into the wild

a couple weeks ago, tim and i went to see "into the wild" in theatres with some friends. it is quite the movie. if you haven't heard of it - in a nutshell: a guy out of college, gives away all his money, and he travels around the US with nothing but the things he carries in his backpack with the ultimate goal of getting to alaska and living in the wild. now, i'm not a philisophical person and don't usually go too deep into the movies or books i encounter so you'll have to see it yourself and see what you make of it. but when we came out of the theatre, if we hadn't been with people, it's the kind of movie where you think you might cry the whole way home but you're not sure. it's amazing. see it.

super interested in the story behind the movie, i borrowed the book from a friend and read it this week. the movie is fairly identical to the movie which is great excpet the book adds a lot more thought and theories on the main character's reason for his actions and come comparisons to other people in history. an interesting read. read it.

then tim and i were in future shop and came across the soundtrack for the movie. eddie vedder wrote 10 of the 11 songs for the movie and performs them all. if you like eddie - this is a phenomenal cd. eddie and a guitar for most of the songs. so good. listen to it.

i can't stop thinking about this movie - it stays with you. february 12 - out on dvd. let me know what you think.

teacher shulba...

so, first week back has actually been good. it's hard to leave vacation but i definitely felt the benefits of rest and relaxation when getting back into the classroom. less easily irritated, more patience, more laughs with the kids - it's been a good week. some random stories?

whenever kids come up and ask me how to spell something, i always say, "how do you think you spell it?" and then they spell it out for me and i help them correct it. but man, wouldn't that get annoying as a kid? haha.

trying to drink more water at school has meant going to the washroom more which is okay because my class is quite well behaved if i'm out of the room for a minute. but the other day when they were writing in their planners and getting lined up to go to the gym, i slipped out quickly to go to the washroom (which is across the hall from my class) and there's a knock on the door and i hear a student call, "mrs. shulba?". so i say, "go away, i'll be out in a second!" embarrassing. so i come out and say to that student, "what could you possibly have to ask me that you would come and knock on the bathroom door?" and he says, "i wanted to know if we were going to have to run laps." oh my goodness.

in Bible class, the kids were following along with me in their Bibles while i read them a story about David and Saul from 1Samuel. it happened to be the story where Saul tells David to go and bring him back 400 foreskins. "what's a foreskin?" umm...when they're following along with you reading, you can't just skip over things. haha.

in p.e., we've started basketball. it's amazing how athletic my class is. i was avoiding playing a real basketball game with them because i thought it would be too frustrating but then we tried it when the gr.5s went with the 6/7s for p.e. and the 3/4s were awesome. one game that we play most days to practice shooting though is HORSE. that's where when a kid shoots a basket and if he misses, he gets the first letter: H. then when it's their turn again, if they miss they get the next lett: O. the last person standing without spelling the word HORSE is the winner. so one group was playing and the winning student yells out at the end, "i'm a HOR!" i laughed outloud. i love that they're still pretty innocent in grades 3 and 4.

all days in the life of mrs. shulba.

most suprising christmas gift of 07

a cd - the wailin' jennys - from tim.

the day before christmas, we each picked a gift to give to each other to open early. he hands me a cd-shaped package. "oh - thanks" giggle. rip rip rip. "hunh. the wailin' jennys?" "yeah, i really researched this to find you a new band that i thought you'd like." "hmm...thanks." "let's open and listen to it." "wellll...it looks country. did you buy it because you thought you'd like it?" "no - it's folky. sarah harmer like." "well, let's listen to some clips before we open it in case i don't like it." "okaay..." music music music. "sure, let's open it. it sounds okay."

as it turns out, (poor tim) it's the greatest cd and i've listened to it non-stop since christmas day. i love every song, no skipping certain ones. it is a little country - i can't deny it. but still fantastic. soo...

if you want to hear them with tim and i on february 8th, they're playing in Harrison Hot Springs (of all places...i don't think they're too big) and it's only something like $18. sweet!

i recommend a listen. even if it's just on itunes and not at the concert way out in the boonies.

the most coveted party favour ever...

