Long weekend part deux!

Moving right along to Saturday:

We hopped on our chauffeur service to the downtown area, then walked a little bit to the "Italian Star Deli", which is the top-rated restaurant in the 'Gina according to TripAdvisor. It did not disappoint! For starters, we were served by an adorable, stereotypical little old Italian lady (note: this is in NO way meant to be offensive - she was actually awesome)! S ordered a Hungarian Salami and Prosciutto panini, and K ordered a Chicken panini (she originally asked for Turkey, but they didn't have any... the little old lady then informed her that turkey and chicken "belong to the same family" haha). You can get mild, medium or hot paninis - we both got medium, which means that it has banana peppers on it, along with grated feta cheese, pesto, and mustard. These sandwiches were so huge that we ended up eating only half of it for lunch, and then ate the second half for supper! Pretty great, especially considering that the paninis were relatively inexpensive. 5 SKs out of 5! We took our sandwiches over to the park between Scarth and Lorne (we know street names now! woo!), and ate on a park bench. It was lovely. Next time we go back to the Deli, K wants to get some cannolis!

S's panini! Sooo good!

Before running some quick errands at the mall, we ran in to the Globe theatre box office, to get tickets for "Buddy", the Buddy Holly show. We'll be seeing it on June 9th... very much looking forward to taking in some legitimate theatre in the prairies! Review to come!

Nothing too exciting happened at the mall... except some AMAZING iced tea from David's Tea!!! If you ever want to drink something delicious, go get a "Tropicalia" iced tea (sweetened with guava)... it takes like Pina Colada! SOOOO yummy!!

To show our ever-growing comfort level here in Regina, we decided to walk back towards our mansion (instead of bussing it). Along the way, we stopped at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum for a visit. It was pretty cool! We really liked their exhibits - they had one about dinosaurs, one about native history, one about animals & plants of Saskatchewan. K pretty impressed with the taxidermy: the wolves in particular seemed very lifelike!

The wolves!

K was afraid they were going to start moving and attack us!

A medical prescription written 2600 years ago - kinda cool!

As we continued home, we were able to explore the other side of the Wascana lake, which was absolutely beautiful on the sunny evening. Lots of geese, lovely-smelling trees, families out playing, and several wedding parties getting photos taken!

Lovely foliage!

View of the legislature building from across the lake.

The biggest hill we've encountered in Regina in 3 weeks.....

Side view of the legislature building

Pretty tree full of blossoms!

Long Weekend!!!

Happy Victoria Day! You kinda forget how amazing a long weekend is when you are in school (since you probably have work to do anyway). It's been such a grueling first few weeks, that having this long weekend is a godsend. And who benefits more than anybody from this weekend? You, our loyal followers!

The biggest news of Friday was that we FINALLY FINISHED THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY! We more or less read all three books since we landed here in the 'Gina. It's been hard to talk about the books without giving spoilers so our final thoughts we will be very general: K liked it but found the ending a bit rushed (S agrees with this last point). Overall, what she expected to happen happened (ditto for S). We've been commenting on S's angst expectations throughout our readings. In the end, he thought it could've been just a little more angsty but regardless, the male-on-male angst scene in book 3 took the cake (we both thought it was hilarious and perfect!). We are totally looking forward to taking in a matinee showing of the Hunger Games movie at the ghetto cinema this afternoon. Hopefully it stays pretty true to the first book. Review to come, duh!

Since we didn't want to waste time preparing supper since we had sooooo much reading to do, we decided to order in. It was our first time ordering in, which we were sort of worried about given the SaskTel debacle. Thankfully, the good folks at Houston Pizza are capable of seeing three feet in front of them and pressing glowing yellow buttons! Yah! Before we talk about the pizza, we just want to mention that apparently Regina is the capital of "Family restaurants". While looking for place to order from, we came across no less than 39809869 restaurants of different varieties claiming to be "family restaurants". We wonder if there is some kind of turf war going on here. Like the mob families but with "family restaurants". That would be amazing!

