Falling Into Place

Today it feels like things are falling into place. We have acquired some basement sofas which I'm going to pick up tonight, someone is coming to see our apartment today and someone is coming to see my sewing machine that I have for sale tomorrow. I have started packing, picked out our master bedroom paint colour. I do have quite a bit of school stuff to do but for now I'm going to be happy with this progress.

Christmas...

So our Christmas wasn't exactly what we were expecting this year. We had a rather dramatic Christmas day and I'll leave it at that. I'm thinking Mexico next year. Today is a day of recovery (ok and retail therapy). But as crazy as our Christmas day was I got a lot of fabulous presents that satisfied quite a few of my 101.

I did get the KitchenAid I was wishing and dreaming about from my parents and I think I'll do some baking tomorrow. I got a label maker and a drill from my in laws. Whee.

Here's my updated list.

My List
1. Buy a house
2. Get a full-time permanent job

Purchases and Creations
3. Buy a new coffee table
4. Get a label maker
5. Buy a new TV stand
6. Get a KitchenAid Stand mixer
7. Get a food processor .... on my Christmas list
8. Buy a bike
9. Buy a new computer
10. Buy a piece of jewelry at Tiffany's- I have my eye on this http://tinyurl.com/4f34gf
11. Make an upholstered headboard
12. Make pillows for the couch
13. Make a gift for a friend
14. Sew 4 things 4/4
15. Buy a new(er) car (I would like a Mazda 3)
16. Make bread from scratch (And it has to taste good)
17. Get two new games 2/2... I got Scotland Yard for Christmas and Steve got Deal or No Deal (our household acquired two new games)

People and Places
18. Go to New York with Steve (I've been twice, and he would really love to go)
19. Go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building
20. Go on a plane with Steve (he's been on a few planes, I've been on more but never together)
21. Go to camp for two weeks (not necessarily in the same year)
22. Make Steve breakfast in bed
23. Go camping with just Steve
24. Go on an anniversary trip (probably won't include #23)
25. Go on a road trip longer then 6 hours away
26. Throw a birthday party - My mom's 50th bday party- 09/07/08
27. Have a dinner party once a month for 6 months 2/6
28. Visit a new state
29. Cook a meal for my family
30. Cook a meal for Steve's family (I think this will have to be after we buy a house, there's not room for all of them in our apartment) - By not saying entire family I am completing this 09/13 for my Mother-In-Law's bday- there will be a couple family members missing but we invited them all.
31. Have photos taken of the two of us
32. Send out Christmas cards (most likely including #31)
33. Have family pictures taken with my family
34. Visit 3 out of town family members 2/3
I brought my SIL (in Steinbach) a birthday dessert 09/11
35. Buy 3 friends flowers
36. Go on a hot holiday
37. Sponsor a missionary we're not currently sponsoring
38. Email or call Monique once a week for 3 months
39. Email or call Karyn once a week for 3 months
40. Go on a date night once a month 2/32- we went to the Forks tonight 08/08
41. Invite a new friend out for a meal
42. Bake for 5 friends 5/5
43. Take my parents out for supper
44. Have pictures taken with Karyn and Monique

Out and About
45. Eat at 5 new restaurants 5/5
46. Eat at my old Boston Pizza (for some reason I just haven't been going back)- Went 9/5/08
47. Go to a Goldeye's Game
48. Go to two Bomber Games 0/2
49. Eat outside 10 days in 3 weeks 0/10
50. Eat at the dining room table every day for a month
51. Go to a concert
52. Try 5 new flavours of gelati 2/5- first new flavour tried was Blood Orange 08-15, Pink Grapefruit 08-17

Healthy Living
53. Get a gym membership
54. Go to the Gym 3 times a week for 6 months
55. Eat vegetarian once a week for 6 weeks 0/6
56. Lose 10 pounds and keep it off for 6 months
57. Be in bed by 10pm for 2 weeks
58. Wake up before 7 am for 3 weeks
59. Watch no TV for one month
60. Quit biting my nails for 4 months
61. Reward myself for not biting nails by having one manicure a month for every month without biting
62. Don't eat fried chips for two months
63. Drink only water for three weeks

Home to Stay
64. Create a sports room with Steve
65. Paint a room in our house by myself
66. Create a welcoming guest/Karyn + Monique room
67. Have flowers waiting for overnight guests
68. Start a garden
69. Buy a Christmas Tree
70. Buy a Christmas Tree Skirt
71. Install new lights, one of which must be done by me.
72. Buy or make curtains for the upstairs 1/6
73. Repaint the blue squares
74. Repaint the stripe
75. Get couches for the basement
76. Get two new pieces of art/mirrors 1/2
77. Shop at the farmers market 3 times
78. Paint the bathroom
79. Read daily for 15 minutes, for one month
80. Install a wet-bar downstairs
81. Host a party in the new house
82. Install dishwasher
83. Replace the mirror in the bathroom
84. Refinish one piece of furniture for the house
85. Honour Renee in one way in our house

Organization
86. Label my files in my filing cabinet at home and at school
87. Frame three pictures I have taken 0/3
88. Start and Finish our wedding album
89. Make a new list by May 12, 2011- by then the list may include... kids...

