Working 9 to 5...

Actually, I've been working 10 to 5:30 but that doesn't really fit in with the song. As Tuesday is the first day of May, we will begin our regular summer hours...9-9, so I'll be working a lot more evenings. Most, actually. Plus Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Fridays all day at the flower shop. Busy.

And now, a gratuitous picture of kittens.


















In other news...my mom is adorable. She tries to use sayings and cliches but tends to get them mixed up. She once told someone that I was a "chop off the old shoulder..." Usually her mix ups are a combination of a couple of different sayings. The latest, I think, is an absolute original:

"No use reinventing the frog!"

How do you like them apples?

A lot, actually. I looove fruit, especially a good orange, or banana, or in this case, an apple. I just finished eating a really good apple that reminded me of the yummy crabapples from this tree in my parents' yard. I loved eating those little apples...when they were good. But what I didn't like was having to pick them up from off the ground. So many of them would fall and then we'd have to pick them all up...bags and bags and bags full. It was a tedious and sometimes gross task because you'd go to pick up an apple that appeared to be intact, and then you pick it up and the whole bottom side is smushy and gross. Yuck.

But, my mom would cut up the apples and then freeze them to make yummy things like apple crisp, apple jelly...yummm. The best thing ever, though, is my mom's peach jam (which has nothing to do with the crabapples). If you've never tasted it, you are missing out on a WONDERFUL experience. Hey mom, do you have any of that kicking around? My toast is crying out for your peach jam!

Okay, now that I've blogged about fruit, back to studying.

I support the Arts!

Okay, so the ballet. It was beautiful. It was a ballet to Handel's The Messiah and it was absolutely beautiful. It was all in white. The floor looked like white marble, the side curtains were white, the backdrop was white, there were white benches at the back of the stage, and they were all dressed in...you guessed it...WHITE! Very heaven-like.

We were in the third row close to the centre, which was the closest I've ever sat to the stage at a big show like this, so I was very excited. The singing was by Greystone choir and the Saskatoon Symphony was playing. The dancing was...amazing. Because there are so many different movements in The Messiah, there were a lot of different duets, solos and ensembles, so when dancers weren't dancing, they were sitting on the benches at the back of the stage, which was really interesting.

It was especially exciting since we just sang the Hallelujah Chorus at our Christmas concert this year, (speaking of which, Leon, one of our guest soloists, is experiencing some impressive success with Destino, his hot singing group! Check out this story! They even call him their secret weapon!) although I was disappointed they didn't do Worthy is the Lamb--one of my favourites from The Messiah. There were also some other songs that I knew, like For Unto Us--which I recognize from you know where!

Overall, a wonderful experience!

Oh, and we ran into some friends of mine who are expecting a baby in September! I just heard she was preggo, and then there she was, looking gorgeous with her little baby bump!

I don't know if this will count as enough of a new post for Leticia, since I told her all about the ballet on Friday. She wasn't happy when she came home from Vancouver to a post about chicken noodle soup...haha.

She said she likes when I post pictures, so here are some gratuitous pictures of some peeps (and Walter). Anything for you, Teesha!!!


Jenn and Teesh at Moxie's from Colleen's birthday. Teesh and Ky, though they've never met, have something in common...that they often make silly faces when pictures are taken! Kindred spirits, I guess.


Best buds Dale and Cordell. This is at Calories one night...I think Cordell is trying to get Dale to pose for the picture by force.


Gord wearing his wife Tracy's jacket. Lookin' good...


My sister Shannon and me at David Copperfield in January. He made a car appear on stage.


Walter. It looks like he's winking.












p.s. I wanna send a shout out to Renee, who recently identified herself to me as a blurker! Hi Renee!

The ballet was

AWESOME. I'll write more later. Must...sleep...

Wonderful Day

Well, today was my birthday and it was a wonderful day. I feel very loved.

I wrote a final in the morning which was easier than I was expecting and then went out for lunch with some people from my classes.



Darcie's birthday was yesterday, so we were celebrated her as well. Here are the two birthday girls!



Oh, and I spilled a sangria all over the table and on Susan's jeans and Darcie's cast. And I couldn't have spilled just any drink...no, I had to spill the fruitiest drink that would of course be the stickiest. OOOPS!!! So for the rest of the lunch they kept moving drinks away from me whenever I was telling a story (I talk with my hands...I get that from my mom).

Then I went shopping and then off to Blossoms for some carrot cake and my boss surprised me with a LOVELY birthday arrangement.



And then...off to Colleen's for the main celebration. There were about 15 of us...Colleen made chicken lasagna and Leticia made a yummy salad and Jenn made a Saskatoon/rhubarb crisp and brought a banana cream pie. Soo good!



