Home Again Home Again Jiggety Jog

Yes, it's official - another snow day tomorrow! As I'm starting to get a little cabin fever I better make sure to get outside

for another walk, grab a coffee somewhere, hang out at the library and read the free magazines and newspapers. Hang onto that $20 bill in my wallet for one more day. Today was the easiest NO Spend day ever!

Ta da!! Behind door #2 is a brand new car...side mirror!! 

I don't know about you but this tree looks really cold to me standing there all stiff and frozen and pointy.

You know, a person can get feeling lazy and lethargic after two days of sitting around. I did get on my exercise bike for over an hour yesterday and today but have also spent a lot of time on my computer and watching movies that we borrowed from the library last week. And I do think there is such a thing as TOO much togetherness.

I did finish getting the house decorated so I guess the day is not a total loss.

Must make a plan for tomorrow - I don't like going through a day and feeling like I didn't accomplish anything much. In case you haven't noticed, I find it hard to totally relax:)

So tomorrow I will:

• do something nice for Kazi and Michael...I know...I will make a nice breakfast to share!! I'm thinking french toast - yummy!
• write a post having absolutely nothing to do with the weather
• walk outside for at least one hour & check to see if the grocery store parking lot is plowed
• make a list of ingredients needed for my Christmas baking
• go to the grocery store if the parking lot is plowed:)
• pick out a new book to read from my "to be read" pile
• write my Christmas cards/make a Hallmark Smilebox ecard of family photos to send to my family members

There - I feel so much better. If I can accomplish all/or most of those things I will feel like it's a day well spent.

Ummm....yeah, it's still SNOWING!!!

Ok now, this is starting to get ridiculous. For a little while it looked as though the worst was over and just some very fine, sleety kind of snow was falling, but once again it is heavily snowing and blowing. The schoolboards had a message that all schools were staying closed on their websites by 6am this morning which was superduper of them as I didn't have to leave the house. In the past they have been very wishy-washy and I've ended up at school after a death-defying drive only to find out schools were closing. So thanks for having some common sense this time around oh mighty employers of mine:)

Oh my...the difference between yesterday and today is quite noticeable. Another 45cm accumulating today and tonight and another 15cm predicted for tomorrow. City council met with police this morning and were very close to declaring a state of emergency. OK - enough about the weather!!

So the No Spend days are going pretty well lol!!  Michael and I did brave the storm around 7am to walk down to the variety store in hopes of a daily newspaper (yay - score!) but I paid for that with scrounged change.

Oh no!! The other day I posted that I needed a NO Spend week to make up for an extravagant weekend...does that mean that this blizzard is my fault? Is this God's humorous answer to my plea??

No, couldn't be...

Still Snowing

Yes, there are cars under those mounds of snow!

About two feet or more of snow so far...

and

it's still snowing...

help....

SNOW DAY WOO HOO!!

This was the scene outside my door around 6am this morning. I didn't think to check my schoolboard's website because in the almost 20 years I've been teaching I can count the number of snow days on one hand - I don't even need all five fingers. So while Michael cleared the snow I got ready. While navigating the treacherous roads (where the heck have the snow plows been all night) I hear on the radio that all the buses are cancelled and all the schools are closed.  The excitement starts to build. Not trusting my ears however I keep driving. Weather, traffic and news are going to be updated in two minutes.  Maybe they'll say "just kidding" or maybe they'll tell me once again that the schools are closed. I'll really listen carefully this time so

I don't make a mistake. Thoughts of sitting all cosy with the newspaper and coffee in my lazy boy at home mingle with thoughts of students arriving to an empty classroom.

Putting on my best "listening ears" tee hee I listen to the news and I am rewarded!! No buses are running and schools are CLOSED for the day!!

I turn trusty Cora around and head for home. Along the way I stop at the 24 hour Metro store and pick up two, yes two newspapers and a few other necessities for snowed in people - coffee, orange juice, yogurt, bagels etc. just in case I can't get out again tomorrow yuck yuck!!

I was very happy with how Cora managed in all the snow. I didn't see any plows along my drive - even the main roads were clogged with snow and I saw cars stuck here and there.

But I arrived home safely to a shovelled out parking spot - thank you Michael - and then guess what I did?? I logged into my school board's website just to triple check!! Being a visual person I can't really trust what I've heard, I have to SEE it with my eyes and there it was - all schools are closed today.

Now I can finally relax. I've made a big pot of coffee, my feet are up, I have both the Globe and Mail and the National Post, the Christmas tree lights are on and all is well with the world!!

