Summer 09

I swear, the older I get the better at procrastinating I become. I find the littlest things to keep myself busy so I don't have to wash the dishes/clean the bathroom/post on my blog. I LOVE writing and do miss it. I also a the biggest blog reader, enjoying vicariously living through others with stories of their lives.

So what has been going on in my life? A whole lot of nothing for the most part. I'm really enjoying having the summer off, although still not having anything lined up for the fall bugs me. Those who know me REALLY well know how overly organized I am. It is a strength and a weakness all in one. When I got my contract in March I threw myself into being organized by knowing every last bit of the curriculum that I had to cover and then coming up with numerous activities/lesson plans/ideas on how to cover each (including worksheets that I made up, text book chapters & questions, websites etc.) This made teaching more fun because I had done all the "prep" work ahead of time and could enjoy being in the classroom and tweaking my ideas/plans to suit the class and kids. But without having anything lined up for the fall, I keep collecting ideas for anything I might teach but at the same time know that I shouldn't until I know something. So I troll through the internet going to various blogs and teaching communities going "ooo that would be great to do with grade X" or "I'll have to try that if i teach class Y". I have ebooks and pdf's galore on classroom management and bulletin board ideas..... I just wish i could plan a bit more concretely...... and get rid of the things that I wont use/need. But it is also my love of doing this and my desire to know more and plan more that makes me so happy and so sure that this is what I want to be doing for a living. That this is my passion. I keep telling myself to stop and relax. To take a deep breath. To believe that I will get something for next year. The closer it is getting to labour day, the harder that really is. That said, PEI students go back to school on Sept 8.... a week later than most provinces. So I keep believing that there is something there for me.

So since I have all this time off. Not working. Not being paid. What am I doing? Going to the beach for the most part. :P I love lakeside beach. It is up on the north shore and is so pretty. It is right by Crowbush golf resort. The water is pretty warm. The beach is pretty clean (no seaweed at all til about a week ago when we had some big surf). Most days I drive up by myself, go for a swim and lay out with a book. I've currently read almost all of the books (mostly mysteries) by Charlaine Harris. I say most, because there were a few that the library does not have but its not the end of the world. On average I'm going through about a book a day. I love to read. I always have and probably always will. I absorb books. I'm a fast reader and once I get into the story, I never want to put the book down until I know the ending. I'm also surprised that I am going towards more murder mystery type of books at the moment. I go through phases, but will read pretty much anything.

I spent a few days in St. John NB with Katie, a friend from UMPI. We had a great time and I got to see a few of my other UMPI friends (Erin and Lindsay) as well! We hung out by her pool and went to St. Andrews and to uptown St. John. It was nice to see her again and to hang out with someone who is going through a lot of the same things (starting teaching etc.). Matt and I have also been down to Halifax a few times this summer. We came for a weekend to meet up with a few of Matt's friends and to go sailing which was a blast! We only went around the harbour but it was a beautiful day and lots of fun was had. He and I also got to spend a few day there last week so we could go to the buskers and then go down to my parents cottage for a few nights to visit with family from the UK and Croatia. There's never enough time to see everyone when we go home. It sucks because I want to see everyone but I also want to be able to relax. Plus we went last Thursday.... less than 12 hours after I had an asthma attack that landed me in the ER for an hour or so. I was in and out pretty quickly but I was still not feeling 100% either. I'm fine now. I'm disappointed that I didn't' get to see the fireshow at the buskers.... it is one of my favorite parts! But being with family was so great. It was so nice to see my Aunts and Uncles and cousins, and of course my Parents, Sis, her fiance Seb. Its wierd in a good way when you see your family expanding. I'm so used to my family being my parents, lo and I.... now it includes Matt and Seb.

Enjoying my Summer

Here I am, my first summer as a teacher.... and its WIERD! You all know that I do not "do nothing" well. I get bored and anxious. But I am trying to be productive. I'm reading a whole lot. The apartment is staying pretty clean (aside from the exploding closet/dresser in the bedroom) I've been knitting a lot (sock number 1 is almost done... I'm almost to the toe). And I have watched a fair amount of tv.

