CANADA

Canada! It was a GREAT trip! The weather was FANTASTIC! Didn't get above 78 degrees the entire time I was there :) Nice break from the HOT Texas summer!

Toronto is a BEAUTIFUL city (I was actually in Mississauga, which is right outside Toronto; although, you could see into downtown Toronto from Rick and Shrey's and you could even see Lake Ontario during the day from their balcony)

It was a GORGEOUS view at night. They are quite lucky (even though their balcony is home to several pigeons! EEP!

We took a ride on a subway train (this was a first for me) and then went to Eden Center in downtown Toronto which is sort of like a mini version of Times Squ

are.

Most interesting thing was seeing how they sell milk! In BAGS!!! Then you put the little bag into a pitcher (leaving it the bag!)

It was just so interesting to see. They do have milk in cartons as well, but it's a lot more expensive. The bag thing actually makes sense. You still get about a gallon (even though t

his is 4 Liters-a little more than a gallon, actually) it seems like it wouldn't spoil as quickly since there are 3 individually bagged things inside.

We also went to Niagara which was soooooo beautiful! Especially from the Canadian side :)

This picture was actually taken in front of what is referred to as Bridal Veil Falls... because it looks like a bridal veil.

The other fun thing I saw was at the mall when Ricky and I ventured out to explor

e 'quirky' things together. :) We went in search of the mall where the famous fountain "Animal fighting" scene in Mean Girls was filmed. We found it, sans big fountain! LOL I guess they had put the fountain in just for the movie (I didn't end up taking a picture of it; plus it wa

s all roped off for something)

We also went to a place called Bulk Barn. Everything was in bulk. Think, Sun Harvest bulk bins; but the store was the size of Sun Harvest and TOTALLY full of bulk bins! Here are some pictures with captions to explain:

This first picture is all different powdered drink mixes.

This is all different kinds of teas and coffee beans/grinds.

This one is different kinds of sour gummy candies; they had about 6 different kinds of these; and most candy was in bulk like Hershey's kisses, etc.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip! I had wonderful hosts, we celebrated Shrey's birthday, we had a GREAT time together, laughing, catching up, and talking about goals, etc. And I was sad to go. I will look forward to going back to visit as long as it's not cold!

Home Sweet Home

Well, vacation was nice and restful and very much needed after the stress and emotional Friday/weekend we had! It was good to spend time with Rob, Kathy, and Conner and we all had a great time. Conner LOVES the swimming pool and it was fun to see how much he's learned in swimming lessons.

While on vacation I started Water for Elephants. I finished it in 2 days, it was a GREAT book. Now I'm going to see the movie this week because it's playing at our theater here in town that runs movies about 3 weeks later than all the others. I don't know if it'll still be out after Thursday, so I'm going to see it sometime before then. I started reading The Hunger Games late Saturday night and it's been great so far. I would've probably finished it today, but I got preoccupied in getting plans together to do some cleaning here at the house.

I'm going to move to the bigger bedroom because I will be getting my new memory foam mattress this week, and I got a queen. Not a LOT bigger than the full size bed I currently have, but enough that it'd make a difference in the shoebox-sized room I'm currently living in. So, I am weeding things out of my closets and drawers because the closet is smaller in the other room.

I've also decided to upgrade my CPU a bit. It's just been sitting in that room because I do not have it connected to the internet; now that I have the WiFi going in my parents' house, I decided to go ahead and get a USB network adapter for my computer and hook it to the internet that way. I'm going to upgrade and get a flat panel monitor and could possibly update the RAM (haven't decided on that yet). I'm also still considering upgrading to Windows Vista or Windows 7. Don't know if I want to shell out the money just yet... it will run fine with XP for now... maybe I'll wait until the price comes down a bit on Windows. :)

So, I'm all set... and in the middle of all of this, I'm doing laundry and re-packing my bag for CANADA! :-) I leave Saturday morning and come back Weds night. I'm SUPER excited to see Rick... I've missed him so much. I talk to him frequently on the phone so it's not like I haven't talked to him, but I haven't gotten to give him a hug or sit in the same room with him since December 2009! :( LONG overdue to see him!

I didn't take pictures at the beach; with a 3.5 year old running around constantly, I don't always remember to get out my camera. I did however take a couple pics with my phone. Maybe I'll put them up after a while... but honestly, I'm so focused on trying to get everything done this week that I want to get done, I probably won't remember!

Until next time...

The end....

