Change is a commin' - maybe.

Off to Smithers this weekend. Yep, Aaron has an interview on Monday at 10:30am. There are two positions, a Vice-Principal and a Principal, both at elementary schools. My stomach is in knots. There are so many what ifs... It is wierd how you wish for change for so long but then when it happens you are scared to death - be careful what you wish for seems to fit today.

The last week!

Feeling excited, happy and nervous today. It is the last week of classes and I can't stop smiling - love this feeling! I am getting caught up on my marking so things are starting to come together. I am feeling nervous because Smithers called to check on Aaron's references this morning. His VP told them "you have to meet this guy." The next step will hopefully be an interview. I have wanted to move for a long time - I am so ready for change, but then reality starts to set in. It feels so safe here. What if he gets the job? My mind has been racing all morning. When would we move? Would we buy or rent? What about stuff I have planned for the fall - CSLC in New Brunswick, CKC in Bellevue, BCSLC in Mission? Will the district give us a leave or will we have to quit out right? What about Grandma? What about other family? We would be so far away. I know I am putting the cart before the horse, but that is where my mind is today.

What a fun Friday

We just had our last barbecue of the year. It was a great success. I love this activity that we do. It gets everyone outside, we had our school's R&B band playing and it was generally a great lunch. I love all of these things that signal the end of the year - it just all feels good. Next Wednesday is our annual BYOB - the last B stands for banana. Everyone who brings their own banana gets a free banana split. Those who forget their bananas can buy one for a dollar. Dairy Queen generously donates the dishes and all of the sauces. It is a really great way to spend lunch.

Tomorrow is my scrapbooking day with my friends. We call ourselves The Fraser River Scrappers. It is really fun. I am hoping to get my nieces' graduation scrapbooks finished tomorrow.

Aaron got a call from the Bulkley Valley school district yesterday. He applied for two vice-principal positions in their district, one in Smithers and one in Houston. I hope he at least gets an interview. It would really boost his confidence and give him some much needed interview experience. I am not sure how I will feel if he gets the job. Smithers is about the same size as Hope and Houston is about half the size. Very different climate however - a lot more snow! It would mean that I would probably only have to TOC which would be nice. It will be a tough decision should we have to make it.

Tonight is our FCTA golf and dinner. It is usually a good time. Aaron and I came 2nd or 3rd last year but neither of us have golfed this year so I am not sure how we will do. It is always a fun night - as long as it doesn't rain for the golf part.

2 weeks and counting

Thats right! Only two weeks left of classes, then final exams, then SUMMER!!!!! This means I only see each of my classes 4 or 5 more times. This is such a good feeling. You really have to be a teacher or work in a school to appreciate this feeling.

Went down to Rona and Home Depot yesterday and got the cabinets for my scrap room! I am so excited. Now I just have to put them all together. I didn't get the counter top yet because I want to be sure of the measurements. I also had to special order the two lower drawer cabinets for the desk area and they will take about 2 weeks. Hopefully I can get all this done before I go to Scotland on July 10th.

This weekend was grad. I went to the commencements on Saturday and it was nice despite the fact that some people in this town need a serious lesson in etiquette. Formal ceremony are not words in their vocabulary... obviously. Arden, however, was exceptionally well behaved. I was very proud of her for sitting through the whole two hour ceremony.

Better get some marking done before I lose the euphoria of the end of the year.

20 years!

Today is 20 years since I graduated from high school, 42 years since my mom and dad got married, and 15 years since I graduated with my BA. I always like May 30th. It just sounds like a good day!

We only have about 5 of each class left until the end of the school year. Can I get an "Oh Yeah!" - "Oh Yeah!" Don't get me wrong, I love my job but the end of the year is just the best thing ever! Everything starts to wind down. I have less marking and I get things done around my house.

I finished painting my scrapbook room last night and then got the underlay down for the flooring. I am hoping to lay the floor tonight while Aaron is umpiring. Saturday is grad so I won't be able to do anything then but on Sunday I want to head down to Home Depot and maybe Ikea to look for the cabinetry. I know exactly what I want so hopefully it won't be too hard. Installing it might be interesting but hopefully I can enlist the help of Dave. It will be so nice to get the room done so I can use it again. I have been itching to scrapbook more but with all my supplies in boxes in the family room and spare bedroom, it makes it a little difficult. With my luck, I will just get the room the way I want it and Aaron will get one of the admin. jobs he has applied for. LOL I am going to use orange gerber daisies as accents in the room. I think it will look so cool against the blue.

