at an ungodly hour in the morning and screaming at me...and it's not the same when you're not finding body spray bottles in your pillowcases and sheets (compliments of Darrin I later found out. Thanks!). But it was tons of fun! Now, I have to start preparing to leave for school and live the college life! I sure hope it's all it's cracked up to be, or there's going to be an angry Stephanie rampaging around Calgary.

All I have to say is:

Hello endless hours of studying, goodbye good home-cooking!

CHANGES

2009-07-28T00:07:00.000-06:00

Well...quite a lot has changed in the last couple months! We've moved to Cardston, got "settled" in (there are still boxes everywhere) but it's coming together. Cardston is even smaller than Drumheller so I haven't gotten lost yet! Not even once! I swear that must be a record or something. Our new ward is nice....I'm probably one of the 3 under the age of 80 in Relief Society. But it's nice, we get refridgerator magnets and stuff like that ;). Haha nah, everyone's really nice and welcoming. Brian and Sarah live in Cardston too, so at least I can hang out with them every once in a while to keep myself sane! Sarah and I have started working out and going for runs. I've even done the p90x ab ripper a couple of times....GAAAAA!

So I have a new job now! I am now a proud employee of the Big Scoop icecream shop in Waterton. It's a really popular icecream shop so we're usually really busy...oh but it's worth it! Right now, probably my favorite flavour of icecream is Pralines and Cream, mmmmm. We get some sweet pink shirts to wear and we wear aprons and visors at work. On Sunday, it was really slow for the last 2 hours that we were open so me and two other girls decided to transform our uniforms into superhero costumes! Fun times!!

An Ode to Diplomas

2009-06-18T22:38:00.000-06:00

Well, right now, I'm in the midst of diplomas and I must say, they are taking away my entire life! Lets see...today I had my math diploma and I spent approximately 10 hours studying the day before. Yup...that's how cool I am. Right now, I SHOULD be studying Chem for tomorrow but instead, I'd rather waste my precious time on here, writing this on my comfy bed which will be gone within a matter of weeks :( moving time soon and I must admit, I'm sad to see good ol' smelly Drumheller go. This hole in the ground won't be forgotten! Haha at least my awesome Bio teacher is buying it, though, so I'm not complaining. Oh yes, and as a comemoration to the grad class this year, we planted a memorial tree for Grad '09...may she rest in peace. My Bio teacher is also the CHANGE (Creating a Healthy And New Green Earth) organizer so we planted the tree as a farewell at our old (but being renovated) school while we are located at another. Anyways...that's enough rambling for now.

Graduation~El Grande Marcho

2009-06-02T21:26:00.000-06:00

This is my update for the Grand March part of our graduation in Drumheller. Basically, we walk around a big arena in our suits and pretty dresses for a few hours in front of family and friends. There were lots of really unique dresses, I thought. I didn't see any two that really looked that similar. Everyone looked very stylin'! Especially, my escort, Jake, and I ;) jk. Needless to say, style hurts...REALLY BAD. Not so much fun when you're wearing 2-3 inch heels. It was really fun though. After we walked, we watched a slideshow of each of us growing up and it was so sad to see everyone and knowing we're leaving soon! After about a bazillion pictures outside, the night was over. No more grad! :(

Graduation Day~Ceremony

2009-05-30T15:11:00.000-06:00

WELL, today is my graduation day! I put on my cap and gown, marched across the gym floor...and suffered in the sweltering heat for 2 1/2 hours! It was a good ceremony though, there were lots of good speeches, I'm sure many tears were shed, and many awards were also given out. I was awarded the Music Choral 30 Award and the Harold Brown Scholarship. It was a great achievement and I'm glad I was able to win them.

Then, out in the heat again to get a few shots of us in our attractive caps and gowns and then...HOORAY!! No more graduation ceremonies!

GEOCACHING

2009-05-17T14:13:00.000-06:00

Ok, so for all of you who don't know what geocaching is, it is basically a game or sport I guess when you look on a website and find spefic coordinates which you then enter into a GPS and it takes you to a prize! You can find cash when you're lucky but it's usually just little nick-nacks or fun things.

