Why not nothing?

Just checkin' in on the blog front. I have been "busy" tanning, floating around in my pool, reading, scrapbooking, working out, relaxing, catching up on some TV, and working on some projects. Summer is the greatest. Being a teacher is the greatest.

I have started a mini-book about my trip out West and am feeling rather impressed with myself to have crawled out of my rut. I want to get some new supplies to motivate myself even more. There's always a reason to buy more scrap stuff ;) Not like I need a TON of things... just some paper and possibly embellishments. And whatever else catches my eye.

What sucks is that my camera is on fritz. I had to bring it to Future Shop. Thankfully I took an extended warranty, so it is still covered. They say it should be repaired in 4-6 weeks. I am secretly hoping that it will take 60 days or longer, in which case I will get a new camera. It's kinda time for an upgrade anyways. We'll see what happens. I do need to get a bit more serious about my photo skills though. I want to take a course, perhaps online, to teach me how to actually use all my settings. I need to gain more patience in that domain. I can borrow my mom's camera if need be, since she bought the same model as I have a little while ago.

Anyways, time to get on with my day! Enjoy your Tuesday.

hello scrapbooking!

For the first time in months, I made a scrapbooking layout! Cue the applause track...

Yesterday I was editing and printing photos from my trip to BC while simultaneously downloading/sorting some digi scrap stuff (yup, adult ADD brain keeps me jumping from one thing to the next). I was pretty impressed with a free kit I'd downloaded from Sweet Shoppe Designs (found via Barb on Ali's blog a while ago - scroll waaaaay down to find it as I can't seem to link directly to the free download). I opened Photoshop and started playing around, until finally creating this. Feels good to get back into it. Maybe today I will attack my paper stash.

Hope you're all keeping cool during this on-going heat wave. The table revamping has been put on hold over here as we enjoy swimming and tanning. Summertime and the living's easy!

stuff right now

Reading...

Watching...

Listening to...
Also, hoping to get back into the scrapbooking groove soon!! Why is it so hard to start? My desk is clean but I have no motivation to print photos... I'd rather be by the pool. What a terrible dilemma ;)

Back from the West

Well, I have been back for several days now, but it apparently takes a while to decompress, recover and get organized!

I said goodbye to my little ones on the 23rd. That was hard times. They didn't quite get it. I actually got choked up in front of them at a certain point and they were looking at me, confused and unsure what they should do. It's the uncertainty of what will happen, of what will become of some of them - that was what really got me. It's tradition at my school for all the teachers to line up to see the buses off on the last day. I watched them all zip past one last time as we waved goodbye... I sucked it up as much as possible to not look like a complete idiot! At least my dear partner in crime was crying as well, so I wasn't alone.

Afterwards, we had an ice cream party in the staff room, where I spilled my drink all over the back of my pants. So typically clumsy, which was particularly funny after joking with the janitor that he'd better not spill his ice cream on me! The party committee gave out presents to the teachers who wouldn't be back next year, and I realized just how many of us will be going our separate ways. It's not to say that we won't run into each other again the future, but still, the chances of our group reconvening are slim. Such is the nature of this profession, though. I should at least be thankful for the friends I've made and the times we've shared.

The very next day, at the crisp hour of 4:30 am, we awoke to prepare for our trip to BC for my dear cousin's wedding. I was beyond tired, but also very excited for the road ahead. After a pretty smooth 4.5 hour plane ride, we touched down in Wild Rose Country. The beauty of the mountains for afar, juxtaposed against the city of Calgary... truly breathtaking. (I have been far too lazy to edit any of these photos very much yet).

We were greeted by uncles Jeff and Randy - gotta love them! The original plan was to take two vehicles, but due to an unforeseen doggy emergency that morning, we were one traveler short, and thus one car short... So we had the pleasure of cramming six people and mounds luggage into a Tahoe, which appears rather large but fills ups very quickly, let me asure you. We were four people in the backseat for 400+ km. Not the wisest or most comfortable move, but hey, whatcha gonna do? We made due, and it was still fun, albeit we were slightly grumpy.

We drove to Banff for some sight-seeing, but sort of ran out of time, so decided to return on our way back a few days later. The scenery is difficult to comprehend if you haven't seen it first-hand, but here are some photos to try to do it justice.

We also went to Lake Louise. Amazingly beautiful!

As for the wedding itself, I am so impressed by what Jessica and Andrew planned. It was perfect in every way - the setting, the music, the ceremony, the vows, the games, the people, the food... I am so proud of Jess's planning abilities. She crafted a lot of the things herself (center pieces, card box, and so forth) and also bought from Etsy (how cool). They danced to Weezer and concluded their ceremony with Arcade Fire - my kind of wedding! We were also beyond happy to finally meet Andrew, the groom. He is the nicest guy ever and I know that my cousin will be very content and well taken care of. Here are just a few highlights from the big day.