The kids have been driving me crazy with their cell phones lately! They are texting each other during class and phones are ringing during class time. The saddest part is that most of the calls are coming from parents. What is wrong with these people? I have posted signs outside my class room that say "Cell Phone Free Zone" "Use it, and you WILL lose it!" Not that it seems to be making much of a difference.

3 weeks and counting

That's right folks! Only 3 weeks of classes left and then school is done for another year! Can I get an "Oh Yeah!!!!" Not that I don't love my job, I really do, but there is something so exciting and exhillerating about the end of the school year. After the May long weekend things just seem to move so fast and the light at the end of the tunnel gets really bright!

Tomorrow night, my leadership girls and I are hosting a "Girls' Night Sleepover" - hopefully. Ticket sales haven't gone as well as we had hoped. If we don't sell 25 tickets by the end of lunch today, we are going to postpone the event until next year. We don't want to waste the time of our community members, especially on a Friday night. The sad part is, we have all these great events and activities planned - it will be such a fun night!

Arden has her first sport's day tomorrow, as long as it doesn't rain. I was able to get the morning off so I will get to play Mommy. Look out scrapbookers, this momma is going to take a tonne of photos!

Got some marking done in the last few days so things are starting to look up!

Is fear a factor for you?

We did our annual Fear Factor event this week at school. It was AWESOME!!!!!! We began with 10 contestants - a boy and a girl from each grade - and gradually they were eliminated. The first day was bobbing for bananas in mud with worms in it. The second day involved spinning a wheel with ingredients that then were mixed into a "shake" - head cheese, worms, oysters, jalapeno peppers, etc - the third day was singing in front of the school and today, the final, was a relay. Part of the relay was a slip-n-slide covered with cut up fish, vinegar, oil, ketchup, dog food, beans, etc. It was really!!! gross, but of course the kids loved it. The grade 10 girls won the event. We gave an iPod Nano as the prize so it was totally worth it. It was a great week weather-wise so we were able to do everything outside. Clean up was a bit long, and disgusting today but everyone had a blast. It was a great, and positive way to end the week.

I'm looking forward to painting my craft room this weekend and hopefully putting in the floor next week. It is a four day long weekend so maybe I will actually get some marking done as well.

A sad day.

Today I feel nothing but sadness. It has been a year since my mom died. I was already feeling very blue and then I found out that two of my students lost their mother to cancer last night. Crying...that's all I feel like doing. They are such amazing kids and a great family. My students are very private and I didn't even know that their mom was sick. I lost my father when I was a teenager so I understand how important parents are. One of the kids is graduating this year - and now her mom won't get to see that happen - overwhelming sadness...

Wanted: my voice back

I woke up this morning with no voice. I didn't really feel that bad but now I am starting to feel a little flu-like. Tomorrow is sccrapbooking day with the girls so I don't want to be sick. I really want to get Courtney and Taylor's grad scrapbooks done tomorrow so I can start working on my own scrapbooking again.

Bill didn't show up last night to finish the dry wall in my scrap room. I don't want to get pissy with him because he is doing me a big favour but I wish he would have just called. I tried calling him but he had his phone set to message - I think he was avoiding my call. I really wanted to paint my room this weekend and next week so that I could maybe do the floors and get the cabinets over the May long weekend.

Sunday is Mother's Day. It has been almost a year since Mom died. I really miss her. When good stuff happens - like Arden swimming - I feel like I don't have anyone to call to brag to. This is when I miss her the most. I feel sad.

I need motivation!

Well, it's Wednesday and I am still as overwhelmed as last week. Time to get off my keester and do something about it. My goal for the day is to get one assignment marked for my grade 11's. I think that once I get one thing done I will get the wheels in motion and hopefully be able to keep them going.

I am looking forward to tomorrow - and not just because it's Thursday! My brother is coming to do the last step in drywalling my scrapbook room. That means I might actually be able to paint this weekend! YEAH! Saturday is scrapbook day with the girls and Sunday is Mother's Day but I figure I can probably do the drywall primer on Saturday night if all goes well. I was reading on my friend's blog that she just got the shelves I want from Ikea so I might have to pop by her house and check them out. I would really like to have the room done before school gets out - it may be wishful thinking.

