Welcome to all you Spring searchers!

Hello to all of you finding my blog via a search for "First Day of Spring." Scroll down to see the flower button (not made by me, but by James at Points of Light). Click here to go to the homepage and browse my blog, or here to browse my "best of" posts.

Happy first day of spring! :)

WICKED!

Oh this makes me so happy! Perhaps I'm a little obsessed since seeing the show, fine. But it's soooo good! Go see it if you can!

BUUULLLEEETTTSSS!!!!!

Wow. Those banshee-screaming post titles feel good! :-)

Quiet lil' me here. (Ha!) It's been a while, or so it seems. I've been being a very indecisive blogger. Post something, take it down, lots of ideas, but none of them really coming together into a post, or none of them that I want to talk about here, or something. I think I'm starting to care less about that last one. What the hey. It's my blog. We'll see.

See? Even that isn't terribly coherent. Oh well.

So my apparent lack of with-it-ness this morning means you get bullets. BULLETS! Oh the joy! Oh the glee! Oh the... oh who cares, here goes.

• Iowa. It was SO great to get to see Rachelle and Nathan and their two boys (cutest kids in the whole wide world!). We hung out, played with the kids, ran errands, made meals... well, Rachelle made meals. She wouldn't let me help! She totally pampered me - thanks, chickiepoo! Also, it took me a full 24 hours after leaving to stop swaying when I stood. I kept going, "Oh! Right! I'm not holding a baby anymore. Awww, shoot, I'm not holding a baby anymore!" I want babieeees! Whoah, nelly. Hold your horses there, folks. Not NOW. But definitely one day. Yeah, I can't wait to have kids. As crazy-inducing as they can be, I want a whole minivan full of 'em! Heh. Pictures to come once I can sort through the hundreds that I took. Yes, hundreds.



• Chicago. Yep, I've already talked about it. I'm gonna talk about it some more. First of all, I love that city! I didn't even really see that much of it, but it just left a really good impression. I might try to go back in August. Maybe. And then, of course, there are the one, two, three reasons I went to Chicago in the first place! It's funny, since I've been back at work, everybody's been asking me how the trip went - many with kind of a cautious tone: "So, how did it go with your friends from the internet???" As if, because I met these gals via the web, something MUST have gone wrong or something. No, not everyone asks in that way, but it's amusing when they do. I answer each with a Hillary-enthusiasm-filled, "AWESOME!" or "FANTASTIC!" or "AMAZING!" I think mostly it was just really neat to get the full picture (as full as you can get in a day and a half, anyway) of these ladies. It's one thing to read a stranger's words on the internet, but when you don't know them, you don't know the back stories behind some things (we got a few of those on the weekend!), you can't imagine their tone of voice or their mannerisms (folks who know me often will comment that they can 'hear' me saying the things I'm typing!), and, while sometimes you can get a pretty good guess at what they're like, you really don't know till you meet them. I read these girls' posts slightly differently now that we've spent some time hanging out. And that comment on the pictures from Iowa? Ditto goes here.



• Apparently my wordiness is back. I'm stickin' with the bullets anyway.



• Reunion. What have I gotten myself into? There have been a few rumblings of a grad reunion over the last few months, and two or three people have begun a bit of planning, as far as looking into venues, I think, but I'm not sure if there's been that much that's been done. I wanna go to a reunion, so apparently I took it upon myself to make a facebook group and add as many high school friends as I could to my friends list so we can start to collect contact info for our grad class. The problem is, I do NOT want to organize it. I'll help with contacts, but I'm worried that starting this group, I'll get stuck with a bunch of planning. Eeeep. It's pretty fun to see what people are up to now, though. There's that whole crew of guys from high school who are all still buddies and have all their pics of raging parties and laughing at all the noise violations and cop encounters they've been having .... it's like a time warp! But it's really fun to see who's married, who has kids, who's off doing totally interesting things - a massage therapist in the British Virgin Islands, a mountain guide in the Himalayas, etc. Makes me seem kinda boring. "Well... I went to university. Now I'm a teacher." Maybe I need to put a hiatus on that plan and do some gallivanting of my own! The reunion will be really interesting, I'm looking forward to it (I think!).



• Speaking of teaching... my report cards are due on Monday. Bet ya didn't even know! Last term was T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E! It was the first time I'd done them, and wow, it sent me into a tizzy. First of all, figuring out just what to SAY, and then realizing what I'd done all term was gonna make it really hard to write the reports, and the guesswork and second-guessing myself... it really really brought me down. This term (so far - I still have a long way to go) is like night and day. TOUCH WOOD! I know the kids better, have developed a different system for evaluating, and it just seems easier. Erm, they're still gonna be late, but that's ok. They are not gonna kill me. Yaaay!



• What might kill me, though? These dang lyrics that I can NOT get out of my head. Those are what I've been posting, taking down, posting, taking down. If you read me via a feed reader or caught my site when they were up, well, you saw them. If not, too bad. OK, first of all, music always really impacts me. I love lyrics because of the stories they tell and the emotions they bring up in me. That's probably one of the reasons I like country music, because there's just so many stories and ranges of emotion there (not that there's not in other music, let's not get into an off-topic debate here!). So yeah, music really affects me. And I also remember lyrics fairly well and get songs stuck - and I do mean STUCK - in my head. So I nearly had a fit when I first heard the song last weekend, cause I thought, wow, that totally applies to me. But then, of course, I realized, ok, no song can totally be 100% applicable. There are similarities, or parts of the song that fit, but there's always parts that are like, "Ok, yeah, no, those don't apply." So I looked up the lyrics to calm my crazy-brain. And they ONE HUNDRED PERCENT APPLY. Every single word. And it's depressing. I hate that it brings me down so much.

Heh. And on THAT cheery note, I need to get back to work (ok, ok, I need to GET to work). These reports haven't killed me yet, and I don't intend to let them this time. So that's my little brain dump for the day.

Happy Saturday!

My Visual DNA

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Realization dawns

So THIS is what I've been doing wrong all this time!

Is it over already????

"There she is!!!"

Those were the words that started off my bloggy (yet surprisingly non-bloggy) weekend in Chicago. I was sitting at a table in Union Station waiting for Anne and Jean to arrive when I heard them call out their greeting. There were hugs all round, then we motored over to the L (Chicago's elevated train network) to head to the apartment where Sarah was waiting for us.

From there it was a whirlwind of talking, laughing, walking, more talking, shopping, eating, sighteeing, more talking, pampering, more eating*, and pretty much total and complete awesomeness all weekend long.

* Ladies - did we SERIOUSLY eat that meal at Giordano's? My arteries hurt just thinking about it. But mmmmmmm, was it GOOOOD! At least we didn't have the monkey's meal!

For those of you not in the loop about the crazy monkey, we went to Lincoln Park Zoo and in one of the habitats, there was this one psycho ape who was scraping around at the wall. He walked over to the window eventually and Sarah was like, "Oh! He has a screw! ... Oh, monkey! Don't eat that... screw... OH MY GOSH! HE TOTALLY ATE THAT SCREW!!!!!!" Then the screwball primate - get it? Screwball? haaaa! - proceeded back to the wall, dug up another one, and ATE IT, TOO! Whaaa???

Annnywaaay... it really felt like I've known these gals for so long, even though we only just met. It was such a neat experience! I wasn't really surprised by anyone - each girl was pretty much as I imagined they'd be. Though Anne is kookier and more outgoing than I thought she'd be (which is great!!).

We saw Wicked, I bought some very fun bright green (perhaps inspired by Elphaba?) pointy toed shoes - yeah-HA! - on the Magnificent Mile, and got PEDICURES! In fancy red heated massaging chairs! We had some famous Chicago deep-dish stuffed pizza, had a cab ride that nearly made us pee ourselves - poor Jean, she had the front seat and actually saw everything as it was coming, as well as having the added 'benefit' of hearing all the comments the crazy cabbie made - and I enjoyed (?) being the novel Canadian in the group. Hee hee. It was pretty funny, actually.

There will be more to come from all of us, I'm sure, but for now, here are the posts about the weekend so far...

* Sarah's * Anne's * Jean's * Anne's 2nd post

And by the way? Sarah's baked oatmeal is pretty much the best thing I've ever eaten. YUH-MEEEE!!!!

(and, by the way number two, I just messaged my friend Brad to say that this trip was "so freaking awesome!!!!" and he goes, "one, two, three, four exclamation points. Sarah's rubbing off on you." HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!)