Well, today is basically the last day with my students. I say this because tomorrow is a half day, and we're really only having our end of the year party! Today will be used to do a HECK of a lot of cleaning... the kids are going to clean out their desks totally, and I'm going to get rid of a BUNCH more books!!! NOW, I'm ready for this year to wrap up... I've been packing stuff from my classroom and I should be able to get all of it out by TOMORROW! I'm kind of shocked, because I didn't think I'd actually be this productive. Then thankfully, our workday Saturday is only a half day! WOOHOO! :-) Ready to be finished, ready to be finished, ready to be finished!!!!

Tuesday I'll be in Port Aransas... then I go to Toronto to visit friends in Canada from June 18-22... :) BRING ON THE SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!

Here's what's up...

I got back from the beach Thurs (Jul 16th)... for the most part I had a very relaxed vacation! I enjoyed the time with my nephew greatly... and it was play, play, play... after he and his parents left and I stayed on at the beach with my parents, I took some time to send out my resume/cover letter by email. I know, what was I doing working on vacation?! But, considering I don't yet have a full time teaching position, it was necessary... so...

I got a call yesterday about interviewing on a campus in my current district... my interview is tomorrow at 4pm. I'm very hopeful... they have a handful of positions open, and I'm hoping to get one of them! I think if I just stay calm, and think before answering their questions I'll do great. Also, my portfolio has been revamped and I've included letters that my students wrote me from when I student taught as well as my thank you note from my autistic student's mom from this past school year showcased in there as well! I think/hope that those things will speak strongly.

Also, I finally had my dermatology appointment this afternoon. I'm a little upset... I had him specifically look at 3 things that were bugging me... One of them specifically I was SURE was nothing... and it turns out it's more of a something than I would've thought. I had a bump on the back of my left calf that I was positive was a varicose vein... after reading a lot of things, I was positive that it was due to my weight gain in the past 3 years as well as being on the combo birth control pill. Turns out, it's a cyst of some kind... when he first saw it he said, "...oh..." in a very skeptic sounding way that is never good coming from a Dr. Anyhow, everything will be sent to the lab, so I'll be playing the waiting game on that, and hopefully it will turn out to be nothing at all... :( So, I'm having surgery Monday afternoon to remove the places... I'm most nervous about having to go back in to have stitches removed... I hate the feeling... it's very uncomfortable and stresses me out... but I'm glad to get this taken care of NOW.

I'll make another post later about my vacation... right now I'm trying to stay more focused on tomorrow's interview so that I'm not freaked out going into it... after I'm done with that my focus will immediately shift to Monday's schedule... :(

Beach bound!

The family and I are headed to Port Aransas tomorrow morning (early)! I'll miss all my animals, but I'll be glad to go to the coast and see Conner having a fun time... plus, word has it he's getting excited about going and seeing all of us there (probably mostly his PawPaw, tho!)...

In other news, I passed my ESL test... and I paid/applied for my certification today. I've updated my resume, and I've begun sending it out! Hopefully I get some bites and land a job! If not, apparently I still have my current position, so at least I won't be w/o funds... :) And maybe something would open up beginning of the year due to enrollment... wouldn't that be nice?

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Well, I haven't posted much lately because a lot has been going on. Ricky came in from L.A. to visit for basically the month of June... during that time our good friend Long (who lives in the Dallas area) came down to SA to visit us... I haven't seen either of these boys in about 1-1/2 year!!! :( I was sooooo glad to see them! We spent a day in Austin while Long was here... hitting up our usual eating spots and spending a chunk of time in IKEA (actually in the Round Rock area) and we just had a great time! I can't wait until I see both of them again!

Ricky left July 2nd (which was incidentally the same day that I took my certification exam... still no word on results yet, btw) and I didn't really see much of him the few days before that bc I was studying. I did have a great visit with him... and I got to see Druck more, too... Summer is a time I can try to map out chunks of time here and there for people. When distance doesn't matter too much (I have a handful of friends that live on the other side of town... about an hour drive round-trip!)... time is precious during the school year, so when I don't have to worry about that, I make more time to see people. Although, I spend time with family a lot during the summer, too...

For example, we went up for the day to Spring to see Conner the Saturday after his birthday! He's SOOOO cute! This Saturday, we're leaving for our annual Port Aransas beach vacation with them... :) I'm very excited to see how much fun Conner has this year... he's 2 now and I imagine he'll have much more fun at the beach and pool than last year! And just in general, I'm glad we'll get to spend a few days with them...! Although, I have a sneaking suspicion that Conner will mainly only be interested in spending time with his PawPaw...! They're buddies... end of story.

