New Years Eve

Peter and I has such a great New Years Eve. My best ever (probably because the love of my life asked me to marry him but everything else was awesome too!).

We started out by packing some bags and heading to the Palliser Hotel downtown Calgary. We checked in, checked out the room and then went swimming and hot-tubbing. Then we headed back up and got ready for our big night. From the hotel, we caught a cab, surprisingly quick, and headed to the Caesar's Steakhouse, my favorite restaurant. We had a very comical waiter who catered to us wonderfully and a great meal. The restaurant is really cool so if you save your pennies you should check it out! After we were done our meal Peter suggested going for a walk by Prince's Island Park. I love that park and Peter and I never get a chance to go there together so I thought it was very sweet that he suggested that. So we walked around and enjoyed the city view from afar and then Peter asked me to be his wife!

24th Annual Sait Trojans Coca Cola Classic Men's Basketball Tournament

MRC vs. NAIT
83-60

MRC vs. RDC
94-77

MRC vs. SAIT
86-62

MRC won the tournament easily! They played great and were definitely the most skilled and talented team in the tournament. They held on to their #2 ranking in the nation and look forward to the second half of the season and many more wins!

Christmas at the James'

On Thursday, December 22nd we celebrated Christmas at the James' as Andy and Charlotte were leaving for Russia on Sunday afternoon. We had lots of great food and a lot of fun watching the kids and how excited they got opening their gifts.

In General

So, for the month of December Peter has been finishing up the fall semester, writing his last exam yesterday morning. He pretty much has the month off from basketball, other than the occasional practice. And just to let everyone know there is a tournmanet on the 27th, 28th, and 29th of December at SAIT. I'll be more specific later when I find out who they're playing and what times the games are.

And for myself, most of you know I started a new job in October. I'm working for a company called Kobayashi Partners Limited. They specialize in maketing and selling oil & gas companies. It's going quite well, plus it's kinda fun working downtown in the "rat race". Other than dance, i'm not involved in any other sports right now. However, I'm not taking any more dance classes as of February 2006 so maybe I'll join a volleyball league or something like that in the new year.




View from my office one morning.






As usual with the holiday season we're super busy seeing lots of different people and, of course, getting ready for Christmas so we may not get a chance to blog again until after Christmas.

We Wish Everyone a Very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2006.

Splendor Banquet

Last year a friend told me about this volunteer dinner down at the Telus Convention Centre and Peter and I went and had a great time so we decided to do it again this year along with the majority of Peter's basketball team and some of the girls from the women's team.

For some reason a lot of people have never heard about this so I have included the add from the newspaper.

The lineup of volunteers nearly matched the length of the one for people being served as 650 warm-hearted Calgarians turned out to serve a festive feast to the city's less fortunate.
And while giving should be a way of life, Christmas is a particularly special time of year for sharing, said Pastor Phil Nordin of Jubilee Christian Centre, at 458 35 Ave. N.W.
For the past 18 years, the minister, wife Joan and their congregation at the north-side church have helped organize the annual Splendor Banquet, held at the Telus Convention Centre.
"The need continues to grow," Nordin said.
Churches and businesses also took part in serving a turkey dinner with all the trimmings to about 3,500 of the city's poorest residents.
"It's our Christian duty and the responsibility of every Christian to provide and help the poor," Nordin said.
"So I have the greatest respect for groups like the Mustard Seed, CUPS and the Drop-In Centre, who do it every day -- they're the heroes."
Volunteers Dan Schultz and Vicki Naujoks said it brought back memories of past holidays when they were the ones being helped.
"We've been pretty fortunate over the years," Schultz said.
"But we've had to get a hand up over the years at times, so now we can give back."
There for dinner with his wife Margaret Kazias, 42-year-old Calgarian Richard Goodwin said he too hopes someday he can find a good job and be on the serving side at such events.
"It's nice at Christmas time to have nice things like these happen to the homeless," Goodwin said.

Next year I hope to inform more people because the more help they can get the better. And it's really nice to do something for so many people, especially at Christmas. We have to remember that Christmas is not a wonderful time for many people, and serving at the dinner opens your eyes to that. The people are so grateful for a turkey dinner it makes you realize how thankful we should be for all that we have in our lives and not to sweat the small stuff as a lot of people have it a lot worse than we do.

So if anyone is interested next year just let us know and we can give you all the info.

Hockey Game

Last Saturday night Peter and I went to the Calgary vs. Boston hockey game. It was really fun! The tickets were free, however, the catch was that we had to sell 50/50 tickets before the game started, throughout the first period and then during the first intermission. Then we were free to watch the rest of the 2 periods.

I have never sold 50/50 tickets before but it turned out to be so easy. All you have to do is stand there and people come rushing up to you. The interaction and chit-chat with the many, many people was actually quite enjoyable. I wasn't sure what to expect but I actually had a really good time. And when you're that busy the time flyes by. Peter was smart and went down to the lower level where all the special suites are and actually ran into Ralph Klein and Lanny Macdonald. Unfortunately, they didn't buy any tickets.

So next time Peter asks any of you if you want to support his basketball team and help at the game in exchange for 2 periods of free live hockey, I would recommend it. Don't be shy!

Zoo Lights

Okay, sorry for the delay. Things have been so chaotic I haven't even had time to write anything let alone add pictures. But I have some time now so I can fill you in on what Peter and I have been up to.

Two weeks ago, on Saturday night, Peter and I went with my friend, Janelle, and Peter's supportive roommate, Phil, to the Zoo Lights. I have to say they were quite impressive! We went on probably the most ideal night as it was really warm, which made walking around outside a lot more fun. However, if you were chilly, you could always warm up to the many bonfires they had fired up.

What was also pretty cool was that we saw a tiger and some other animals. Does anyone know if all the animals stay here throughout the winter?

So to all that have not been, you should really check out the lights.