It was SUCH a fabuloso weekend. There are sooo many pictures that will be flying back and forth. I'll let you know when they're all up, but for now, here's just one! (left to right is Anne, Sarah, me, and Jean)

Ladies, "because I know you, I have been changed for good."

Ok, and I can't resist posting this one, too. Mostly cause Sarah's expression CRACKS! ME! UP!

(click either pic to embiggen)

Pre-impressions

RIGHT! I have homework! Good thing my train is now five and a half hours late, I have some extra time. Grrr....

Before meeting up with my three awesome blog friends in Chicago IN LESS THAN 12 HOURS!!!!! we all said that we should post our impressions of one another on our blogs. Yikes. Have it down in writing? Hmm..... oh man, I am SO bad at this kind of thing. OK. Here goes.

Jean - I know her the least, but in my emails back and forth with her and from reading her blog, I would say that she is a really compassionate and empathetic woman. She has a heart to serve others, and has a great sense of adventure (Jean, didn't you do that crazy bike + more race last summer, was it? I was sooo impressed!). Her love for her family comes through loud and clear - they're lucky to have her!

Anne - she's creative, and also an extremely kind and compassionate person. She's got all kinds of great stories - ask her about her froggie friends! - and has a fun sense of humour. She likes to read - her booklist for this year is unbelievable! - but also likes to get out and enjoy the outdoors. She also has a killer sunhat. I'm betting that her and her hubby have some pretty silly times together.

Sarah - probably the most enthusiastic person I have ever... uh... not met. Yet. Her colleagues at work must be worried about her for all the times she falls out of her chair from laughing so hard. ;-) She has a hugely sensitive heart, and is quick to lavish love on other people, whether her friends, her family, her little sister, or even total internet strangers... like me! She's a true girly girl, and I love it! She inspires me, in more ways than one.

Actually, all these ladies inspire me. It's amazing how much I've learned from them and how their encouragement and grace has blessed me. The fact that we are all Christians gives us all something in common and like Anne said, I'm looking forward to getting to know these ladies more in the next two days than I have in the last year and a bit from reading their blogs.

In the words of Sarah, "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY CHICAGO!"

Click the photo to get your own flower.
Happy first day of spring!

Tanning in the Iowan Sun (now with translations, see bottom!)

Before I left, I told my students that I was going to be going to Iowa to visit my very best friend in the whole wide world a waaay down in Iowa. One student piped up with giddy enthusiasm, "OH, Ms Hillary, you're gonna come back soooo dark, trust me!"

Right-o kiddo.

The sun has been out (except for a crazy wind and hail storm that, combined with me being half asleep, reading a book based on the Wizard of Oz, and having crazy dreams, had me convinced I would have to go running for the basement to escape the imminent tornado), but not so much for tanning.

Instead, I've been learning to decipher two-year old speak and helping change explod-o diapers.
Let me give an example (of two-year-old speak, not exploding diapers. This ain't a mommy blog yet! ;) ). See how you do in deciphering them.

"dubuh-ded cackah"
"paypah dah"
"bibud wed dahg"

Mattias has a spray bottle that he likes to go around spritzing everything with. Apparently he likes spritzing himslef in the face, too!

And Keiran is just like a little elf! A cutsie wootsie cuddle pie if ever there was one.

Mattias is extremely fortunate to have such talented entertainers at his every whim. Just look at that chicken dance! We are sooooo HAWT!

A good time is being had by all....
______________
"dubuh-ded cackah" = Farmer Jed's Tractor
"paypah dah" = Paper draw
"bibud wed dahg" = Clifford Red Dog

and I forgot one... "buh-guk sooz"= firetruck shoes (his runners have fire trucks that light up on them). He says lots of other words, too, but these are the fun ones! And he loooooves 'cakahs' and 'buh-guks,' so we hear those a lot! :-)

Happy St Patty's Day!

So I learned today that St Patrick's Day in Chicago is a BIG! DEAL! There's a parade, vendors selling all manner of green everything, lots and lots and lots of Irish pubs, and they dye the river green! Not forest green. Not even emerald green. Bright, near-glowing, radioactive green. Apparently it stays like that for days. I had the morning in the Windy City (and yes, it was wiiiinnndddyyy) for exploring, and I met up with a girl in my hostel who hung ot with me for the morning. We did a walking tour with a guide from the hostel, who we decided to ditch (sorry, but it's St Patty's Day, and you were talking about the how many freight containers come into the city by rail. Borrr-ring.). We battled the hordes of green-clad revellers to see the radioactive river then caught the tail end of the parade before I had to bob and weave my way throught the crowd to make sure I caught my trian.

I was near giddy walking around this morning, cause I'm finally ON HOLIDAYS!!! That, and I really really love arriving in a city and jsut figuring it out. Transit, what to see, where things are. It was grand.

Even more grand is that I'm here in Iowa now with Rachelle and Nathan and two of the cutest little boys in the whole wide world!

So, I'll leave you with warm wishes for a Happy St Patricks Day. I hope you remember at least some of it! ;-)

Uh, really???

In 24 hours I will be in Chicago. What??? ToMORROW??? Really??? I take the train to Iowa on Saturday. But really? Have 24 hours? I. AM. GOING. TO. DIE. I have sooooo much to do. It's 6:42. I'm still at school. Marking, planning for the Monday we get back, filing, cleaning. I go home, and there's packing. And laundry. And dishes.

The biggest thing is that I'm STILL sooo behind on my marking, and reports are D-U-E one week after I get back. GAH! I have to take marking with me. I am so ticked off. I guess that's what the planes, trains, and automobiles are for. ERG.

I'm so excited. But so stressed out. GAAAAH (I'm only here cause I need a quick brain break. I'm back at 'er very soon)

In funnier news, we had the first of two puberty talks at school yesterday. Ah ha ha hahahahaaa! Oh the kids were soooo squeamish. And laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed every time the words pen!s and v@gin@ were mentionned (pardon the weird characters, I don't need any icky searches landing at my blog!). Oh, it was funny.

And of course, we did the anonymous question thing - everybody got a slip of paper and they had to write something, even if it was, "Hello, how are you?" then they all turned them in. Some of the questions were so great...

Why do girls have to have a egg in the you know what?

What if you're going through puebrty and you want to tell youre friend but youre scared of what they might think?

Why do people think about s3x? Why do people do s3x?

How do you know you have pewbertey? [cause it's a disease...]

When do I start to date? [said by the girl who is inseperable with a certain boy in our class!]

I's the movi rated R? [a big part of the presentation was a video. This question was written with intentional bad spelling and fake handwriting]

muhahahahaha [yes, that was actually a comment. Complete with pointy-toothed smiley/frowny faces]

Right. Try to teach long division after the 'puberty talk.' Heh.


OK! Back to work for me! Who needs sleep, right?

I'm half cracked, as you can see

You know something's gotta give when your over-enthusiasm for an elementary school pyjama day - my pj pants, t-shirt, fuzzy pink slippers, and cozy cozy bathrobe are packed and ready to take to school - is sooo much not about doing it 'for the kids' but more about the fact that this may very well be the only way I'll get through today!

Bring on the snugglies!

Everywhere you go, there you are

You know, sometimes I just wish that that wasn't true. Do you ever just get sick of yourself? Sick of the way you do things, sick of hearing your voice. That's a big one this week. All day long, I wish I could just. shut. up. and NOT hear my own voice for once. Sheesh. If I'm sick of it, I'm sure the kids are, too.

Two days left... two days left... two days left...

Who SAYS you can't buy happiness???

"Purse and Boots"(clever photo title thanks to Shelli)

Chop chop!

It was definitely time. I only posted my crazy hair chart, what, two months ago? Well, I finally got gutsy and got a real change - Shorter! Flippier! Lighter! - and, I have to say, I LOVE it!!! It's been a looong time since I've said that about a new haircut! Yay!

Of course, the new bag and boots help, too! (Oh, it was SUCH a big step to get a red bag. I'm a brown or black bag girl. Or rather, I WAS a brown and black bag girl. Now I'm all about the 'pop!')

Hehe, it's a whole new me!

See the 'before' pic

My Bible study don't. want. none. unless you got BOOK, hun

I posted this a long time ago, but it resurfaced over at the Queen of Spain's blog, and it is so classic I had to show it again. I don't know whether to cringe or to laugh...

Oh the goodness of it all

I was in grade 5 when the scandal broke. I was devestated. Gotta blame it on somethin'...