Anyhow, today I had planned on running to Walmart to get a few things so that I can slowly start packing and all for the trip, but I just don't have the same motivation I had yesterday to get out and get things done...! Maybe in a little while, though!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... or something like that

Well, I had an excellent weekend! Started it off by going to dinner/movie with Jamey Friday night. We went and saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" which was really hilarious, and sadly I could relate to some parts! :( lol We had a good time, and after I was done I headed home and started packing. Saturday morning, I got up bright and early at 7am and took a shower, then got all the rest of my stuff ready to go to Port Aransas, TX for the night. I swung by the grocery store for a couple things I needed and got cash back so I'd be ready for the weekend! We rolled outta SA around 10am, and got into Port Aransas, TX (after only 1 stop with two 4 year olds, that's AMAZING!!!) around 1pm! We got a little scared on our drive because about 5 places we called inquiring about vacancies said they had none! UH-OH! But we finally found a 3 bedroom gulf view room at La Mirage, and held it with my credit card! We really came away with a very reasonable price! For the room and all our groceries, etc. out of the 7 adults we came away having paid $57 each! Not to mention we had an absolute BLAST together, and it was fun to see D-boy and Nico playing all day/night!

We headed back Sunday afternoon (checked out of the room around noon) and headed to eat some lunch. Afterwards, the D3's and I hit up some of the shops in town and finally made it out of Port Aransas around 3:30. When we got back in town, I headed home and proceeded to do a lot of nothing (I SHOULD have been doing some laundry so that I wasn't left with 2 loads tonight!).

Today was a Prof. Develop. day for all of us... the kiddos weren't there, and we had a late start (thank GOODNESS!) to the day. Then we got an hour lunch and came back for a meeting in the cafe. It was all about how things will be changing in the district and more specifically our campus... and I have to say I was very excited about the changes I heard them discussing... some of which could possibly be having "Saturday School" for extra tutoring from 9-noon on Saturdays... Not to mention they want to crack down on students' behavior and hold them more accountable for things... they also want the teachers to deal more with the kids' behavior rather than sending them to the office with a referral. It's so foreign to me, because I dealt with some DIFFICULT behavior at the other ES I worked at in MY CLASSROOM... I NEVER sent a kid to the office, and honestly wouldn't have unless it involved violence (like fighting, or some sort of weapon)... I think that our dynamic is different on our campus though... we don't have street-wise kids... we have kids that are spoon-fed and expect to have everything handed to them. I think our campus needs to implement a "self-managers" program where kids checklist things everyday (based on 5-7 virtues, depending on the chosen program)... it seemed to really work at the other school I was at. We'll see what happens. At any rate, I really think there's a good chance a lot of teachers will leave our campus because they don't want the change that will happen at our campus... which means more opportunity for me to get my chance since I'm so willing! WOOHOO!

That's the other good news. I got an email from my principal the other day letting me know that my not being chosen for that Kindergarten position I interviewed for was NOT a reflection of my interview, or how they felt about my teaching abilities, etc. That they are very proud and happy to have me on their campus doing the work I do with the students and are happy with how hard I work. I was glad to hear this, because I was really over-analyzing how the interview went and was VERY afraid that I may have screwed my chances for a position next school year with something I said in my interview. But I think that I'm VERY MUCH on the same page with the administration based off what I said in my interview, which will help me GREATLY for a job next year. Hopefully they'll remember some of the things I said about my behavior management and all actions having consequences and very consistent ones... and that I like to hit all the different learning styles of kids in my class. SO... anyhow, I look forward to having a good conversation with my AP about her trip to Beaumont to observe a school there (she shared her experience with us today) and what she saw sounds a LOT like what I experienced at my student teaching campus. :-D

Another good note (and the last one tonight as this post is getting REALLY long)... I'm going to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo tomorrow night... to see JOSH TURNER with Jamey! We're SO excited! YAY! Anyhow... until next time...

Peace, love, happiness,
Kels

I'm not really supposed to know yet...

But I didn't get the position. It helps to be well-connected with certain teachers and such on my campus, because they give me the bad news so I don't have to wait as long...! I'm totally okay with not getting it... I don't think it was really anything other than someone else being a better fit with the team of teachers... and that happened because the person that got the offer previously worked on our campus... incidentally on a different grade level with the grade level chair for Kindergarten... and I'm sure she had a huge say in the choice of teacher for the spot.

