Happy Birthday to Me ...

So today was my birthday - 26. It was an awesome day. Really it started last night - we had a dance lesson where I got some pie and was sung to before we met one of my best friends (ex-boyfriend actually) and his girlfriend of ... oh about a year? ... for dinner. Today we met my family - my entire family, minus my dad - for lunch. Mom, Step-dad, Step-mom, brother, his girlfriend ... it was good times with awesome, awesome people. And a good haul! Some new clothes, a manicure/pedicure gift certificate, some wine, a cut and colour for my hair, bookstore gift certificate ... :D Nice. Plus my gramma sent me $100 to play poker with - a new passion of mine. Awesomeness.

We then went to dinner with our friends Alex and Don - they are awesome and generous people, with very sweet kids, who showed us a nice dinner. She baked us a cake, and we had a lovely visit. Ari got to test his 'daddy' skills playing with their son, and we then headed out to see "Evita". It was a college production with all the attendant technical kerfuffles or whatever, but a very talented cast who did everything they could, the show was watchable and enjoyable. And my way-too-generous husband, on top of this date, bought me tickets to Romeo and Juliet in Stratford. I've only been to Stratford Festival once since HS, and it's a great but expensive experience he managed to find a great deal on so yay.

Hopefully tomorrow is as productive as today was relaxing and NOT productive lol. Meanwhile, wishing everyone as a great a day as I had. Peace all. XO

What a day!

I have to admit I haven't been in this lousy a mood in a couple weeks. Kids ... testing today, really testing. And you know what? They succeeded - they got a rise or two (or four or five) out of me. Definitely not the most stellar hour in the history of my teaching career ... on the other hand, I think I might have 'scared' a few of them 'straight' as it were, so that's all good. I just managed to tie up my next two lunch breaks with detentions. Really detentions should be served in the office, or under the auspices of a teacher assigned that 'supervision' duty, in a detention room, like I remember it being in high school and middle school anyway.

Other than that I'm trying to motivate myself to clean up this pigsty ... I have to admit since the move has been getting close we've kinda been letting it go, and sort of feeling 'why bother' since no one's coming over and it's messy and we're surrounded by boxes anyway - I didn't go pick up my husband because I wanted to clean up around here, and I just ended up going down for a two hour nap (although obviously much needed). But things are going well. Tomorrow is FRIDAY which is always a positive, and then I get to go out to a dance lesson and see some old friends for a late dinner. Saturday is my birthday and we're meeting my mom, step-dad, and step-mom for lunch, before going to Brantford an hour away for dinner w/friends and the theatre. Sunday is called "Sarah has to finish her marking" day.

So the busy-ness doesn't stop, but hopefully 'days from hell' are on hold now till at least Monday. Please please please ... :S

The Moments that Matter

Moments That Matter
(Aaron Lines/Mark Irwin/Josh Kear)

I used to think I was a bigshot
Thought I had it all but guess what
Can't measure life by the things you got
In the end it all ends up to nothing

I swear I missed so many birthdays
Valentines, hallowe'ens and anniversaries
Left me lonesome in the worst ways
But mister I learned something

Chorus
You can't buy back the moments that matter
You can't buy back the moments that matter
There's a big pot of gold at the top of the ladder
But you can't buy back the moments that matter

Gonna play some football in the backyard
Teach my nephew how to play the guitar
Call up some old friends and play some cards
Waste a few Saturday evenings

Gonna take my wife out dancing
Every now and then without her asking
Spin her around singing and laughing
There's memories we should be making

Chorus

All this talk about the good life
Makes me realize I got a great life
Gotta keep my priorities in sight
You just get one time around

Chorus

You can't buy back the moments that matter
You can't buy back the moments that matter
Years pass you buy and the days start to scatter
But you can't buy back the moments that matter

A 9-Letter Word

Which, if you remove its letters one-by-one, each forms a proper English word, right down from 9 letters to 1 letter.

Can you guess what word it is? Watch below to find out.

Thanks Roz for the video! :)

Awesome start ...

So - today was a good one. One of my classes was on a field trip so I got a nice unexpected prep time, plus I managed to retain my G2 (not that that was really a surprise - I've had it for years, and been driving awhile, but I haven't had time to get my full license but I can't keep this one past this month without re-qualifying so I did ... yay).

We had a nice dinner to celebrate, bought some groceries, and all that ... I'm now mellowing out with a glass of wine before sitting down with some marking and some half-naked sweaty athletic men (yes ... WWE Raw in an hour lol).