As for the pizza, we didn't have very high hopes (who in their right mind would think Pizza in the middle of the prairies would be good), but it was..... actually awesome! Like seriously, probably the best delivery pizza we've had (and even better than Delissio!). We had a cheese pizza with pineapple. When we first got it, K was worried because there were only a couple of pieces of pineapple on top and she was all like "WHERE'S THE PINEAPPLE?!?!". Luckily, it was all hidden under the glorious, delicious, gooey cheese! 4 and 1/2 SKs out of 5 SKs!

YUMM!

Apparently, it's a secret what time they close!

Speaking of "food", here's the poutine we mentioned in an earlier post... Enough said.

We will have another post shortly about Saturday and Sunday which involved more food, museums, outdoorsy stuff, trivia, etc.
 

another week down...

It's the end of another long, busy week of internship. So busy that we didn't have much time to get out and explore or do much of anything besides work-related stuff...

The main thing we did during our free time was read more of the Hunger Games. We are ALMOST FINISHED!!! Book 3 is over two thirds of the way done! Getting excited for the conclusion! S is still holding out hope that it will be very angsty.

Our big outing this week was a walk half-way around the lake. We are, in fact, two wild and crazy people! We probably would have made it the whole way around if we hadn't gotten stuck at the restaurant and couldn't figure out where the trail went from there. We are also very smart, apparently. But, the lake was very pretty, and we kept getting distracted by all the BABY GEESE!!!!!!!! (or goslings, if we want to get technical) They were SOOOO cute! (pictures to come!)

K made her first "real" trip to North Central on Wednesday. By real we mean that she took the bus both ways, all by herself. She's such a big girl! (and brave to boot!)

Today at lunch, we decided that it was finally time to try the cafeteria POUTINE! Kinda wish we had held off a while longer... or indefinitely, to be more precise. S said it was the worst poutine he'd ever tasted. The "gravy" tasted like chalk. It also didn't have actual cheese curds. K, who doesn't have quite as discriminating a palate as S when it comes to Quebec's favourite dish, found it edible but definitely not tasty. It was about as good as the poutine you could get at K's high school cafeteria. Anyway, we ate with some of the SLPs today, who informed us about some choice Reginese (*coinage*) poutine spots. There'll likely be more poutine-tasting to come!

In other news, there is a leak in the mansion hallway. Hopefully it will be repaired soon, as the stuff dripping into the bucket looks kinda gross. Also, S is not what you would call a "strong swimmer," so the place had better not flood!

That's all for now, folks! We're hoping to do lots of fun things on this LONG WEEKEND! We'll be in touch! :)

Sunny Saturday!

After staying up late into the night making a big dent in book 2 of the Hunger Games, we slept in a bit this morning. Wanting to get some fresh air on this beautiful sunny day in May, we decided to head downtown....

First, we discovered a Farmers' Market! Lots of homemade goodies, plants, crafts, etc. (we managed to get a few yummy samples as we walked). We'll definitely be going back there some day!

Then we went to the Regina Public Library, because S needed to replenish his supply of comic books (for the bathroom). So, we are now proud (albeit temporary) members of the library and we have yet another fancy card to add to our wallet. As S was perusing the graphic novels, K looked around in the teen novels section in the next aisle, and it provided much entertainment (it seems the Hunger Games might end up being a gateway drug for us). The best find of the day: a novel by none other than... wait for it.... Hilary Duff! Hilary f***ing Duff! Bet you never saw that one coming! I mean, she's obviously a great actress and singer... but who knew she was also a successful author?! Wow, she's sooooo multi-talented! (The novel is entitled "Elixir", in case any of you were hoping to run out to your local bookstore immediately.) Anyway, we decided that if it would please our audience, we would read it (after we finish the Hunger Games, of course) and provide commentary and insight into what is no doubt a literary masterpiece. Thoughts???

