The Good and the Bad.

I'm tired of making excuses for myself and the fact that it has been so long since the last post. I know that everyone loves to read this. I love to know that I have posted and I love that I have people who care enough about me to read. I am really not good at being consistent about keeping up with the blog. I suppose I get tired. I suppose I get busy and it takes low priority. I suppose, if I am going to be really honest with everyone, that I get lazy. So I'm apologising, but I'm not making excuses.

Lately, it has been all about adjusting to the weather change (It's SPRING! There are flowers and it is not so bitter cold and the trees are growing leaves! There are nettles, which is the not-quite-so-good.) and the change from being in a classroom everyday for the past however long to being back at University and settling into working. I have minimal motivation for that as well. I have 2 large research projects that are due on the same day. I suspect that1 will get the majority of my time and attention, and the other will just get by. I have come to terms with that. I can't seem to split my attention well enough to focus on both at the same time. Overall, I do not think that it will affect my marks that much, as I still intent to pass. I think I'm to the point that I am content with scraping by. (can anyone say senior-itis?)

We re-arranged the house a few weeks ago, and I am enjoying the results. I was feeling a little like we were just staying here. Not everything had a home. Not everything was "moved in" after almost a year. And I confess to having a moment in which I just couldn't stand living here and not being settled. So we re-arranged and it has helped a lot. The living room, which is small to start with, was piled with the table behind the desk, so we were using only half the space and it was crowded and uncomfortable. Now it is more spread out and feels less crowded. We still don't have enough seats for everyone, but it is much better and a whole lot more bearable. We also found a new-to-us set of chairs at a second-hand shop. They are not great, and won't last long, but they are a lot better than the chairs that we had that didn't survive the overseas trip well. Those had fallen apart. There was 1 left, and it was wobbly. The new chairs are green, which I like.

I am actively job hunting at the same time as all the other things. This is actually a very hard thing. There is an expectation that everyone who applies for a position will go for a tour of the school. These are scheduled at specific times convenient for the school. Most of the schools are not bus or walking distance from us, so this means that I need to rent a car. Sometimes for 1 school visit. Then I apply, but the competition is fierce. I didn't even get an interview at the school that I did my placement at. I feel a bit disheartened. I'm not sure if there is a problem with my application, my cover letter, or my CV. I don't know if my Visa is an issue or if it is just bad luck of the draw. But I am starting to worry that I won't be able to find a job, won't be able to finally do my part in keeping our family afloat. We have such big plans: buying a house, the potentiality of future children, and none of it can happen if I continue to be a less-contributive member of the family.

*sigh* I feel like this post is a lot of whining, and that is not exactly what I intended to do when I started it. There are good things. Ashley is 17 now. (Ok - good and bad thing. I have very mixed emotions about her birthday. One one hand, yay for her, and on the other, my time with her as a child is almost over and that makes me sad.) We have solved the fungus gnat problem with the handy help of a pesticide spray and some silver sand. I have new house plants. I am well loved and cared for. Mostly, I am happy. I miss you all a lot, though. I feel a bit lonely without my friends even close enough to talk to.

No more now, or I'll do something silly like cry.

A small, still thing...

Sometimes things happen that remind you of the things that you do that make a difference to someone's life, somewhere. And it humbles you.

This is a video made by one of my students. I taught him from when he was 12 until he was 16. He is now in his early twenties. He was my biggest challenge, the student who broke my heart and hurt my feelings and crawled under my skin until I could not let him go. He is the student to whom I meant something, though I had to prove that I wasn't going to give up on him, and who meant a whole lot to me as well.

I can't really tell him that I am so proud of him that I could burst with it. But I am. And he continues to twist my heart, just as he always has. This is Andrew, amazing musician, amazing person. And he changed me. He is one of the reasons that I am the kind of teacher that I am. Thank you, Andrew. And I love you.

A Tristan Report!

This is a video of Tristan's Dr. Seuss Program at school last week. His favourite song was 'The Things You Can Think'. I think he is so big, and so gorgeous. I am so proud.

Here is what Tristan says about it. "A lot of people got hurt and cried. They did a song for Mrs. Hardy because she is leaving. I did not cry about Mrs. Hardy. She is our music teacher that read the story in the video. I was scared because there was kindergardners and other kids and Mom's and Dad's. I was scared because there were so many people. We had to do it two times, and the first time Sherrie and Mama Kim went and the second time Sherrie had to go on a field trip so Chris my brother came and watched me."

Be warned that this video is set to be viewed only 25 times, so if you try to watch and it won't, that's why.


He also went to a live performance of 'The Vagina Monologues'. While there, he had a snack. Says he," I had a chocolate vagina. It hurt my mouth."

Dear me, I about to died laughing.
The plan is for a catch-up post tomorrow. So talk to you then!

When Mom says it's been a long time - then it's been a long time!

This is a very quick post to give a preliminary report on our trip to Wales a few weeks ago. We'll have photos to attach soon, but for the time being just a few links to give a bit of background.


View Larger Map

Above is a map showing the approximate route we took from Canterbury to Rhos on Sea - the place in Wales where we were staying.

We saw a lot of scenery and such, but the thing we did most was visit castles. The four castles we visited were Conwy, Caernarfon, Beaumaris, and Denbigh. The links point to Wikipedia (and open in a new window) and give some info and history on each castle. These castles were built by Edward I (King of England upon whose tombstone the motto reads ‘Hammer of the Scots’) to subjugate neighbouring Wales to English rule in the 13th century.