Oooo, two updates in a row! Y'all are getting spoiled!

So, what I wanted to say last night but was too lazy after my endless recap, is that my Dad is going to be one of the honour guards for the RCMP at the Olympic ceremonies!!! I'm like, so excited by this! I know he's doing the medal ceremonies (and LUCKY DUCK will probably get to hear all the kickass bands!) but I don't know if he'll be involved in the Opening/Closing ceremonies or not. But, he'll be on TV in front of 3 BILLION people!! No pressure Dad! So, I expect you all to pause your DVR's every time you see a Mountie and try to see if you can spot my Dad's cute little head!

I assume that was information I was allowed to share... I never asked! Oh well. Only like 10 people read this anyway and three of those people are members of my immediate family!

So, that brings my Family Olympic Participants to three! Kevin Martin, who is my Gramma's cousin (or something - I can't keep track of how all the Albertans are related to each other) and on the Canadian Men's curling team; Scott, obviously, although I suppose technically they haven't announced the team yet, but his face is on a bus downtown; and Daddykins!

Oh! And my godfather BJ is in charge of the torch!

(And as my Dad said, "If BJ's in charge of the torch, who's in charge of BJ?" Always a good question, and rarely is there a satisfying answer.)

You'd think I'd at least have a ticket to an event or two, but no. Grrr!

I think there's only like 50-something days until it all begins. I'm SO EXCITED PEOPLE!!!!!

Today I watched my mom wrap presents and then totally scared myself watching "Psychic Kids" on A&E. (Spirits were communicating through a radio! I heard them! Aaaah!) At about 7:30, my mom and I drove out to the burbs and watched Neil and Scotty play hockey. It was a good game and Neil and Scotty both almost scored, Neil got an assist and Scotty verbally assaulted the other team BUT didn't get a penalty! (Last time I watchdled them play, Scotty got kicked out. So, improvement!)

They ended up losing 4-3, but it was super close at the end. After the game we went up to the pub and had a late night snack with Neil, Scotty and Barb, who came to the game to visit with my mom and me. Well, mostly my mom since I STILL can't speak. The boys were funny, as usual, and Scotty didn't start a single bar brawl, so the evening was a success!!

Good news everyone! The CBC News podcast is back up and running! I can FINALLY stop bitching about it! I'm sure you're relieved.

So, it turns out I haven't updated ye olde LiveJournal in a really long time... oops! But dude, the end of December is always insanely busy. Let's go event-by-event, here:

Dec 12th - Brenna's Christmas "get together," which wasn't a party because there was only 5 of us, and a cheese platter. It was really fun, though! I got to see Bridget (Brenna's twinnie) and it'd been a really long time since I last saw her. In the meantime, she's been to Australia and sky-dived. I know, right?! Tysen was there also, and Sara, who we all (minus Tysen) went to middle and high school with us, so it was cool! We played MarioKart and Brenna drank eggnog out of a plastic swirly straw. At the end, Sara's boyfriend Angus came, which made me happy because he's hiiiiilarious! I wasn't in bed that night until 2am and I was soo tired. That was also the day I lost my voice. And I haven't gotten it back yet! :(

Dec 13th - The annual Making Spirit's Bright Christmas concert with the Vancouver Men's Choir. As usual, it was wonderful. It truly doesn't feel like Christmas until we see it! Some of the guys in the choir told us that it wouldn't feel right without l'il ol' me in the audience every year, too. ;) And I'm already super psyched for their June concert because it's all BROADWAY! *jazz hands*

Dec 16th - Anaheim Ducks vs Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. Neil rushed over after work to pick me up for the game because my mom had to work. (She was working at the college all last week and then again in January.) We stopped on the way and picked up Neil's friend Emily and then attempted to get to the game on time. Lisa had texted me earlier and told me that Barney and Dustin Bentall were doing the anthems so I really wanted to get there in time! We would've been golden, except the parking lot where we ALWAYS park is no longer a parking lot. That happens way more frequently than it should! So then we had to search for another place to park and ended up pretty far from the arena, but then to compound matters, we walked the long way around and ended up circling BC Place, then GM Place. Gaaaah. By the time we got there, picked up the tickets at Will Call, got up to our seats, the American anthem was just finishing. At least we got to hear the Canadian one. But after all that rushing, the game was really good! The Ducks won, of course, but at the end the Canucks came on and almost scored a couple times, so it was a nail biter! We went downstairs after the game to see Scott, which was good, but he had to leave pretty quickly because they were flying out for Tampa. As we left GM Place for the million mile trek back to the van, it started to POUR rain. Luckily we took the short route back, but I was still SOAKED. Bleck. And then when we got to the van, the rain stopped. Sometimes God really tries my patience.

Dec 18th - Laura arrived for our annual Yuletide visit! That's pretty much all that happened, though. She got here late, so we chatted for a bit and then went to bed, because we had to get up early for....

Dec 19th - White Christmas! The Stanley Theatre has two Christmas shows this year, and one of them was the musical stage production of White Christmas! We got Laura her ticket for her Christmas present (we usually watch the movie with her every year, so this was a twist on a classic) and we took the bus down to Granville for the matinée. It was really good!! I was very impressed! As a group of SUPER FANS of the movie, we all really enjoyed it. I liked the two actors playing the Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye roles, and there was an adorable and talented little 11 year old girl as Susan, who was cute as all get-out! After the show, we went to Earls for dinner, then took the bus back to my hood and went to the video store to rent "It Might Get Loud," this rock documentary on Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. It was awesome. Mom has been whining about seeing it for months, literally, so I'm pleased she'll stop asking me about it now! It also reminded me how much I love Jack White. Now that's how I like my artists: weird.

Dec 20th - Relaxing Movie Day. Laura and I both slept in late, and then lazed around for the rest of the day! First we watched "Across the Universe," to continue with the musical theme of the weekend, and then to cap it all off, we rented "Anvil: The Story of Anvil." When it was over, I said "That was either the saddest thing I've ever seen, or the most uplifting." I still haven't decided. And actually, I didn't "say" that, I had to type it out on my Blackberry, because I still cannot speak. I think I'm getting better, but it's freaking slow process!

Today Laura had to leave in the late afternoon, so we squeezed in a bit more visiting before she headed off to Van Isle for her holidays. Another successful weekend!!!

Okay, whew. That'll have to do for now, this has taken too long to write. Hopefully tomorrow will be quiet enough that I can write some more, because I have other things to say!