I got some wonderful presents...a Starbucks gift card, the new Hillsong United CD, some yummy body wash and lotion, money, coffee, an upcoming trip to the ballet this Thursday, and the gift of shopping in the form of a gift card for Sandbox in the City! Oh, and a beautiful card from Taryn...this girl makes the best cards!





So, it's now the end of the day and I am very tired and very happy. I just want to thank everyone so much for the lovely phone calls, messages, comments, emails, cards, and gifts.

"I thank my God every time I remember you...since I have you in my heart." (Philippians 1:3,7)

For the love of the noodle

Let me explain my title. I loooove Lipton's Chicken Noodle Soup. The scrumptious little noodles...yummy.

What a lovely, lovely night.

Last night, (Friday) after work, my sister and I met my dad for supper. He was in town picking up a patient at the hospital...we had supper at Alexander's and we had THE BEST SOUP EVER. Yumm...

I was supposed to meet up with Emma at her house after supper but she ended up needing more time because she was studying spanish. I had a couple of hours to kill so I went to McNally Robinson and just browsed. I usually only go there if I have a purpose...a coffee date, lunch, a specific book...well tonight I just browsed. And it was wonderful. I looked at a really great photography book and then browsed a couple of novels and then I went upstairs and looked at a bunch of children's books and added to my list of books I want for my future classroom...including this one. On Friday nights McNally has live music, so there was a man playing piano and singing which provided a lovely ambiance for my browsing. It was wonderful.

Then I went out to Emma's and we sat outside (hello, SPRING!) and had a glass of red wine. It felt like a wonderfully sophisticated evening.

4 more days!!

When I woke up this morning, there was fresh white snow on the ground and on the cars. It's not even noon and the snow is pretty much gone. What a province we live in...

I got the lovliest birthday card from Pastor Blaine and Anne yesterday. Now, where is the mailman? Maybe he has more birthday cards for me!

Danger...

To quote the girl I got this from, I think this game was made for me...

How am I going to get through finals?

Things just work out for her!

It's been awhile since I posted, I know...I've been busy. April this year is going to be a not so much fun month. 4 of my 6 classes don't have finals...I know, that sounds great, right? Well, actually it's not. It just means that 4 out of 6 of my classes have tons of extra work due intermittently throughout the month. No fun. I think I would rather just write the finals. (I never thought I'd say that after last semester's exam schedule from H***. 5 finals in 3 days...no jokes. And that was the same weekend as our choir concert opened, so from Wednesday to Monday I had 2 dress rehearsals, wrote a paper, wrote 5 finals, and performed in 5 choir concerts. I could not have done it on my own strength!)

Anyway, I was reading the world's most boring article about Canadian Confederacy for one of my classes just now when my boss called. She's been trying to find someone to hire whose schedule matches what we need. I have wanted to ask for some time off during finals but we're really short for people until we hire someone. Well, one of the girls that used to work for us called and she's in town for a couple of weeks and is wondering if we need some help. So I get a couple of weeks off! Hooray! (I'll still be working a bit at Day Grow, as we open on the 21st!)

Okay, so my point was that my boss has the most amazing luck. We needed to hire someone before Christmas and then...a girl that used to work for us came back! This time we really will need to hire someone, what with me cutting back my hours and the girl that came back before Christmas just left too. But anyway, things just work out for my boss! And this time, it benefitted me as well!

Yay...more time to study....yuck.

In other news, 5 DAYS TILL MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Speaking of birthdays, here are some pictures of a few of us out for our friend Colleen's birthday a couple weeks ago.



Colleen and me


Joanna, Colleen, and me


Tracy, Jenn, and Leticia

Apparently I'm Weird...

Or so some people seem to think.

"Here are the rules: Each player of this game starts with the 'six weird things about me' blog post. People who get tagged need to write their own six weird things post and state the rules clearly. At the end of the post, tag six more people and don’t forget to leave a comment on their blog to tell them they have been tagged and tell them to read your blog."

1. I love peeling hard boiled eggs. Last week at work my coworker said she had to peel 14 dozen hb'd eggs for sandwiches for a funeral and I volunteered to help her. She couldn't believe I actually wanted to help her!

2. Sometimes, if I feel like I need an emotional outlet (a.k.a. a good cry), I put in a Hallmark movie called Ellen Foster and pretty much bawl through the whole movie. It's about a girl whose mother dies and whose dad is this awful man and she gets passed around from one relative to the next but no one really wants her. It's heartbreaking.

3. I've been preparing my whole life to be a teacher. Now that I'm in the college and am so immersed in studying educational foundations of theory and practice, it seems to affect my every thought. Last night I was watching Happy Feet (while working on lesson plans)...I don't know if you guys have seen it or not but a lot of the movie is about penguins and finding their "heartsong." The main penguin, Mumble, can't sing so during penguin school they make him stand at the back of the class and listen but not participate. I found myself thinking about inclusion of students with disabilities in the classroom and how the Adaptive Dimension could be applied to work for that student.