Books. I've been re-reading the Sookie Stackhouse books. On HBO there is a show called True Blood, based on this series of books. Basically in this alternate world, the Japanese have come up with a synthetic blood substitute, which leads to vampires "coming out of the coffin". The main character, Sookie, lives in rural Louisiana and works at a bar, and gets heavily involved in the supernatural world. The tv show is loosely based on the books but changes things. The books are not the best literary pieces in the world, but I find them entertaining and an easy read. Great for those beach days (although we've only have one so far this summer!). I personally found the first book really hard to get into, although that could be because I am used to the show and kept comparing the two. There are currently 9 books out, with the next one being released next May. I haven't read number 9 but am on the list at the library so am waiting for it. If you've read these books, what do you think? Matt is reading them now, mostly because we watch the tv show together and he finds them slow. He's really picky with his books whereas I will read anything!

We've been having kinda crappy weather. I finished work and then went right down to the cottage in Hunts Point for Mom's birthday. I love it down there. Its about 20 minutes from Liverpool, 10 from White Point. The cottage is looking amazing. Mom and Dad have put so much work into it. One of the coolest things they have done this spring, was put a new well cover in. It looks like a little wishing well. It is so cool. I was there from Wednesday to Sunday. Laura arrived on Friday night and we took Mom to Bay and Lunenburg for lunch and shopping at their fun shops. The Teaser is always fun and there is a really cool yarn shop called "Have A Yarn" (http://www.haveayarn.ca). We had Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory which was delicious as always. But the big surprise happened afterwards.... See while we were out, Mom's friends from the city were arriving at my Aunt's cottage and being shuttled over to our place for a big surprise party. She was SHOCKED! It was so great! We have everything all planned so that her friends could stay the night at my Aunt's cottage down the road. Dad had Alimentos (owned by Chef Mitchell Williams) doing the catering. It was a great time. I had to come right back to PEI on Sunday, to be back in time to apply for more jobs for next fall.

Since I've been home, It has been cold and rainy and yucky! Luckily I have been able to keep myself busy by applying to any/all teaching jobs that come up. I got my hair done (Wohoo! back to blond!). I went to the library and got out a bunch of books. I got some in french as I need to work on my french. I took the Department of Education French test and received the rating of "Intermediate" which is good considering I haven't really used my french in over 5 years (well until this past spring). I really want to increase my rating to Advanced Plus so I need to start doing more things in french (french reading, writing, tv, music, etc.)

Going Gluten Free is going okay. I'm feeling better (although not 100% yet) but it is hard as I have to think about what I eat and check the ingredients for EVERYTHING. If I don't feel like cooking, I can't go get fast food. I can't just order a pizza. That part is hard. Matt has flex hours at work and has been busy with two games now now the apple app store, so while he isn't working super late, its hard to just make supper, when neither of us know when he will be home. Speaking of his games... if you have an iphone and/or an ipod touch, you should buy Big Top Ten (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320461424&mt=8) and Kill All Bugs (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320789969&mt=8) Matt Made them! What do you think?

My goal is to be good about updating this summer. Topics probably will be really random. But hopefully people will read it and comment! (hint hint :P)

Bad About Updating....

