Christmas 2007

Happily Married - this is our 5th Christmas together.

The DS addicts - I think Fergus likes the fast moving Mario Karts.

The wee Christmas maniac. He personally inspected all gift bags while they were under the tree.

My lovely new sister-in-law.

Boys in stripes.

Mom with her new pet worms. Good thing she's a good sport!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas too!

Freedom

It's the most wonderful time of year!

It's the hap-happiest season of all!

(School's out today. I think it's even better when you're a teacher!)

worm poop

Today, I bought a pile of worm poop (and worms). Actually, I bought two piles (one for my Mom as a Christmas gift).
Why? you ask. Good question.
Vermicomposting.
These crazy red wigglers will eat all my kitchen scraps (tea bags, coffee grinds, banana peels, onion skin, etc.) and then, they will create marvelous soil for my flower garden. (Some people pay big bucks for this kind of nutrient laden organic compost to add to their plants.)
My outdoor compost is frozen and I wanted an alternative.
If you're interested, you can check out: garbagedelight

P.S. Bev - if you're reading this, please don't tell my mom. I'd like it to be a surprise for Christmas. Thanks!

Weighed and Measured - Month #1

Eggnog, shortbread and a double helpings of Tara's delicious Nanaimo bars.
After a week of no gym time (just a lot of heavy lifting backstage) and many over-indulgences, I thought this might be an awful time to be weighed and measured.
I refuse to have a scale in my house. I was a wee bit obsessive in grades 8, 9 and 10 and I really don't want to go back there.
Being weighed and measured once a month is something Curves will manage for me. I like that just fine.
No weight gain (despite litres of eggnog... it's my favorite). Lost an inch! Yeah for me.

Christmas goodies

Aunt Leone's Famous Shortbread
3 cups of flour
1 1/3 cup of icing sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 pound of butter (yes... it's okay because it's Christmas)

Knead by hand and roll into little balls and place on cookie sheet. Cook at 325 F for ~ 20 minutes.

I baked with Trevor's sister and Mom. We had fun. We made a pile of tarts and cookies. I think I may have eaten too much. Tomorrow, I do it all over again with my Mom and sister-in-law.

I think this is Trevor's favorite time of year. He keeps smiling and smelling and tasting.

"Oh, the drama..."

I'm the back stage lady for our school's annual musical. It's an all-Elvis Broadway musical. It's hilarious.
I spent my weekend at work. Yes, that made me grumpy.
However, when it all comes together, I have big dreams of this show being awesome. I'm just scared it won't come together. Tomorrow is our first show and, we still haven't practiced the whole show without stops. Eeek!
I am not in charge. I just need to make sure that the jukebox and the scenery are in the right places.
Wish me luck.

Winter sleep

When I was in high school and rode the bus each morning, I actually looked forward to December because the ride would always be dark. I could drift back to asleep while the bus lurched along.
I would nod in and out of awareness as farm kids piled onto and off of the bus.

Now, I have a similar commute to school. Only this time, I'm driving myself. Granted, I have some nice wheels. Also, I love my job. Lacking motivation to go to work is not my problem. My problem is the urge to sleep as soon as I'm in a vehicle for longer then 15 minutes. It's dark. My body has just warmed up with that "coming in from the cold" feeling. I'm full from breakfast, the music is playing and I fight the urge to sleep. I've taken to drinking coffee as I drive just to stay alert.

I'm looking forward to Winter Solstice so that the days will get longer. It'd be nice to have a happy sun greeting me in the morning instead of darkness.

P.S. The title of this post is also the title of this great new band I've recently discovered. They're from Nova Scotia and they sing this oddly catchy song called "Weighty Ghost".

a little gaming cheer

One of my favorite Christmas season past times is playing games with friends and family. I find games a lot more enjoyable then all sitting around the TV watching a movie. When we play games, people's true colours come out. Competitive streaks, greed, shrewdness and sibling and spousal rivalries are all revealed. Hmmm, nothing like the Christmas spirit.

These are my Top Games.If you're looking for a good time with friends and/or family. I highly recommend any of these games!
(This ends my voluntary product placement segment. Hasboro - if you'd like to send me some advertising dollars, I wouldn't turn them down.)

Bring it on...

Just in case you couldn't guess who we'd be cheering for
in the 95th Grey Cup!