There are many more stories to tell and photos to post, but the day is already getting away from me and there are other items on the famous to-do list. Patrick and I started refinishing a table and that's a huge (and gratifying) project. I also need to work-out very soon. Some cardio is in store. I should be back more frequently, however, now that I have all the time in the world...

Cheers!

Birthday Boy

Celebrating my man's birthday this weekend. It's been sweet so far. Friday we had a family dinner. Yesterday, we went here. It was just what we both needed. Last night we went out for supper with friends and then had a Beatles Rockband marathon. And yet another cake, from here. Midnight Madness - awesomeness. Thank god we sweat so much at the spa...

Today is a packing and organizing day. Perusing the net for the time being. Slowly waking up. Need to get some coffee going. Need to stop drooling over the new iPhone...

Also, it is Father's Day! I made my dad a card and will see if he wants to go out for lunch. Sometimes I tend to leave my dad on the sidelines with all the stuff going on. But especially with all he's been through in the last few years, and how much he's supported me throughout my life, I need to treat him.

Love you Dad!

Have a great Sunday. Cheers.

The end is the beginning is the end

I'm standing at the precipice. In a few short days, all will change. Boxes keep mounting around me. The walls are coming down. The kids don't fully understand. I hate feeling like I'm dismantling our little haven - for some, the only truly safe and comfortable place they have. It pulls at the heartstrings for me to wonder where they will be - who they will become - how I have influenced them, if at all. I hope - pray - that they will have happy, fulfilling lives. I hope their memories will take some small fragment of me with them.

The coveted month of June is finally here but feels surreal. I was thinking about it today - how children grow slowly, gradually, in our peripheral vision, somewhat out of consciousness, until one day we look at them full on and are blown away by the transformation.

The past few weeks, we watched our caterpillars ever-so-intently, magnifying glasses in hand, yet never caught the change. It happened over nights and weekends - in those little moments between all the rush, when we were too busy to pay attention. But surely, willfully, those butterflies emerged.

We let those butterflies go last week. It felt strange, having seem them through from tiny larvae. Some flew off, eager, strong - but a good handful clung to that damn box. They did not want to leave; I had to coax them. Only now, upon reflection, am I realizing the symbolism.

Oh man, it is going to be so hard to say goodbye. I know I have to let them go. I just hope they will fly.

June is the crazy month

It's been a while and lots has been going down! I am gonna go ahead and launch myself into some random blathering. I apologize in advance for how ridiculously long this will be. I am taking a break from writing report card comments at the moment to record what's going on before this month is come and gone. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT IS ALREADY MID-JUNE!

Here is what's on my work to-do list:

1. Finish K reports

2. Enter marks for Grade 1

3. Finish photo-collages

4. Finish portfolios

5. Finalize Father's Day crafts

6. Buy giant bins and start packing my class

7. Make slide-show (if an ounce of time/sanity remains)
8. Photocopy books

9. Organizing K Grad in more detail

10. Student write-ups for files

Seeing it all written out like this, it doesn't seem completely terrible. It seems somewhat manageable, even, minus #7. I might not do that one. But I will probably succumb to it in the end, because I know it'd be worth it to have the memory. I have a sneaking suspicion that the scrapbooker in me will win.

Other than that, I am getting ready for my cousin's wedding. We leave for B.C. on the 24th. Between now and then, I need to get hair and nails done. Oh, and attend a house-warming party. And have Patrick's birthday. And Father's Day. And retirement and end-of-year parties. And graduations. LOL it's almost comical. I can't say I despise it. But I am looking forward to some down time in the Rockies, that's for sure.

This week has been super busy as well. Last weekend, we helped Cindy and Jay move into their brand-spanking-new (and super nice!!) condo.

Patrick was entertaining Jason's niece Heidi, lol.

And then there was Pat's dad birthday the next day.

We also went out with some work friends this week to this awesome live music show with reggae/jazz style of music. It was really fun and hopefully we'll make a routine out of it!

Even more exciting was the surprise Arcade Fire (FREE!!) concert on Wednesday in a parking lot nearby - totally wonderfully unexpected and random. But great :) Patrick and I have been huge fans since seeing them live years ago with U2.

You can't see much, but here they are:

There is so much more I could go on about but I really should try to get some work done! I have procrastinated enough. I was supposed to be getting right on all my tasks while Pat is with a client... but as usual, my Internet and photo obsession seems to have taken precedence. Aw well. Hope you all have a great weekend!! Cheers.