In The Effort to Post More

Happy New Years (Eve) friends!

Today I slept in until 11. This is because I'm on holidays and can do such things. Plus I spent all yesterday planning and marking and sitting in front of a computer trying to get my life organized. So I deserved to stay up watching British television.

I am all caught up with Downton Abbey, which is delightful. And by delightful I mean heart wrenching, beautiful and really really well done. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes television. I could write a whole blogpost detailing the high points of Maggie Smith's acting. That woman is probably my hero, and not just because she played Wendy in "Hook".

Because of my whole (not-so) new love for British television, I am watching a show called Doc Martin. It is a cute little series about a surgeon who moves to a small town in Britain to be the local doctor because he develops a phobia of blood. It isn't Downton Abbey, but it is easy to do my homework while it plays in the background. In fact it is playing in the background right now.

New Years Eve. 2014. Woah.

 I believe one of my resolutions was to write more blog posts. I think a result of this resolution will be that I end up writing more, but writing about inconsequential things. Hence the current subjects of this particular post.

Usually if I write something that I can justify as being even remotely interesting to other people I write something to let them know. I probably won't mention this post on Facebook. 

Off to shower!

New Years Resolutions

Christmas has come and gone but the turkey weight remains. I wouldn't be female if I didn't have a resolution that had something to do with being "healthier" or "losing weight". Though I do have these thoughts, I think I want to phrase it differently. Keeping this in mind, my first resolution will be:

-I won't let my body weight effect my happiness.-

In a way this is no different from saying I want to lose 10 pounds or I want to go on a diet. It is just a more positive way of looking at it. All about the packaging, I say. I'm determined to have better energy levels and a more active lifestyle. In doing this I will probably lose weight, but I refuse to stress about that cookie I had 2 weeks ago. 

Next I want to talk about my career. Being a teacher is incredibly rewarding, but can also be time consuming and stressful. I am determined to be better prepared for lessons and assignments so that I avoid any kind of extra stress. So my next resolution sounds a little like this:

-Only fake it till you make it when absolutely necessary-

Any new teacher knows what I'm talking about with that one. 

The following are other resolutions that don't need much of an explanation:

-Go on more interesting dates with James-

-Write one blog post a week-

-Write more in general-

-Nap less, sleep better at night-

-Manage my money more efficiently-

-Drink more water-

-Finish renovations on the house-

-Take more photographs-

-Garden-

There are so many more that have escaped my memory, but really that is probably plenty for 2014. I know so many people that have wonderful intentions in January but by February they are stuffing their face with chocolate (okay maybe when I said "people" I meant me) because they have deprived themselves. This is what I hope to avoid. I don't want to delete or ignore any aspect of myself, but add positive goals and actions so I can feel like a more rounded person. 

Fill your life up with the positive and the negative will take care of itself. 

Now I'm off to nap (remember, nap LESS, not never.... Moderation being key with that one). Now, to leave you, one of my favourite gifts this Christmas...

Anniversary Weekend

As promised, I will write a blog post about my romantic weekend with James.

I will simultaneously watch "Alien" because my brother bought it on Bluray. You wish your Monday night is as exciting as mine.

So, a few weekends ago--James and I traveled a whopping hour to the city of Victoria. Growing up in the area, I have always realized that Victoria is beautiful however I'm not sure I appreciate it 100% of the time. It is nice to have a vacation in your own city as it essentially reminds you how lucky you are. Or I am. Because we don't all live in Victoria.

Excuse me while I pause, the man in the movie just had an alien extract itself from his stomach.

James is an author. I've mentioned this before, but it is worth bringing up again. James being an author means that we like to find inspirational spots where he can write. This means that a regular hotel room really doesn't float our boats.

I love anything with a Victorian/Edwardian feel. Basically anything before the 1950's I enjoy. When James and I found the Beaconsfield Inn on the Expedia, we fell in love. Built in 1905, on the website it says "Named after a luxurious London Hotel frequented by King Edward VII in pre-World War I England, the Beaconsfield Inn turns the clock back to a gentler time". The inn was built as a gift from a daddy to his daughter. This of course, played at my heart strings as I am a daddy's girl.