After our exciting discovery at the library, we headed over to the Cornwall Centre (mall) to run some errands. On our way across the street, we were stopped by some people giving out FREE COOKIES!!! They were DELICIOUS! Bring me another! (*insert Thor voice here*)
While eating lunch in the food court, we did some people-watching and saw the most AMAZING outfit ever: 30-something-year-old man, wearing black cowboy boots, black leather pants, a bright turquoise shirt under a black blazer, a black cowboy hat, and to top it all off, big white plastic sunglasses. We wanted to take a picture, but thought the better of it. We're sure your imaginations can do the trick!

Back at the mansion, K finished reading the rest of the second book of the Hunger Games to S. Two books down, only one to go! We found the end of book 2 somewhat rushed (i.e. too much squeezed into just the last couple of chapters), but we're looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy. We're gonna start book 3 tonight (if K's vocal folds don't give out). S is holding out hope that Katniss and Peeta will end up together.

By the way, you can all sleep soundly tonight knowing that neither S nor K has tuberculosis. Just in case you were worried about that. (We had to get the TB test done this week for the internship, and apparently we're both a-ok!)

Sorry for the lack of posts!!

Hello everyone!

We've made it through our second week of internship... it's been crazy busy and somewhat overwhelming, so please forgive us for not posting all week (though we haven't had much to say anyway, besides complain about how tired we are)! S had to give a presentation last night (and he did a super job!) despite hating presentations with every fiber in his body - so we're particularly tired today. To quote S, "presentations are for weenies!"

At least it's finally the weekend!! We are going to read SO MUCH HUNGER GAMES (book 2)!!!!!! On a related note, S is legitimately disappointed in the lack of teen angst thus far. K agrees that there is less than expected... but there's usually a pretty hilarious angsty paragraph every few chapters or so. (S might be missing some of them because apparently K's voice is a sleep drug for him.) One of the best ones yet, paraphrased: "I know I love Gale... but what kind of love is it?? I don't know! But I can't think about that! I have to start a rebellion! Why do all boys love me?! AHHHGHGHGHHHH woe is me!!!" We are currently debating whether we will go see the movie soon at the regular theatre, or wait till it comes to the cheap cinema near by. Huge life decision, obviously.

On Monday evening, we had an actual "night on the town" (sans Subway)! We ventured out on our chauffeur service to the Bushwakker Brewpub, where Monday night is Jazz night. PLUS, it's wings-and-a-pint night! So, we listened to some nice music while scarfing down hot wings and a HUMUNGOUS pile of fries. Overall, good times - we will definitely be going back.

On our way to Bushwakker, we had a funny experience: as we were getting off the bus, S says "merci" (in his cute anglophone French accent) to the bus driver... apparently you can take the man out of Montreal, but you can't take Montreal out of the man! Needless to say, the bus driver had a good chuckle and so did K.

The next evening, Jazz music came to us at the mansion!! There was some sort of performance in the lobby of the mansion by a group called the Jazz Band-its (best. name. ever.)! Speaking of the mansion, we don't know how we're ever going to go back to not having our own cleaning service. Life's rough.

Tonight, as we ate a healthy balanced meal of perogies (and baby carrots) for supper, we played a bit of Trivial Pursuit that we found in the mansion's library... You know a game is old when the answer to a question is "West" Germany! (FYI, this version of the game was from 1981.)

The weather is supposed to be super nice this weekend, so hopefully we can do some more exploring of our beautiful area (not sarcasm)... maybe we'll actually make it the whole way around the lake.... or, at the very least, read some Hunger Games on a park bench! :p 

More pictures so far....

Just under the H&R Block is our new favorite bakery: BunsMasterBakery. Best. Name. Ever.

Our first supper/evening in the 'Gina: KD and Yahtzee!

The sculpture room at the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

We are awesome!

Paper made out of moose poop. That right there is the quintessential green Canadian product.

Monday night outing at the Bushwakker Brewpub. Wings  + Jazz = good times

We are uber awesome.

Jazz face.

