slc - the first few days!

okay. it is bloody HOT here. yeah, not totally loving that. however, once it hits about 6pm it is totally pleasant and happy and generally comfortable. this is a good thing! the actual stampin' up! convention starts tomorrow, so that will be reason to post...new catty, baby!! yesterday erika and I did a city tour and it was super fun and super tiring. we saw tons of the city and some great sites. ALL GOOD! today we are going to do some shopping and see a movie...more of a low-key day.

me. in denver.

I look exhausted. I am. up at 3am will do that. good thing there is coffee. hehehe!!

woohoo!

okay, so I grew something [not too sure where the pics will appear, but you will know them!]. AND, I leave for SLC tomorrow morning. I don't think I told the delay in denver story [stop reading if I did!]: I was suppose to have a wee delay in denver on my way to slc, as in a couple of hours. nothing super major. I got a call from the areopoints people a while ago informing me of my flight change. instead of leaving edmonton at 915 am, I was now leaving at 645 am. needless to say my wee layover was now a 6 hour layover [my denver to slc flight got changed to a later time as well]. so it occurred to me that maybe I could find someone in denver to see...MY FRIEND JOANNE!! yeah, she doesn't live so far away. in the denver vicinity. so she is going to meet me at the airport and we are going to find some food. YAHOO! so I went to kindergarten with joanne and we went to school together until grade 7, I think. then her family moved stateside and we've kept in contact ever since. last time I saw her was when she lived in tucson...and I totally can't remember how many years ago that was! regardless, I am THRILLED about this and am so glad that my flights got changed.

AND, by this time tomorrow, I'll be hanging out with erika. life is good.

good golly miss molly

writing this on the new computer...!

three more sleeps until SLC

a ton more work to do before I go

a kazillion things to figure out & put on a list

lets see if I can add a picture! [okay, so the picture went into a strange place....can't seem to move the html!]

5 years ago

5 years ago I met a wee baby - okay, so met him IRL, not just as a womb buddy! my nate had his 5th birthday today and I am so thankful and glad to have such a great kid. although he drives me NUTS many days, I love him so fully and amazingly and he makes me want to be a better person. he is a smart, funny kid that makes me laugh so hard and amazes me with his insight into his world. I can't wait to see what kind of kid he'll be in another 5 years...

on another note, had a chat with my brother this week, as he was standing in the apple store. he wanted to know if john & I wanted to purchase his old computer - a total answer to prayer. on a lot of levels.

AND...I've been working at the bakery in the mornings - needed the cash and they needed someone to answer the phones. all good.

off to bed :o)

colour challenge #16

okay, so I'm playing this week - 'cause I LOVE these colours together. at the beginning of this SU! year [last july] I was very unsure of sky blue. now I am going to be sad when it's gone! [click on the above picture to take you to kristina's blog...the blog of all good things!

and here is my card [now keep in mind that my camera is being odd - as in not transfering pictures! and I used the ol' scanner!]:

conversations with almost-five-year-olds

"mommy, I wish we had a well"
"a well? is that what you said?"
"yeah, a well"
"why?"
"so I could wish for a skateboard"

that really was the conversation. and this whole honey-bear-feather challenge on big brother SUCKS [or at least it would if it was me doing it!]

AND, I survived bootcamp tonight. BRUTAL! I am going to be sore tomorrow...least I know I worked hard!

new, new, new!

was out & about today...picked up a few things:

1. new glasses [and another year's supply on my contacts...thank God for good vision benefits]. my old glasses had the wrong prescription in them [they were 2 years old] and I was wearing my contacts a bit too much. I'll see if I can manage a picture of me with them on [it's been a rough hair day, so the picture may have to wait until tomorrow].

2. a new filter & bag for the shop-vac. yeah, it just wasn't sucking like it should. now it sucks big time and john is vacuuming the basement as I type! oh, and I paid for a third of the $30 cost with canadian tire money. it's all good!

3. a new blank notebook/journal/sketch book. it didn't cost much, but I thought I needed a book for SLC - when I travel, I like to have a place for all my information and maps [since customs always asks for detailed info!!]. this should do the trick!

4. a grande light caramel frappichino. at a mere 160 calories, a nice summer treat!