Last year, me and some friends were exploring in the hills over by the Suspension Bridge in Rosedale (about 10-15 minutes from Drumheller) when we randomly found a plastic tupperware container hidden in a little crevace. It was such a fluke! It turns out, this was a Geocach and had actual coordinates that you could find it at. We looked inside and found a notebook (which had names of people who had previously found it. People from Edmonton had written their names), some random little keychains and cheap toys, and pencils and stickers. The prizes weren't really very impressive but we were all excited that we found a "buried treasure".

SO...yesterday, another friend and I were on a hunt for some more geocaches. She had looked on the internet for some specific spots where they might be and then off we went! We looked underneath the WLD (World's Largest Dinosaur) but we had no luck. There was construction going on and they may have disturbed it. We also looked behind the petstore and on the Nature Trail (we even crawled in some of the bushes) behind my old school but there was no sign of any! :(

Better luck next time!

BUSY BUSY!!

2009-05-13T22:10:00.001-06:00

Well, this past month has been a month of months. I've been in 5 countries this month including Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany for a short period of time but I don't think it really counts, the United States, and, of course, good old Canada. Our graduating class went on a Europe trip on April 10th for 10 days to Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic and it was AMAZING! My favorite place was either Venice, Italy where we did some major knock-off shopping and saw amazing architecture or Innsbruk Austria (the Swiss Alps were breathtaking and the leiderhosen wasn't bad either ;) jk). Unfortunately, I returned from Europe broke...but then it was time to be off to Seattle on the 29th! We went to Seattle on our choir trip this year and had a blast. We went to Kamloops on our first night, then to Chilliwack, and then across the border to the lovely state of Washington. We went to such tourist places as the Space Needle, Pike's Market, and the University of Washington where we participated in a singing clinic and were able to see a musical production called "Sing, Sing" which consisted of Southern Pacific music. It was really good...for the parts I was awake for. I kept nodding off in the first half of the performance, only waking up to clap once a song was done and then...asleep again! Luckily, I was able to keep my perky eyes open for the second half. It didn't help on the way back to the bus, though, when I tooled it on the ground. Graceful, Steph. The Duck Tour was also a fun time. It was a vehicle that could go in both land and water and we were able to see the house that Tom Hank's character stayed in, in Sleepless in Seattle. We also went to the EMP (Experience Music Project) where we made our own rock video and record. Unfortunately, we also had to come home from Seattle, and I had to face my own music. The music of homework and real life. NOW, we are finally performing what could be the most stressful play ever directed in the history of drama. We have had at least 10 people bail or let go because of not showing up but HALLELUJAH, it finally came together! Tonight was our second performance of three. Our last performance is tomorrow and oh, how it is bitter-sweet. I think I'll miss this handsome devil right here -->

I am playing the handsome Captain Smollet. Check out the side burns. Sea wenches are after me and everything. Not sure that's a good thing...

AND speaking of handsome devils, check Dad out.

Anyways, for Mother's Day, I visited mom in Fairmont while she was on vacation with her friend, Joan Emery. Dad was able to come as well and it was actually a pretty good time even though I travelled up there by myself. The hotsprings were divine!! I want some hotsprings within a 1 hour radius STAT.

Well...Chemistry awaits. Either that, or sleep. Sleep seems more appealing at this point.

My Tan Lines

2009-04-01T07:53:00.000-06:00

It's a miracle! I have miraculously become tan!! Except...it wasn't really any act of a miracle, I got a spray tan yesterday!

My face looks a little unnatural and the skin can be a little blotchy during the 24 that I'm not allowed to shower or wash my face (sick), but it looks pretty sweet! I haven't been tan in ages!!

This is just a trial run to see if I should invest in this again come Grad time.

2009-03-29T22:18:00.000-06:00

The countdown is on...and only 12 days until Europe!! YAY!!! :)

This weekend was a pretty fun one! Our grad class hosted a Rock Show out in Nacmine to raise money for grad. The bands they chose were "decent" at best I thought, although I just enjoyed hangin out with my friends and mocking the last band that played. It was a screamo band so I basically pretended to scream like them and almost lost my voice!

Also had a YW sleepover last night and ate so much Easter chocolate, I almost felt like dying. Mini Eggs are SOO good though!! And Cadbury Cream Eggs are the devil in disguise!