Around the mansion

This is what Regina looks like..... If you are on acid (... or in the Golden Mile Mall)

One of our friendly neighbors inhabiting our backyard

More of our neighbors. They also taught S what ducks look like.

K enjoying the view of "our" lake

S also enjoying the view

Another neighbor. It's kinda hard to see but it's a rabbit. I think he's staked claim to that parking spot.

Yep, that's poop, goose poop

The path to our mansion.

A ominous yet beautiful view from next door

End of the weekend

3 things about our lazy southern Regina Sunday...

1. We finished the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy. Bring on the movie! S was super eager to have K start reading the second one this morning so he could hear about all the building teen angst. It sounds like sarcasm but sadly, it's not.

2. We went all the way to our next door neighbors, the MacKenzie Art Gallery for a look around. It was a nice, free outing. They have some awesome sculptures. And a really cool shop inside that sells, amongst classier things, paper made from moose poop (pictures to come).

3. We discovered a few new things about our mansion. We apparently have our own mail service downstairs (letter size only, pick up at 9:00 am mon through fri). More importantly, we have our own library down the hall, complete with books, board game, movies (including vintage VHS), crossword puzzle books, and magazines!

That's it for now. We hope to have Internet tomorrow. Cross your fingers for us!

Avengers Review!

Before we talk about the movie, a review of the movie theatre itself. We went to one of the two first-run theaters in Regina. The (Cineplex) theatre is located in the Southland mall. At only 9.50 for a Friday night movie, this was a bargain compared to either Montreal or St. John's. The theatre can best be compared to the Plaza Cote Des Neiges one in Montreal (in terms of seating, look, and smell). That being said, we would've watched the film on VHS sitting in cardboard box (i.e S would've dragged K into said box) to see this movie!

On to the movie! It was F****** awesome! Even K really enjoyed it! Then again, Mark Ruffalo (one of K's 257853267 celebrity boyfriends) was in it, enough said. S, while not infatuated with Ruffalo, thought he was the best Bruce Banner/Hulk yet (he had the two funniest moments in the movie). Overall the movie was very funny (not hard to tell Joss Whedon was the man behind it), had perhaps the most amazing action sequence ever, and a perfect culmination of all the individual movies. We are looking forward to rewatching it when it comes to the cheap Golden Mile theatre near our mansion!

P.s. the after credits scene is by far the coolest of all the Marvel movies.. Well if you are a big enough comic nerd like S!

P.s deux: S got a sick collector's cup. He was forced to buy an ungodly amount of iced tea but now he has his very own Thor cup! That was delicious, bring me another!

Stick with us!

We haven't forgotten about the pictures! SaskTel no showed on Friday. Apparently they came and got lost in the mansion (despite the gigantic information on the way in). Sigh. Hopefully we will have our Internet set up by Monday evening.. Unless they get lost in the parking lot :/

The end of the work week...

Soooo we survived week one of twelve of our final internship! Eleven more to go til we are real live SLPs! Woot! Woot! :D

We had another "night out" here in southern Regina on Friday. This time, we walked to the Southland Mall, about 40 minutes away from our mansion. What's in the mall you ask? The movie theatre, of course! It was Avengers day (review to come in another post). Perhaps the most amazing part of our journey there was when we both discovered a gargantuan green spinning cube. We blurted out "DOLLARAMA" at the exact same time! It was so incredibly adorable! Unfortunately, we had to walk past it in order to make it to the movie on time. It took every bit of self control and willpower we had to do this!

After the movie, we bought more expensive groceries using our Safeway club card. Despite the higher prices of nearly all food items here, bread is nearly about half the price (not hard to tell we are in the prairies, where wheat abounds).. Maybe we should go on a jailhouse diet, eh?