5. pizza sauce. I had purchased a frozen homemade pizza crust at the market this weekend [yeah, I know, I could have made it myself...but I'm just plain lazy!] and decided to make it tonight. I piled it on with all sorts of veggies, topped it with skim-milk mozza and YUMM-O! a healthy-ish version of one of my favorite meals!

6. a-not-so-new-but-now-looked-at-closely garden distaster. seriously, what was I thinking???? I will add these pics, mainly because I don't even know what is wrong, let alone how to fix it! this first pic would be the snow peas...they lean to the left for some strange reason. the second is of my pumpkin plants - something/someone is eating them, or infecting them...I WISH I KNEW HOW TO HELP THEM!!! I am very tempted to call stan thompson's radio show on sunday morning to figure it all out!

bloom

the boys slept in this morning. I actually had opportunity to run to second cup & cobs to pick up coffee and cinnamon buns with the boys not even realizing that I was gone!

this morning I am going to take them to the market [after I dye my hair...'cause I am feeling old!], as is our usual saturday morning routine. it is suppose to be a beautiful day and I would love to be outdoors, since yesterday I hunkered down and cleaned up my stamp room. after my lovely conversation with the ups guy ["oh, mrs. fraser, nice to see you again" - he only sees me in the summer...the rest of the year he leaves boxes on my step!], I opened my pre-order of new SU! stuff and promised myself that if I cleaned my whole stamp room, I would play. alas, it worked! I cleaned. I played. I am slowly making my way through the house!

I actually wanted to pop on here becuase through some blog-surfing, I found this site and it is now bookmarked: lisa I originally went to it because of the BEAUTIFUL jewlery, but then I was captured by her story. in combination with other things I have been thinking about, I am formulating a plan for next school year. I am very scattered about it right now, and when I can really get my act together, I will share. but it has to do with hope, perserverence and resiliancy. anyways, enjoy her blog if you make it over there!

pages & challenges

okay, so I've done a bit of scrapping lately...one for my calendar & one for this challenge:



let's NOT talk about how this challenge is over a week old and it's taking me until NOW to get things posted! [click on the pic to take you to kristina's blog for THIS week's challenge!]...I love the american crafts "thickers"...that's what I used to do nate's name. the rest of the page is SU! [do I dare hope that SU! puts thickers or the like in the new catty??? mmmmm!]



and then this other, random-ish/non-stampin' up one! I've had the paper forever, and the glittery letters are from michaels. the tag is mainly SU! [hodgepodge, arrow punch, brad]. I am liking how the new camera took these pictures - they are mainly the same colour as the picture shows!!

things I like, things I don't like

okay, so my computer decided to be stupid this morning...or maybe it's just blogger, either way, I'm re-typing!

okay, so on the morning of the boys party, some coffee mysteriously spilled on my camera. as a result, it would take pictures [still does!] but the pictures won't transfer off the memory card onto the computer because the "ok" button is crusted with dry coffee. so I decided to get a new camera...a cheap-o olympus thing. not too sure if I am loving yet [because nothing will ever be as good as the old one!] and there are a bunch of settings that really seem to make a difference in the quality of picture. regardless...I have 14 days to try it out and if I really don't like it, I can return it.

I had a pretty good birthday on wednesday. I'm not really liking the fact that I am 36, but I am liking the gift john & the boys gave me [I just need to put some pictures in it!]. I also got some earrings and another charm/thingy for my necklace! john also picked up a cake for me...turtle cheesecake...mmmmm!


I also got to spend the day with my mom. we went to ikea, then for lunch, then some other shoppping. a really nice day...until I got home. and decided to build the bunkbed I had bought for the boys. yeah. good idea, cor. LOL oh well, it's built. the kids love it. after all that was done, sarah watched the boys and john & I went and grabbed some sandwiches from jeffery's. a good day.

okay, blogger/mozilla/my computer - DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!

on another note, I've been cleaning! now, really, I don't like cleaning. yeah, not my favorite activity at all. however, I do love to purge. hehehe! my clothes got the brunt of that last night. I now have a nicely colour-coded closet, once again! part of this is because I've been setting up a bit of a guest room downstairs, now that steph has moved out. regardless, lots of up and down the stairs, lovely considering the state of my quads [have I mentioned boot camp from tuesday night? lovely!].

