Friday, June 30, 2006

what fire?

so i'm done. i don't have to work today. yesterday was my last day! YAY! so i'm sleeping in this morning after i pressed snooze three times on my alarm clock at 8am. i was supposed to go to the gym but decided against it when i felt like sleeping longer. haha. so then at 9 my alarm goes off again so i remove the mask...yes, i'm wearing a mask...and i think, i'll just lay here for a couple minutes. i have a totally crazy dream and it's just getting interesting when the fire alarm goes off. MAN! that is one high-pitched panic inducing sound!!! however, the thought that there might be a fire never occurs to me. i run out of my bedroom, grab a chair from the dining room, stand on it and there are no instructions on these things so i just rip it off the roof. well now there are wires hanging from it and i shock myself. ouch. under the flashing light it says "press and hold." so i'm pressing and holding and it is SCREECHING. when i finally feel as though i may be losing my hearing because it's not turning off, i throw it onto the hard floor and shatter it into pieces.

then i think to myself, "hey, why was that going off?" i look around...i smell the air...no sign of a fire. good thing.

now i have a wicked headache. what a way to start the day.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

what a workload!

well, frankly, i haven't even felt like posting this week. i've been in work mode here for the past three days since school ended and the days go by so quickly. i haven't left school until 5:30pm every day this week (including today). okay, okay, all you 9 to 5-ers, maybe that doesn't sound bad.

we have been doing some MAJOR organinzing and purging of our resource rooms here at our school. we have a TA room where we store textbooks that aren't in use or class sets of novels etc etc. now keep in mind that this little school has been around at least 40 years so there have been a considerable amount of teachers going through here over the years. well, the oldest book we found on the shelves of the TA room was 1957. Yeah...we threw a LOT of stuff out. it looks so great and usable now in there! in cleaning my own classroom, i found quite a few fantastic resources for teaching that i'm wishing i'd known i had! it's so great to think that i'll have this much more help in teaching next year. ha.

beginning to plan for next year is so fun though. this is when you remember why you like teaching so much. haha. however, being the procrasinator that i am, i have designed things like my timetable and my dayplan pages first. things that don't matter yet whatsoever. but they look pretty nice. ;)

something that will be new to me next year is centres. if you're not a teacher, this is totally uninteresting, i know. but i'm very excited for my centres. see, i'm starting guided reading everyday which is with small groups of students at a time...hence, needing other centres for everyone else. the latest idea that i'm thinking about is having all the centres planned for the week and then on monday, students are given their Centre Passport which lists each centre they will have to go to for the week and then they get to choose what days they go to what. then they get a punch on their passport when they finish a centre. i'm still working out the kinks on this one because what would happen if every kid wanted to go to the spelling centre that day or something? ah yes, the dilemas of a primary classroom. they're all new to me.

anyways...is that enough rambling about my class? probably so. tonight tim is meeting me here at the school and we're going to Hope with his parents to have dinner with his grandparents. it will be interesting...

Sunday, June 25, 2006

summer's here

today was a scorcher in abbotsford! wow. i slept in, spent an hour at the gym, ate some lunch then went to the shulba's pool and varied lying in the sun and swimming around. the pool was at 28 C. beautiful. then we went to WR.

now tim's day on the other hand, was a little different. slept in, picked up a chainsaw at his parents, began cutting down the mass of bushes on the side of our house. ate lunch with me. cut bushes. went to WR. that's all he did! was cut bushes. in 35 degree weather! what a guy. very focused. during this past week he dug six big holes to plant some cedars in our backyard. yesterday he mowed the lawn, cut the dead half of our red maple down, extracted our other cedars from a crazy vine that has been growing from our neighbour's yard etc etc. the guy is a determined homeowner. i, on the other hand, spent 30min gardening in our front yard yesterday and had to stop because i was sweating so much it was dripping into my eyes. haha. just kidding. but i was very sweaty.

here are some pics.




these calla lilies just popped up in our garden. how great is that?

Saturday, June 24, 2006

ode to pharmacists

okay...i started to attmept a poem and i don't have time for that so here's why i was inspired to begin a poem for pharamacists. whenever i go to the pharamacy anywhere and have a question about something, there has never been a pharmacist who acted like they were too busy to help me or tried to hurry up their explaining of a product. for example, yesterday morning i bought some claritan before our day at the lake. by the afternoon, my eyes were just as watery, i was sneezy and congested again. so last night i went to shoppers drug mart and quizzed down the pharmacist about if i should buy another type of allergy medicine or what was wrong etc etc. he explained that sometimes claritan (or anything) might take a couple days to set in to the full effects and that i should use a nasal spray for a couple days for the congestion. he came around the desk thing and showed me which nasal spray to use. he was great. i find this to always be the case when i ask questions about cold medicine, headache medicine, hot/cold muscle rub stuff...and yes, i have asked questions to pharmacists about all these things. haha. yay for helpful and nice pharmacists!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

auctions and allergies

what a whirlwind of a week so far. one more day. and we're spending it at a lake so that will be nice. i'm hoping it's hot out so we can go swimming.