Moving on to Saturday, we had a little sleep in. It's amazing to be able to sleep in on the weekend, guilt free. Yah!!!! After brunch, we headed out to the local comic book store (Comic Readers on the "main drag", Albert street) for Free Comic Book Day. S was able to use K to get 5 free books instead of the 3 free books per customer. Yes! We then hit up the Dollarama since we were so excited after finding it last night. Exciting purchases including freezer bags, an umbrella, Tupperware and KD. Finally, we ended our excursion with a trip to yet another grocery store, this time ExtraFoods (it's like Maxi in MTL but with 4 maple leafs of different colors in their logo). This was an exciting discovery because 1) it's familiar to us and 2) it's more reasonably priced. We were actually able to buy chicken breasts without taking out a bank loan! Once back to the mansion, we continued our journey through Pamem: Katniss and Peeta, you crazy kids. This basically means that K read the Hunger Games out loud while S listened and occasionally fell asleep to the sound of her voice. Hopefully finish the book soon and have another movie to review.

In other news, we seem to have a new arch nemesis who takes "our" tv at the end of the hall! We will have to figure out how to deal with this problem before the next episode of "insert food network show here".

A night on the town...

After a long day of cute kids, we decided to add some color to Regina and paint the town red! Of course this meant supper at Subway! Which means, it's time for our first restaurant review! We know what you are all thinking.... OMGWTFTHEYALSOREVIEWRESTAURANTS?!?!?! Amazing!!!

This was the most amazing and delicious subway ever! The workers didn't give a crap, which means they packed on all the toppings!!! The bread was soft and fresh (compared hard crusty ones in downtown Montreal!), but the piece de resistance was... Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it.... PINEAPPLE!!!! (K wants you to know you can also get this topping at some of the St. John's locations). Pineapple makes everything better, even questionable deli meats! Yah!

If that wasn't enough excitement for one night, we then headed to DQ for mini blizzards! Despite the nasty, curl over cramps it gave S ( because his Tummy no like milk products), they were oh so tasty!!

During our restaurant hopping, we were serenaded by lovely auditory stimulation (a real treat for the cochlea if you will) in the form of not only country music but J-Pop (Japanese pop)! This led to a discussion on the possibility of a j-pop/country fusion. J-country anybody?

Unfortunately no quotes of the day today :/ if something tickles our auditory nerves, we will fire up the blogger app ASAP tho!

Humpday

WE HAVE THE FOOD NETWORK!!!! (channel 25 in case you were wondering)

With that out of the way, it was another eventful day in the 'Gina. K made her first trip to North Central. She made it back to the mansion in one piece. Nobody gonna mess wit da K-dawg!!! In all seriousness, K is of the belief it will be a wonderful learning experience!

In other news, we are looking forward to getting more groceries with our SafeWay club card. Our initial order, despite being over 100.00 with no junk, barely made it through half the week :/ hopefully we can maximize our fancy new club membership next time!

In closing, we have a new feature for our posts: quotes of the day overheard in Regina, or as we like to call it, "Giners say the darndest things"

Today's thing: "I just wanted to stick mine in there too while it's still open"

Our prairie mansion...

We just thought we'd give you a description of our accommodations here in Regina (or the 'Gina, as we lovingly call it) after an intense day of initial exploration..

a) it's a mansion with at least 400 rooms and countless bathrooms
b) there's a fitness center to which we have free access
c) there's pool and a gym
d) we have many chefs on staff to provide us with quality sustenance for a small fee
e) we have our own cleaning lady who replaces towels, takes out the trash, etc. as often we need
e) we have not one, but two pianos on site (potentially more in the unexplored wings of our mansion)
f) we have our very own air hockey, shuffleboard, and pool tables (free to use whenever we want)
g) we have a beautiful, majestic lake in our backyard (fully equipped with totem pole) along with beautiful wildlife (full of green poop)
h) FINALLY access to our own washer and dryer (not requiring coins)
i)... AND A DISHWASHER!
j) roomy chauffeur service just outside the mansion's entrance (aka the Regina bus system)
k) the proximity of our mansion to our workplace means a <2 minute commute to work (ie walking down some stairs and a hallway, or if feeling really lazy, taking one of our two personal elevators)

In other news, K ventures out of the mansion and heads to North Central tomorrow.. So stay tuned for all the details!!!