The wedding this past weekend was very interesting - to say the least. First time I have ever heard the pastor say "the wife, as the weaker partner in the marriage..." Yep, I couldn't believe it either. He also read a passage from Corinthian that talks about the man being subservient to God and the woman being subservient to man. I have been to weddings at churches that believe this before but usually they tame it down for a wedding with a mixed audience - not in this case. You could actually see the groom's side of the church stiffen when the pastor was speaking. I told Aaron we have a different Bible at our house - LOL. He had actually gotten stuck on subservient and hadn't heard the weaker part. I know there are groups that believe this but it is just shocking to actually hear it out loud.

The wedding was on Whidbey Island in Washington. It was in Oak Harbour. I would really like to go back to Whidbey. It looks like there are lots of neat places to visit. I even managed to find a scrapbook store that was having an amazing sale for National Scrapbook Day. I even won a prize in their prize draw - that was cool!

Well, best be off to actually get that marking done - I am such a procrastinator!

It's Thursday!

I love Thursdays! It is a beautiful day today and it is starting to feel more like spring/summer every day. We have already cut the lawn twice and I am hoping to tackle the gardens today.

Arden has been taking private swimming lessons for a couple of weeks and she is doing AMAZING! She was so excited when she came home yesterday because she swam the whole length of the pool wearing a life jacket and then swam 10m without the life jacket! I really would like her to feel confident swimming in the lake this summer.

We are off to a wedding in Oak Harbour this weekend. It should be interesting. It is Aaron Silvis, the son of one of Aaron's umpire buddies, Bill, who is getting married. It is a Western themed wedding so we are not too sure what to expect. I love going to weddings but after having been in New York for a week I would really like to be staying home this weekend.

I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. Mostly work related. The sad part is I sit at home at night and watch stupid television instead of getting some marking or planning done. I just keep digging my own holes and then complain about getting out of them. Being a procrastinator really sucks sometimes.

Our dates for going to Great Britain are confirmed. We leave on July the 10th. We didn't get the tour we wanted but it is pretty close. We will be going to Scotland first - Glasgow, Isle of Skye, and Edinburgh, and then down to London. I am disappointed that we won't be going to Stratford or Oxford but that is because there are only 4 kids and me so we have to join another group. It will still be a great experience.

I am going to try really hard to check off some things on my "to do" list in the next couple of days. Maybe then I can feel "whelmed" - LOL

We're back!

New York was AMAZING!!!! We had such a good time. There was so much to see, I can't wait to go back one day. The weather was awesome - I even got a sun burn when we went to the Statue of Liberty island.

While we were there we; visited Rockefeller Centre and went to "The Top of the Rock", Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, World Trade Centre site, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, saw Trump Tower, Park Avenue, Times Square, Broadway, Macy's, Saks, rode the Subway, saw Rent - 10th anniversary of its Broadway opening, and we went to two Yankees games. Not once did I feel afraid or uncomfortable.

The whole trip was awesome. We had some great meals as well. My favourite was the lunch we had at a café in Little Italy. We ate at delis - there are a lot of them - I had an amazing bagel with Nova (Nova Scotia salmon). We also ate hot dogs from a street vendor.

We didn't do a lot of shopping other than for souvenirs which was fine with me. I was more into the experiences. I did buy a couple of purses off the street - designer knock-offs and some great jewelery from a designer named Laila Rowe.

Aaron got lots of Yankees gear. He was in heaven!

I am getting my film developed tonight so I can't wait to see the photos. I mostly took photos without either of us in them. The buildings were so amazing I just couldn't stop taking pictures. I can't wait to scrapbook them!

Beyond Excited!

I have a feeling today is going to be the longest day ever! Aaron and I leave for New York tonight! Our flight isn't until midnight but we are leaving right after school to get to Seattle in time. The Weather Network says that it is supposed to be sunny the whole week in New York. I was so worried that the baseball games would get rained out and that is the main reason for the trip. I think Aaron is really excited too. I am going to try really hard not to get too tense at the airport. I always get a little bitchy at airports, I think it is the stress of traveling and making sure everything works out.

We had a busy weekend getting ready to go. The jungle of a lawn in the backyard had to be cut, the garden had to be weeded, and we had to put out all of the spring cleaning garbage. Spring Clean-up is so funny. The scavengers always take most of it before the town even comes around to pick it up.

Aaron's parents are here right now to take care of Arden for the week. She is having a great time building blocks with Grandpa and going to the park. Mom always brings a bag of gifts that Arden gets to choose from each day - how fun is that?!

It is really starting to feel like school is winding down for another year. It has been really hot the past couple of days so the kids are starting to get that summer feel. It is amazing how everyone perks up when the sun comes out. We are all wearing brighter clothes and everyone seems a little nicer.