And multiculoured vests with no shirt? Oh the hotness!!!
(hahahahaha!!!)

Oh, and how 'bout this, while I'm at it? It's old skool musical goodness. The special effects blow my MIND.



This song will forever be related in my mind to driving along the winding highway through the rockies on a greyhound bus - one in a convoy of five - full of high school students on their way home from a youth conference in Regina. We played bus bowling, had crazy relays, racing back and forth along the length of the bus, diving over and under the seats (safe, eh?), and played the dating game over the bus's radios. I was bachelorette #2, and I got picked! I'm positive that it was because, when asked what kind of kitchen appliance I'd be, I said I'd be a pepper grinder cause I'm spic-ay! That was most definitely THE coolest answer ever. Heh.

The youth leaders set up a 'date' at the McDonalds in Moose Jaw, complete with a boquet of flowers made from multiple straws in a Mickey-D's cup and shredded napkins for petals. It was lovely, and especially romantic when my date posed for our photo together with chewed up cheeseburger in his opened-wide mouth. Wonder why that relationship never worked out???

But the song. Oh, the song. We were obsessed with it for some reason the whole way home. I doubt we listened to it less than 100 times. We had the best bus driver EVER, cause every time the "BAUM! BAUM!" came on, he'd blast that ol' bus horn in sync with the music. Booyeah.

I was hungry, so I tried to bite her

We did an in-class writing assesment today with my grade 5's . The things they come up with, I tell you. Hilarious. Some of it is downright weird, some brilliant, some boring as all getout. This one cracked me right up, so I thought I'd share (grammar preserved, spelling corrected, it's too much work to spell wrong on purpose!)...

Topic: Imagine you are walking down the hall at your school, and you hear a strange noise coming from your classroom. When you go inside, you discover that the strange noise is coming from a funny-looking animal sitting at your desk. Whrite a story about what happens next.

The weird creature

I walked to the teacher and asked her, "Why is there a creature at my desk?" She talked back to me, but I didn't understand anything. She said, "lablasetolava tqxyzvw!" I was so confused so I went to ask my best friend Sue. I heard over bogvwyzvla then I was so mad. I screamed "OH MY GOD! Quit talk bliberish!" I was so mad I just took a chair and sat down. It shocked me so I took another chair it shocked me. I walked down to the office and I asked for a telephone. [Principal] have me a banana. What do I do with a banana?? I ripped it up and was about to bite it, but I saw wires. So it was a telephone? My bad I put it down and ran. I went home and my mom looked like a hamburger with a elephants trunk. I was hungry so I tried to bite her. She started to yell at I saw by the face. I heard was you little you trying. You said english. Trying lasay falasvetale. NO NOT AGAIN!!! My mom slapped me I woke up it was a daydream. I was so happy it was just a dream.

Spring can't come soon enough

I tell ya, I'm just hanging on by a thread till spring. Something about the newness of it - new starts, new life - I really really need right now. This winter there's been lots of good stuff, yes, but man, there's been a lot that's come at me. I have felt SO weighted down this winter. I don't feel like myself this year at all, and I'm really tired of it. I want 'me' back. I just want this season of suckage to end. Come oooon, spring!

Dancing, dancing, and MORE DANCING!

Oh no, the obsession has not cooled off. Not one bit! Some weekends I go out dancing TWICE - Saturday AND Sunday! It's glorious (though my feet hurt for three days afterwards!). We only have one more class in level three left and then it's on to the next session! Er, which is another level three... Basically, once you get to level three, you stay there. Each session they teach you new things, so it's always new. There is a level four, but that's for super duper serious dancers, or jsut those who are really good and want to learn much fancier stuff - moves, styling, etc. I may think about that at some point, but I'll do level three for a while yet.

But! BUT!! BUT!!!

I think I might start a new dance class, too! We had a mini funk lesson tonight after the swing lesson, and it was SO FUN! Before, I would never have had the... I dunno, the confidence, I guess, to do that. There's so much attitude involved in that, and I really would have felt that it's just not "me" and been really self concious. But that has been changing with doing West Coast Swing, and I've really been enjoying it. I think I may like to funk it up for a bit... get the 'tude going, heh heh! PLUS, it would be so easy to take some of those moves and teach them to my grade 5's. West Coast Swing would be too hard, but funk? Now THAT they can do! Plus the fact that it's called "funk." They'd be all over that.

But now, I must take my tired and aching legs to BED! If they don't give out on me first!

Spring Break!!!

Oh my goodness, I have been BUSTING to talk about this for nearly the entire two weeks I have been away....

I have finally nailed down my spring break plans, and I could not be more exited!!! No tropical vacation or trip to back to Paris for me (which I was looking in to until I remembered that I don't have a MONEY TREE in my backyard!!! I really need to rectify that.) Nope, I'm going to small town Iowa! Ah-WOO-HOO!

My very-bestest-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world (hi Rachelle!) and her hubby live there with their two boys, one who I have yet to meet! He'll be 5 months old when I go down to see him. I am SO looking forward to seeing them! I definitely miss seeing them all the time since they moved down there nearly two years ago... NO! Wait... THREE years ago. Wow. They used to live 8 blocks away from me. I miss them!!!

BUT, that's not all!!! I have met lots of very neat-o people through blogging. Three of those neat-o people are Sarah Cool, Anne, and Jean. Sarah lives in Cincinnati, and Anne and Jean live in Michigan (Ann Arbor? Grand Rapids? Somewhere in that area...) They are each such neat women, and I really enjoy reading their blogs and corresponding with them over email. I've chatted with Anne a bit on messenger, and Sarah and I talk on the phone sometimes, too. They have truly become friends, not just people whose blogs I read.

So, I figured it's about time I meet them!

After spending a few days in Iowa with Rachelle and Nathan, I'm taking the train up to Chicago and meeting up with Jean and Anne and Sarah for a total girl's weekend!!! We're booking a hotel, going to go see a show, and taking in the sights in Chicago!

I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!

I've been telling friends that it's simultaneously the nerdiest yet coolest thing ever! It amazes me how small the world is getting!

So here I sit doing a little excited dance in my chair! I fly out in 18 days!!!

Here's Anne!_____Here's Jean!_____Here's Sarah!

Two weeks

Well, it's been an interesting two weeks. Thank you all for your comments, emails, phone calls, and visits. They have been such an encouragement to me. It always amazes me the care that comes out of the woodwork here in the blogosphere (and even more so in real life!). Thank you for those of you who have been praying for me.

I won't really get into a lot of what was going on with me (and still is, though things are getting better), but suffice it to say that I have been feeling more than a little overwhelmed with work and with a whole bunch of stuff coming at me in my personal life all at once, too. That, paired with just the blah-ness and monotony of February, it got a little much.

I've been up to not a whole lot of exciting stuff the last two weeks*... getting priorities re-established, learning a lot about myself, and trying to develop better habits. I've also learned that I have better friends than I even thought I had (and I already knew they were great!). Thanks especially to Trudy, Bex, Sarah, Brad, and Brian for your extra doses of listening, care, and prayers these past few weeks. A gal couldn't ask for better friends!

So I still have more work than I could possibly do, I'm still working on getting (and keeping!) my priorities straight, working on some character stuff, and I'm still trying to figure out what the heck to do about this lil' ol' heart of mine (in the metaphorical sense... my ACTUAL heart is healthy, as far as I know!).

Blogging will probably be fairly sparse for a while yet, but just thought I'd pop on and say hello. Yes, I'm still here!


* Well, that's not entirely true. I was away last weekend with 6 other friends. We rented a "cabin" (it was gigantic!) right on the water in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island and chilled out there for the weekend. It was glorious. Time spent with good friends, falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the waves, spectacular views, lots of good food and good wine, a few good soaks in the hot tub, long walks on the beach, a crazy dance party, and lots of laughs... I hadn't been that relaxed for a very very long time.

Sometimes you've got to just walk away

So that's what I'm doing.

I hit the breaking point today. I'm not ok.

But I will be. Hopefully sooner than later.

I'm taking some time to make sure I get back on track.
I don't know when I'll be back. Not for at least two weeks.

In the meantime, go snoop in my blogroll - see who I read, head over, enjoy!

This is me, over and out.

The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emphasis mine

OK, OK, OK!!!

Wow. That little 'men's cologne' post sure generated a lot of interest in the comments! Also, when I got home, I had THREE messenger windows open with people asking about it, AND one voicemail. Hokey dinah.

I was going to leave it as an enigma, but I'm afraid of what some of you might do to me if I don't explain myself! haha!