it turns out that i have allergies. augh. i've been stuffed up with watery eyes and a runny nose for two days now. i thought that it was all the cleaning that we've been doing in my classroom and all the dust floating around. but today i had the windows wide open and after we were outside running around for 40 min this afternoon, i was really sneezy so maybe it's something outside making me feel crappy. how do allergy sufferers handle this all the time? it sucks.

and in other news, we had a major auction this week in my class. i think i've written about this before. the kids in my class have weekly jobs and then they get paid their salary at the end of every week? every job gets paid diferently plus you have to pay the tickets issued by the students who are police officers so all the kids have varying amounts of money. at the end of the term, i've gone out and got some stuff at the dollar store and we've had a big auction. bouncey balls selling for hundreds of dollars! i sold a 15 picture disposable camera for $377.00! some hot bidding wars. i've really loved the auction all three times we did it this year but it's always a little bittersweet when not one kid says thanks at the end.

when i was a kid at HCS, at the end of every year, every single kid walked across the stage and was given a certificate of some kind. for neat handwriting or for your gentle spirit or your enthusiasm for sports. something good about every child. as a teacher, coming up with 25 different positive statements must have been the most annoying thing to have to do on top of all the other work that comes at the end of a school year BUT...i decided to do the same thing for my own class today. yesterday i made a certificate and came up with 24 different qualities about each kid and hand wrote them onto the certificates. this afternoon, i announced each one and the students came up and shook my hand. it was pretty funny but the kids clapped for each student as they got their certificate and i think it was a nice way to end the year. props to HCS for doing this every year for every student. i think i'll carry on the tradition.

i'm definitely ready for summer and a new school year. they say your first year is your hardest so i'm looking forward to next year. so many things to do differently and new things to try. today after school, i moved my desk to a totally different spot in my classroom in preparation for next year. a new outlook on my classroom. i think 2006-2007, this classroom will feel a lot more like my own and i'm really excited about that.

next week, i'm not technically done work because we're still supposed to be at school to do planning for next year and finish off report cards and such for this year so i'll still be at work but hey -- it's a whole different work without students there.

one more day! imagine me yelling at the end of tomorrow like this picture below.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

happy fathers day dad

last night i was out with some girls for laura's bachelorette and i drove with my friend liz. out of the blue she asks me, "do you ever think about how grateful you are to have the parents that you have?" and i do think that all the time.

here are some great dad pictures. he'll be shaking his head that i've posted FIVE photos of him on here. heehee. HAPPY FATHERS DAY! i'm so grateful to have a dad like you!




currently reading...

i think i used to read more enlightening, thought-provoking books but over the past year or two, it's mostly become "confessions of a shopaholic" type literature. actually, i loved confessions of a shopaholic and read all of the subsequent books by spohie kinsella. she also wrote undomestic goddess which was even better than confessions. but anyways, i went to the library the other day with tim and decided that there must be more of this "genre" of literature (if you could call it that) out there. so i was looking on the shelves and realized, as you walk with your head tilted sideways so that you can read the titles, that you can recognize these books mostly by the font they use. seriously. here's an example:

now i haven't read these books yet so i'm not reccommending them. but based on what is written on the backs, they look like confessions of a shopaholic type books. if you know of any of these type of books that you would like to recommend, please feel free. summer is coming and i am in need of many books to read!

here are a few of these non-deep nor enlightening books that i've read and enjoyed immensley if you should so desire the same type of literature:

confessions of a shopaholic
shopaholic takes manhattan
shopaholic ties the knot
shopaholic and sister
all by sophie kinsella

can you keep a secret?
undomestic goddess
also sophie

nanny diaries
citizen girl
both emma mclaughlin

just now, in being on amazon gettting these pictures, i've discover that apparently these books have a name: chick lit. great.

but anyways, the point of this post was to say what i am currently reading and it is this: The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson.

it is all letters from Olivia Hunt to her sister, parents, bestfriend, ex-husband/boyfriend (haven't figured it out yet) movie executives, directors, stars (she works in the movie industry) and so far this book makes me wish that i wrote more letters. it's good so far. i expected better but maybe it's getting there.

so there you have it. the confessions of a chick lit reader.