AND ... the projected thunderstorm DIDN'T HAPPEN, which meant I got to take my kindies outside to play - which is usually more fun for them, and results in them being better behaved (or, more to the point, if they DO slip up it matters less as it isn't inside the school and disturbing other classes). So all in all a good start to my week ... hope everyone else's began as successfully! :) Peace.

I'm BACK! YESYESYESYES!!!

So - my internet is back. I still have an axe to grind with Bell, but we'll deal with that at another time. I had a good weekend camping near Ottawa, am in reasonably good spirits despite being bug-bitten and tired, and don't especially desire to aggravate myself currently.

I'm doing my best to look forward to the week ahead - and no mistakes, there are some awesome things coming up. I'm excited about my birthday next Saturday, which will consist of having my parents (Mom and step-dad, Dad and step-mom, brother and his girlfriend) over for lunch before having dinner with some good friends and going out to the theatre afterwards. Sooner than that I'm looking forward to Friday, with a dance lesson and dinner with really one of my oldest and dearest friends, as well as his girlfriend (who's a sweetie pie too). But a staff meeting Wednesday ... and a driving test tomorrow just to keep a license I've already earned (and which I'm nervous about, since my parking is Godawful ...) ... I could stand to skip all that. Plus the unpacking from camping. :P

So - it's an eventful one, and hopefully ultimately a good one - but one I'll try to keep in touch through and about. :) Meanwhile, I'll leave you with my new favourite picture in awhile. It's from last weekend at my mom's house, Ari and I with my brother Kyle and his gf Dawn. :) I think it's an awesome picture of 'the kids', and I definitely plan to get it developed and framed as soon as I get a moment or two to breathe. Peace all! XO

Quick update

Hey guys - still offline (actually at my in-laws right now borrowing their computer) - but thought I'd drop in just to say I hope everyone's having a great long weekend, as we are (minus the lack of internet lol). We met with a couple of friends for breakfast yesterday and then went to the market before rigging up a TV and DVD player on our balcony (with the help of extension cord of course) for an outdoor movie marathon, complete with a couple glasses of wine. A very nice afternoon!

And now after shooting up some internet, as my FIL called it ;), we're heading to the movie theatre to check out a wrestling pay-per-view attraction, and tomorrow it's to my mom's for lunch. All in all a good time! :) And hopefully Tuesday the internet will be back up and running, and I'll be back at work refreshed and reenergized, and all will be well. Hope all is well out there with my cyber-friends, and hope to be in touch again too. Xs and Os to everyone with the patience to put up with my offline-ness this week. It's killin' me! :P Cheers.

Due to technical difficulties ...

Our modem is busted.

I'm writing this from the Kitchener Public Library. I feel SO out of touch. I did not realize how internet-reliant I was until I've had to go the last 24 hrs. without email ... Facebook ... my blog ...

I'm hoping to get back here to the lib this weekend - but in case I'm too cheap to cover the $1.25 parking, we have been told our modem should be replaced early in the week. So check back Tuesday @ the latest.

And meanwhile in case I don't get back til next week, Canucks, enjoy the long weekend! :) Peace all. Xs and Os.

Happy Mother's Day

Was busy most of the day yesterday
So didn't get a chance to blog
But right now would like to say ...

Happy Mother's Day:

Mom -
You are my best friend,
My inspiration,
The woman I hope to be.
I have never met someone
So universally liked
And respected.
And if I haven't said it enough,
You did an awesome job.
Any good in me
Comes from you
And your tireless work -
Even if I didn't always appreciate it.
Thank you.

Gramma -
You were my second mom,
My best friend,
My first phonecall every weekend,
The person I trusted most growing up,
And you still top that list today.
I respect the care you take
Of your family,
And admire your strength
And unconditional love and support
And honesty. Thank you, as well.

Monique -
You came into our family at a tough time,
But you make my dad so happy,
And have been an awesome friend
To my brother and to me.
I can never thank you enough for that -
For not being an 'evil stepmother',
For being so kind to all of us.
Many, many thanks.

Val -
You raised the man I love,
And did an awesome job.
You are a voice of calm and reason,
Never overbearing but always observing,
And you have earned my respect, trust
And love and appreciation always.

To the moms I know -
Alex, Joanna, Lynn, Jules,
Many of the girls at work -
You're awesome. You're strong,
You are raising some of the nicest,
Most intelligent, most amazing
Children I know.
Thank you
For being the young and cool
Moms I want to be.
And Jules - thanks for being MY mom
During a very trying time this winter.
I still have your jacket. ;)
Thanks everyone.
Hopefully, I will join your ranks next year.

And to all mothers everywhere -
May this be a time to reflect;
On your successes, on your 'areas of opportunity'.
A time for your family to appreciate you,
And for you to appreciate yourselves.
Happy Mother's Day.
God Bless.