So. Friday after school, I had to call one of my student's parents to just explain a comment I made to her in class about her assignment. Messages have been crossed before, so anytime this same issue comes up, I call the parents to explain the same thing to THEM so that we're clear. I believe it's called covering my a$$. I made my phone call and went back up to my classroom.

So where does the cologne come in, you ask? I noticed it while I was on the phone, but didn't really think anything of it, other than thinking, "Phew! That's STRONG!" But an HOUR later, up in my room and an entire floor and opposite end of the building later, I was still catching whiffs of the cologne on me. From using the telephone.

There's a teacher at my school who kinda bathes in it... though it's never overwhelming when you're talking to him, so I don't know what's up with that. But he's also always on the phone (during non-teaching times), and the phone in the nurse's room and the phone right outside his classroom pretty much permanently smells like his cologne.

So much so that *I* smelled like it an hour after using the same phone.

So there's the story. Sorry it's not juicy! hehe. Or is this just a cover-up...?
(HA! Yeah right)

A breath of fresh air

I went down to Stanley Park today to get down to the beach, to walk, to enjoy the sunshine, to take some pictures, to clear my head a bit. I realized I needed to allow myself the time to just relax and do something I enjoy doing. I need to do way less of what I usually do, which is fret about the work I have to do, and not really do the work and not really relax, either. More work. More play. Less fret. It's a recipe for a happier Hillary. I need to spend more time doing things that make me happy.


"Is it something that makes your life better?"

That's a question a friend asked me a while back, and it's become a really good measure by which to judge whether what I'm doing is worthwhile (not that I remember to use it, but hey, it's a process!).

So let's take a look at today, shall we? It was a beautiful day. Sunny and clear after many days of grey. And, sorry to all you socked-in-by-snow-and-freezing-your-tushies-off folks out there, but it was warm. (I even saw a few folks out in shorts, one guy in sandals! Crazy!) Despite all the downed trees, the park was still, well, Stanley Park. There's a reason it's called the jewel of Vancouver.

It was BUSY today, too. But with the business comes the kids, comes the families, comes the "Give me another underduck, daddy!" and the "Look mommy! A jellyfish!" and the run-skip-and-jumping and the kisses on the tops of toussled-haired heads.

I love watching families playing together.

I love being by the ocean.

I love taking out my camera and just shooting whatever.

I love looking at the incredible, glorious place that I live.

I love hearing God saying, "I love you."

Was it something that made my life better? Absolutely!

Strange but true

I smell like men's cologne.

That is all.

Four

... cause it's easier than seven, but more detailed than three. I snagged this one from Leesepea, pretty much one of the coolest teachers ever. Consider yourself tagged!

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Summer camp counsellor/activity instructor (canoeing, archery, etc. O yes. I've given a six year old a bow and arrow. Fready deaky.)
2. Labourer at a grain elevator (which, one shift, involved suiting up in paper coveralls and industrial air filter mask thingy, hunching over underneath a 4 foot tall platform and scraping out the four inched of rat crap - complete with dead rat - that had been piling up underneath for who konws how long. Cause you really wanted to know that.)
3. Before I had my teaching degree: substitute teacher, private school teacher, bartender/hostess, tutor, babysitter, all at the same time.
4. Maintenance worker at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I chased Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins around the park with a broom once. Oh yeah.

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Amelie
2. Zoolander
3. The Emporer's New Groove (noooo touchy!)
4. The Princess Bride. I really need to buy that movie.

Four places I have lived:
1. North Vancouver, BC
2. Vancouver, BC
3. Mackenzie, BC (a teeny tiny town located here - zoom in to see how out in the boonies it is, whose major attraction is the world's largest tree crusher)
4. Hope, BC (does 9 summers working at camp count?)


Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. King of Queens (mostly cause it's on at the time I'm usually home and crashing after work)
3. ummm...??? wow, I don't watch a lot of TV these days... My Name is Earl
4. um um um.... I really should start watching The Office (right, Sarah?)

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Penticton, BC - we went there nearly every summer growing up
2. Europe! (um, so that's kinda broad: highlights - Paris and the Cinque Terre)
3. Iowa
4. Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia

Four Favorite foods:
1. Thai red curry with chicken and vegetables -yummmm
2. Tortilla Pie with black beans. I should make it for you sometime.
3. Pretty much anything Mexican
4. "Recipe" (Nana's creation. Basically ground beef and gravy with peas, carrots, and corn over 'smashed potatoes.' It's a warm fuzzy memory from childhood. I haven't had Nana's 'recipe' in years. No-one else can make it the same way she does.)
5. Mangoes. Yes, I know that's 5. Mangoes MUST make the list. And Pineapple. Basically, I belong somewhere tropical.

It never ends - an after school tale *updated*

3:00 - Bell rings, students are dismissed

3:03 - I snag the seven kids who I have to talk to after school. I get one down to work - he owes me 15 minutes for wasted class time today.

3:05 - I explain the social studies assignment to the three kids who missed the explanation while they were in band, and the one student who was away all day at a First Nations conference.

3:12 - I determine why S, my extremely academically low and highly HIGHLY distractable student was asked to stay after school after their grammar class. She totally lost focus and did nothing all class. Huh. Quel surprise. She's been driving ME batty the last two weeks with fiddling with stuff in her desk, doodling, talking to her neighbour, and just generally not paying attention. Then when she goes to do her work? "I'm stuck." After school today, I begin by assuring her she's not in trouble with me (or else she'll totally shut down) and we ask what are some of the things that make her lose focus. We check in her desk and determine what things are a distraction and what aren't. We develop strategies and rules for her to help her stay focused. Pencil and eraser on the floor during lessons. Pencil crayons, scissors, pencil sharpener on the bookshelf by my desk for her to get when she needs them. Comic books and toys OUT of her desk. Hands are to be on top of desk at all times. Let's see how tomorrow goes.

3:26 - We finish up and I tell S, "OK, see you tomorrow!" She stands there staring at me. "Can I leave now?" "YES! haha, You're freeee!" I cringe inwardly. She doesn't realize I just said she could go.

3:29 - My friend arrives from her kindergarten class downstairs and we head out for a coffee, walk, and a long overdue hang out session. Mmm... chai latte. Even better was catching up with her. We're in the same building every day, and seem to have said no more than two sentences in a row with to each other for two months!

4:13 - Arrive back in my classroom. Check email, respond to a few, chill out for a few minutes.

4:30 - Make a step by step instruction page and worksheet to try to rescue my students from 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication hell. Photocopy it. Make overheads. Realize I've made a huge boo boo on the last page. Try not to rip all my hair out right then and there. Take apart packages, fix the master, recopy the last page.

5:47 - Make a list of what HAS to be done tonight. Marking for tomorrow. Shopping. Making a lab report page, complete with instructions for each station, observation tables, and follow-up questions.

5:54 - Plan the week's French lessons.

6:12 - Stealthily make my way down to the office. I am supposed to be gone by 6. Not gonna happen. Photocopy French vocabulary packages. Photocopy workbook pages.

6:26 - Head back upstairs to fill in day plan for tomorrow.

6:39 - Gather materials for science lab tomorrow.

6:52 - Write a few post-it notes for students telling them things they need to do right away tomorrow morning (cause I KNOW I'll forget!). Try to remember where the heck they sit. Leave the notes on their desks.

6:58 - Find custodian and tell him I'm leaving. An hour later than I'm supposed to be gone. AGAIN. Make a light comment about "yikes, I'm trying to be out by six, I swear!" Get chewed out by the king of rants. THE. KING. Once he gets on something, he doesn't stop. Ever. But, I can't complain much, cause he usually just lets me be.

7:04 - Get in my car and head to Home Depot.

7:18 - Arrive at Home Depot and wander the isles of the building supply section looking for items of varying surface texture. Find a few things and stop to mentally plan out my friction lab for tomorrow.

7:36 - Am snapped out of my daze by two customer service reps at the paint counter. "Can we help you?" Realize I've been staring absentmindedly into my cart for who knows how long, muttering to myself and counting on my fingers. "Oh! No, thanks. I'm planning a science lab for my students tomorrow. I was just thinking through some stuff. [in an over-enthusiastic voice:]We're learning about FRICTION!" As if they care. Kick myself for looking like a crazylady and sounding like such a dork.

7:48 - Go through checkout and realize I am SO. HUNGRY. No time to cook when I get home, so I apologize profusely to my body for what I'm about to do to it.