Here are some pictures that Erin asked me to take for her. First of all, we just re-did the counter-tops in our kitchen and upstairs bathroom.
THEN, here is a picture of my grad dress!! HAZAAA!

Last, but not least, this picture is for you, Erin!

Midnight at the Suspension Bridge!

2009-03-25T17:43:00.000-06:00

WELL! My friends and I had quite the eventful night last weekend. We left Drumheller on Friday right after school for Red Deer to go pick up one of my friend's friends from Leduc (Ashley's friend, Jeff). After getting back to Drum, the group of us, Kendra, Ashley, Jessi, Sarah, Jeff and I, decided to take a trip to the suspension bridge at about 11-12ish at night. Jeff had never seen it, so we thought it was about time he saw some of the wonders of Drumheller!! (there aren't many)

AND SO...we arrived at the bridge and immediately, everyone starts bringing out their cameras and snapping random pictures, especially Jeff with his massive beast of a camera. Jeff got some "ghost" pictures just beside the suspension bridge. SPOOOKKKYY. After, we actually decided to get on the bridge where we just decided to lie down and chill out. It was too muddy to actually go climbing in the hills so this worked out just fine! THEN on the way home, some cops scared the crap out of me...

ANYWAYS, a fun night!

My Guilty Pleasures

2009-03-19T23:28:00.000-06:00

SOOOO, I've just recently realized that I have a thing for chick flicks these days...not only did I see "He's Just Not that Into You" a week or so ago and couldn't stop smiling for about an hour afterwards, BUT I also must admit that High School Musical 3 is now on my list of favorites...along with Twilight. I'm such a girl. ALSO, for anyone who cares, Twilight is coming out on DVD on the 21st, woooo!!

It's about time!

2009-03-18T16:22:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've written a little spiele about what I've been up to so I thought I should say a little something. My parents just went on a cruise about a week ago and I was left to defend the house. Of course I set up an asortment of traps all around the doors in case any kidnappers or burglars decided to come in! ;)

I must admit, after a few days, I was sure gettin lonely at the house all by myself! I finally reached my breaking point and had to go to the kennel and get my dogs so the house didn't seem so deathly quiet.

Now, I just finished my basketball season. We had Zones last weekend in Three Hills and we placed 6th going into the tournament at 8th place...kinda sucky but apparently it's better than the Sr. Girls team has done in 6 years or so.

AND NOW...I will finish up this little diddy so I can get back to my English research paper....GAA. Does someone else feel like writing a 8-10 page essay on Epilepsy??

2009-02-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

So...HERE GOES! I guess I'll start off with an introduction of myself. My name is Stephanie Olsen, I'm 17 years old, graduating from Highschool this year, and I live in Drumheller, Alberta. In other words, I live in a large hole in the ground that lacks the amount of civilization that a 17-year-old would appreciate. Some of my closest friends in Drumheller include Ashley Marcotte, Sarah Thornton, Jessi Martin, and Kendra Blumhagen. I've also become friends with some other people from Leduc fairly recently. I could mention all the other friends I have, however, I think that would take up too much of this page.

Seeing as how I'm graduating this year, I will let you know a little bit about my future plans. After a little research and deliberation, I've decided to become a Registered Nurse and I will be attending Mount Royal College in Calgary, AB this fall. I'm pretty excited, although I am slightly freaking out at the fact that I will be on my own for the first time. Not looking forward to having to do everything for myself, I can tell you that! I'm hoping to be able to stay in Drumheller and work for the summer so that I can be with my friends for my last summer before college.

Ok, so Drumheller is a pretty boring place if you are not already aware. As this is the case, my friends and I have to make our own fun. Most of blog will probably end up being random things my friends and I end up doing! For example, the picture below depicts the gruesome scene of a gingerbread house gone wrong. In other words, we got bored of trying to build a boring, generic gingerbread house that it ended up just being destroyed in a merciless ocean of horribly made icing and assorted candies. Afterwards, I was assaulted with an icing mustache and sent on my way home...well with 3 other girls that I'm pretty much a taxi for.

Well, hope you enjoyed my first entry and there will soon be more to come!