Bad Blogger Etiquette

I'll admit, I am not longer on Galiano. We have returned home. In fact, we got home yesterday and--even then--I failed to update my blog.

But today it is snowing and I did not have to go to school. I could not, in good conscience, leave my blog post to another day.

There were many positive outcomes to the Galiano trip. James and I spent some much needed quality time together. I slept for 11 hours on Friday night, and had a nap on Saturday. I also wrote 2, 600 words for my Work In Progress (sometimes I play at being an author) and spending time with the ladies from our writers group was very fun. The cabins James and I stayed in were very cute. We ate good food at a few Galiano establishments and though the weather was only good on the first day, we enjoyed the scenery.

Though I loved much about the Driftwood Cottages, I did not love how their bath water was not hot. I enjoy turning the colour of a Canadian flag whilst I bathe. I did not have this experience at the Driftwood. Though, they did have a hot tub. If I had of had the foresight to bring a bathing suit I would have gone in. Our cabin had a wood stove, which was delightful and the bed had a very cozy duvet, so all was not lost.

I didn't attend any seminars provided by the Galiano Literary Festival, so hopefully James will guest blog and talk about that aspect of the trip. I did, however, attend the dinner where I met a nice man named Fraser who used to be a teacher. He now is an author and won the "So You Think You Can Write Contest" with the Times Colonist. Check that out here. He and his wife were delightful. I talked mostly with them. James talked to many people, as it was his job to network the night away.

Sunday was travel back day. It had been snowing on and off all weekend so we were worried about the ease of returning home. We all decided it was best to catch an earlier ferry. Unfortunately this meant that James, Carol and Kristine had to miss Raffi's seminar. Good thing they spoke to him enough over the weekend that they are all now all BFF's.

I very much missed my dog. It is interesting that in such a short period of time he has become so very important. He was well taken care of by our neighbours so at least I was able to relax knowing that he was safe and happy. Currently, Chewie is sleeping by my feet because he is tired due to running around in the snow.

Here are some pictures to please the eye:

He is thinking about his next novel.

 The ferry.

Before the snow.

This cat is really fat (the camera took off 10 pounds) and loves books. We are kindred spirits. The bookstore was pretty cool, though they did not have a large enough fantasy or sci fi section.

This cat wants the grocery store to open, too. But the owners are on island time, man.

That is it! My blogging duties for the weekend are complete. Now I shall go do something productive, maybe.

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!

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

Microscopes and Books

Long weekends result in short work weeks--meaning it is already Friday night and I have no idea how that happened.
Not that I'm complaining.

This week was filled with new and exciting teaching experiences for me. First of all, I took my grade six class into the senior school to conduct a microscopic experiment. I do have to admit, I was slightly terrified they would somehow find the chemicals and blow something up. I even made them sign a contract basically selling their souls to me before I would allow them to enter the lab. Turns out there was just the right amount of intimidation involved with travelling into the senior school that they were both excited, and well behaved. I had all types of comments, one of my favourites being "OH. MY. GOD. You HAVE to come look at this. Wicked. Wicked. SO wicked." This was uttered out of one of the boys in my class that doesn't usually participate too much in class discussion. He wanted to show me the slide of onion skin because he could see the cellular make up. I found it a) awesome he was so engaged and b) hilarious because I planned the lesson so I had already looked at all the slides.
It was also fun because due to my small amount of experience with microscopes I seemed to be able to find the specimen when kids were having trouble. I felt like a hero, swooping in to refocus the magnification to reveal something they had never seen before. I spent a lot of the class gloating "Yes, yes, children. I know I'm the best scientist in the world. Do try to keep your admiration to a minimum. I will sign your homework later."

Have I mentioned I am reading "Hannah and the Spindle Whorl" to the class? It is perfect for them as it centres around this 12 year old girl living in British Columbia. It is relevant, funny and the kids seem to really connect with the characters. I've been told that it is their "NEW FAVOURITE BOOK" and the "BEST BOOK EVER" and "SO FUNNY". Though they may be slightly hyperbolizing their immediate love for the book (they started saying these things after reading like 2 chapters) they do seem to genuinely enjoy it when I read. The book really is wonderful, so that helps.