Happy Friday!

Yeah!!!! Today is Friday. So far it hasn't been such a bad day. The weather is a little miserable - rainy, windy, stormy - but it keeps the kids focused on school. Good weather too early in the spring is the kiss of death for high schools. Kids 'check out" early as soon as the sun begins to shine on a regular basis.

I decided yesterday that Thursdays are my favourite day of the week. Not the normal "favourite day" kind of day but I really like Thursdays. It could have something to do with good television - Survivor, CSI, Commander in Chief - or it could be that the next day is Friday so it makes me feel happy. Whatever it is, I like Thursdays.

I think I am also addicted to the exclamation point! I tend to use it a lot when writing, especially here or on message boards. When I am excited about something, I really use it!

Today was the final of our Dodgeball Tournament. It went really well. There were lots of kids in the gym watching and the teams seemed to enjoy themselves. The winners liked that they got t-shirts. I am so proud of my first year Leadership students who organized this event. They really did a good job! Sometimes letting them organize something without the older students is less intimidating and they are free to express their ideas.

Off to Chilliwack after school today. Arden needs new "dancing shoes" - her name for dress shoes. And she needs sandals. I would also like to get a few things for the travel journal/scrapbook I am going to do during our trip to New York. I am going to take some supplies with me and do the pages each evening using staples, etc. I don't think I will include photos in this. If it works out then I will create the same thing for myself and my four students before we go to England and Scotland. I read about Ali Edwards doing this and it looked like it would work if you had it set up before you went on the trip. I also want to find an outfit to wear to the theatre in New York. Arden and I will probably hit White Spot as well for dinner as Aaron is not a fan so Arden and I go when he isn't with us.

New York state of mind!

Aaron and I are off to New York next week. To say I'm excited would be an understatement.

It is Aaron's 40th birthday in June and I wanted to do something really special for him. He (and I) don't need any more "stuff" so I thought a trip would be the right choice. Last year I gave him 2 options - although there really was only one obvious choice. I asked him if he would like to go to Whistler for a weekend with 3 buddies for a golfing trip or if he would like to go to New York with me to see the Yankees. He chose the Yankees - which really, I knew he would! I also later found out that this is the last season for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium so it is even better that we are going this year. We are going to see 2 games - vs. Tampa Bay and vs. the Blue Jays. We are also going to see Rent. We are going to be typical tourists as well and go to the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and I'm sure there will be a bit of shopping thrown in as well. I would like to do a carriage ride through Central Park but I'm not sure that is high on Aaron's list of priorities - LOL!

This is a big travel year for me as I am taking students to England and Scotland in July. There are only 4 students going with me and they are great kids so I think it will a wonderful trip. It is through EF, an educational tour company so everything is planned for us. I am really looking forward to the Scotland part of the trip as I have never been there. It will be great to visit some of the places I talk about when teaching Macbeth every year.

Me!

I guess I should show who I am. This is one of the only photos of me that I really like!

April 19, 2006

Well, I have officially jumped on the blog bandwagon. I have never been much of a journaler but always wished I was so perhaps this will be the answer.

Today is my Grandma's 85th birthday. It feels like a big deal because she is all I have left since my mom died last year and my other grandma died at Christmas in 2004. Grandma doesn't have any short term memory but she always knows who I am when I visit so that is all that really matters. I took her a plant with pretty pink flowers.

Arden starts swimming lessons again today. She is having private lessons this time as we would really like her to be able to swim before summer rolls around. She loves the water and Avard will be her instructor and she LOVES! him.

My scrapbooking room is starting to take shape. I am so excited! It will be awesome once it is done. Colin and Bill came and did the drywall this weekend and are coming back on Saturday to sand and mud again. Once that is done it will be time to paint! I think I am going to do the walls a blue colour but quite strong. I really want the room to pop! We are going to put laminate flooring in as well. After the paint and flooring it will be off to Hope Depot or Ikea to see about counters and cupboards. I really am inspired to scrapbook right now and it is a pain in the butt not having the space to do it.



Scrapbooking is my passion! I am constantly thinking about it. I wish I could open a scrapbook store and spend my life being more creative. I love it that much. At least I get to do a bit at school but it is not enough.

Aaron and I are off to New York next week. We are going to celebrate his 40th birthday! Man that sounds old! We are going to see two Yankees games and Rent on Broadway. I am too excited for words. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Not bad for a first post. I think I can get into this blogging thing!

Remember, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm!" Ralph Waldo Emerson