Bruce looks pretty good doesn't he, although he seems MUCH LARGER in our living room than he did out in the field:)

Today is a day that all parents with school age children dislike, but that kids and especially their thrilled teachers LOVE!

SNOW DAY!!

MY FIRST GIFT OF THE SEASON!

Weekly Wrap

News Beat: Here it is, only Dec. 5th, and I can see trouble ahead already. To balance out my extravagent weekend I need a WEEK of NO SPEND days. That will be my goal for this week. I have $20 left in my wallet and plan to keep it there til next weekend. This will not be an easy task but I have to rein in my spending somehow.

After work on Friday (not a great day at school) I decided that I wanted to go and browse at the local Talize (a really great second-hand store near us...we have turned the name of the store into a verb as in "let's go talizing"). That should have been the first warning sign to me to stop and evaluate my thinking but I chose to ignore my inner voice. I justified going there to myself because I am in need of long-sleeve tops to wear to work - my classroom is cold and although I suffer from hot flashes throughout the day inbetween times I freeze.

Michael had some extra $$ and so off we went talizing. We each spent around $140. That doesn't sound too too bad especially when I told myself that I saved a TON of money by buying second hand instead of new. I just know you are all familiar with that old excuse!!! But did I need that gorgeous pair of black boots as well??  Did I need that Le Chateau black blazer with the jewel-like buttons that I may wear once or twice a season?? 

 NO AND NO!!

I'm not done yet...by the time we left Talize it was 7:30pm and we were absolutely famished. I suggested we go down to the local Vietnamese restaurant and have a bowl of soup...ding a ling - warning warning!!

 Well the soup was really good and so was the chicken chop suey and the lemongrass chicken!! There are still leftovers in the fridge because like my mother always liked to point out: YOUR EYES ARE BIGGER THAN YOUR STOMACH!!

I wish I could heave a great sigh and say that was it, but last night was our dinner out in Sarnia with friends - we spent $$ on gas, $140 for dinner (YIKES) and then another $20 in a martini bar. I actually don't feel too bad about this one because it was a planned outing and I had $$ ready for that one but it still seems so extravagant after several months of living frugally! However, we had sooooo much fun, great conversation and a ton of laughs so I have no regrets.

I am hoping I can make up for talizing by having a no spend week (or three)! ha ha yeah right! I'm a little worried about my cell phone because when I got it out of my purse last night it was on the internet somehow (not on purpose) and I don't have a data plan - I use it only as a phone so I am hoping I don't have some whopping big charge on my next bill!!

On the bright side...let's see...is there a bright side?...I have spent 0$ of my gas money as Michael has been keeping the gas tank full and I still have plenty of grocery $$ left to last until the 15th. The heating bill came in $13 under budget:), and due to paying $2500 extra on my line of credit last month the interest was reduced by $4, not much but every little bit helps, and my car insurance was reduced by $3 a month because I bought a car that was 2 years older than my other car. Because of these little savings and a $100 HST cheque that will be coming sometime in Dec. I may just be able to make up for this expensive weekend. Only 3 more December weekends to go!!

Heartbeat:

Blended families can be a challenge sometimes so it was truly wonderful to spend some quality time with both Michael and Kazi yesterday getting our tree. Everyone was in good spirits and we all fell in love with Bruce the Spruce. I will post pictures when we get him all decked out but right now he is still outside (probably frozen) in a large pot filled with water....er...ice.   Because we were going out of town it seemed like the best idea to keep him outside in his element until we were ready to get into full decorating mode...



Bruce the Spruce getting snowed on this morning! Poor Bruce!

 How are you balancing all the EXTRAS in December??

The Christmas Tree Adventure!!

Up early we were today to go and cut down our Christmas tree - this was a new experience for Kazi and I.  Since my parents passed away - my mom in 2000 and my dad in 2003 Kazi and I have travelled up to my sister's home in Bracebridge so we had a really nice but artificial tree that we didn't have to worry about drying out while we were away.  When she was little we used to buy a real tree but I would get it in the city from one of many churches that sold trees for a fundraising venture. I never considered venturing out into the country and sawing down a living tree.  The is our 2nd Christmas together - Michael, Kazi and me - last year we

travelled to Bracebridge, this year we are staying home and creating new traditions.

After getting lost - well WE weren't lost according to Michael - he just couldn't remember exactly

where the farm was - we were guided by a kindly stranger and found the farm.

The Christmas Tree farm was out near Coldstream, about a 20 minute drive from the city.

The couple's daughter, who is about 14, has a developmental disability and has decided she wants

to be a farmer when she grows up. She's got a good start already: several sheep - that's Buddy above - and a few Rhode Island Red's (chickens for you non-farmer types)!