Sorry for being super bad about updating.
Okay, so the first major thing that happened to me lately was getting teaching contracts here in Charlottetown... yes contracts, plural. One for the mornings and one for the afternoons. In the morning I am at Glen Stewart Elementary School where I am on a grant and I help out the grade 4 and the grade 5 french immersion classes. They are really great kids, but just have huge classes so having another teacher in the room to help out is great. I also get to practice and improve my french. I haven't routinely used it since probably grade 12 so this is great. I'm so shocked at how much comes back and how quickly it comes back. Hopefully having french will help me get a permanent position for next fall!!!
In the afternoons I am at Parkdale Elementary school where I am filling in for a mat leave. I share the position with the reading recovery teacher. We teach grade 4. I mostly teach them math and then when they are at their specialists (gym or music) I do resource and help out in other classes. I LOVE teaching and I LOVE knowing where I am going to be every day and getting to know the kids and other teachers. My obsessive organization and planning really comes in handy :P It is a lot of work and you can't really turn off you brain from thinking about school stuff (kids, planning etc.) but I am so happy that I became a teacher.... it is really what i was meant to do!
Having these contracts are great but I am nervous about next year. I really want to get another contract or to get a permanent position. The biggest issue here in PEI is that we are in the middle of school reorganization.... they want to close 11 schools, one of which being Parkdale. These closure are due to our declining population and such. BUt the process to close these schools has been...... complicated. The school superinentdent wrote the report saying that these 11 schools should close. Then there is 90 days of public meetings and input. But they accused him of not including information in this report and therefor he had to add things to it which restarted the 90 days. So currently public input is being accepted until May 12 then the school trustees have to write a report which is due May 31. Then the government has to have the final say. Then the schools that close will close at the end of June. There are lots of issues for and against. There is also a supreme court hearing next week on whether this whole process is legal. UGH! I understand both sides of the issue. From a really selfish point of view..... if the schools close they have to reassign all those teachers which means less positions for people like me to apply to..... I hate being selfish like that but after having contracts I don;t want to go back to subbing. I will not be able to apply to potential jobs until June 15th at the earliest.
Matt and I went to Florida with my family from April 2 to 12. It was really fun. We had a blast. We spent 3 days in Treasure Island (outside Tampa) for my cousin Kathy's wedding then went to Orlando. We went to Epcot and Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios. Anyways here are a few pictures from my trip. :)


Seb, Lo, Dad, Me, Matt, Aunt Margie and Mom at Magic Kingdom


Seb, Lo, Dad, Mom, Aunt Margie, Me and Matt at Epcot


Dad, Lo and I at Bubba Gump Restaurant


My Dad's Wicked Shirt and my Drink that the Bank of Dad bought me :)


Matt and I at Magic Kingdom


Matt and I on the beach in Treasure Island for Kathy's Wedding

2009 has not started well

I know not many people actually read this but I do enjoy writing my blog.
So 2009 has not started that well for me. In my last post I was talking about a cough that I had..... well I went to the Dr shortly after that post and was told I had a virus and that I was having trouble breathing because of that and my asthma. I was given a new puffer and told that I would feel crappy for a week or two. Well I spent the rest of that week on the couch at home (luckily I didn't have to turn work down! I just had no calls that week) but the following week I had work at the jr high.. and I could barely work. I couldn't get from my couch to my bathroom without getting completely out of breath and coughing, I don't know WHY I even though I could work at the jr high. I did work all day Monday and then the am on tuesday and went immediately to the ER on Tuesday. I couldn't' take it anymore. I was so out of breath from the littlest things and was always sleeping and didn't have an appetite. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long and after Chest X-rays was told I has pneumonia. I was glad I got a diagnosis and drugs that worked but if anything I got worse for another two days until the meds kicked in. It took me several weeks to get mostly better but I'm still not 100%. I'm mostly there and have started getting my appetite back. Apparently pneumonia is a great diet.... only I don't recommend it at all!! I've dropped over a size in pants due to being sick. I know I'll gain it back. OH! the other thing that is going on is that my thyroid is all messed up again. I had another appointment with my Internal Medicine Dr here in pei (I really like this guy, he's super thorough) and my blood tests reveal I'm anemic, my thyroid levels are low again AND I may have Celiac's Disease. I go back in May and will find out more. This appointment was a week after I was in the ER but my blood tests were done 2 1/2 weeks before that....before I got super sick.
Other than my health, 2009 hasn't been too bad. I'm not getting as many hours as I wanted subbing, but I am averaging at least 2 days a week so it's better than nothing. I spent 3 days teaching a grade 4 french immersion class which was fun but I realized how unsure I am of my french and how nervous I am speaking it. I had an interview for a contract teaching grade 1 french immersion but didn't get it. But It was really good experience. I finally have all my papers from maine so I can get my official teaching papers instead of just my subbing papers, though I have to fill out two more sets of forms and pay more money. I can't wait to be completely certified and I can't wait to have my own classroom.... hopefully I'll have one next fall... I can't wait to be able to plan lessons and to organize things. Right now I show up and find out that morning what I am doing. One thing that was fun, I got to teach home ec the other day, we made huge heart shaped chocolate chip cookies. It was so much fun! I LOVE to cook so being able to teach it was just fun.
Matt and I had a pretty low key valentine's day. The week before I had mentioned to Matt that I wanted flowers and miss getting flowers. I feel bad when I do things like that because I feel like I'm forcing him - though he did say he was planning on getting me some before I said anything.He did end up getting me a dozed gorgeous long stemmed roses (that came with a vase and everything). That night he took me to a "fancy" restaurant called Sim's Steakhouse and Oyster bar. People here in Charlottetown think it's so fancy but it's really not. It has decent food (not great) but it was all that was open. There's a better restaurant called Lot 30 that Matt took me to for our anniversary but it's closed for the winter. We had a good night. Things between Matt and I have been going super. I am looking forward to finding a house (hopefully) this spring. Just to have a place that is ours. That doesn't have neighbour's that you can hear or worry about making too much noise and bothering (say with Rock Band Drums). Having a driveway to park in instead of parking around back and having to climb through snowbanks to get to our car. Not having three flights of super steep narrow stairs to go up and down. I do worry about not being able to find a nice place that we both like AND within our budget. Its still too early for most of the spring listings but around March break is when they start. So we'll see. I think that even if we don't find a house that we'll move. I'm sick of having to go to the laundry mat and the stairs and the parking AND i miss having a dishwasher.
So I've gotten super behind on my photo challenge...... my excuse is that I was sick but I'm not sick now and I'm still not really taking many photos.