7:51 - Drive through the window at McDonalds. At least I got a side salad with my burger? And skipped the pop/sugarwater? But I did get a small fries, I am so weak!!!

8:03 - Arrive home and woof down my meal. The banana, bran buds, and yogurt I had for lunch just wasn't holding out. (Yes, I've succumbed to my school's bran insanity. They've sucked me in.) Check email, read some blogs while I'm eating.

8:19 - Begin this post.

It is now 9:04. I still have to mark a class set of story outlines, make the lab report, and... and... and... oh shoot, there was something else... [checks list] RIGHT. Stamps. Cripes. I've been forgetting those for almost a week now. There's no way I'm going out again tonight.

Mental note: roll up rubber-backed carpet for lab tomorrow. I have to pack a lunch, too, cause I have to work through lunch tomorrow to set up the lab.

Marking, here I come!

... if I don't collapse at my desk first.

*updated* - It's 11:28pm. I give up. No lab report yet. I suppose I can get up early... or make them write it out themselves. Now THAT'S a recipe for a gong show. Stupid story plans aren't finished either. A friend called shortly after posting, I talked to him for about half an hour, then decided my dishes really needed doing and my brain really needed a break from school stuff. Now here I am staring blankly at my pile'o'marking and my brain is rebelling. Or sleeping. My vote is with the latter. Methinks I'll make my body catch up with my brian.

*updated again* - 6:17am. *YAWN* OK. Lab report. Here we go.

*final update* - 7:56am. Lab report printing. Holy SMOKES, I've got to GO!

How to make your teacher misty-eyed

I knew they were planning something. Ten year-olds have a hard time containing their excitement, and still seem to believe that if a person can't SEE you, they can't hear you, either. All week I'd been hearing comments like, "Friday is going to be the best day ever!" quickly followed by "Shhh! Don't tell her that!!!" and "Miss Hillary, you're going to be so surprised!" again follwed by, "Shhhh!!!!" Yesterday at lunch, I was walking from my class to the staffroom and passed some of my students working at a table in the hallway. I was no more than six feet past them when I heard, "Oh my gosh, she jsut walked past!" "Do you think she saw?" "I can't believe she jsut walked by!" "We need to go hide this stuff!" I tried to keep my body rigid to mask the fully body shakes that surely would have accomapnied the laughter that was pouring out of me, albeit silently.

I figured they were making me a birthday card and might be drawing a happy birthday sign on the blackboard or something. Nothing could have prepared me for what I walked into today...

My plan was to arrive a little early and 'conveniently' leave the classroom door open and go do some prep elsewhere so the kids could do whatever. BUT, I slept a little late and had a few early phone calls from friends and family, so I didn't end up getting to school till about 20 minutes before the bell.

I didn't even have the car door closed when I heard one of my students calling to me from accross the street and in the playground, "Miss Hillary, I need help with my socials! I didn't get it."

Oh brother.

"Ok, M, let's let me get into the school first, ok? I'll meet you up in the classroom." Always on duty, apparently.

There must have been a memo or something, because EVERYONE knew it was my birthday today. I tell you, I couldn't round any corner without well wishes from students and staff alike. It was so sweet!

As I approached the stairs to my room, I heard whispers of, "Here comes Miss Hillary!" "Sh! She's COMING!" There were a few kids waiting outside my door, which was decorated with balloons and a great big sign wishing me happy birthday. Aw!

But that was nothing compared to what awaited me when I walked in. As I opened my door, I hear a voice from inside my room counting down.

3... 2... 1...

As I walked in, kids from both grade 5 classes came pouring out of the cloakroom yelling SURPRISE!!! The room was covered in balloons, streamers, and all kinds of twisty balloon animals and shapes. I was shocked! The kids were BUSTING with exitement, all rallying around me with birthday wishes and stories of how they had pulled this all together. Apparently while they've been in grammar thislast week with Mme M, one of the other grade 5 teachers, they'd been doing a crash course in party planning. There were about 20 kids who had been at school since SEVEN THIRTY in the morning setting up. That's over an hour before school starts. I was blown away.

Even M, who accosted me for help with socials, was in on it. "Miss Hillary, I was a decoy! I had to stall you! Didn't I do a good job???" Laughing, I told him, "Yes! You did! I was WONDERING what so so ipmortant that you couldn't even wait till I was out of my car! ;-) "

Wading through the kids, I got to my desk to see it piled with gifts and cards. I was quickly given strict instructions not to go down to the office. Oookay. I asked a group of girls if I could go to the staff room to put away my soup. I was granted permission, so long as they could follow me, "so you don't try any tricky business!"

So down the hallway I went, six ten and eleven year old girls in hot pursuit. "We like stalking people!" "Well you sure are good at it!" I decided that if they were going to follow me, they needed to do something silly. So off I went doing a goofy Hillary dance and then some good ol' disco moves. They fell into line perfectly!

After the bell rang, another staff member told me that the Vice wanted to talk to me, and don't worry, she'd watch my class. Uh huh. I tiptoed out, hamming it up. "Gee, I sure hope I'm not in touble!!!" said I to my kidlets.

No sooner had I gotten to the office than they told me that I was needed back in my classroom. Right. Up I go. I walked in to another countdown, and both entire grade 5 classes piled into my room (55 kids!), with sparklers and two cakes complete with candles. They all sang me happy birthday, and we posed for some photos.

As a thank you to my kids for planning such a great surprise, we had an impromptu class party. Cake, music, and games for the first 45 minutes of school!

I am so blessed to have such a great class, and an AMAZING teaching partner who loves to just give and give and give. Those kids may drive me bonkers sometimes, but I love 'em! This has got to be the best birthday I've had in a very long time! And it's not even over yet!!!

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

And happy birthday to me! Hee hee!

It's the only way we know how to rock

Guess what *I* did yesterday?

I got to talk to my bestest blogger buddy Sarah Cool for nearly an hour a-waaaaay over in Cincinnati! SO FUN!

One of the things I love about blogging is meeting all kinds of really awesome people. Radzilla (aka Sarah) is definitely one of them! She is most definitely the one who has introduced me to THE BEST WAY TO EXPRESS ENTHUSIASM OVER THE INTERNET EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She's also been a HUGE source of encouragement and fun, and has an amazing way of pointing me towards God.

Hehe, ok ok, enough mush. You can read her take on our conversation here. She totally stole my idea about laughing at out different accents (that's what happens when she's an hour ahead and starts work at a ridiculously early hour!), but hey, that's ok. I'll let it pass.... THIS time! ;)

And? Thanks for recognizing that Canadians don't say "aboot!" ;) Tee hee!

I won!!!!

Holy shneikie!!!! I just got a phone call from some organization that had a draw that I entered who knows when. It turns out that they drew my name and I won two Canucks tickets AND a 2-for-1 voucher for a Carnival Cruise. Now before getting all excited about it, I was like, ok, right, and what 2 hour time share presentation or $500 lifetime membership to a furniture "discount" store hoop do I have to jump through before MAYBE winning these tickets?

I asked all the skeptical questions I could think of, but, it turns out, there were none! I entered, they drew me, and I won! Thoughts immediately jumped to spring break cruises or what have you...

"I just need to ask you a few qualifying questions"

Oh great, here goes. No, wait, that's like one of those "skill testing questions" or something, right?

"Maam, this promotion is for couples... are you currently married or living common-law with someone?"

Dangit.

"Uhhh... no?"

"Ok, I'm sorry maam. Then you don't qualify. But I'll put your name back in the box for hte draw next week for blah blah blah..."

Crap. Tell me again, WHY didn't I jsut say yes? Oh right. Lying is bad. Phooey to that.

Dumb lady. Call me and get me all excited about my sweet prize, then take it away from me! How RUDE!

The world didn't end (hehe)

Thanks for your tips about blogger beta! I switched over (after being outsmarted once and for all, grrr! There wasn't going to be any worming my way around it this time, and believe me, I tried!). It doesn't look any different, I think, so that's good. Or bad. Maybe it's time for an overhaul. Though if I use the new "update your template easily" feature, I lose a lot of my own customization. Grrr. Oh well, not gonna deal with it today, I've got more important things to do.

Amusing song lyrics of the day:

Like a blind dog without a bone
I was a gypsy lost in the twilight zone
I hijacked a rainbow and crashed into a pot of gold

Bits and Pieces

Bloggger is getting sneaky. I went to sign in and they're trying to force me to switch over to the new beta-but-not-beta-anymore version. This scares me. Those of you who have done it, have you had any problems with custom stuff in your template and everything? What do you love? What do you hate? I WAS going to post some "Help! How do I NOT switch yet?!?!" comments, cause it looked like there was going to be no choice. But ah-HA! I wormed my way around switching this time. Bah. I don't like change, apparently....