okay, I'm quitting. new post to try again with...other [stamping] things!

it's the big night

yes. tonight I begin the dreaded boot camp. I am a tad bit nervous - new people, new experience. but yes. if I can walk a half marathon, I can get through one hour of brutal physical craziness. I will do a weigh/measure thingy tomorrow am and then we'll see what happens in 8 weeks. I've had a great eating week [so far!] - lots of healthy, lots of portion control, treats when I can afford the calories. well, we'll see what tomorrow holds...and if I am even able to get my sorry buttola out of bed!!

life on hold

I hate calling my dr's office. on hold forever, then I got hung up on. grrr. I should be cleaning my house, but I have no motivation in that department, so here I sit on my computer fluffing my time away. good job doing nothing, cor. you rock!

a few pics to tell the stories!

holy crazy week, batman!

okay, why does time fly when your having fun? no kidding, eh?!

this first week off has been crazy [and uber hot, so keep that in mind...all of this is in 30+ degree heat!]...I'll give you the play-by-play! [I like lists, this works for me!]

monday - home with the boys...we go and pick up all the party supplies: costco, save-on, michaels. make party favours, decorate, bake a cake, watch friday night lights with john.

tuesday [aka party day] - nate wakes up at 730 or so and wants to decorate the cake...it came out pretty well, overall! the boys and I finish setting up for the party. 17 or 18 small children invade our house between the hours of 1130 and 130. hotdogs, cake, ice cream, water [as per the prior posts!]. there are also, at any given time, 10-15 adults [because my family comes to everything...and hey, if I can only have a crazy-busy house for one day, it's all good]. by 300, everyone was gone. clean up & unpackage all gifts ['cause I tell ya - if we want to save the earth, we should start by reducing the amount of stupid packaging on kids toys. STUPID!]. make dinner. do laundry. pack for the lake.

wednesday - pack up everything else for the lake. go to start the car...yeah, it's dead. grrr. THANK GOD that steph was home and able to boost me! some stops on the way [not enough stops though, since I forgot hamburger buns and wine!]. and then we're off! okay - our time at the lake was SO MUCH FUN! the boys loved being out there - swimming, tubing, jumping on the trampoline, and just getting all that fresh air!

thursday - hang out at the lake until about noon, then head back into town with the boys. okay, so at this point I needed to go to southgate to meet jenn to pick up football tickets. in my lovely little mind, I thought that taking yellowhead to the henday to 111th street would be the best. yeah. didn't realize the magnitude of the construction. holy moly. a 10 minute trip took me 30+ minutes. regardless, got the tickets and made it home. did some laundry then packed the kids back up and we took them to john's mom's house. [okay, I'm tired just thinking about thursday.] we dropped them off their for the night and met friends at the lrt station to go to the football game...GO ESKS!! we won, but we didn't get home from the game until after midnight. I am not loving the whole thursday-8 o'clock-start-schedule thingy that the esks are doing this year.

friday - head to the hospital to meet susan's wee baby [isabelle grace...a beautiful name for a very beautiful baby!!] and to have a visit with suz. then to the mall for some breakfast and to make sure that aud doesn't buy more than one bag at the coach store!! from the mall to john's mom's house to pick up the boys [they had a great night at grandma's house!!] then to my mom's to eat lunch [courtusy of BK]...AND THEN to the st albert splash park to meet up with coralee & pauline. then home, then dinner, then more fnl!!

saturday - move day for steph. the boys and I went to the city market this morning, just to get out of dodge. then for a coffee @ starbucks.

no wonder I am so sunburned and so tired. I will post pictures soon [there are a bunch on my facebook, but I'll throw some on here too! a good week, for my first week off...

and I'm thinking about signing up for a boot-camp on tuesday nights this summer...mmmmm.

happy canada day!

well, we did okay with the party! better than okay - the weather was WONDERFUL, the kids well behaved, the hot dogs were well cooked...all good. although I didn't really get to do the "hang out" thing with my friends, it really was a good, good day.