Update and 365 Challenge photos!

Hi all! Hope 2009 is being really good for everyone. So far it has been very good for me. We started the new year with a huge snowstorm here in PEI. We got 50cm of snow that was blown around. Some drifts have been recoded at being 8-9 feet deep! Luckily Matt did not have to go back to work until the 5th so we had several days just to sit and chill at home which was so nice. I am so lucky to have him in my life. I can't believe we have been together for 8 years. We are still so much in love. He makes me so happy and balances me perfectly. We never fight. We do disagree and frustrate/annoy each other but that is only natural. I donno.... we are in such a good place right now. Its so nice. He is able to calm me when I get stressed about things that don't matter. While I may not have a ring on my finger, we act like I do. I donno. I am just so happy with Matt.
So starting this January, I am a substitute teacher. The students only went back to school on Monday, but I have already had two calls. Wednesday morning at 6:45am I got a call from my former mentor teacher and went to the jr high and worked for the day with the same kids I student taught which was fun. Then on Friday I was booked at the elementary school I did student teaching at. I was at grade 6 which fun. Unfortunately this week the Eastern District School Board released a report to restructure the schools and that elementary school was on the list. It is sad but it is a small school. There will be 90 days of public meetings and then they will officially announce which schools will close for sure. It is hard for the teachers there as they have been told they are not out of a job but where they are going to teach is up in the air. It is also a bit disappointing for me as I have a really good relationship at this school and was hoping to apply for a job there in the future but now I can't. It is also a bit stressful to know that all this uncertainty is going on in the education system here in PEI... I really hope there will still be jobs for me to apply for in the spring.
I have also been sick this week and it sucks. I started developing a cough early in the week and by Wednesday night it was really bad. I'm huge sook when i am sick. But coughing so hard that you are pulling muscles is not healthy. I've been trying to go to bed early and drink lots of water. Hopefully I'll be better soon! I worry about waking Matt up with all my coughing but he has taken to wearing earplugs so I don't.
So I told you all about how I was in a car accident on December 18.... well today, January 10 I FINALLY got my car back! YAY! Matt and I went and picked it up this morning and took back the rental. Then we went and got my winter tires put on the car so I'm all ready. My winter tires had been stored at my parents so we brought them back with us after christmas. It is reassuring to have winter tires on as they are not very good at plowing the roads here.
OH!!! Exciting news! My cousin is getting married in April.... in Florida! We booked our flights and our accommodations. My whole family is going, including Matt and my sister's bf Sebastian. We leave on Thursday April 2 for Tampa, stay there for three nights (wedding is on Friday) and then go to Orlando for a week. We have rented a house in Orlando with 4 bedrooms, so my Aunt and Uncle from England will stay with us. Then next door, my Aunt and cousin and her family have rented that house. Should be so much fun!! I can't wait. We are there for 10 days. Matt has never been to Disney so we will be going there. Should be so much fun!!!!!
One of my goals for 2009 is to take a photo each day. It is called the 365 photo challenge and I have been doing pretty, good. I have missed two days, but I did take some extra photos to make up. Here are all my photos so far....
January 1 Snow Storm - we got over 50cm!