We arrived in Victoria and decided to go shopping downtown as to try to get ahead of the Christmas chaos. James and I strolled near the harbour, I drooled over books at the Russell Books (they have a whole new antique section) and we accomplished quite a bit in the Bay Centre Mall.

At 3pm we checked into the hotel. Instead of napping (which is usually my go to) we went into the library to have tea and freshly baked cookies. James wrote while I read. It was a bibliophile's haven. We did this until it was time to go see "Enders Game". James and I have both read the book and in order to fully explain how I felt about that movie I need to write another blog post.

Sigourney Weaver just made sure she saved the cat. Good woman.

After "Enders Game" we went to Il Terrazzo by the inner harbour. Note to self, do not eat popcorn before going to a five star restaurant. I had the most delicious food, which is good because James spent more than I have ever spent on sustenance in one seating. SCALLOPINI di MAIALE Panko breaded scaloppini of pork tenderloin with pulled pork, smoked cheddar and tomato chipotle sauce, served with three cheese fusilli.

Doesn't that sound amazing? Because it was. I even drank wine. Like a friggin lady, I had wine with dinner.

We went "home" (because Beaconfield feels like home) and basically went for a swim in the jacuzzi tub. Okay, it wasn't that big but I pretended to swim. After that we watched an episode of Doctor Who in bed.

The next morning we had a three course breakfast. It began with a warm, fresh croissant. I had coffee and orange juice as that is how I roll. Then we had cinnamon apple puree with lemon whipped cream. The final part of the breakfast was french toast but it was so much more than french toast. It had cranberries in the middle and strawberries on top. I'm not quite sure, but perhaps it was a brûlée? I was too enrapt by the look of it to listen very well.

We spent the rest of our morning at the inn, in the library. Where else? James wrote and I read and took pictures. We met the owners little dog, Mindy. It was a comfortable, romantic trip and I would recommend the inn and the restaurant. Five stars, people. Any place full of books with delicious tea and food is good by me. Plus I got to spend time with James, whom I love. 

Please note the following pictures are from my cell phone and are therefore crappy by nature. Check out the website for far better quality.

I had a good weekend

James and I have been together for a year. We had an anniversary weekend and it was delightful. I will recap everything when I have a free moment. With pictures. Promise. 

This Teacher is Employed

If I had any readers, they might perhaps be wondering why I haven't written a word in the last... Three months?

Luckily I don't have any readers to disappoint so my absence has gone wholly unnoticed. 

Unless I'm wrong and somewhere, out there, there is a faithful fan to this weird little blog that has looked every day since July to see whether there is any new material. In that case, I apologize. And thank you. And question what kind of life you lead. 

This blog is not up to date. Reading back on my posts, I see that I announced my job as an intern at a local private school. 

I am not an intern. If I had followed through with that job offer my life would be entirely different right now. I would be living in a dorm, substituting in various classrooms and assisting with the arts at the school. 

This would have been a fabulous experience for me and would have had me well on my way to being a teacher in my very own classroom. 

Instead, I was interviewed and hired at another local private school to teach Drama, Social Studies and English. Therefore, I skipped a whole step in my life plan and am now a real live teacher. 

I teach part time in my own classes and am on call for the rest of the school day. 

I am very busy, and very happy. 

I have grand plans of posting about my lessons and learnings. I shall post pictures and tell all my classroom strategies. 

Stay tuned, or don't. I may be lying and won't post a thing. But I'll try my best to keep my word. 

In other news I've been listening to the audio book "Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett. I'm finding it very funny, so I'm going to go do that now. 

Tootles. 

The Happenings

What is this? I have a blog? Oh. I must have forgotten. That is why I haven't posted in so long. Silly me.