If I haven't suggested this book as a good read, I would like to remedy that horrible oversight and do so now. It is truly a wonderful read that provides such a vivid picture of the West Coast of Canada. The 12 year old voice of Hannah is captured perfectly, and I'm so looking forward to reading the sequel. So are my students, it would seem.

Another book I've read recently that was quite enjoyable was also by a Canadian author. "Crystal Promise" is a urban fantasy novel. I shall try not to give too much away, but one of the things that I really loved about the novel was the fact that it was primarily character driven. Those are the kind of fantasy reads I like best. I am able to engage in the world and the way in which society functions within that world if I am attached to the characters. Basically, I have to want to play the game in order to follow the rules. Some fantasy/sci-fi books tell you the rules of the novel's universe before they have you hooked in any way. For me, those ones end up in the donation bin. I finished "Crystal Promise" in two days. I couldn't stop reading until one conflict or another was resolved. Read more about this novel on amazon, and then I suggest you buy it. Click here to be directly taken to the website.

I suppose that is all I have to say for this fine evening. The book I'm currently reading is part of the "Fablehaven" series, which are meant for 10-15 year olds. I pretend I read them for the sake of recommending them to children, but really I just like.

The Apple, The Tree and the 48 Hour Cleanse

I have recently got it into my head that I should do a 48 hour smoothie cleanse. It must be some dormant masochistic behavior that is leading me to believe it is a good idea. My Father and Brother will tell anyone that listens that I'm of a split personality: kind happy Kim and then hungry Kim. I suppose they aren't completely groundless in these tales, however some could be said for the both of them as well. The apple falling from the tree, and all that.
Anyways I believe I shall be doing this cleanse either next weekend or the weekend after. I can't see myself lasting anymore than 24-48 hours. After said cleanse I hope to continue on the health train to reach the healthy station to live in healthtown. I hear they do crazy things like run and ride bikes and snack on carrots. It is my greatest wish to enjoy snacking on carrots. Okay so maybe not my greatest wish but I do want to be accepted into the "we care about our bodies" community.
I wish I could channel my addictive nature into exercise. Instead it gets all used up by French fries and good books. Perhaps it would be easier if I removed all my coats from my exercise bicycle. I imagine that would be a good place to start.
Speaking of books! I just finished one called "Juliet" which was about the secrets and intrigue behind shakespeare's most famous tragedy. It was a good little read and it made me want to visit Italy and fall in love, very much. So I decided to keep the romantic European trend going and immediately picked up Joanne Harris's novel "Chocolat" after. So far it is very good. I haven't seen the movie in a long time so I will watch it after I am done. I'm currently waiting for Johnny Depp's character to make a sultry appearance.
You may wonder how school is going. I suppose that this is natural because usually I talk about such things. Well, you will be happy to note that the university is still there, and I still attend it. I did get my practicum placement which I may have mentioned before? I'm not sure. However I will say now that I'm very pleased with the placement and wish we were in practicum right now.
So that is all the excitement I've got for you tonight. I know you all (I say you and you all with the sarcasm of someone speaking to an empty audience) were sitting on the edge of your computer chairs.
Oh, I will leave you with this tidbit, today I saw a man riding a bicycle with a full sized exercise ball. It was quite impressive.
Goodnight!

A Teacher and Her Love of Books

I have this problem where I own far to many books for my own well being. It has gotten to the point where I have to skirt through and around them for my floor has become a makeshift obstacle course.

I decided on Saturday morning I needed to take action. So, I sorted through the mountains of literature and decided what I was going to keep and what I was going to donate or sell.

This was a difficult purge. Not only do I love to read books, I love how they look. What they stand for. To me, no house is as attractive nor as pleasing as one that includes a library.

I decided to keep all the children/teen books because I figure I can have them in the hypothetical future classroom. That is how I justified keeping a huge tote stuffed to the brim, and I'm sticking with it.

There were some books I decided to sell online. And by some I mean six. Six out of the hundreds. About 1/3rd I'm donating to a used book store. The rest I'm keeping. Really, I just need to be able to organize it in a way that ensures I don't break a leg in the middle of the night.

My question to the universe though, what is a fantastic children's/YA book my future classroom can't live without?