Here's Kazi doing her best chicken-call; the chickens all ran back into the barn so she's going

to need to work on that one a bit more:)

It was a perfect day for an adventure - a little bit of fresh snow and not too cold.

While trudging through the fields looking for OUR tree we were "surprised" by a number of very speedy

moles zipping away from us as we disturbed their nap. They were not much bigger than a

mouse - I didn't realize they were that small.

Hmmmm...why is it every tree looks perfect from a distance but when you get up close they

have all sorts of defects?

Enjoying the adventure:)

Happiness is being outside, roaming through the fields without a worry in the world.

This is it!! This is our tree!!

And it was.

It had its imperfections but it spoke to Kazi and we found its

flaws endearing and with all of us in agreement we started to cut it down.

On second thought.....nope this is it!!

Getting the sawing started.  Isn't it amazing how Michael can pose so nicely for

photos no matter what he's doing?

Yes, he's well aware of how photogenic he is:)

I didn't realize I could saw and smile for the camera at the same time

but apparently......OUCH.....I can! 

The wagon came along at just the right time to give us a ride back to the house.

My, that tree is looking kinda big....can little Cora handle it??

Enjoying the bumpy wagon ride back - hold ON!!

What a cute....TREE!! OK, Michael you are cute too!

Getting ready to head inside with the owner for some

FREE cider and cookies:)

Getting our photo taken for the Wall of Visitors in the background.

Say....Christmas Tree!!

We got our tree, Bruce the Spruce, home safely and now he's

sitting in a bucket of water waiting til he can come inside and get decorated.

This will happen tomorrow because both Kazi and Michael had to head off to work and

they don't want me to decorate without them.

So I'm blogging and doing laundry.

Tonight Michael and I head to Sarnia with our friend Troy to visit another friend Susan.

We are going to dinner at Lola's - the first of many festive get togethers.

I'll post my Weekly Wrap tomorrow.

What are you putting up this year - real or artificial??

Angel With a Broken Wing

M

The other day at school I had to get something off a high shelf and while standing on a chair in order to reach I found a ceramic angel that a former staff member had given me - it had fallen over and one wing was broken off. For the past few days it has lain on my desk, patiently waiting for me to get out the Gorilla Glue and put it back together - this angel I can fix.

I was going to write a rant today but after being home now for a few hours my anger has turned to sadness.

I looked over my list of possible writing topics but nothing appeals to me right now.

So I will talk about one of my boys - M. M is the student who lives in a group home, not with his parents. He is a beautiful boy of Italian descent and when I look at him I think of how much the artist Michelangelo would have loved to paint his portrait. M is an angel I cannot fix.

Let me tell you about a practise amongst educational assistants. I have 7 EAs who work closely with my students, some work 1:1 with the students who have autism. M is one of those students. Yesterday he lost his EA. At another highschool in my city 2 EAs were declared redundant. When an EA is declared redundant at their school they have a choice: take a position where there is a temp EA currently working OR "bump" someone with less seniority and take their job. The "bumped" EA goes through the same process - take an exisiting position with a temp EA or bump someone lower...etc...etc it can go on for months before everyone is settled.

This is in their contract and there is nothing I or anyone else can do about it.

M's new EA had a really rough day.  M wouldn't eat his lunch and when it was time to go to physed he began trying to bite the new EA. Two more EAs talked to M who was lying on the floor in the hallway and withing 2-3 minutes he agreed to walk back inside my classroom and go sit in our "quiet room". M made several attempts to get past other EAs in order to bite his new EA. We had to send the new EA to another area so M couldn't see him. He was extremely anxious and agitated and tried to bite and kick the EAs. Once he was seated the EAs left the quiet room and closed the door but M tried and tried to get out. He kicked the door many times and then started banging his head against the door. The EAs (not his) had to go in to prevent him from injuring himself. I called his group home to send staff to pick him up and take him home. When M was calmer staff again left the room but M then kicked the cement block wall with his foot and began to sob. He cried and cried as though his heart was broken. I realized then just how much he was grieving the loss of his EA, his one true friend. It was the saddest moment I've ever witnessed.

We put some ice on his foot and he put a piece in his mouth. An EA continued to feed him ice chips until group home staff arrived to take him home. He kept saying to himself "don't cry."

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. The new EA is going to have to try to make a connection with M - it won't be easy. M had such a close bond with his former EA and he has no understanding of "bumping" and really, neither do I. It's a practise that puts the needs of the most vulnerable of our students last. His best friend has vanished into thin air and I can't fix it.

Thanks for listening.