Some random things on my mind right now:


1. One day of school left before March break - wooooohoooo! Here's what I have planned: lesson planning with Tania, making my portfolio, sleeping in, scrapbooking, and hopefully something really fun like taking a trip to Burlington or renting a hotel room. A girl can fantasize.
2. My cooperating teacher is going on a cruise and I'm jealous. I wish I was going somewhere warm down south. I miss the ocean.
3. I haven't scrapbooked in ages. I miss it. But I am more in the mood to do digi-scrapping lately after looking at some of my year + old layouts and mini-books and being disappointed at how the glue is unsticking and the quality seems to be deteriorating in general. But digi would require more computer time, which is no good for my back. Plus it's so fun to work with your hands...
4. I need to take more pictures.
5. I just did a great core workout from the P90X series. I wonder if he's going to come out with a newer version?
6. Should we trust Benjamin Linus?
7. I wish they wouldn't show such detailed previews for the upcoming Lost episode. It gets me all rilled up thinking we'll get more answers than we actually do. Argh!
8. I am having Bill Compton withdrawal after finishing the first season of True Blood in record timing. More please! It's a shame to have to wait until the summer to see more.
9. I love the experience I'm having on my fourth stage. I couldn't ask for anything better.
10.We celebrated my brother's birthday over the weekend. He turned 22 and we had the usual family gathering.
11. I had to go to a crazy 8 hour-long training last Saturday on "difficult clients" for the biblio. That was intense. I'm so glad it's over.
12. I'm really craving chocolate right now.
13. I think the Etsy shop will finally be up and running by this weekend (fingers crossed) after much delay due to things going on with Pat's mom.
14. Speaking of which.... no good news to report.... very difficult times, but we keep going. I try to be positive and strong for Pat. I'm afraid I fail sometimes, because he's so often the one to reassure me and now the roles are reversed. But I'm learning and I want to do all that I can to help.

Well, that's about all at the moment that I can think of. I apologize if I haven't visited your blog in a while! I am so tired in the evening and have very little time. But I will catch up with everything over the break hopefully. Cheers. Oh, and here's a picture of the birthday boy and my mom. Not the best picture by any means, but watcha gonna do?

I am pretty well forcing myself to write this because I am so tired and not in the mood and my right side is aching (when I am overtired and stressed my shoulder/back injury acts up), but I need to get back into the groove of things. Stage is going really well so far - my cooperating teacher is the perfect match for me. She is exactly what I want to be like - very organized, prepared well in advance for things, great with the students, etc. I have nothing to complain about except that I am not yet adjusted to the schedule and haven't been getting enough sleep.

Other than that, this is my current TV obsession. Ah, HBO, how wonderful you continue to be. "True Blood" is from the same person who created "Six Feet Under). Love, love, love this show. The vampire romance is what has really got me, and not in the Twilight way (there is actually depth and history to these vampires that is very much in line with all the Vampire Masquerade games). Anyways, if you're into vampires, love stories, and a hint of comedy thrown in, I highly suggest it. That's all for now. Cheers.

Sunday afternoon is fading away ever so quickly... Today I finished up my LAST EVER assignment (besides stage) of my McGill career as an undergraduate. I don't think it has sunk in yet that I am done, mostly since I am about to embark on an 8-week stage, so the work is nowhere near officially over. But still, I will no longer be making the walk up that hill, or hanging out in the lounge area with cool friends, or listening to professors rant and rage about ethical dilemmas, or surfing the Internet in the Ed library, or buying coffee in the caf, or making Art, or engaging in discussions with classmates, or doing a myriad of other activities in the life of an Education student. It all feels sort of surreal, like it's gone by in a big blur. I have been at McGill for six straight years, and now it's all winding down. Pretty crazy, but rewarding. I think it's about time to move on and go out into the "real world".

But here's what I've discovered about myself: I enjoy being a student. When I first started in Education, I was dreading another 3 years of school, but now I'm finding it a little bitter-sweet to leave. Just when you start to discover the value of true education, of being passionate about what you're learning, and engaging in meaningful dialogues, and asking the right questions, and picking your brain with people who are just as into as you are, that's when it's time for you to move on! It's funny how that works. Granted, there are certain courses that were more useful than others, but I understand now more than ever that you get what you put in. I started this semester rather frustrated with the work load, but now I'm grateful for all that we had to do because I have more resources and knowledge going into the job.