A Rant

OK. Let me preface this entry with the fact I KNOW that in the grand scheme of things, this is the very definition of 'small potatoes'. With 100,000+ dead in Myanmar, George Bush as US President, soldiers still in Iraq and Afghanistan, reaching the peak of oil, etc. my little problems as a solidly middle class 25-year-old professional woman, happily married in Canada, will very rarely amount to 'First-Class Tragedy' status. But hopefully here I can vent some frustration I've been dealing with this week, having recognized it's not a major thing, so that I can get it out of my system and return to being the generally happy, calm, productive young woman I've worked on being these last few weeks (contrary to my general jaded, lazy, cranky character lol).

I mentioned some frustrations with the Ministry of Transportation yesterday - that they don't book road tests outside of bankers hours, that you can't keep your mid-level license (the G2, between the learner's and full permits) once you've earned it unless you get your full license before it expires, etc. Well, as frustrating as it is, life is life, I'm more than familiar with public sector nonsense, and as I mentioned last night I was prepared to deal with it, requalify for my G2 and take my test for my full license once I got a break from work in the summer. Well, as it turns out ... as long as I am scheduled for that G2 test, I am considered a "G1" driver - ie, on my learner's permit. Ie not allowed to drive by myself, etc. etc. etc. - I find this out while I'm at school and my husband is at work.

Now for the sake of not incriminating myself I won't say how I made my way home, but the point is this is a HUGE inconvenience, and puts me between a rock and a hard place. I am a qualified licensed driver, able to drive by myself, and quite competent at it. But if I intend to not let my license as I currently have it lapse, I need to rely on the bus and my husband's driving me around for the next ten days. Which is not exactly the end of the world admittedly, as I said, but to give up the freedom and to be judged as a novice driver simply because I haven't had my own car in which to get driving experience and practice until 6-8 mos. ago, and now I actually WORK during the hours testing is available, due to governmental public sector red tape, is pissing me off royally. Again ... not exactly a nuke going off or famine or a natural disaster or world peace, but one of those petty little personal grievances, and since this is a personal blog, I figured I'd air it.

All that on top of a very WEIRD and FRUSTRATING teaching day ... this is definitely time to be T'ing GIF.

And I'm spent. :P Thanks for listening guys - I DO feel better and promise to make my next post more upbeat. Luv y'all. XO

SUCCESS IN THE KITCHEN! ... And other tales.

I COOKED YESTERDAY!

That is my big triumph. I actually cooked. lol I made a ham. And corn on the cob. And it was edible. In fact, it was even ... dare I say ... 'good' and 'yummy'.

Words cannot describe. :D

Today was also productive - sent off a bunch of mail I've been sitting on, went to a Dr.'s appointment (blood pressure slightly up - probably the ham ... salt and all, y'know? that plus a Tim Horton's habit I've apparently developed this week), shopped for Mother's Day (no small task with a mom, a step-mom, a mom-in-law and a VERY VERY dear grandma to shop for ;) ), and just generally booted about town in my hot little Optra.

Which reminds me - I want to take my "G" exit test (for non-Ontarians: basically going from my learner's permit to my full license) in Stratford - I'm ready for it except I'm not terribly experienced with highway driving and the highway in Stratford is less scary than the Kitchener one - but they don't schedule those roadtests after 3:15 pm. Well I'm at work till 3:15. So what I'm going to do - right now I'm on my permit between my learner's and my full license - yay graduated licensing - but it's about to expire, which would bump me down to my learner's again. So I'm going to requalify for that next week (which is incredibly basic and I should be able to do in my sleep ... though let's hope not) and then in the summer when I'm not working as consistently (or will at least have a break between jobs I'd think), I'll get my full license.

But meanwhile - might I add a grumble here about government/public sector bureaucracy? ARGH are the MTO and drivetest people frustrating ... and to think my silly husband thinks private enterprise is generally all kinds of wrong. Perhaps - but at least they are efficient, and you can cow them into being customer-friendly at least SOME of the time ... but anyway. I'm trying something new this week - it's called focusing on the positive - so I think I'll get off THIS ride before it takes me into cynical and jaded-ville ... where I've already spent way too much of my time over the years.

But that aside, as you can see, BUSY - that's my life in a nutshell lately - and it doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon. The fun part of the school year is about to commence - camping and year end assemblies and parties and stuff - plus we're going camping at the end of the month so I can take a French certification test, and my birthday is coming up, plus we have a wedding to go to, and our move, and perhaps more progress in other areas of our life ... and then it will be Sept. again before we know it. Whoever said time goes faster and faster as you get older knew of what they spoke, let me say that!