... which leads me to my next point. It's becoming increasingly obvious that I need to get a hair cut, and stat (yeah yeah, "Shut up and DO it, Hillary," I know, I know. I have no regular hairdresser. This apparently is traumatic for me.). But I'm becoming a danger to people on the dance floor. I think some of the regulars that I dance with have adapted some of their moves to avoid getting whipped in the face with my pony tail when I spin around. I don't think that's a good sign!

And about the dancing. Yes, I've raved about it before, but I'm definitely hooked, and L-O-V-I-N-G it. So glad I went for level 3. We're learning all kinds of fancy shmancy stuff. This is evidenced by the names for the new moves, which are getting more and more complicated. Gosh, what was tonight... a neck wrap two hand cross bow side split double back half whip non fat extra shot or-ange mocha frapp-a-chi-noooo ... no, wait... that went wrong somewhere along the line... Who knows WHAT they're called, but they sure are fun! A few of us even went out to a real live dance LAST night, too! Hehe. It was kind of intimidating at first, but super fun! But my FEET hurt tonight, let me tell you.

So the rest of my week was much calmer, after Tuesday's near breakdown. This first year teaching (well, with my own class, anyway) is an interesting beast. It jumps up and tries to gobble me whole sometimes. I'm slowly but surely learning to beat it down. ah-HA! Take THAT! Anyway, thanks for all your kind words, it was much appreciated!

The day after my freakout I left work early and went for a walk along the beach, and took some time just to chill out, watch the sunset down at Kits Beach, and take some time to breathe. Venting, my time at the beach (there's just something about the ocean), and an encouraging conversation with a friend (thank you) definitely helped me get back to "ahhhhh" levels again.

The weekend has been fantasterriffic, too... a swanky launch party for a friend's website on Friday night (oh WAIT till I tell you about his site... SO cool!!!), tons of marking on Saturday, dancing, church, more marking, more dancing... oh yeah, baby! And, as much as I whine about having to prep for a sub, I'm taking my half day lieu day Monday afternoon, so I'm done tomorrow at noon. Gonna go back to the beach, go for a run in the sun, and settle in for some more marking, trying to dig myself out of the pit of behind-ness I seem to have gotten myself in.

*does a little happy dance*

Lookout! Here comes Monday...

Time for a chuckle

Occasionally I catch the medical sit-com show Scrubs. I had heard that they were gonig to a musical episode a while back, but didn't end up catching it. Christine over at Welcome to My Brain posted this little gem, and now I SO wish I saw the whole episode. This was hilarious!

Stress

- Never, EVER coming even CLOSE to finishing all the stuff I've got to do for work
- Being reminded yesterday that I'm this month's union rep and I have to go to the meeting today immediately after school, when I already had plans for tonight and that will just put me yet one more step further behind (see #1)
- Remembering that as part of being union rep I get a half day off in lieu of union duties, but that means actually prepping for a sub, which will take nearly as long as just teaching anyway
- Being hungry and out of groceries again, and deciding to just not eat dinner cause that's easier, and knowing that that is NOT a healthy thing but being too tired to even care at this point
- Totally forgetting about a commitment I made to two friends to do something, and kicking myself for forgetting, cause what I was supposed to do wasn't even for their benefit, but mine, and probably would have alleviated some of the stress I'm b!tching about here
- Having students in my class that won't/don't/can't pay attention, so don't understand, so get frustrated, and start crying, and I totally want to help them, but what else am I supposed to do if they don't pay attention and won't stay in for help and shut down when I tell them about something they need to correct, and if their parents won't get them tested so they can get more support and if I have 26 other kids who also need my attention ......
- Seeing all these kids in my class and knowing they deserve SO much more than I'm able to give them right now
- Having a growing list of things that really need to be dealt with. Like the water that is still leaking into my trunk from who knows where and seriously, seriously needing to go buy new pants
- Knowing I should probably be sleeping right now instead of writing this, but knowing that I won't be able to sleep till I get this all out (lucky you)

Good thing tomorrow's another day. This one almost killed me.

Goodnight

Another "you people" post

You people ROCK!!!

I begged and pleaded and twisted a few arms for de-lurking week, and you delivered! Not inlcuding my own, you left a fantastical number of comments over the seven days. Ah-woo-hoo! I even fanangled a few of you to comment for the first time (YAY! Welcome!!!). Hope I didn't leave any bruises! *grin*

A Breath

Stop
and take a breath with me
let the going cease
the stillness seep in

Drop
the bags of busyness
come lets do more of less
with you I want to be

Oh, if you would take the time
to hear my heartbeat's rhyme
how together we could sing

You have got to make the choice
will I hear more of your voice
will you hear my melodies

Pains
how you come and go
effects which you don’t know
if you knew you’d change your beat

Oh! If you would take the time
to me your heart incline
find life that’s full and breathes

With you I want to be
with you I want to be

Words and music by Vania Levans.
Listen to the whole song here or here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went to see another show of my friend Vania's last night, and, now having heard the album a few (dozen) times, there was a different song that struck me last night. Before she sang "A Breath" she told the audience that it was a song she wrote after reflecting on how God feels about us - as if He were singing the song. With that in mind, I listened closely to the words. Really. Go back and re-read it. Or better yet, listen to it. Rarely does a song hit me so squarely between the eyes and awaken something so deep in my heart. I really felt like I heard God's invitation last night...

My life seems so busy all the time. I often feel rushed or choked or suffocated from what I really want to do - to stop and take a breath with God. But the kicker is that I create all that flurry of activity myself. Even this term, where I have deliberately let go of all weekly commitments, still I fill my time with... stuff. Meaningless puttering - some emailing here, some guitar playing there, some chatting with friends, some dishes, some cooking, some reading, some TV, some... some... some... None of these are bad in and of themselves, but time flies by and another day is gone, and another, and then a week, and then a month, and I find myself tired and gasping for air, yet again. I need to learn how to let the stillness seep in. Why is that always such a hard thing to learn to do?

I keep saying I want to hear God's voice, but I never allow myself to be still enough to hear it. Why? Here God is inviting me - HE wants to be with ME. How can I ignore such an invitation?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Oh! If you would take the time
to me your heart incline
find life that’s full and breathes
With you I want to be.

You people search for WEIRD things

Well, ok, not YOU people. YOU people all search for normal, understandable things. But SOME people...

All of the phrases below are things people have searched for in the last little while that have landed them on my blog. I'm just including them here cause I think they're funny/interesting/disturbing. Some, yeah, I could see how they got that.Others... yeah, I have NO IDEA. This list is of course void of all the bajillions of versions of my blog's title that people search for (it's a line in a song, so it comes up a lot). Though "tragic love" is often searched for, and they land here. I'm really hopnig that's not indicative of something!!! Anyway, here be the list (with my own commentairies in brackets). Oh, and the weird characters? Those are my doing. I really don't need MORE people finding my site that way.

1. does rachelle love brad [no, I'm pretty sure she loves Nathan]
2. volleyball in the snow [um... noooo... I never made kids play volleyball in the snow]
3. sometimes i just sit and think, sometime i just sit [it's true!]
4. redneck gingerbread trailer [Jon's trailer is so famous even people from the eastern states have been looknig for it. Different people, and multiple times.]
5. quick change dance magic show [Quick change dance magic. That's the kind of dance I'm going to take next. It's very tricky. Too bad it's so quick, you miss all the tricks. And the magic.]
6. chinese @dult entert@inment [sorry buddy, you're not going to find what you're looking for here! Ew!]
7. hillary and candy ho down [who told them about my gingerbread party???]
8. homemade jube jubes [Where? I want some!]
9.. lumpy_goat [uhhhh... AND, this came up LONG before my comment to SarahCool about baby goats. (if you click on one link in this list, click on this one!)]
10. hello hillary crazy [yeah yeah. We get it already]
11. videos of couples m@king l0ve in public [ummm... again, not gonna find what you're looking for, buddy. Double ew.]
12. the famous dingle dangle man dilema [Ah yes. What girl DOESN'T have these? Perhaps that's why they're famous. Though I didn't know the dilemma dingled and dangled.]
13. felted umbilical cord hats [um, ew?]
14. homepage von crazy class [That's SO what I'm going to title my class' webpage if I ever do one]


So folks, keep on keepin' on with google... it provides me with some good chuckles.