It's all "real" now, I can't just brush it off and tell myself that I have plenty of time to learn this or that or gather resources. The time is now, and I have to make the most of it. I guess I've also learned how important it is to keep up with the times, to keep expanding your knowledge, to engage in professional dialogues and to have ongoing professional development. Who knows, maybe I'll do a Masters one day - we'll have to see where teaching takes me. It's all very exciting and nerve-racking. I am nervous, yes, but I don't think I have that paralyzing fear of my first year of teaching that I once had. I know that as long as I map out my goals, keep organized and on top of things, everything should work out fine.

I am beyond grateful to have become good friends with Mallory and Tania (we make a great team girls, and you too Kristin). If you're reading this chickies, as you'd say Tania, I've loved all our discussions together on break, it's been so interesting getting to know you more and learning so much about ourselves as friends and professionals. Yes, I will call us professionals even though we aren't officially. I will so miss you, but we must and we WILL keep in touch, right?

Pat and I went out for coffee last Thursday afternoon, and I talked and talked about all of this, everything that I'm feeling right now going into my fourth stage. It was really nice to have somebody listen to my long rant - he is so great at that. He also had a chance to share some of the stuff going on with him right now, professionally, but also with his mom, so I think that was much needed. I guess that was our Valentine's Day outing, even though it wasn't anything official. It was special for us to get some alone time away from the world and those are among my favorite moments with him.

Yesterday I went to the new Mansfield Gym with my mom to try a spinning class with an instructor we know. The gym is super posh - it's the one in the new Habs training facility. All their equipment is top of the line - all the cardio machines have built-in TV screens that you can plug your iPod into, and they also give you the option to watch a live-feed of your kids playing sports at the facility. There's also a private spinning room with a ton of brand-new bikes, which was nice. In the locker room, they have steam showers, a sauna, and all the supplies you could dream of, like tampons, shampoo, condition, soap, etc, and even hair-dryers and straighteners right on the spot. It was soooo nice... I was very tempted to sign up, but I don't really need to go to a gym with all the equipment and DVDs that I already have at home. It's more for my mom, who had a nasty experience at the gym she had been going to for over 10 years... I won't go into details, but let's just say the place is extremely unprofessional (and I know because I used to work there) and the boss treated her like crap, so she left once and for all, thankfully with a refund. Now she is trying out a bunch of new gyms and has to decide where to go.

Last night we had a supper with my parents for Valentine's Day (ya, so romantic, eh?). My mom made this cute little chocolate cake at the last minute:

In other news, I am currently devouring the next book in the Philippa Gregory series. Man those Boleyns are so conniving, but it makes it all the more entertaining to read about them.

Anyways, gotta go attempt to do some scrapbooking now. I hope you all have a great week!

I am so very out of the blogging loop. Things have been going by in a complete blur. The condensed semester is already wrapping up, so needless to say I am up to my elbows in school work, but thankfully I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have around one lesson plan left to submit and a few other small reflections, but they only need to be done by the end of the week, so I can breathe easy for the next few days.

Next Monday, I start my stage!! I got placed in Kindergarten at a school nearby that I'm already very familiar with. I am super excited. One of my close school friends also got placed in Kindergarten at another school, so we'll be able to share resources and ideas, which is a comforting feeling. I'm really at ease with runny noses, gluey fingers, constant hugs, circle time and all the other joys associated with five year olds.

Aside from that, being sick for the past week sucked most of the energy out of me. I have done nothing very exciting besides work, school work, and rest. Hopefully this weekend will be more interesting. I was thinking of renting a hotel room for Valentine's day, but we shall see. It would be rather expensive to do that and I'm not working very much right now, so I don't know if it's the best idea. I also have the urge to go shopping in the States, which I'm sure my mom would be all for.

I just had a moment of panic thinking that it was Wednesday evening and that I had forgotten about my staff meeting at the library, but thankfully we are Tuesday!