so...greatest invention ever - the photobooth. when my friends and i were in grade 8 and 9, there was a black and white photobooth in Bootlegger at the mall and we would go as a group with our coins in hand and stay at bootlegger foreva eva, getting in and out of the photobooth. seriously hours. we'd plan the poses for each shot, people would jump in and out of the booth between shots. it was much fun. and these photos were the only things in our little wallets for many years.



i think i may have forgotten the fun of the photobooth...until last night.



domi and ang have created a photobooth. for real. with a screen and a camera and printer in a giant box like thing. apparently domi has one in hawaii and has rented it out at wedding receptions and it's been a big hit. and now they've made one here. http://www.photoboothvancouver.com/ . one cost, unlimited pics, greatest invention ever. well done dolientes! can't wait to see it up and running somewhere.



what event do you have coming up that you need a photobooth for? guarenteed hit.

happy new year!

christmas 2007

merry christmas! i think we can still say it up until january, right? though i said it to someone accidently at church today and they laughed at me and said "happy new year." hmm...

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so as always, the shulba christmas took place on christmas eve. we tried something new - cooking food on stones. yes, marble stones with fuel under them like fondue... i was definitely unsure of how this would work and whether we'd be waiting a long time to eat but what better time to try them out on an evening you have no where else to be except sitting around with family chatting? and as it turned out, they worked great. they're quite fun. and healthy really - tiny portions of meat and vegetables? it was very good.

prawns were my favourite...i ate 17. so maybe it's not necessarily portion control...

-

and then on to christmas morning at the macdonald household. we forgot to take pictures of us around the tree opening presents but we had a great time nonetheless. judy served up a great turkey meal and we remembered to take a couple photos then. (and i know you're wondering - but it's blueberry juice.) :)

and of course we gamed it up throughout the day. good times.

-

hope you all had a great celebration as well!

poached eggs anyone?

this is just a little by the way...because i couldn't let this information pass by me without passing it on to all other egg poachers out there...

yesterday when i was on the treadmill, there were two tvs in front of me - one had the news on and the other had the food network. i don't know who picks these channels but i did not. anyways, watching the food network and some girl was making a breakfast meal blah blah blah and she was going to make poached eggs (you know, when you crack the egg into the boiling water and then take it out in 3 min) and these were her tips:

[wait, let's insert here that i make poached eggs all the time and the problem is that when you drop them in, even if you do it gently from a little cup or something, the white part spreads everywhere and doesn't cook with the yolk. you may not care but people who poach are feeling my pain.]

so the tips:

crack the egg into a little bowl or cup first. (i already do that)
turn the heat down a little so it's not crazy boiling when you drop the egg. (i already do that)
stir the water (whatever.)
add a tsp. of vinegar before adding the egg.

so yesterday and today? added the vinegar and WOW!!! HUGE difference! the egg doesn't fly all apart in the boiling bubbles - it stays together! you have to try it.

then the woman on the stepper behind me (who apparently had the remote) changed from the foodnetwork channel to the news. the SAME news that was on the tv right next to it. so now i had two tvs with the same thing on it while i finished my intervals. i turned around and looked at her to try to show that i was watching this egg poaching penomenon but she ignored me.

at least i learned about the vinegar.

inspiration (or...you did what?)

so with the lack of blogging from people i know, i've had to resort to reading the blogs of people i don't know. on my google reader list i have been keeping up with these two blogs: Soule Mama and Wee Wonderfuls. two very crafty, sew-y, inspiring blogs. they make you want to be able to sew. seriously. so after a monh or so of reading...i've decided to do something about it...

i signed up for a beginner sewing class!

i know, its almost as shocking as me signing up for the triathlon (i said, almost) but i just think it would be so great to be able to whip up cute shirts or sew baby clothes for your friends' baby showers with the fabric that you get to choose. then i could learn to make quilts. the ideas are really getting out of hand.

so if you feel the inspiration with me, by chance, and want to learn to sew yourself...consider coming to abbotsford for 4 mondays starting jan 21 from 6 - 9pm with me. it's going to great.

i saw it...

juno.

it was awesome. when it comes out in theatres near you - go see it.

where can you see preschoolers singing, choirs rejoicing, skits like you've never seen before, all in one night? agassiz! see if the grade 3 4 5 class pulled it together and memorized all their lines in one week. come one, come all, to our christmas production wednesday night at 7pm. maybe if you're in the neighbourhood. haha. okay, i know, i know - you're not coming. but one year, i'll put out the invitation and someone will come and it'll be great. :) yay for jamie, judy, and tim for their faithful attending every year! see you tomorrow!