so, at 9pm on a tuesday night, I am exhausted. and thankful. and instead of sitting here whining about what I don't have, I am just going to go have a moment of thankfulness. good friends, family, food to share, water to play in. for these things I am so grateful. and on that note, I am also very thankful that susan gets to birth a baby tomorrow...[and no, not just thankful that it's her and not me!], but just glad that a new wee baby gets to make an entrance...it's always a miracle.

now, I am going to see if my husband will come and sit outside with me...

and one more thing...

to see some recent pics click HERE!

monday

yes. the first monday of summer vacation. hehehe!!
although I haven't touched the house [and BOY, does it need a good scrub down!!], the boys and I did make it to starbucks, save-on AND costco...and home in time for lunch and a wee nap for my lovely ty [who was still awake at 2am...grrr]. we got all the things we need for the party, but now I am in worry mode - which I really shouldn't be, but I kinda am. I will explain.

I feel a bit of peer pressure about the whole birthday party thing. like there is a rule book on how a kids party should go, only I didn't get a copy of the book. I have VERY limited experience with the kid/birthday thing, and this makes me a bit nervous. I think the nervousness comes from the fact that this year, we've invited strangers...their kids are not strangers to my kids [they play together 4 days a week, and some of them will be in nate's kindergarten class this year] but, some of the parents are strangers to me! EEEKKKKKKK! slight exaggeration as I think about it, I have met all invited people, they just aren't all my close friends [some are becoming good friends...HENCE the pressure!]. AND on that note, I am VERY grateful that my close friends are coming, even though "they" are birthing a baby the very next day! [you ROCK, suz!] okay, so I really have no reason to panic. no reason to worry. no reason to fret. I can throw a decent party...it doesn't need to be fancy. hotdogs, ice cream, cake, water and canada flags. it's all good. breath deep, cor. the only thing that needs to be perfect is the maple leaf on the cake...LOL

reflections

well, another school year is done. finished. wrapped up. complete. it was a very good year. and this is why I love my job - although there are insanely crazy parts, tear your hair out parts, kill a kid parts and never see my family or friends parts, I really do love my job. I love that at the end of a school year I can look back and reflect...think of areas that ROCKED and areas that I would totally change. I can think of kids that made an impact on me and kids that I know I hit home with. I can think of kids that have soared with their learning and those that made just baby steps. and how all of those things are really good things. I am so excited about next year, and that I get to do it all over again with many of the same great kids. but on the other hand, I am so glad that I get to spend my summer doing things for me: hanging out with the boys, meet new babies, travel with my friend, stamp, scrap, blog, WALK, lose 20 lbs. it's all good.

last summer, it took me until august to feel better/rested from my "maybe I need a new career" teaching year. this year, well, I got drunk with my friends last night and I have a glass of wine in my hand right now...and I think that will do the trick. this is the way it should be.

so, in honour of my feel-good-happy-school-ending, I am going to set 2 goals for this next week: drink a crap load of water [10 glasses a day] and walk every day next week. I have started tracking my eating again on sparkpeople and it felt good today. I am very disappointed with myself for letting myself gain 15lbs this past year - yeah, it's really been that much. and I know that it is only hard work that will fix this. so, I am back on the wagon and I am going to aim for 2 lbs a week...I can do this. no more excuses.

eeek!

WHAT A CRAZY MONTH!!!
where exactly did may disappear to? huh? yeah. I am a bad, bad blogger. susan, on the other hand has been a good blogger as of late! not me. alas, I have wandered back to offer some updates and show off some pictures...

really, other than work and soccer and trips to vancouver and just life in general, nothing really new has been happening. I am heading into one of the more busy months of my school year - it rates up there with september, but not quite as high as late october-early november! although I tend to put everything under the bracket of stress, really I am not feeling stressed - just really busy. the time that I do have to sit down, I am thinking about the foot of marking that has been sitting in my pretty red bag FOR TWO WEEKS! [no, really!] I also know that next three weeks are going to be nuts and I need to get my game face on...just gear up and face it head on. because once it's done, I get to breathe and do all those things around the house that are stockpiling. anyhow...some soccer pics of the boys!

happy sunday, friends and I will try to be a better blogger...soon!!!