Friday, June 16, 2006

I just arrived...

there was this guy standing on the corner holding a cardboard sign as i was waiting at the lights coming out of the save-on parking lot at sumas way tonight. he was standing next to the turning lane and i was going straight so i all i read on his sign was "i just arrived". it had a bunch of writing on it. what was so curious was that he was wearing a nice jacket, steel toed boots and had some tools with him. the car in the turning lane turned and i was staring at this guy and he looks at me and gives this sad little smile then looks away. i happened to have two bucks sitting in my cup holder (which never happens) and i was so intrigued by this guy and what his story was that i rolled down my window and gave him the money. he ran across the turning lane, said thanks and then i had to go because my light had been green for a few seconds already. but as i drove away i couldn't get this out of my head -- what did the rest of his sign say?

so i get home and tim gets home and i tell him this story. he's shaking his head at me but i'm like, "let's go back there and read the sign!" he's totally opposed to this and then says, "well, i do need a few things at save-on." so we drive back. well by this time he was gone. no where to be seen.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

firsts

first first: i bought fresh salmon steaks today to attempt to bbq for dinner tonight. tim's working on it right now.

second first: milk with dinner. this is a new regimen that i plan to start tonight. instead of a diet coke with my dinner, i will now be drinking a glass of skim milk.

third first: walking lunges. tonight at dance blast, we did walking lunges across the length of the studio. FOUR TIMES. and then, as if my glutes weren't in enough pain, we laid on our mats and lifted our butts to do more glute workout! i am literally barely walking now and am not sure how i'll be doing tomorrow.

fourth first: i made a friend at dance blast tonight! actually, we'd met before because she's the wife of a guy that tim plays hockey with but she was so fun. i hope she comes to dance blast every week.

fifth first: the Christian Schools Track Meet in abbotsford tomorrow! i don't have to drive into agassiz at all. i get to just show up at the field at 8:45am for the coach's meeting and greet my students when they get there. it's definitely going to be a crazy day tomorrow. i'm trying to think positively about it but the thoughts of some of my boys on the loose make me nervous!

happy birthday to ashley and mk

yes, they're 20 today. doesn't it just feel like yesterday when you could look to these girls to be role models for the next generation? where did it all go? sigh.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

new quiz

i have created a new quiz. this one is all base on blog entries from the months of May and June. just in case my advertising of my new quiz in my sidebar is not enough... check it out!

countdowns

yes, there are many.

days until the last day of school (not including weekends): 8

days until my last day of work (not including weekends): 13

days until our new tenants move in: 16

days until we go to ontario: 18

days until my library books are due: 22

days until laura and conor's wedding: 31

days until my triathlon: 52

days until the beginning of the next school year: not desired to be known

if you have a countdown you would like to add...feel free.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

it's official

life as we know it in abbotsford will have to go on hold for the second week of july because we are GOING TO ONTARIO! yay! we've been talking about it forever but there's just never a great time to spend $1500, right? i found a sale on westjet so the tickets were just about $550 each so that was great. on july 2 at 7am we leave abbotsford and we return on july 10 at 3:30pm. sweet! now the trouble is going to be how do we travel around southern ontario and hook up with all our relatives for more than just "coffee"? oh man! but hey -- it's not really "trouble" - it'll be awesome. this will be the first time tim's met my dad's parents. i can't wait for him to eat some of Allan MacDonald's famous apple pie. yes, my "healthy eating" will go on hold for seconds and thirds of the pie. now, if you knew Allan, you'd know that he'll be quite offended if you don't have thirds. haha. ahh, the gravel roads and walks to the barn and trying to catch the wild kittens that are always living in the Mann's garage. i love it. here are some flashback family pics in honour of our upcoming trip to ontario:

here are matt and i at the MacDonald farm with Grandma and Grandpa

this is the kitchen at the MacDonalds - this is where we'll be eating pie. (as you can tell by the lace tablecloth and the flowered wallpaper -- my grandma is a classy lady.)

the current kitten at the time on the Mann farm - i had major scratches from this one

here's Grandma Mann and my aunt Carolyn in the dining room

matt and dad at "grandpa's golf course". according to my grandma's most recent letter, he still "lives" there. ;) too bad tim and i aren't golfers.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

the funny thing about blogs...

i feel that i should post, in order to keep up the "posts daily" rep that i have gotten but sometimes i have nothing to say. this equals random topic posts and this leads to one or less comments per post. i need to think of something good to say that people will not be able to resist commenting on.

okay, i have nothing.

overview of saturday, june 10, 2006:
wake up at 9:30am.

read in bed for awhile. have nothing to read so i'm re-reading Mirror of Her Dreams which is a book totally out of my usual reading style (fantasy) but was recommended when i was 18 by my aunt amy when i was "bec the nanny" in ontario one summer. it's a great book. it even has a sequel.