Spinning...

Around this time, every year, I feel like I'm spinning out of control. Teachers get bogged down with a lot of marking right about now.
On top of teaching, I'm helping with a Musical. I can't sing or dance so, I've opted to head up the backstage crew. I refer to my shy crew as the Backstage Ninjas.
I'm also advising for the Enviro group. My love of compost got me in trouble. They're great kids... a little group of tree-huggers to call my own. It's going really well but, it takes a little time.
I don't really get lunch breaks. I'm always in my classroom helping kids catch up. That makes my days long.

On a brighter note, I'm really enjoying my experience at Curves... as cultish as it may be. I like the circuit idea. I've always like circuits. They remind me of Track practice. Some machines are mean and make me work muscles that I normally ignore and other machines make me feel powerful and strong. After my ~35 minutes, I feel good about my self.

On an even brighter note, Riders are going to the Grey Cup. I feel like I'm in grade 5 again. I can hardly wait to see them kick some Bomber butt.

Weighed and Measured

Today, I went to Curves. I'm signing up for a membership. Shock and awe, I know. I think it is a bit odd of me too. I'm not really a gym girl.
Except, that I'm not really a runner like I was in the past. It hurts my knees and my hips when I run. I tried walking a lot this summer. It was good times with my Ipod and 5 kms around park. Except, I don't have an hour free every day for a walk anymore.
I'm finding that with my new teaching job, I don't have time like I did last year. Daylight is a rare thing during my day. I leave in the dark and get home in the dark. It's not as busy as Lanigan but, it still keeps me hoppin'. In Lanigan, I ran or worked out a few times a week. I was single and I had one TV channel and a very inactive social life. My new life is full. I need something quick and effective. Curves workouts are designed to be just 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.
I'm afraid of being that girl who gains a pile of weight when she gets married. I'm afraid of being the girl who "lets herself go." I don't want to be that girl.
I know, those of you who know me, I don't look like I've gained weight and, I really haven't. I've just lost my good tone. I'm a little more jiggly instead of lean. Enough for me to want to do something about it.
I have to be a little careful. I can get a little obsessive about exercise, food and weight. I have struggled with a very skewed sense of self-image. That's one of the reason I've chosen Curves; they monitor me and keep track of what's going on with my body.
Today, I was weighed and measured. We'll see if I feel good about myself here.

Newlyweds....

Well, here as some of my favorite pictures from
Tim and Karri's awesome wedding.

The Adventure That Wasn't

Trevor and I had planned on going to visit Jared (Trevor's brother) who lives 8 hours away. We thought it'd be a great adventure in our new car. I had great visions of shopping (yeah IKEA) and Trevor had restaurants already picked out for our fine dining (Cheesecake Cafe and Olive Garden). We had a cat-sitter ready to look in on little Fergus from time to time. It would have been grand.
Except, Trevor got sick.
Last weekend, I had this terrible cold-flu that knocked me out for a good 3 days. This week, it was Trevor's turn.
Therefore, we are home. We've still had some sort of fine dining (Smitty's for brunch) and I've still gone shopping (finally bought myself some brown boots... to compensate for my sorrow over no IKEA). Fergus is happy to have us home during the day is is extra cuddly.
We're relaxing a lot.
It's not quite what we wanted but, it's still nice to have some time off work!

Civic Duty

I voted today in the provincial election.
I always get a little excited over elections.
I like the power of the little "x" in a box.
I know one vote doesn't feel like much but,
what if we were all apathetic?
Then, anyone
could get in.
People in the Weimar Republic (Germany, 1933)
felt disenchanted and apathetic about democracy.
They elected Hitler.
I know it's a giant leap... however, I take my vote
seriously.

3rd Season Blues

We don't really watch
a lot of TV.
Sometimes a little Heroes or Friday Night Lights.
I love the adventure of Amazing Race.

We found this crazy show that makes both of us laugh.
The characters are outrageously flawed.
We bought
ALL THREE SEASONS.

Definitely an impulsive purchase.
It's been worth it.

We've started the 3rd season.
We're a little sad knowing that it's coming to
an end soon.

What will we do without Buster, George, Michael, George-Michael,
Lindsay, Genghi, Gob, Tobias, Oscar and Maybe?
Sigh....