But, fortunately, I know that I am doing a good job (I've been given that feedback after having a few "walk-thru" observations by the Asst. Principal and Principal...) and I know there are at least 2 positions opening up for next school year. SOOOO... I think they are entirely planning on getting me in one of those. I do have a feeling there will be a few people that will voice an opinion about me not getting this Kinder position on campus... because (the few people that knew I interviewed) were all extremely excited I would become a part of the family of the faculty on campus. Yesterday when I was texting back and forth with with my inside source, they were saying they were REALLY disappointed! lol I think they were more disappointed than I am! haha I just take it as there is a reason that I didn't get the position... and part of that may be that for the time being I'm better used in SpecEd. It could also be that my inside source would love if I get the position that's opening up across the hall from her next year! lol

Anyhow... I'm not bitter, so no one else should be (and hopefully won't)! Tomorrow morning early, my parents will be meeting Rob halfway to Houston to make the exchange of Conner. :) I'm sad to see him go... and I'll miss him until the end of Feb! I'm excited because Monday Steph is going to let me know for sure if she can go to Washington with Jamey and I and what dates in July are good for her... which means... We can buy our tickets in March!!! And start to get things squared away!!! SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!! Alrighty... well I have to go get Conner's teeth brushed and in his jammies for bedtime! Night all!

See what happens when nothing looms over my head to keep me blogging!

I don't post for over a week... nearly 2!!! lol I hope everyone had a splendid Christmas! I had a very enjoyable one (and am excited that I will have yet another in Jan 2009 as we share Christmas gifts and such with my brother, SIL, and nephew!)... I got several spiffy gifts, including a beautiful quilt from my Grandma and a gift card set for dinner/movie from my cousins. I got my Cricut cutting system from my parents (it was the startup set, so it included the carrying case, all the possible tools needed, the cutting system, a cartridge, and a pad of cardstock) which was all I could've asked for from them (or anyone and everyone!)... they also got me a new calendar (it's the kind where each month as a pocket to store things such as bills and all for the month) and my Mom got me a new message board (the kind that has ribbons criss-crossed on it to tuck your messages under). Daughn went overboard (as per usual) and got me a hand/stand mixer combo and a bunch of Halloween decor (I knew about the Halloween stuff b/c she had me pick it out at Kohls when it was all 80% off) and a new cookbook. Jamey got me "stress relief" stuff from B&BW and a Chili's gift card. I got a lava lamp from my uncle (which I'm pretty stoked about... c'mon I have to use an appropriate word to describe that!)...

What's more I had a rather enjoyable time with my family and now I'm just enjoying my time off from work (the week I have left, that is!)

I can explain my absence from posting in 2 words: Twilight Saga. I finished it all in about 2 weeks... I saw the movie... (a bunch of times due to a co-worker enabling my current obsession by finding and burning to a disc a copy of the movie off the internet for me!) I think I've watched it at least 20 times... I've read the draft of Midnight Sun on Stephenie Meyers' website... and I can't wait for that book to finally get published (whenever that may be) even though it's just a different perspective on the first book and not a continuation of the wonderfulness that is the Twilight Saga. I can't wait for New Moon to come out in theaters next year, and I'm really excited about the great potential for a trip to Forks, WA this June with Stephie. It's a real possibility, and I would be incredibly excited to visit Forks, and Port Angeles as well as First Beach in La Push, WA... I will be taking pictures like a mad woman... especially of specific landmarks like Bella italia in Port Angeles. I just haven't decided if I will go this summer or next... or possibly March 2010 for Spring Break... but I WILL go in the next couple years... and it will be magnificent.

Anyhow... hopefully I'll find motivation to post something this coming week... I'm sure I will because the D3's are going to Denver on the 30th and won't return until Jan 5th. Bummer... but at least I have some sort of plans for NYE.

What will I do with all the time...?

9 days... no work... :) YAY! I'm very happy to have all next week off from work! I'm hoping this weekend the weather stays nice... although, tonight was too cold for me! Although, that's my fault for not remembering to wear a better jacket/coat...

Tomorrow's TBall game will probably be COLD, too... :( I need to find my beanie cap!

Wow

Who knew it was so easy to spend $100... on myself! lol I bought some new work clothes yesterday... I did also do some Xmas shopping. I have more to do... but I'm trying to spread it out until next month too when I get my next paycheck Dec. 15th. Tomorrow I'm going to Sprint to cash in on my $150 instant savings with contract renewal... Thank goodness I'll finally be rid of the demon phone! :)

I'm so excited to shop for Christmas... I think I'm most excited to shop for Conner! :) So many cute clothes! It's hard to pick just a few!

In other news I wonder what I'll be doing at work this week... I'm just glad I have 5 days, and then I get a WEEK OFF! WOOHOO! Vacation, here I come!