If I was to sum my life up in one word it would be this: busy. I'm busy with work, I'm busy with my social life and I'm busy with my hobbies. However, my body--which knows me best--has decided it is going to hit me with a summer cold to slow me down. I left work early today to come and rest my weary bones. I still have to go to rehearsal tonight, but oh well.

Right! I'm in a play! I got cast in a local theatre group's production of "Twelfth Night" in which I play Viola. It has been a huge commitment, but a lot of fun. I also play James' sister, which has been ammunition for many incest jokes during the last couple of months. Will these jokes get old? I'm not so sure they will.

Work is great, I'm currently teaching preschool. I have learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, one being that kids really do say the darndest things. I had a little girl say to me that she was "IN love with her Dad" to which I said "I love my Dad too", she replied "NO, I'm IN love with him." I smiled and gave her a thumbs up....

There have been lots of weddings this year. I suppose I am now at the age where many of my friends and family will be getting married. I like weddings. Free food and love, what more could you ask for?

I wish I could see some of my friends more. I would really like the opportunity to sit down and watch a chick flick with some of my ladies. Perhaps when the play is over?

Teaching Updates

My friend Naomi, whom I traveled to Vietnam with, is now living in Bella Bella. I could try to explain to you exactly where Bella Bella is, but I would get it wrong. Basically, the point of me saying all this is so that I can direct you to her very funny blog. Lots of insights on teaching, the wildlife in British Columbia, and the antics of a severely suicidal cat. Read it, you won't be sorry. http://lavidabellabellabc.blogspot.ca

As for me... Well... I've been extremely busy which is partially why I have been the most negligent blogger in the whole world. Bad Blogger, bad bad. I've been working quite a bit at three different private schools as well as figuring out my job situation for the summer and starting in September.

I HAVE A JOB! I will be working as an intern at a private school starting in September. This includes room and board, WITH THREE MEALS A DAY! We all know I love to eat, so that is very helpful to my wellbeing. I also had an interview at ANOTHER private school for a one day a week position, the interview went quite while so we will see what happens. Long story short, it is looking like I'm going to be very busy next year. This is a very, very good thing.

The other day I subbed for a grade 2 PE class. The kids were very misbehaved and I had to tattle on them to their teacher. I don't like doing this, because ultimately I feel like I could have done something differently however in this instance there was really no alternative. Their teacher made them write apology letters to me, which was actually so cute. I taught them Computer Technology later in the day and they insisted to read them out to me. I got to keep them after, as well. There was a lot of "We should not behave bad when we have a substitute because she is new and we should help her" and "we shouldn't call out or talk when it isn't our turn because then we won't get to play games." It is hard to stay annoyed at kids when they say things like that.

I went to Alberta! I met James' family, including his 91 year old Grandma. This was really nice for me because I was super close to my Nana who passed at 96. We also went to the TELUS SCIENCE CENTRE. I learned much about the solar system, the human body and the making of MONSTERS in film and tv.

I'm happy to be home. Alberta has pretty skies, but not enough trees. Or mountains.

Glorious Saturday

The cleanse is finished, done, complete, OVER! I'm going to have cereal for breakfast!!! It is going to be so milky and sugary and DELICIOUS!

In all honesty the cleanse wasn't too horrible. I don't think I lost as much weight as James, but I'm really going to try to eat healthier and pay attention to the ingredients in my food.

My biggest goal is to not eat past my full point. I love food so much sometimes I just keep on eating even if my stomach says "We're DONE!"

Things I discovered on The Wild Rose Cleanse:
-Almond butter and apples. It is yummmmmmmmy.
-I clearly don't eat enough guacamole
-I have mad respect for those with dietary restrictions
-Even if I change my diet I still like naps
-James is a good cook no matter what his ingredients are
-I love sugar
-Many things have unnecessary ingredients in them that are not good for you.

Also, I was on the radio! Super fun. I was doing my best to drum up some interest for James' book "Crystal Promise". I'm hoping to get the stations permission to post the recording.