January 2 - Matt walking down the street

January 3

January 4 - My knitting WIP...a sock!

January 5 - Waiting for a call

January 6

January 6 - Photo #2

January 7 - Coughing is not fun!

Make up photo for January 8 and 9... TWILIGHT! You all need to read it!!!...do it..

January 10 - One of my favorite games atm

Almost the new year!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holidays. I know I did.
It was not the most relaxing vacation, as every time I go home I want to see everyone, but it was a fun holiday filled with lots of wonderful friends, family and of course FOOD! :P I cannot get over how generous everyone is and how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life.
My holiday started out kinda stressful, with me someone hitting my car while I was at a stop sign....and on my last day of student teaching at that! I was sitting at a stop sign waiting to turn left when a car coming from my right came and went to turn onto the street I was on.... only he cut the corner too narrow and ended up hitting the front passenger side of my car. I am fine but my car is still being fixed... It needs a new bumper, splash guard and the piece that holds the radiator in place is all cracked so that needs to be fixed/replaced. I have a rental car so I can at least get around, but it doesn't have winter tires. Hopefully my car will be fixed soon!
Matt and I headed home to Halifax on Sunday Dec 21. It is always so nice to return to Halifax but the longer its been since we lived there, the stranger it feels. It is but at the same time, it is not home. Also when we both go to Halifax, Matt stays with his parents and I stay with mine.... its just hard when you are so used to living with someone and then you aren't for a week, yet you still see them. So we left on Sunday because of the wind and ice storm that night. Monday we had no power for most of the day (although Matt and I sent text messages back and forth!) then Monday night was mini-christmas at Heather's. It was so nice to see everyone!!! I felt bad that it was the only time I saw everyone, but we were only home for a week and were trying to see so many people! Tuesday we did some christmas shopping and errands (mostly for my mom) then that night Matt and I FINALLY went to see Twilight. I thought it was really well done. I did not have high hopes for it, but I was impressed. They did change it from the book, and leave a few things out, but for the most part it was well done. Wednesday (christmas eve) power was out again! Then we did out family things by going to Matt's Nan's and then to my parents. Christmas was a lot of fun and we were spoiled! Christmas dinner was at my parents and we had 15 people for dinner! There was TONS of delicious food. On Boxing day we went to supper at Big Leagues with some old jr high and high school friends and hung out at one of their places... well Matt only came for supper, then he went to another friend's place. I of course did some boxing day shopping on dec 27. I did not get a whole lot, but I did get some new work shirts which was nice. That night we headed down to Luke's to visit with some more friends. Then we came home on Sunday.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday like we did.
Tonight is new years eve. 2009 is going to be a huge year for us. I'm finally done school and will be working as a teacher. I'll be finally be making money!! Then Matt and I plan to buy a house this year which is so exciting. WE are going to go to Florida in April for my cousin's wedding (which will be so much fun as Matt has NEVER been to Disney!). Plus all my family will be there which is always fun. Then in the summer all of my England family are planning on coming to NS so I'll get to visit and seem them twice in one year! Who knows what else will happen!
I don't really have any new years resolutions, except to stay happy and healthy. I want to continue to eat better and cook (from scratch!) more meals. I want to continue to drink more water. I want to continue to work out by going to adult swim team and by going to the gym. I want to do what I love and be happy and I hope that this is true for everyone!!

Deck the Halls.....