relax - it's just christmas shopping...

i started today. christmas shopping. after a long day at work, i went straight to winner's and wandered around. then to costco. then to walmart. then to the mall. then to future shop. and it was a great evening.

if you don't let yourself get too uptight about 10 person line or the fact that you had to park far away from the door and then walk in the rain - it's not so bad. i'm definitely a "wander till you find something you think they'll like" kind of christmas shopper. sometimes i have some pre-shopping ideas but most often i don't. i think it's less stressful. i'm not really looking for anything...just looking.

so if you still haven't started your christmas shopping, take a deep breath and remind yourself that giving is about the thought - not the amount of money. there's nothing that any of us NEED so it's all a little bit extra and that should be fun to shop for. smile at the people behind the counter because no doubt they're stressed and if you're shopping for someone who's hard to buy for, costco has a great deal on movie tickets. :) just so you know.

happy shopping.

for sharelle...

biggest mandarin ever.

no juno?

i have been waiting for the movie juno in great anticipation ever since i saw the preview at some other movie. it has my favourites, michael cera and jason bateman, and looked great (in that artsy, film festival way that makes some of you not want to go see it). tonight, we were excited to go see it since i'd heard it was out in theatres.

I CAN'T FIND IT!

in a deeper search on the the juno website i found that there are some free screenings over the next couple weeks. only ONE in vancouver on wed. dec. 19 at 7pm. if you live in vancouver, i suggest signing up for free tickets at 5th ave cinema - find more details on the website. also, you edmonton-ites also get a couple free screenings. but alas, i cannot go because it's our christmas program at school that night. sigh. but i guess we can go another night. :)

oh the propaganda

in case you don't buy 12-packs of diet cokes, i thought i should let you know some very interesting facts that are now written on the side of the box:

"Refreshing. Uplifting. Hydrating? It's true. Research shows that all beverages contribute to proper hydration. That means wether it's your first can of the day or your afternoon pick-me-up, Diet Coke helps you stay hydrated throughout the day. So stick with the Diet Coke taste you love. Your body will thank you for it."

who's buying this (the words above, not the diet coke itself...i'm buying that.)? your first can of the day? your body will thank you for it? oh man. too funny.

calorie counter...

i found a site that you can type in all the ingredients of a recipe and it will calculate how many calories, fat, fiber etc is in each serving.

http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/recipe_analysis.php

just in case any of you were wishing you had such a tool.

you've heard the ads...

but will 10,000 songs on our phone really give us joy this christmas?

the clock is ticking...

as we come down to christmas vacation, it also means the christmas program and this year...i'm at a loss. two years ago i searched and searched for a skit online that could accomodate 22 kids. one year ago, i wrote a skit. this year? i'm out of ideas.

HELP! Au Secour!

sooo...any ideas for a clever skit? any links to skits? anyone already written a christmas related skit with 16 parts and at a grade 4 reading level? haha.

no but seriously - i need a premise for a skit so that i can write one.

some time on your hands?

so you know when you have a little time to kill and you're on the internet but there's nothing new on facebook or the blogroll? what do you do? i hate to admit it but sometimes i play yahtzee online. so today, i'm having a snowday! school was very unexpectedly cancelled (unexpectedly because agassiz never seems to cancel) and there's a few minutes until something on tv comes on.

so...i went to the yahtzee page. and i get this blank screen with this message: this page is unavailable due to excessive traffic. sorry for the inconvenience.

excessive traffic? so what? doesn't one want excessive traffic at their page? anyways...now it's gone and i'm sure i could find it elsewhere but i liked this version. and i really should find something more useful to do with me time. ha.

what do you do with your spare minutes on the internet...i'll be needing some new ideas.

does anyone else feel like this?

so once december hits, christmas shopping is on for me. however, i tend to find lots of things that i'd like. but you're not allowed to buy them because you're shopping for others. so...despite this rule, i bought myself a christmas present today. augh. i hate people like me. but anyways...what do you think? it's real leather even though it looks a little shiny in this picture. worth keeping?