Ok, I gotta pee so I'm going to go now.

TOOTLES!

Wild Rose Cleanse

I have wanted to do a cleanse for a long time, but I thought I would be better suited for something over the weekend rather than anything long term. Then, James suggested the "Wild Rose Cleanse" which is twelve days long. I told him how difficult that would be for me and I made sure he understood I may not be the easiest person the complete such an endeavor with.
We are on Day 6 now and I am sure he has realized the truth in my warning. The first three days I was a bit of a jerk. Even though he was cooking the majority I complained about how there was "nothing good to eat". Which of course, was a lie because everything he cooked was delicious. I'm much better now that we are halfway through and I've apologized for my petulant behaviour.
The cool things about this cleanse:
1) You can eat as much of the "allowed" foods as you want (you are supposed to leave proteins for 20% of your diet but really, who is to say how much that is?)
2) It seems to work in terms of weight loss-- though what I really care about is energy levels. I'll keep you posted on that, as I just woke up from a nap so nothing has changed. Though I think it isn't supposed to until the end.
3) it forces you to be creative food wise. Yesterday I went to the grocery store and I found salsa, guacamole and CORN CHIPS we can eat. The discovery of chips has made my life so much better.

The not-so-awesome parts of the cleanse:
1) food takes time. So it is tough on the go.
2) NO SAUCE! I love sauce. Like ketchup.
3) No bread, which is another of my personal favourites.
4) the pills are laxatives which I'm sure you can understand why that would be a downside. Though if you have nothing to do and you are just hanging around the home for a couple days, it isn't so big a deal. It gets less as times goes on, as well.

Anyways, I cannot tell you how much weight I've lost as I do not own a scale, but James will tell me I'm sure, at the end. Toughest moment will be for me tomorrow as my Aunt is cooking a turnkey dinner. Stuffing is my absolute favourite thing in the whole world and I cannot have it, or gravy. But I have resolved to take a container and freeze it so I can enjoy it after next Friday. I can have most of the rest of the dinner, thankfully.

March Madness

As I wait for James to finish whatever he is doing so we can watch Indiana Jones, I have decided to write a post regaling you all of the ups and downs of March 2013.

I shall recount my tale in a way that goes positive, negative and then positive again. We learned this "sandwich" technique in school to use when talking to parents about naughty children, though most of the time I have no problem talking to parents so I haven't really utilized it too often. Anyways, here goes.

I have a job interview for an internship position starting in September. I really hope I get it because I would be much happier living where I am currently living. I have strong connections here and James is now working at a book store. I can't just drag him away from a job that benefits me in such a wonderful way. He gets discounts and he can set good books aside for me before shelving them. This is a very serious perk, and cannot be taken lightly.
The internship position is for the dorms, so my hope is that I will be able to teach and be a dorm mom at the same time.

I had to put my 20 year old dog down. This was one of the most difficult things I have done, as I had had her for 17 years. Having something constantly underfoot for that long means when it goes away, you are still tripping over something that isn't there. She was a wonderful dog, and she will be missed every day.
A week before putting Chippy down, I ran over a dog. It was very dark, and the dog was a black puppy. There was no way I could even swerve. This was clearly very traumatic for a dog lover such as myself. Luckily, the dog lived. However it may have to lose some of its toes. The owner is setting up a Facebook page for donations so I will be posting that soon. March was not a good month for me and my four legged friends. BUT in the process I found out James is secretly a superhero. My car is a Volkswagen beetle and when I pulled over on the side of the road the poor dog was still underneath the car because it is so low. James lifted the car off the dog and saved the day! He was also the most supportive when I was doing the ugly cry about Chippy. Which lasted roughly three days.

James has returned into the room and we shall start Indiana now, however I promised one more positive thing so I will say that I got to be a camp leader for a FULL WEEK! This means lots of funny stories to share, and also MONEY. Money for my credit card because it is very sad and needs some attention.