I haven't taken any photos or done any scrapbooking in quite some time. I haven't been doing much in terms of the Etsy jewelry shop either - we really need to get on this, hopefully this weekend there will be some time.

Alright, well this is a rather boring blog post with nothing pretty to spice it up, but what can I say? I'll put more effort into it next time.

Well, yesterday I came down with something and let me tell you that it's not fun at all. I had a really bad fever and kept burning up, and then a few moments later, would feel like I was freezing. I also had (and still have) a major headache. I woke up a few times in the middle of the night and had no clue how I would manage to make it to the career fair, but I did, somehow. Thankfully all my normal classes were cancelled today so I just drove downtown, went in and met with the school board that I'm interested in, and then left. I was okay during that time, but now I'm feeling icky again. I don't know if I'll be able to make it to class or work tomorrow. I have to just take it easy for now. I am weak and light-headed, and just "blah" all around.

I miss Patrick so much too, but hopefully I will see him very late tonight (if I am well enough to go and pick him up at the autopark).

Anyways, I did manage to take some more photos of jewelry, and here they are:

So.... my boyfriend has gone off to a Huna conference in Toronto with his friend/colleague Dave. Thus, I am all by my lonesome on a Friday night, and will be boyfriendless until Monday. I will use this to my advantage to catch up on a whole multitude of things including homework, taking photos, scrapbooking, reading, and just having some down-time, alone. In the past this would have been a huge issue for me, before I had hobbies and such, my ex can attest to that if he ever so happens to stumble upon this blog, but now I'm actually going to enjoy the time apart. Of course I will miss him, but it's good to just have some personal space for a bit.

Today I went to the Museum of Fine Arts, which was pretty cool. It was a field trip for my Art and Curriculum class; I'd never been before but it was a good experience. We had a guide to give us a bit of perspective, but I think I would rather have had my teacher explain things since she has a real knack for making interesting connections and presenting artists in real ways. We had to bring our sketch pad and draw a piece that stood out for us. I chose one by Lawren Harris from the Group of Seven. I've never been very into Art per se, but I find that I've been expanding my horizons lately. Are you proud of me Carm? I hope so!

Tomorrow I am going to try on bridesmaid dresses for Alex's wedding, how exciting! I can't believe that two, no make that three, of my friends are getting married this summer... it's all coming so soon, and despite all the crazy planning, it's going to be a lot of fun. I will have to start planning some grand schemes for the bachelorette parties, ha, despite their protests against it!

In other not so good news... please send your positive vibes this way for Pat's mom. I don't want to go into too much detail on my blog because it's rather personal to his family, but she is not doing well, as she has been fighting cancer for years now, and has recently taken a turn for the worse. I truly do not know a stronger person - she has carried this burden for so long, never complaining. She does not deserve to be going through this and it pains me and his whole family so much. But we must keep positive and try to make the best of this. She still has her sense of humor and her determination, so that is good, it keeps us going in the worst of times.

Needless to say, with all this going on, the jewelry store has been put on hold for a little bit, but if I work hard this weekend, we may try to have it up by next week sometime. I will be taking more pictures and figuring out prices and shipping costs shortly.

I have to end with something uplifting. So I give you these relatively recent scrapbooking layouts. Have a great weekend people!

I've been neglecting my blog lately because I've been super busy on the school, work and hobby front. Pat's been very busy making jewelry and meanwhile, I've been starting to set up the shop and take pictures of pieces, which is super fun and allows me to be a bit creative with the fun scrappy paper backgrounds. We decided to call it "The Silver Sea". I made an account but it's not officially open yet. When it does open and we start uploading the items, I'll be sure to let you all know!

Aside from that we went to Julie's last night to celebrate her birthday and Ryan's, which was fun. We had some fancy coffees and strawberry shortcake, very yummy! I also went to Darla's during the week for coffee, and saw Cheryl and Brent at the same time. It was good to catch up and I'm happy that we are hanging out more often. Next time the two Pats will have to do some bonding, right Darla :)

I have been writing a lot for school and such so I haven't been much in the mood to write on here. I really should be making more of an effort. At the moment, however, I'm really tired after a VERY BUSY day at the biblio with annoying customers. So I'm a few minutes away from reading this beloved book and then watching this movie. I hope you all have a great week.