HALLOWEEN

Have a Spook-tacular Halloween!

Snip snip

There comes a time
in every young, house cat's life when
his owners decide he should never,
ever procreate.
Those said owners take
the wee house cat to the
vet and have him
fixed.

Sorry Fergus.
It kind of sucks for you
right now.

Bagged Lunch

I kind of get into a lunch rut. Sometimes, I pack the same thing over and over and over again. I have seen way too many bagels, granola bars and yogurts. I still can't bring myself to pack meat sandwiches after elementary school... blech! I went through a wrap phase. It was good but, too time consuming to prep.

I wish I just had a button that I'd push and an original, healthy, satisfying lunch would come packed and ready to go.

S-P-O-I-L-E-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, we bought a 2004 fully-loaded Mazda 3. Yeah!
A nice, young U of R student bought the Mustang. She's equally ecstatic.
Our sales guy has only been in the business for 4 days. This was his first sale. He was thrilled.
He's also a bar tender. He bought Trev and I some fancy drinks after the sale.
Win-Win-Win
All is well in the world of Jill (could just be the fancy drinks talkin')

Mustang Sally

Above: For Sale

Below: In my dreams... here's hoping!

Anybody want to buy my Mustang?
That's the question of the day for me.
It's a really great car and I love it lots.
However, since I'll be commuting to work, I'd like something a little newer. And, if we're getting newer, we need to be practical.
I'm head over heels in love with Mazdas. I'm looking for a Mazda3. My other dream is a Tribute. We have friends that have one and I really like the look of it.
Yesterday, we did the car dealership thing. We didn't think it would be stressful but, the Honda dealership and the Toyota dealership were high pressure places. The Mazda guy talked with us, let us test drive and then left us alone. I preferred that.

A Touch of Random

1. I'm healthy again! No more late nights coughing.

2. The Ferg likes to eat red pepper. He goes nuts every time I'm cutting one for salad or stir fry.

3. Tim and Karri have been married for almost a week.

4. We're still trying to sell the Mustang. Know anyone who wants a sweet ride?

5. Trevor's curling again.

6. I am help with a musical called All Shook Up. It's like Mama Mia... just Elvis instead of Abba.

7. I miss having free lunch hours.

8. I do not miss hearing the "F-word" on a regular basis.

9. Our yard has a ridiculous amount of leaves that we need to deal with soon.

10. Tonight, Trevor and I are going to a Weakerthans' concert.

MR. and MRS.

This sister and her husband...
were happy to witness the marriage of Tim and Karri.
Now, we're happy to be done.
I need a nap! :)
Happy Thanksgiving!

3...2...1

In just 3 more sleeps,
this guy
will
marry
this girl!
YEAH!

Predator and Prey

I am being stalked.
I can see his ears peeping around the corner.
I know his bum is wiggling as he is about to pounce.
He attacks everything and anything that moves.
The straps on my school bag are not safe.
Pounce! He's on my lap begging for attention and swatting at my necklace.

I can't imagine my life without him.

Can I Do This For Homework?

When I left my small town teaching post to pursue a city teaching job, I really thought it would be the same. Instead, I ended up in school that was located in a very poor area of the city. My priorities fast shifted from academics to how to give my students skills to survive in the world. I got used to late students and missed assignments. If you'd heard some of the things that were going on in those kids' lives, you'd understand why I was just proud of them for showing up and trying. I learned to be a little more flexible.
Now, I'm thrown back into the academic whirlwind. All my students are seated and ready to go by the time the class bell rings. All of my students have handed in all their assignments. I haven't worried about the health and social welfare of any of my students to date. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor today when one young man asked me, "can I do this for homework"?

Tim and Karri's wedding is coming up in a week and a half. Trevor and I are in the wedding party and we're in the middle of preparing the powerpoint. Things are getting a little busy around our house. Poor Fergus doesn't get the play time and the cuddles he was used too. I'm looking forward to the wedding and I'm really looking forward to all these preparations being done. I'm tired of my homework!

Voiceless

Laryngitis.
Definitely not how I would normally choose to start a new job.
My coughing keeps me up at night.
I'm really rather pathetic.