Teaching is Fun

I've been leading a drama club at the private school I did my final practicum at. We are doing the Lorax and it is going super well. The kids are all really talented, not to mention hilarious.

On Monday a grade four girl said "Kim, your boots are ATTRACTIVE". I then wasted a good two minutes just laughing and telling her how awesome she is.

I have an interview/work experience day at another private school next week! James and I went to a fundraiser for the independent school and I spoke to the principal. Networking certainly helps when it comes to working with private schools. I have been productive as well and am applying all over Canada AND THE WORLD!

And contests. I began entering them again. Which is actually what started this blog! Perhaps I will win another trip and I will regale you all with tales of my adventure. There is a Viking Longboat Cruise that I am really hoping for.

One of my friends may be going to work in China. I am sure she will have a blog, as we had one together when we went on our trip to Vietnam. Which was entirely too long ago.

I suppose that is all I have to say, for now.

Blog Feature

I belong to a really wicked promotional team on etsy. Today I was featured in the teams blog! I did a little interview, and a bunch of my work is shown!

Kind of cool, yeah?

http://etsytreasuryteam.blogspot.ca/2013/02/tapadhleibhcards-travel-and-nature-art.html

French And Gym

I've been called in three times (so far) to teach at the private school I am employed at. Once, to teach grade 4 French. Which I do not speak. James is bilingual, and therefore would make a wonderful teacher as there is a great need for french immersion educators. But as it turns out I didn't need to speak any French. I was prepared to teach a French lesson. If you have never listened to "Je Suis Une Pizza", do yourself a favour and avoid it. It gets stuck in your head as soon as you hear the song title. Sometimes, I sing it when I eat pizza. Regardless, it made a good lesson. Theoretically of course, because I didn't end up having to teach anything french related. But damnit, I was ready. I even had little pizza print outs for kids to draw their favourite toppings on.

Basically I planned a lesson where I didn't have to speak a lick of French. Thank goodness for modern technology.

The other two shifts I have had have been for physical education. I am not necessarily the most physically active soul in the world, but I think I pulled it off. No serious injuries, and only a few tears. And the kids did alright too.

HAH! Oh, being a certified teacher means I get to have lame teacher humour, which is ever so fun.

I have been getting a lot more experience with the primary grades. Teaching kindergarden is both different, and oddly similar to teaching the intermediate grades. I also have subbed for the After School Care Program at the rec centre I work for during the summers.

One thing I've noticed about the younger children, is that they are hilarious without knowing it. Call me Cosby, but kids really do say the darndest things. I was playing with one particularly cute little gal and we were doing one of those puzzles that you dump all the shapes out and then put them in the appropriate places. This particular puzzle was vegetable themed and under each of the shapes was the name of the corresponding vegetable. Because Canada is bilingual, the vegetable name was in both english and french. I did my best to read out the french (as we established earlier, not my strongest form of communication) and we finished the puzzle.

The second puzzle was of the same variety, however it did not have the names of the food written underneath the pieces. Now, the young lady I was completing the puzzle with decided this time she would read me out the french and I would find the puzzle pieces. I thought this was interesting and was impressed that this five year old knew french.

She did not. But she sure acted like she did. "Kim, pass me the le sundaeee" which clearly meant sundae.

"Kim, pass me the applelooloo".

I tried my best to keep a straight face through this process. I do have to say, that I wish she was speaking real french, as it would have been one of the first times I understood a french conversation in its entirety.

But Where Shall I Keep All My Stuff?

Living with my Father has its advantages. He does not make me pay rent, he feeds me, he supports my dreams and he has a big television.

Living with my Father has disadvantages. These so-called "downsides" involve the fact that I have way too much stuff to live in a tiny tiny bedroom. Also, my tenuous grasp on independence as a twenty-four year old woman is somewhat compromised by the fact that he gets worried if I stay out all night.

I shouldn't complain. Most young adults don't have the option of living with a parent, much less in a "gratis" type situation. I do, and I'll be far better off in the long run because of it.