Memorable Vacation

Well, my family and I had a very memorable vacation. We'll start from the beginning...

First and foremost, this was my nephew Conner's first trip to the beach (he'll be 1 next month!) and it was very interesting to see how an 11 month old likes the sand/wind/water/pool, etc. :) He's so incredibly adorable and an explorer!

Second, there have been many accidents on 361 that I've heard of... (this is the main drag of all the condos/beach houses/hotels that are on Mustang Island/Port Aransas beach). This was the first time I've seen one... and it didn't look good at all. It looked as if 3 cars were involved in the accident... one of which was a pretty large truck... and it was flipped over and the tires were up in the air... not to mention there was a TON of emergency personnel there... and lots of people being attended to on stretchers and gurneys and such. It was definitely a moment that you hope all the idiots that repeatedly like to speed along that stretch and try and pass people by on the shoulder, etc. take notice of the scenario... and that they internalize that they are not immortal and it could be them. This was Saturday... our first day there... Kinda puts a sting on the mood... but only temporarily... this is because....

Sunday was Mother's Day... We all ate some breakfast and hung out in the condo... we tried going down to the beach but it was WAY too windy for any of us... the wind was blowing the loose sand onto us and it felt like little needles! We ate an early big meal around 2 (which I prepared) of loaded spaghetti, salad, and fresh garlic bread. It was delicious... and very fun to watch Conner try spaghetti for the first time! :)

Monday my Dad and Rob went down around 7:00am to go fishing... my Dad came back up around 9 to check a print out of different kinds of fish because he had caught something he'd never seen before... turns out he caught a GREAT fish (Florida Pompano) which ended up being a delicious dinner the next evening... in total the two of them caught 6 keepers on Monday. After they cleaned and cut them they returned to the room... my brother was showing my the fillets in a baggie and asking me if I thought they looked good... my response was... "are they supposed to smell like burning?" We then noticed that the smell was coming directly from the AC vent above us... so I quickly went and shut off the AC unit. When I turned around and looked back at my brother... I could see SMOKE flooding out of that AC vent in the sunlight in front of me!!! We called the maintenance guys... they came up and immediately made sure that the thing hadn't caught fire.... it was (obviously) really smelly and smoke-filled in there... not to mention HOT and HUMID because there was no AC... so we were quickly moved just a couple units down on the same floor... So, the rest of our morning til about 11ish was spent moving all of our luggage and refrigerated things to the other unit.

We had a fairly uneventful rest of the vacation... Later on in the day Monday we went down to the beach with Conner and he played in the sand and in the water... and then went to the pool and had a blast... and then that night we watched Dan in Real Life (which was better than I expected it to be). Tuesday we went to the beach and pool with Conner again and then went to play our annual mini golf game... then that night was our fish fry... well... fish and chicken... Kathy (my S-I-L) isn't too big on fish either... so the 2 of us mostly had some broiled chicken and tried some fish... everything was pretty delicious!

Wednesday morning Rob, Kathy, and Conner headed home... and my parents and I went to try a new restaurant in Port Aransas and then went and spent some time in town at the shops and at one of the public piers. We headed back to the condo and just relaxed the rest of the night and vacation.

On our return we stopped at another restaurant in Port Aransas we had never eaten at before for lunch... they're on the bay/in the docks... they had quite possibly the BEST shrimp I've ever had. Then when we got back in town we went and picked up all the animals from boarding. So... all in all... catastrophies aside... we had a spectacular, fulfilling, and relaxing vacation!

Work and then VACATION

Well, I'm starting the week off subbing for a teacher I've worked with before... I'm preparing a cover letter/resume/reference letter to leave with the principal... it's a campus where they have a lot of teachers come and go (especially being Title I)...

Then, Saturday morning... my parents and I are leaving town and meeting my brother, sister in law, and nephew... in Port Aransas! This is much needed after the blow of rejection. Which by the way wasn't as quick and painless as a bandaid... remember how I heard back from the principal on Tuesday? Yeah, Friday Daughn and I were out running errands and I get a call from the Vice Principal at the school... I'm thinking (with my ever-optimistic attitude) that Andrea got to them and had them call me back to offer me one of the newer positions that opened... No... It was just Mr. Nice Guy letting me know that they weren't offering me a position after my *GREAT* *WONDERFUL* *SPECTACULAR* interview... niiiiice. Thanks for communicating with each other on that one guys... build my hopes up again to smash them into the concrete.

So, as I said... the near week-long vacay is much needed.... I need to just escape and get away from everything for a bit. Anyhow... back to preparing documents for tomorrow and such....