The new job is going well. I have 2 Psych 20 classes in the afternoon. I love Psych 20. It's a really great class and I'm excited about it. I will be working for Student Services in the morning. There's a plan but, no one's really informed me what it is yet. Ah well... it will happen soon enough.

An abrupt change...

Last Wednesday, I sent in my resume to a division outside the city. I had an interview on Friday and this morning, I found out I have the job.
So, I'm leavin' the hood and heading to Bedroom Community. Today, during Foods, one of my students was hauled out of the classroom and arrested for auto theft. The police cuffed him right in the hall. We could hear everything. I guess I'll have a little culture shock again. I doubt that will happen in Bedroom Community.
I'm taking on a different kind of teaching job. I'll be working with Student Services and I will be providing guidance to teachers. I really have no idea what that means yet. I'm still excited that they think I have the ability to help troubled students.
I'm taking a few days off first. I need to get things sorted out for Grandpa's Eulogy and powerpoint. I need some time breathe and process all the changes in my world. The loss of Grandpa hits me at weird times. I cry a lot right now. It was kind of strange to say good-bye to my hood school when I was so upset over Grandpa. It felt kind of unreal.
Well, this job is an answer to prayer. I'm excited to go back to where I interned. I'm excited to be challenged in my professional development. I'm excited to teach in an academic setting again and in my subject areas.
I just need to get through the next couple of days and get my feet wet and Bedroom Community school and I'll be back into the swing of things.

Grand-pa

My Grand-pa passed away last night.
Trevor and I went to visit him in the hospital. We had a good long talk. I thought he'd be released from the hospital after the weekend.
I'm really sad. I loved my Grand-pa a lot. We liked to tease each other. He always had time to talk football with Trevor. He was my co-worker at Gov't House where we took our breaks together. He's always been in my life.
I'm glad that he knows the Lord and is in Heaven. I'm glad that he is free from pain.
I really miss him.

a blur...

At the end of every teaching year, I try to look back and reflect on what I've been up to with students, with lessons and with my own growth as a professional. Strangely, during those reflection periods, I usually get stumped when I try to remember what I did in September.
Now, I remember why. September is a nutty month. My classes are new and are keeping me swamped.
I'm proud to say that my students have successfully completed 4 cooking labs. We haven't burnt a thing and all the the food has been tasty. It's also really fun. I like the hands-on learning aspect.
I'm also really excited that I am no longer intimidated by fractions, long division, decimals or exponents. By teaching these concepts to kids who are really struggling, I've been able to figure out a lot myself. I also can empathize with them when they think math sucks.
I'll be subbing (with a temp. contract) at this job until Oct. 23. Then, I'll try my hand at subbing... unless anything else comes up.

On a whole other note, Fergus is growing fast. Our vet thinks he'll be a big cat... Garfield here we come. Trevor and I spend a lot of time being stalked, pounced upon and cuddling. He's a pretty social kitten. He's been a good addition to our little family.

Male Bonding

Trevor, Jared and Ken took a trip to Yoho National Park this past long weekend. They hiked, they scrambled, they cooked on a camping stove, they backpacked and they tented. It was a full weekend full of many memory making moments.
Here are a few snapshots to show you the fun.

100th Post - A Long-Weekend Mishmash

This morning, as I crawled out of bed late, I realized that my summer was over. I taught 3 days at my inner-city high school and I am tired. I'm trying to wrap my head around how to cook in a very old facility with some pretty wild kidlets. I'm also trying to remember how to do improper/mixed fractions and long division. (Man, I suck at long division).
I love being back to work. I love learning new things and conquering new challenges. I love hanging out with kids. They keep me on my toes! I have no idea how long this subbing gig will go. Hopefully, I'll be able to wrangle a contract out of the School Division (cross fingers ... they are difficult about these sorts of things).
Trevor's off on a long weekend trip with his little brother and dad. They're back-packing through Yoho National Park. I'm a little jealous of his adventure but, I'm also really excited for him. Right now, he should be scrambling some mountain. :) It's weird to have all this time at home without him. I've rented some movies that I know he would never want to watch. Our moms have also taken it upon themselves to make sure I don't have many meals alone. My biggest problem is sleeping. I am startled awake every 3-4 hours wondering where Trevor is. I miss him lots!
This is my 100th post on this blog. I've always been a little curious about who reads this blog besides the lovely Jen, amazing Amanda F., sweet Sue and the notorious Edward. Please de-lurk. I've taken off my anti-anonymous post security just for this blog. Tell me who you are. Thanks!