eat breakfast: poached egg on toast. a mother at our school often brings fresh eggs in from their farm to give to us teachers. i feel compelled to take some since the term "fresh eggs" sounds appealing. however, i don't eat that many eggs. now i have a dozen from the last time she brought them in PLUS a flat of 2 and a half dozen that she gave me yesterday.

watch the top two music videos this week on MM. chili peppers and hedley. can you believe that hedley is the number one video? that's crazy. i never expect much from these canadian idols and until hedley, my expectations have always been met.

play "San Juan" with tim: he won.

tim mows the lawn while i sit on the computer looking at blogs waiting for my favourite saturday lunch of bbq-ed hotdogs.

eat hot dogs.

drive to harrison mills to bike the 20km route that will be a part of the triathlon on aug.6. see http://www.triathlons.net/firsttri/docs/myfirstmap1.doc for the map.

get there and realize that it's a crazy windy road with no shoulder and we'd probably be better off riding 20km somewhere else.

drive to agassiz. tim's "crank" breaks. no bike ride.

stop get some island farms ice cream from the garden centre in agassiz. no flavours that i want so we don't get any. i often stop here with sally on the way home from work on hot days to get ice cream for the 40min. drive home. the two-scoop waffle cones are $2.25. someone from white rock, ice cream capital of the lower mainland, wouldn't know what hit them with those prices.

have a nap. i think there should be nap time available for everyday. i mostly need naps in the middle of weekdays but i always have to work.

eat a Delissio Balance Pizza. one serving is half a pizza and its only 320 calories. how great is that?

stop at Save-On to get some candy on the way to the movies. i favour a combination of peanuts, raisins, almonds, chocolate covered raisins and both peanut and regular M&Ms. it's quite a mixture. the question is, why am i worrying about the calories in my dinner if i'm just going to go and buy all this stuff?

see The Break-Up with Jen Aniston and Vinny Vaughn. comments to come.

Friday, June 09, 2006

looking towards next year

yes, it's true. at this time of year, we're all thinking about how we can do better next year. i can't wait to be finished and move on to planning for my gr. 2 3 4 class 06/07.

yesterday, our day got a little mixed up and i had PE with just the 3/4s while the 5s were with the older class. we were in the gym at the end of the day playing california kickball when the gr. 1/2 class came walking up to the gym doors. apparently, we'd unwittingly invaded their gym time. i asked sally (the teacher) if she wanted her kids to just come and play with my kids so they did. i was a little nervous since they're all so small but it worked out. i whispered to my kids as the gr 1/2s were coming into the gym, "you are the big kids -- i want to hear encouraging words and no yelling at them to do something." haha. at the end of the day, we lined up at the door to pray before we left and the 1/2s lined up next to us. i said, "thanks for coming and playing with us gr 1/2s!" and this great boy in grade 2 yells out, "thanks for inviting us to play!!" aww...so polite.

as i was in the hall afterschool, one of the grade 2 girls comes up to me and says, "i can't wait to be in your class next year for grade 3!"

that's a nice feeling. maybe primary will be good for me.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

fishing for comments

here's a pic for those of you who don't read ang's blog...and i know you're out there reading this without ever commenting...you know you want to comment...okay...you know I want you to comment...

this is tim's "sad face"

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

the countdown begins


it is definitely the end of the year. this morning i was desperate not to go to school but i am here. in attempts to eat-to-feel-better, i stopped at starbucks on the way to school and got carmel frappuchino and a blackberry peach scone. i asked the girl at the till if it was bad to have a frap that early in the morning. she said no.

there are exactly 13 days left of school. (not counting weekends) thirteen days! can you believe it? i remember coming to visit the school last year at this time and meeting some of the kids. crazy. despite there only being 13 days...today was an extra long day.

in triathalon news: new running shoes: $159
new sporty ROOTS bathing suit: $29.99
no shin splints or tankini riding up: priceless.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

driving

this morning on my way home from the gym, there was a Tempo in front of me with a little white haired man driving. in the back window was a piece of cardboard and on it, written in thin black marker, it said, "GIT RID OF DRUGS".

he's doing his part for the campaign against drugs. haha.

in triathalon news, today is triathalon training day 6. 3k on the treadmill. intervals of 4min run, 1 min walk.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Ode to Matthew

Yesterday was Matt's 21st birthday. 21st birthdays need something special. here is a poem for Matt.

Ode to Matt

There once was a boy named Matt.
When he was little, he wasn't too fat.
But now he's strong
And easy to get along (with)
So sometimes I call him for a chat.

(and i teach children poetry...i know, sharelle is cringing.)
Here are some pics of the pre-birthday party this past Sunday.

Happy Birthday Matty!


(This is the shirt that I bought him for his birthday.)