Back from the dead

Whew. Today was my first day at work this week.

Coming back is always a little scary, especially after more than one day away. My kids had had three different teachers in three days. It's pretty disruptive to the kids' routine to have so many different people in, and they're usually pretty wingy when I get back. To make matters worse, the teacher on Tuesday never got my lesson plan due to an email mix up. Whoops. (Sure glad I spent three hours writing the day plan for that day! Gah! At least I was able to use part of it for the next day.) I felt terrible for my TOC (teacher on call)! It's always so hard if there's nothing left for you. And there was NOTHING. I don't think I even had written what subjects were supposed to happen in what block apart from the plan that never arrived.

So I was wondering what on earth I would be coming back to today. Who knows what got done, what didn't, and how much I'd have to re-teach, repair and reprimand.

I got in, though, and found - delight of all delights! - I had three wonderful TOCs who actually taught lessons, prepared for the next day before they left, and seemed to really have their stuff together. WOOHOO! (I've had many instances of the contrary) I was most impressed with the TOC from Tuesday, cause she - with nothing from me - put together a day almost exactly as I would have done it. She even managed to nail the PAGE in the socials textbook and the two concepts that I wanted covered that day! Go her! I emailed her this morning to tell her what happened with the plan and to apologize, and to tell her what a great job she did! Yay!

One thing I discovered, though? The Pee Nazi needs to make a triumphant return. ALL THREE TOCs mentionned in their notes to me that my kids were asking excessively to go to the washroom. I always read the 'student behaviour' bits to my class after I come back from being away, and, while they got a kick out of hearing the same message three times, they also got a big ol pee lecture from me today, complete with me assuring them that no, they will not make a puddle if they had to hold it for an hour and a half. "You go before school. You go at recess. You go at lunch. You do not go in class time. You will not leak. I promise." Oh it was a comedy fest, allright (remember, these are 10 year olds, and the mere HINT of anything bathroom related sends them into hysterics!), but these tiny-bladdered time wasters will find out very quickly that I mean it.

NO PEE FOR YOU!!!

Touchingly sweet...

... and sweetly true

Thanks, Andrea, for pointing this one out.

And wow, this is my 400th post!

Hair!

I was going to save this post for tomorrow to avoid accusations of blog addiction (3 posts in one day? come on!), but y'all are commenting on my desire to change my hair anyway, so here ya go...

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I mentioned in my last post that it's time for a haircut and I'm thinking about a change. I also mentioned that I always say that, and I always end up getting the same thing. Well, we'll see this time around. BUT, it DID give me an idea. Surely there are some 'try out some new hairstyles' websites out there. A quick google search and I found one. Which gave me some entertainment this afternoon between naps.

I came up with 12 possible hairstyles, all representing a range of length and bangs/no bangs. Some are better/worse than others, for sure. Sooo... ignore the bad computer colours (I wouldn't colour my hair the same way as the pictures) and the not-so-perfect fit of hairstyle to head, but take a look!

Which do you like best? Which would you steer clear of? Guys - don't be afraid to comment, either, this isn't just for girls, haha! What do you think? Bangs? No bangs? Long layers? Short? Medium? Long? Staight? Curly?

Oh, and there are two versions of each style - one with glasses, one without. Call me crazy, but sometimes I feel like certain styles just look better/worse depending on whether or not I'm wearing glasses (which I wear about 80% of the time). Here's the cut I got last time, just for comparison sake.

And yes, I am aware that this looks more than a little ridiculous, espcially with cartoon hair on a real head - I'm doing this as half joke, half real (maybe even 70/30), so go for the idea and laugh WITH me (not at me!)! ;)


Click for a larger view

Wow. That's WAY too many Hillarys in one place. :P

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I have decided

1. I'm going to talk to my (awesome!) landlords about the dumb furnace. It WAILS when it starts up. Loudly. And I'm not one to complain about noise or light when I sleep. I can pretty much sleep through anything. But the furnace? It wakes me up. Of course, it only happens when it's really cold, and we're just about done with this cold snap, so maybe I'll just let it go...

2. I'm going to do level 3 of dancing lessons. There are four levels, but unless you intend on competing or go dancing all the time, you just stay in level 3. There are people who have been doing level 3 for years, so I'm told. Which kind of scares me. Our instructor referred to it as "the big pond." Eep! :) I may take a private lesson to get a few things really solid before level 3 starts on Sunday.

3. I want to learn Italian. I read my phrase book almost daily, and last night I had this dream (yes, I did eventually fall asleep, but not till about 4:30am!) where I was in Italy (back in the Cinque Terre - photos - swoon!) and carrying on this full on conversation in Italian. I know I was using some real Italian words - I picked up a teensy tiny bit this summer - but the rest? Who knows WHAT I was actually speaking, but boy did it sound like Italian! hehe. I think I'm going to sign up for a class next term (starting in March). Hmm... maybe then I'll have an even better excuse to go back to Italy sooner!

4. I need to get my hair cut, and I want a CHANGE. Of course, I always say that, and I always get it just the same, but shorter. But I'm thinking, bangs? Layers? New colour? Highlights? Maybe I'll go for a buzzcut! hehe. I want Nick Arrojo from What Not To Wear to cut my hair. He just says, ok, this is what will look good based on your face/style/personality/commitment to a morning hair regime (which, for me, by the way, is extremely minimal. Funny story about that, actually, I'll have to tell you another time). I don't even have a regular hair dresser. Arg. What do YOU think I should do?

5. I need to go for a massage. They're covered under my benefits, why on EARTH have I not been going?!?! Being sick has left me really stiff, plus, massages are just the right thing to do. (I should probably start going back to my chiro, too)

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Who needs sleep?

Well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
Tell me what's that for?


WAAAHHH! My sleeper is broken!!!

I've been flat on my back sick for the last three days, and pretty much all I've done is sleep (with the odd dragging of my sorry butt out of bed to check email/blogs or watch tv, but upright time has been limited). So now, I find it 3am, and I CAN'T SLEEP! Not even drugs are helping me now. Arg.

And I'm blogging about it, why? I dunno. I'm wide awake and I'm B-O-R-E-D.
I think I'll go back and stare at my ceiling some more.

National De-lurking Week *updated*

Well, ok, so it's only de-lurking week in my little world, but that outta be enough, right? It's not the first time this has happened - remember NaBloPoMo? I'm apparently really slow on the uptake on all these blogoshpere events (the real one was last week). It's kinda like that geeky kid getting in way too late on all the coolest fads. "Hey guys! Pick me! Pick meee! I've got teased bangs and flourescent bike shorts now! See? I'm cool! ... Right?" ... ahem... a hypothetical situation, of course...

So, what's de-lurking, you ask? It means that for this week, instead of just reading, you post a little hello or other comment in the comment section. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind lurkers. You are jsut as welcome here as commenters. I know that not everybody has something to add to the conversation all the time. But there are waaay more hits on my statcounter than there are comments, and I'm curious as to who y'all are, so for this week, speak up! I promise posts (yay! now your lives are complete! buah ha) if you promise comments! It could be a hello, it could be a draft of your thesis on the mating habits of earthworms, whatever! (um, though maybe not so much the earthworms?)

And, by the way, if you are someone who does comment here, thank you so much (and keep 'em coming!)!!! You're the bestest! It's really the comments that make things fun around here. I've met lots of neat-o folks through it!

And to make matters easy for ya, I'll give you a question to answer. Since it is now snowing AGAIN (what, storm number 15 this season?) I'll ask you this: do you like winter/snow or hate it?

Your comments make me happy, so comment away!

Update: I've replied to all the comments so far, so check'er out :)

Support the troops, Canadian Style

I had to laugh at this one. Only in Canada...

There is a group of people in White Rock who are showing their support for the Canadian troops in Afghanistan. They have packed up a number of care packages to send over with items that the soldiers are lacking: toothbrushes, deodorant, toilet paper, etc.

And?

Gift cards for the Tim Hortons they have there on the base!!!

Canada's favourite donut shop has an outlet on the military base in Afghanistan. Support the troops! Send gift cards for a honey crueller or a double double!

So true

Welcome to my life.

(Poster from here.)

