Things I have learned so far:

• Static sucks.
• During Canadian winters, it's pretty much the norm to look and feel like a marshmallow. Own it.
• Sometimes the moon looks freaking HUGE when it's rising.
• Canadians are really nice.
• Sunsets here last longer then they do back home.
• Snow is sparkly. And while that doesn't make it ok, it does help a little bit.
• Snow also reflects light like crazy, so when there's a full moon out it's crazy light outside. Like, light enough to make it look like dawn at midnight.
• No matter what people tell you, 0C is NOT warm.
• Never underestimate the power of ice.

I know I've said this before, but Canada is cold.

Really, really cold. And while I'd rather be a little chilly then a little too hot, this is ridiculous.

Learning how to cope with not leaving the house for a whole day has been an interesting process. It's SO cold that I don't even like leaving the front door, as jeans are not the warmest of leg gear and -26C is not the most ideal of circumstances for outdoor enjoyment, lots of reading and tv viewing have ensued.

For those of you who know me, you know I'm not the kind of person who likes to just sit around and do nothing. I have to be doing something, be it knitting, writing, folding, or just something to occupy my hands.

The only problem is that with the tv on all the time (my grandma doesn't like silence) I can't really focus on anything that requires my full attention, because while I can do 2 things at once, I don't like trying to focus on writing a story and having someone else's voice in the back of my head.

On another not, I've yet to build a snowman, and that bothers me.

The snow has either been too cold, too crusty or too light for it to work, and it's starting to make me angry.

I have decided that today since it's "only" -1C, I might give it a shot.

SO the other day my Grandma and I were driving home from Edmonton in the evening, and the rising moon was INCREDIBLE. It has HUGE and orange and super eerie looking, and I looooved it. Unfortunately, Gnome (my small camera) really sucks at night shots and I couldn't capture it. But while we were pulled over on the side of the highway, all of a sudden a big Jeep stops in front of us and backs up really close, and Mama starts banging on the window telling me to get in the car, so I did, and this guy comes out and approaches the car slowly. Mama cracked the window and he just asked if we needed any help. It was so nice!!! A little scary at first (I might have peed a little bit...) but it restored my faith in people, making me realize that not all men who stop on pitch-black highways in the middle of nowhere are there to kidnap you, like they make you believe on Criminal Minds.

Duly noted and good to know.

On Saturday my Grandpa made pancakes for breakfast, and oh man, I'd forgotten how very much I love whole wheat pancakes. And blueberries. If those things weren't so bad for your teeth (they stain them BLUE :/ ) I'd eat them all the time. They're so tasty, it's ridiculous. But then again, so are raspberries. I've only had frozen raspberries since I got here, but they're WAY better than nothing. Also, Uncle K and his wife and their 2 kids, G and Z, came over for dinner.

Hanging out with the munchkins was awesome as always. When it was time for the family to go home, G decided that he wanted to hang out in my room for a few minutes, and we had an impromptu lights show with the little lightsaber thing that he brought. He then informed me that he was going to sleep in my bed tonight, because now that there were things in my room, he didn't think it was so scary.

His dad had to come and get him out. It was great fun.

On Sunday, Mama and I went to church, and again, the people there were really awesome. The pastors son introduced me to a whole bunch of the youth, and as far as I could tell, they were genuinely happy to meet me.

They persuaded me to go to youth that evening, and I'm very glad that I did.

I'm also glad that I'd learned to play the piano, as I ended up doing that too.

You know, I'm always amazed by the little things, and having moved away from home kind of throws everything into focus very sharply.

Like yesterday when we were driving to youth in the evening and the light snow was blowing across the road.

Had I seen something like that in a movie, I would have thought it was just special effects. It looked like liquid fog, and it looked like it was dancing. I was so mesmerized by it while at the same time being repulsed by it, because let's face it, it's still snow.

Today I set up a bunch of stuff needed for going to school this fall, like getting my ASN (Alberta Student Number) and NAITportal set up and figuring out what's going on with the credits that I need.

Things are still not 100% set in stone, but I'm just 1 step closer to getting everything done.

Well, I'm off to go attempt a snowman.

Don't Panic.