What it comes down to, really... is I have too many books and much too little room.

And I keep buying them! It doesn't help being friends with someone who owns a used bookstore. That is definitely a problem. Also, dating an author. We just fuel each other's book buying habit any time we are together.

In other news, I've been working on my etsy site. I'm trying to make it look more professional and nice. It is taking a long time. Perhaps it will be worth it though and I will sell something, which will lead to the ability to buy another something from one of the many shops I have "favourited" on etsy.

Wait... no. I should not buy things, as things take up space and I do not have any space.

I don't think that my problems are going to solve themsel

All Graduated

I'm all graduated! The government and the university say I'm actually allowed to teach for real money.  Here is a photo of James and I.

It is happening again

It feels like whenever I get bored I revert back to my habit of spending my time searching adoptable dogs. It is a disease to which I have no cure, other than to acquire a puppy of my very own.
I did spend twenty minutes on my exercycle today, however the majority of time was allotted to looking at French bulldogs and Boston terrier puppies.
Oh, and etsy. I did that too. But mostly looked up puppies.

Vacation Nostalgia

It is funny, after any vacation--no matter what may happen on said vacation, or how much you missed home (and your bed) while away, you still wish you had another trip planned for just a couple of weeks after your return.
Or at least, that is how I feel.
I WANT TO GO BACK TO DISNEYLAND!
There were so many things I didn't get to see or do. Like go on my favourite ride, Peter Pan's Magical Flight. And! AND Right now, in the park... there is only like 1/10th the amount of people as there was when I was there. (I don't think that sentence is grammatically correct, but I'm going with it) That would mean less strollers, and shorter lines. I wouldn't have to wait an hour and a half to get on Space Mountain just to have it break down 20 seconds into the ride. After two trips to Disneyland I still haven't ridden Space Mountain. What if that is a sign?
All that aside, it was a fun trip. Even when I got some kind of stomach flu/food poisoning hybrid where it felt like I had some kind of Disney demon in my stomach that could only be exorcised through harfing multiple times. I threw up in Disneyland. Well, in California Adventure--but still. I bought James (whom is my boyfriend... I haven't mentioned him yet in the context of romance, other than posting his novel, but he is swell) a present and then proceeded to barf in the bag that his present came in. Don't worry, I removed his gift before I spewed.

Highlights of the trip:
-Having dinner at the House of Blues with the gang, even though it is one of the suspects in the case of the disney food poisoning. Also, we had dinner at the Blue Bayou, which I wish I could have tasted and enjoyed but I was all sick. It was still pleasant though.
-The Matterhorn Bobsleds, because I didn't get to ride it the last time I was there and the views are amazing.
-Fantasmic! Thank goodness I got to see that show. I didn't get to see the World of Color show because of the whole barfing thing, which is another thing I have to see next time. Anywho, the Fantasmic show was SO cool. We had glow with the show mouse ears so they lit up as Mickey saved our imaginations from the forces of evil.
-Being with my friends
-Having my own bed

There is more but, I am distracted by hunger. It is dinnertime and my stomach demands attention.

I Splurged...

And bought 24 hours worth of wifi.

So, today is a beautiful Californian day. The sun is shining to the point where I don't even need a sweater. But I'm still wearing one because I bought an awesome Disney villains themed sweatshirt and it is delightful. It has Captain Hook on it and everything.

I'm currently avoiding looking at my bank balance. I will. Soon. After this. I hope I estimate high and am relieved at the outcome.

The food here tastes delicious but apparently my stomach isn't what it used to be as it doesn't like theme park cuisine. I'm pretending its okay to eat unhealthy because we walk a lot every day. I'm sure it evens the playing field out somewhat.

I am getting sleepy now so I'm going to take a nap. I must gather my energy because the next two days I'm going to attempt to stay in the park all day. Today and yesterday were relaxing days spent in downtown Disney and the hotel. But tomorrow, tomorrow we Disney all day.