Charcoal Drawings

I will put away my charcoal drawings
Sketches of my hopes now turned to gray
I will put away my charcoal drawings
Tomorrow could be a brighter day

Such an uncanny way to have to etch a picture
What I dreamed is not the art I look at now
My interactions with the drab life’s drawings
Have left me feeling somewhat out

So I will put away these charcoal drawings
Sketches that have become today’s dismay
I will lay these down to rest,
Seek arms that give me strength
Strength to face another day

No more gazing at these disappointing smudges
I rest frustrations with artistic skills I lacked
I will lay my pencils down for now
The sun sets and I know somehow
That tomorrow could be a brighter day
Tomorrow could be a brighter day.


Words and music by Vania Levans.
Listen to a clip here

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Last night I went to my friend Vania's CD release party. According to her website, her music is "a combination of jazz and soul, with a touch of funk here and there." It was there that I realized that I need to seek out independent artists far more often. She was phenominal. Phe-no-min-al. I knew that she was talented musically, as she often sings and rocks out on her flute (no, I didn't think that was possible either. It is.) on the worship team at my church, but I had no idea she was this good. :-)

"Charcoal Drawings" was a song that particularly struck a chord with me (really, go listen to it! "Keep on" is also hers). I think it's time for me to make some changes. To stop doing things the way I've always done them, cause that way doesn't seem to be getting me where I'd like to go. I don't know what to do differently, in particular, but perhaps it will come...

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No more gazing at these disappointing smudges
I rest frustrations with artistic skills I lacked
I will lay my pencils down for now
The sun sets and I know somehow
That tomorrow could be a brighter day.

Mo-ti-va-tion...

As in, apparently this week I've had none. I've written so many blog posts in my mind, but I've always been away from my computer at the time and have jsut not been motivated enough to write.

No New Years priorities posts, no "I love the snow look how happy it makes me" posts, no "the kids did the funniest thing today" posts, no "holy crapoly, I almost missed the deadline for applying to teach summer school" posts... all of which would have been fun (heh, to write, anyway...).

Blog boredom. I suppose that's where it's at right now.

Teaching this week has been fun - actually FUN! I've been doing accents (heaven help me) and litterally jumping around, waving my arms, and declaring a "13" in the tens place to be, "AK! An INTRUDER!!!" It's probably been the best week I've had all year. Hmm... could that be because I've just come from two weeks off? Maybe that should be a pattern. Teach for 2, rest for two. Think of how energetic I would be!

Hum. What else. Trying to decide to do dancing level 3 or a different pursuit this time around. Perhaps photography. Perhaps writing. Perhaps ACTING! Maybe guitar. It's a real toss-up, between dancing or something else. Confusion abounds. If you could take a class, what would you take?

With all this snow and oice these days, I've been donig a wee bit of slip slip sliding around to and from work. Driving home yesterday I discovered my car is really good at road ballet. Some doofus in his doofus-mobile on a sidestreet decided it would be a really good idea to try to dart accross a busy street during a heavy snowfall on roads that were totally iced over. Eastbound traffic was stopped, so he whipped through a break but DUH... westbound traffic (ie. ME) was still moving, and all of a sudden there was the front of his car barrelling towards what was very soon going to be my driver's side door. I honked, tried to brake, slid almost sideways, recovered, and somehow he missed me, jsut in time for me to start sliding down the hill that was ahead of me. I geared down, steered straight, and got control back, all without hitting the multitude of cars around me, but sheesh. That commute was insane. It took 61 minutes to make my 7km (4.5 mile) trip home. I could have ridden a turtle and gotten there faster.

That's it. I'm ending there. No concluding sentence. We've been learning about those all week in TeacherHillaryLand. As in, "every paragraph must have one." I'm such a hippocrite. Deal with it. ;)

We're baaaa-aaack!

Ah yes. School's in again. Who made the day so freaking long, anyway???? It was pretty funny to see all the satff back and bleary-eyed, trying to get used to the early morning routine again. I do believe I saw one or two intravenous stands with a steady caffiene drip, but I can't be sure. And wow, I don't remember my feet hurting this much at the end of the day.

It was good to be back. Well, once I actually got there, anyway. I had a near paralysing freak-out when I realized as I was getting up at 6:30 this morning that almost all the stuff I had planned to over the holiday was not done. "Maybe if I just stay in bed, it will all go away!!!" But really, it's a holiday. So I don't feel TOO guilty. I just have to kick it into overdrive this week (and next, and next...).

You know what? I actually missed my kiddies! They're so fun and silly and so full of excitement. They totally make me laugh. I think they were pretty happy to be back, too, not that many of them would actually admit it!

Though is it bad that before Christmas break was even over, I was already counting down to spring break??? (10 weeks!)

Apparently I'm going for the insane-o of the week award

So.

Level 2 of my west coast swing dancing class is almost finished. Near the end of level 1, I posted a few videos of some pro swing dancers in action. Well this time round I've found a series on YouTube called Move of the Week, where they teach you a new West Coast Swing move, you got it, every week. (They're all just 30 second clips, and be sure your sound is on)

For example, there's this one.



Looks kinda tricky, but pretty sleek if you can master it.

But then there are these. It's like swing dancing on drugs. Or at least really really drunk. The first one is called the Turtle.



Oh but it gets better. Here's Eggroll Swimming.


And the piece de resistance in classy sleek smooth sexy west coast swing dancing is here.


This makes me laugh out loud EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And? Did anybody think it was really weird that that brontasaurus has six toes? Do brontasauruses (brontasauri?) even HAVE toes???

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS! You will NOT believe it. An incredible event occurred tonight, one never before seen by human eyes (erm, or by any type of eyes). An event not previously thought possible. A spectaular feat of co-ordination and dexterity, with no resulting disatrous effects. The crowds were shocked. The crowds were awed. The crowds didn't know what hit them. Well, nothing hit them, actually, which wouldn't have been the case previously. It truly was a glorious, heavenly event. Mm, I do believe I heard angels rejoicing. So what was this incredible feat worthy of such an introduction, you ask?

I, Hillary, ate an entire meal with chopsticks and didn't have to guiltily and apologetically ask for a fork even once!!!

Take THAT, friend who gave me "cheater chopsticks" for Christmas, which were glued to either side of a spring loaded clothespeg.

Oh yeah, baby.

Oh.

Yeah.

Maybe this should be my New Year's Resolution...

Catchin' up (part deux) - New Years

As usual, I had left my planning till rather late in the game. But still, my friends came through. I ended up having five friends over, plus myself, for a quiet evening of nibbles, drinks, and scategories. OK, I love that game. I haven't played for a long time, but it was fun! (Right guys? It was fun! Right??? Hee hee.)

Best entry? For "Things in a park" that started with G, my friend Brad wrote "geriatric gentlemen." DANG! Double points for alliteration... AND awesomeness!!

Some of you have been asking about my New Year's prediction. Well, here's how it all went...

We counted down to midnight, then a hurredly passed out all manner of loud things - a gourd shaker intrument thingy, metal mixing bowls, pots and pot lids, and various ladels and wooden spoons. I took out my djembe drum. At midnight we all busted out of my door, a cacophany of clanging and shouting and banging and general hilarity. There was no co-ersion necessary. My friends (who are AWESOME, thankyouverymuch) were unstoppable. And by unstoppable, I mean that, as soon as we exploded out of my door, I remembered the four children all under the age of three who were no doubt sound asleep no more than 20 feet from the clangingbangingscreaming rowdieness that was our celebration. So down the walk between the two houses I ran, after my friends, whisper-yelling, "Guys! Babieees! BABIEEEES!!!!" But alas, it was no use. I was pretty much laughing too hard to be taken seriously, and the group was already halfway down the street running and banging and yelling HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! into the night. I think we scared a passing bus driver. Buah ha! It was great! And, despite my friend Brian's best efforts to make it happen, no men in white suits came to take me away! (Nyah nyah!)


And THEN... I learned a new method of opening champagne bottles, as we made our way out into my back alley for a New Year's toast. Why the back alley, you ask? Oh, becasue this champagne-bottle-opening method involved SLICING OFF THE TOP OF THE BOTTLE WITH ONE BIG SWACK OF A GIANT KNIFE. Not just the cork, people. The top of the entire bottle. It's supposed to be done with a sword, but a big-a$$ knife was all the guys had, so we did it with that. (Someone asked me afterward if I wasn't worried about little chunks of broken glass in my champagne. Hum. I hadn't really thought of that... I'm gonna go with believing that the force of the knife makes a clean, shatterless break. Yeah. That's it.)

So we toasted in the back alley, under the glow of someone's backyard New Years fireworks. It was a perfect way to ring in 2007!