I know I meant to be really good about my blog and have been bad, but I am hoping to change that and start updating sooner.
So what's new with me.... I am super busy, but I love it :)
I'm almost done my second placement, I'm at Queen Charlotte Jr. High. I will finish on Wednesday December 17th, which is a bit later than I expected, but oh well. See in Maine you need 15 weeks of student teaching which would have meant that I would end on Friday December 12, but I found out that actually it is 15 weeks if there are no breaks or holidays... so I actually need 85 days, which is why I end in the middle of the last week before Christmas. I LOVE teaching. It was the BEST thing I have ever done. I am currently teaching two grade 8 health classes, a grade 8 math class, two grade 9 science classes and a grade 9 health class and I'm in the library too. I have three supervising teachers which is a little hard. My main teacher I was set up with is now the school librarian and does teach two grade 9 science classes, but since she wanted me to experience more than just that, she got two other teachers to work with me. One is great, while the other..... she's very nice and knows what she is doing but has not worked with a student teacher before. I find the kids in jr high pretty good for the most part, but I am having some trouble with my classroom management skills. I was so used to grade 1's where you could just look at them and say "stop that" and they will listen, but jr high kids aren't like that. I'm not a bitch so I don't want to act like one to the kids, its just finding that middle ground. I've found it in most classes though which is good. I've also received my substitute teaching authorization from the Department of Education and have applied to be a substitute teacher at the Eastern District school board so I'm all ready to start working right after christmas. Unfortunately in PEI they only put up job postings in the late spring, so any positions that are opening up now-ish (from teachers retiring or going on leave) are being filled through word of mouth. I HAVE heard about some mat leaves at one of the high schools. Its really hard since I'm not from the island. If i can't get a long term position, its not the end of the world - I will be able to get subbing hours.
Other than teaching I am still coaching the local swim team.I love it. The kids are just so cute and fun. I have also starting going to the adult swim team and doing practices myself which I need. I've lost most of the weight I put on at school last year (I'm down at least 2 sizes in pants, and according to my mom that's at least 20lbs). Its nice to fit into my clothes again. I still want to tone my body a bit more (like around my middle) so actually going to swim practices should help that. I've also noticed that lately I haven't been finding clothes that I like at the stores. I don't know if I'm not feeling the fashions or if I am starting to look at more grown up clothes. Im also working on de-cluttering my closet and it's actually scary how much I have donated to the salvation army.
Tomorrow is my bday and I'll be 25. Partly for my bday, Matt and I went to Moncton yesterday to do some shopping. I am looking at getting new work clothes - things that are comfy but yet professional for the classroom. We also did a bunch of christmas shopping. It was such as great day. Moncton is only an hour an a half from Charlottetown and has a mall that is similar in size to Halifax Shop. There aren't many places to shop in Charlottetown so it was nice to get a good chunk of our shopping done. It was also nice to hang out all day with Matt. We spend a lot of time together but we don't often go out, so it was nice to do that for a change. Even though we were traveling and the Mall was busy, it was so nice and relaxing. I was actually surprised! I expected to get all stressed out. I don't know what I am getting tomorrow from Matt....the idea was for me to pick out some clothes but I couldn't find anything I like. We also discovered that we agree on what I want for a ring but that it's actually really hard to find what we want. We want a solitaire diamond ring in white gold or platinum. Can't been too big (my hands are small!) and it can't stick up too high (would be so annoying, getting caught on everything) AND we want a really high quality diamond. Expensive and hard to find. So there will NOT be any announcements or sparklie things in my near future. :P We plan on getting married to each other and such, but we are so picky (but at least we agree!). Plus we think that we will buy a house in 2009 rather than get married. Both are really expensive and it is a buyers market right now. Together over 8 years, so we are considered 'common law' which is like being married.
I love christmas time and even though I'm not a Christian, I love the music, the lights, the decorations, etc. On December 1st I started listening to christmas music and I put some christmas lights up on our banister. Now we just need to put our little fake tree up and some snow! Matt and I aren't sure when we are going to Halifax for christmas, but we will be there. Our biggest issue with going to Halifax is that he stays with his parents, and I stay with mine and which its nice to see them, its kinda weird.
Anyways I should get going. I've started getting into the habit of cooking a bunch on the weekends and then we have food for the week all ready. Its nice to get home after a long day or even after swim practice and only have to heat up supper instead of make it from scratch. I do want to do some christmas baking and may head out to get supplies. I love cooking and baking.
I also should curl up and finish my christmas stocking and start Matt's. I've been knitting us new ones and love the pattern. Mine is red with white snowflakes and my name, and Matt's will be navy blue and white. I will post pictures when they are done!
P.S. Post a Comment !!! Let me know what you think! :)