4. In the last 6 months or so, I've developed this strange fear of falling down the stairs. It affects me every time I have to go down a staircase to the point that sometimes I have to hold the railing with both hands. Diagnosis, anyone?

5. I have habits that started from books I read when I was in elementary school. I dot my i's with a circle, which I got from a book called Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary. Also, I say "Rabbit, Rabbit" on the first day of every month. I have no idea why, except that I read that in The Baby-Sitter's Club by Ann M. Martin. For some reason, it stuck with me and on the first of every month, I remember it...weird, hey?

6. I've never broken a bone or been stung by a bee. Consquently, I'm extremely afraid of bees.

So now it's my turn to tag. I will tag...Lyn, Kristin, Leah, Jenn, Becca, and Regan. Have fun!

Counting down...

Since it's April 1st today, the countdown to my birthday begins...15 days!!!

So, here's a countdown survey that I got from Bronwyn's blog.

10 Favourites
Color: pink!
Food: popcorn
Month: April—it’s all about my birthday!!!
Song: I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe
Movie: Pride and Prejudice--the A&E version…and Little Mermaid
Sport: Man…when the Blue Jays were on top, we were HUGE baseball fans!
Season: Spring
Day of the week: Sundays b/c I get to go to church and have some time to be with friends and…relax!
Ice Cream Flavour: Strawberry
Time of Day: 10pm…cuz then it’s quitting time and I have an hour or two to come down from the day.

9 Currents
Mood: hopeful…that I’ll get all this work done in the next month!
Taste: raspberry jam
Clothes: pyjama pants, fluffy slippers, blue bunny hug
Desktop Picture: My sister and me at David Copperfield
Toenail Color: fuchsia
Time: 9:09 pm
Surroundings: my couch, laptop, coffee table, tv, desk…
Thoughts: “How is this movie going to end?” (I’m watching Happy Feet)

8 Firsts
First Best Friend: Rhonda Tumbach
First Kiss: I’m pretty sure that Willie Bachmier and I used to kiss each other…
First Screen Name: Blue Eyed Juliet
First Pet: Murphy…a wonderful wonderful Siamese cat who really made use of all of those 9 lives!!
First Piercing: Ears when I was 8.
First Crush: Mark Booker in grade 3.
First CD: I’m pretty sure it was Fantasy by Mariah Carey

7 Lasts
Last Drink: Last week when Dorian and I went to the Ivy Restaurant. We had some yummy Pinot Grigio
Last Bath: Mmm…a bath sounds good. It’s been awhile (I’m more of a shower girl).
Last Car Ride: to Shoppers and back
Last Kiss: Friday after Valentine’s Day
Last Movie Seen: Freedom Writers…and Happy Feet right now. FW was soooo good—you must see it. HF—not as good as I thought it would be. But cute.
Last Phone Call: Megan—a girl in my class about our unit plan—I really should get back to that.
Last CD Played: The Easter CD for choir

6 Have You Evers
Have You Ever Dated One Of Your Best Guy/Girl Friends: I don’t know about BEST, but yes, I’ve dated friends
Have You Ever Broken the Law: yes…I have a need for speed. I don’t run stop signs though.
Have You Ever Been Arrested: no.
Have You Ever Skinny Dipped: Wouldn’t you like to know?!?
Have You Ever Been on TV: yes…at a SADD conference
Have you ever been in love: yes.

5 Things
Things You’re Wearing: pyjama pants, blue bunnyhug, lime green Gapbody bra, and brown fluffy slippers
Things You’ve Done Today: went to church, went to lunch with ma peeps, had a nap, watched the Juno’s, worked on lesson plans
Things You Can Hear Right Now: the tv, Shannon walking around upstairs, the keys on my laptop, and Walter playing with a twist tie
Things You Can’t Live Without: laughter and hugs
Thing You Do When You’re Bored: bored??? I don’t have time to be bored!!

4 Places You've Been Today
1. TCU Place—that’s where we had church today!
2. Winston’s
3. my couch
4. Shoppers

3 People You Can Tell Anything To
1. Regan
2. Emma
3. Dorian

2 Choices
Black or White: Black—I look too pasty in white.
Hot or Cold: I’m an in between girl. I don’t like hot unless I’m in a pool or on the beach…or in an air conditioned house. I don’t like cold if there’s nothing I can do about it. But if I can cuddle up in a warm blanket then I’m good.

1 Thing you want to do before you die
Have a baby.

A side note...since I mentioned David Copperfield...he owns a string of islands called Musha Cay. Follow the link...it's AMAZING!!!