That's what I get...

After spending a good little bit feeling sorry for myself, I wind up with a job... kind of.
I'll be back to my inner-city high school filling in for a lady who is out recovering from surgery.
It'll be maybe a month of subbing for her. That'll be way nicer then just showing up at random schools pretending to know what I'm doing.
Except... I won't really know what I'm doing.
My assignment is to teach Foods 10 and Re-Entry Math 9 (don't ask... let's just hope that means we'll be at the same level in math).
Hmmm... my week just became a little more adventurous.

Sulky

Today is the first teacher prep day of the school year. This is the day teachers across our fair city "officially" (meaning they get paid for it) go back to their classrooms after a peaceful summer.
Normally, I like spending this day cleaning, re-arranging posters and desks. I also like to go over curriculum and photocopy like crazy.
Sadly, I am at home... feeling sorry for myself.
I'd really like to be teaching. It's sort of my thing. I get pretty feisty about the causes of the First World War. I miss looking up French Top 40 songs. I really like trying to imagine what kinds of drama games kids in the hood would actually want to play. I miss my fill-in-the-blank lecture about the history of psychology (I always got a kick out of showing kids pictures of trepanning).
Maybe somebody will hire me yet.
If not, I'll try hard to be the best darn sub in the city.

Eeeek!

Eeeek! I was outside, watering my compost (like a good little compost geek) when I felt something scurry by my feet. Thinking Fergus had escaped, I looked down. To my chagrin, there was a little brown mouse running under my compost. Eeeek! In a moment of panic, I watered him with my hose.
I feel betrayed. I love my compost. I am close to ridiculous about it. I have followed all the rules about what foods to include and what foods not to include. My compost eats a lot of kitchen scraps, baby weeds, grass clippings and other good things approved of my handy-dandy compost book.
I looked up "trouble-shooting" in my little book. The only way that my compost should be attracting vermin is if I put inappropriate foods in it. Foods like meat or dairy products. Blech! I have not done that.
My brother-in-law had a good idea. He thinks I should release Fergus. Fergus is very adept at killing his toy mouse. That thing has died a million deaths already. I'm just not ready to let my little cat outside yet. I'm afraid he'd run away and become one of the strays the Humane Society picks up.
I think I'll look for those mouse traps we got as a wedding present. We giggled nervously then and commented on the oddness of the gift; but, here I am, one year later, "eeeeking" over a mouse.
Fortunately, this thing is in my yard and not my house.

Below Ground

I've been putting it off all summer.
I have pulled weeds until my fingers were blistered to get out of doing this.
I'm afraid of what's down there.
Today, I started to sort my basement.

My mother was thrilled when we got a house because then, all the weird stuff I've accumulated over the years and have stored in boxes in her basement, will move to our basement.
Porcelain dolls (that I hated even when I was little and felt guilty about not playing with).
Old Archie comics.
University textbooks.
Weird, smelly stuffed animals (that I felt guilt not playing with because I thought they were ugly).
Ceramic Andy and Annie dolls, ceramic clowns and ceramic cows???? What kind of kid was I?
Books galore.
Wedding presents that we're still unsure of.

The list goes on.

We'd like to move Fergus' food and litter box downstairs. We'll have to wait until he can handle stairs. I'd kind of like to have some organization down there before it becomes a cat lair.

Good thing it's been a rainy day. I'd hate to be below ground on a sunny day.

Welcome Fergus

Late last night, we took a drive out of city to a friend's farm to pick out a kitten. Yes, I said a kitten. Finally, I am allowed to have a kitty. It took a year of convincing Trevor but, we've got the kitty now and there's no going back.
Fergus is a little ball of orange and white fluff. He thinks we're scary and he acts tough by hissing at us and burrowing himself into a corner. However, he purrs really well when we pick him up and cuddle. Last night, he meowed for his mommy pretty much all night. I felt guilty and sad for him. Fergus just learned how to drink from a bowl. He's litter trained (cross fingers) and he's starting to be playful. Today should be adventurous for us.
I have about a week and a half until school starts again (still no contract... eeek...) and I hope that will give him enough time to get used to life in our world.