A new favourite song

"SHE'S IN LOVE WITH THE BOY"
by Trisha Yearwood

Katie's sitting on the old front porch
Watching the chickens peck the ground
There ain't a whole lot going on tonight
In this one horse town.
Over yonder, coming up the road
In a beat-up Chevy truck
Her boyfriend Tommy, he's laying on the horn
Splashing through the mud and the muck

Her daddy says, "he ain't worth a lick
When it came to brains, he got the short end of the stick"
But Katie's young and man she just don't care
She'd follow Tommy anywhere

She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy
And even if they have to run away
She's gonna marry that boy someday

Katie and Tommy at the drive-in movie
Parked in the very last row
They're too busy holding on to one another
To even care about the show
But later on outside the Tastee Freeze,
Tommy slips something on her hand
He says, "my high school ring will have to do
Till I can buy a wedding band"

Her daddy says, "he ain't worth a lick
When it came to brains, he got the short end of the stick"
But Katie's young and man she just don't care
She'd follow Tommy anywhere
She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy
And even if they have to run away
She's gonna marry that boy someday

Her daddy's waiting up till half past twelve
When they come sneaking up the walk
He says, "young lady get on up to your room
While me and junior have a talk"
But Mama breaks in and says, "don't lose your temper
It wasn't very long ago
When you yourself was just a hay-seed plowboy
Who didn't have a row to hoe"

"My daddy said you wasn't worth a lick
When it came to brains, you had the short end of the stick
But he was wrong and honey you are too
Katie looks at Tommy like I still look at you"

She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy
What's meant to be will always find a way
She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy
She's in love with the boy

What's meant to be will always find a way
She's gonna marry that boy someday.
She's in love with the boy....

A truly awesome weekend ... and looking forward to a good week!

So I have to say this weekend was pretty damn cool! Yesterday was busy, but not in the 'running around, too much to do stressful busy' kind of way. A high school friend of mine - Marjorie - is having a baby, so we went to her baby shower yesterday afternoon. Got to see my good friend Alex there as well, and it was fun. Your typical kitschy baby shower - awesomeness. I don't know Marjorie as well as many others so our gift wasn't particularly creative - we got them a gift certificate to Babies 'R' Us - but I think that's probably more appreciated than trying to figure out what they already have or don't.

And then last night was a belated birthday dinner for another hs friend of mine - Joanna. I went to school with her, her husband Jeff and her brother Joel, so we all, along with some others, got to spend the evening together. Another high school acquaintance I hadn't seen in a long time - Steph G. - was there as well so it was awesome. J&J have a beautiful home, and their 8-month-old baby is still cute. I know - I checked! ;)

The down side of all this though is that I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday, and I'm not entirely sure I blogged Friday either, which of late isn't like me I usually try to be on here every other day or so. But I'm here now, and you know where I've been. Tomorrow is going to be another out-of-touch day, as I think I'm going straight from work, to picking up hubby, to Toronto for a wrestling event! :D Wrestling hasn't been in Canada in almost a year due to the last set of shows being around when Chris Benoit killed himself and his family, and as he was Canadian the Canuck leg of their trip was cut. But they're back now, and we're going to RAW tomorrow night! YAY! But I'm sure I'll tell you all about it when we're back. Meanwhile, I'm going back to the tear of packing I've been on ... hope everyone else had an awesome weekend though and keep readin'! ;) XO - me.

A question about childrearing

Just an interesting discussion my husband and I had last night ... any thoughts?

I own two VERY old books of fairy tales that used to belong to my Nanny (my paternal grandmother). Now, I'm not talking Disney-fied, romanti-fied, pretty fairy tales. I'm talking the old school Germanic "Cinderella's stepsisters cut parts of their feet off so they can fit into the glass slipper" fairy tales.

I grew up with these books - my grandmother read to me from them, as did my parents. And I'm talking from a young age - like 3 or 4 - and I was a very sheltered, very easily traumatized, impressionable little kid. And I don't remember any of them upsetting me any too much (not that my memory of 20 years plus into the past is necessarily that great) ... which must be some indication that kids are pretty resilient and can handle these things. And if that's the case, well, as I said, I grew up on these stories, these books are 80 years old or so, and have a great value to me I'd love to share with my future children.

But was I strangely immune somehow? Is that kind of "villain gets their eyes pecked out by birds" ending somehow damaging to impressionable children? And for anyone thinking I am pro-these books and Ari (hubby) is against, period - not the case. We have both been going back and forth it was actually an interesting conversation that I would just love to let others in on, since that's what blogs and the internet etc. are for!