Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Weekend Recap

Tuesday, 5:02pm. It is HOT, HOT, scorching hot. But I'm not complaining. Summer has arrived, or at least the illusion of summer until another cold front blows in. My shoebox classroom suddenly feels all the more stuffy. Patrick bought me a fan for school but I have yet to install it. It makes me think I have less time to endure there, somehow, if I leave it in my trunk. Dumb logic perhaps, and laziness. I am attempting to stretch my wardrobe to accommodate the school rules (no tank-tops or short shorts) but it's a pain. Nevertheless, I choose this weather hands down over snow. Hands-down. There is no question. I love summer.

This weekend was great... went to Ikea to dream and plot the future. Debated coffee tables, bedroom furniture and the likes. Ate in the cafeteria. Appreciated the intuitiveness of the Swedes. Reminisced about Patrick's time exploring there. Checked out the world map for quite some time, and wanted to buy it, but 200$ is quite pricey, no?! Nearly bought a cheese grater and lint roller until we saw the size of the line-up and opted out. Lip-synced some Yeah Yeah Yeahs into said lint-roller while air-guitaring it a bit, until I realized people were starring. Can't help it sometimes when a good song comes on. My bottom lip must have looked atrocious, as I'm told, but I'll go along with it to live the musical euphoria. It makes me feel good.


Also this weekend, attended a BBQ at Alex and Ryan's. It was nice to catch up with them - lots to share indeed!! On the menu was sausage (curved and spicy - LOL), zucchini and corn on the cob - my first this season and sooooooo good. Alex also made a super-duper fruit salad. And, I tried out some Vodka Mudshakes (or something resembling that name) which were like drinking chocolate milk. Need to be careful seeing how I'm such a cheap drunk! Also got to be in kitty heaven, seen here. I am sure a sucker for cats. I think I would be the crazy cat lady if Patrick didn't intervene.

Patrick and I went biking, too. Needed to get the bikes all prepped for the new season - tires were inflated, seats adjusted, gears set. We went to the lakes and back. We hung out under a tree on the crunchy grass. We eavesdropped on conversations and I plotted possible scenarios between characters. Then we rode home in time for a nap. Then pina coladas, burgers, and oh yes, a LOST marathon. My dear, dear show has come to an end, and I must say that I'm pretty satisfied. I know a lot of people aren't, but I felt like there was closure with the characters. I liked that they didn't answer everything for us, and respected us enough to use our own creativity to fill in the gaps. Well done! I liked the scene with Christian Sheppard, how he told us "there is no here, now". Powerful stuff. Need to re-watch, of course, before it all sinks in.

At least Lost finished nicely. Unfortunately, the Habs didn't. So disappointing. But I will say that they put in a great run. Where is this coming from? I'm surprising even myself by writing this or caring at all for that matter. But maybe, just maybe, a hockey fan has been created. And the fact that Patrick won (by dance-off, but that's another story, lol) season-opener tickets for next year does help.

We also went hiking and swimming yesterday. We climbed to the top of Mount Bruno, posed beside the ski lifts and then my camera died. But we did catch a few decent pics near the lake. It was nice to be away from the crowds. To take whatever path came to us. To have some interesting and heartfelt convos. I do appreciate these moments, even if I don't let on sometimes.


Wow, so proud of myself for getting back into writing and documenting mode. Sometimes it feels so contrived and annoying, but once you're in the flow, it's so rewarding. Now I must tackle something else on the list of things, on my way towards fulfillment: going to the gym. It's 5-fit this evening, should be unbearably hard and capable of producing several f-bombs, but enjoyable. Cheers.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

FeeL Good Inc.

Presently in love with these things:

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Pure goodness. Must have been a hippie in a previous life. They make me soooooo very happy.


Also, this book:

More on my fragmented happy list:

the series finale of LOST!!! very soon.

the season in general. crab-apple blossoms, caterpillars, bohemian sandals.

long days. warm nights. a three-day weekend coming up.

Sunshine.

exploring insects with a new set of eyes... the joys of a kindergarten classroom.

the thought of my cousin's wedding. rocky mountains. hot springs. photography heaven.

the glimpse of my scrap supplies every morning - the thought that today might be the day i attack my stash again.

a trip to ikea, soon. watching sarah richardson every morning before i leave for work with my giant coffee mug. the discovery of this and this. wonderful. like having a scrapbooking page on your wall :)

the excitement of a hockey-loving school and town (and boyfriend, of course). never thought i'd become a fan, but turns out the habs are that much more entertaining when it's the playoffs.

5-fit. lifting heavy mo-fo weights and feeling proud.

browsing teacher art blogs like this and this. making templates for the kids. am i a geek or what?

inside jokes. safe havens. letting down my hair and all the rest at the end of the day. the joys of being cared for when i'm sick and yucky.

that is all for now. cheers maties.

xo

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Circus Birthday

We were here on Saturday. Great, great show, I must say. It was my mom's surprise birthday present, although I have a sneaking suspicion that she knew all along. I was surprised that the boys (my dad and bro anyways) wanted to tag along, but they actually had their minds blown by the whole of it, me thinks. There was some stellar acts, and the costumes and set design were out of this world. I highly recommend it to anyone in town.


The whole day was mom-centered. We made her brunch in the morning, then saw the show, then went out for dinner, and came back home for cake. I think she was happy with her double-whammy birthday/mother's day weekend. I hope so at least. It's hard to live up to her birthday party planning legacy. But I'd like to think I came close.



On another brain wave.... less than six weeks left before the end of the year and my big trip to BC for my cousin's wedding!! As grateful as I am for the experience I've had this year, I'll be looking forward to the break to recharge my batteries and do some more me-centric sort of activities. Instead of making portfolios for all my students, for example, I might get back into scrapbooking on a regular basis.... one can still dream.... I've been told by colleagues that this is a normal part of the year - feeling completely fed up and exhausted and such - so I'm trying to go with it. I still love my group but I'm so sick of having to make and plan everything from scratch day in and day out. It's hard to understand unless you're a teacher I suppose. It's just that the work never ends; it always comes home. I guess this year's been about learning to set boundaries and accepting to go with the flow a little more, or else I would have absolutely no life. I'm a little discouraged that this might get worse in the older grades with a larger class size, but I'm trying to not let it get to me too much. I think overall it's been a super positive experience and I've learned a lot - professionally, socially and personally. Can't complain, really.

Okay, well I've got a date with the BF and some Smallville to catch up on. Gotta love the cheesy goodness of the Kents. Come on now. Cheers.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Happy Birthday Mom

So, haven't been blogging... my priorities lie elsewhere at the moment and that's okay... although I would like to get back into the groove soon. I just stopped on quickly to share this little clip I made for my mom's birthday. Although it's annoying, you'll have to pause my playlist while listening. Cheers!


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.