Can't Put it in a Category
90. Take a cooking class
91. Take a dance class
92. Watch all the seasons of SATC- started with season 3- 09/12
93. Start putting money into RRSP's
94. Read 10 non-teaching books - 5/10
95. Incur no late fees at the library for 1 year (this may be hard)- Started August 16 with a clean slate!
96. Watch a sunset
97. Watch a sunrise- I drive into the sunrise every morning
98. Get a pet
99. Go credit card-less for one month
100. Watch our wedding video (yes, it's been 3 years and we haven't watched it)
101. Blog 3 times a week for 2 months

Packing, Purging and a little more Christmas

Today, my first "official" day of Christmas holidays I did put out some more Christmas ornaments, I went to my mom's for coffee, I went grocery shopping (oh me oh my what a gong show), I attempted to purge some of the excess stuff out of our apartment (which of course Steve is not inclined to feel as excess), I cleaned, I washed the floor, I made supper and cooked a pumpkin that has been sitting in my storage room for way too long. All in all a very successful day.

it might not look like Christmas...

But it feels like Christmas. And I am not referring to the world around us I am strictly referring to our apartment. With the plan being to pack up most of our worldly possessions over Christmas I did not want to haul out the ornaments and then put them all away. So instead we have one... solitary ornament hanging from the chandelier. But under the chandelier is our table, which is full of presents.

I have shopped for... my 22 students, my parents, my brothers, Steve's parents, the two people we have on Steve's side, my mentor teachers, supplies for Steve's presents and the person for whom I'm a secret Santa at school.

I have made presents (Strawberry jam and other things) for... some little ladies, my carpool girls, other friends, and my husband.

Steve went shopping today too for ME. Yes, the only person he is responsible to shop for.

Some things I'm excited for this Christmas-
- Celebrating Christ's birth
- Giving the above said gifts
- Spending time with family and friends
- Having my Christmas party with my students on Friday
- Singing Christmas songs (although I decided today I really don't like We Three Kings)
- Having two weeks to "relax"
- Having two weeks to get ready for having two half-time classes
- Having Monique home for at least a couple days and going Boxing Day shopping with her
- Packing up this apartment because it means we're that much closer to getting into our house
- Having Kurtis' girlfriend at our Christmas dinner (this Saturday)
- ... okay getting gifts....

It may be super duper cold but I am very excited for Christmas this year (and even more excited that the next time I need to go shopping is on Boxing Day)

Merry Christmas to all my blog readers!

Cheers!
Krista

More good news

So tomorrow morning all our conditions will be satisfied and they can finally put the sold sign on the house. I'm so excited that this long week of stress has come to an end. And part of what makes the financial stress go away is that I was offered a second half-time position today, which of course... equals full-time. YAY! I will be teaching a second Kindergarten class in Mitchell in the mornings and then coming back to my afternoon position in Steinbach. It will be very busy but it should be "fun". It will become a little easier when we move (on February 13th) and I don't have that hour and a half to commute every day. I've subbed in that class a couple weeks ago and it went really well so I'm expecting all to be well.

So my 101 can now be updated-

My List
1. Buy a house
2. Get a full-time permanent job

Purchases and Creations
3. Buy a new coffee table
4. Get a label maker
5. Buy a new TV stand
6. Get a KitchenAid Stand mixer
7. Get a food processor .... on my Christmas list
8. Buy a bike
9. Buy a new computer
10. Buy a piece of jewelry at Tiffany's- I have my eye on this http://tinyurl.com/4f34gf
11. Make an upholstered headboard
12. Make pillows for the couch
13. Make a gift for a friend
14. Sew 4 things 4/4
15. Buy a new(er) car (I would like a Mazda 3)
16. Make bread from scratch (And it has to taste good)
17. Get two new games 2/2... I got Scotland Yard for Christmas and Steve got Deal or No Deal (our household acquired two new games)

People and Places
18. Go to New York with Steve (I've been twice, and he would really love to go)
19. Go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building
20. Go on a plane with Steve (he's been on a few planes, I've been on more but never together)
21. Go to camp for two weeks (not necessarily in the same year)
22. Make Steve breakfast in bed
23. Go camping with just Steve
24. Go on an anniversary trip (probably won't include #23)
25. Go on a road trip longer then 6 hours away
26. Throw a birthday party - My mom's 50th bday party- 09/07/08
27. Have a dinner party once a month for 6 months 2/6
28. Visit a new state
29. Cook a meal for my family
30. Cook a meal for Steve's family (I think this will have to be after we buy a house, there's not room for all of them in our apartment) - By not saying entire family I am completing this 09/13 for my Mother-In-Law's bday- there will be a couple family members missing but we invited them all.
31. Have photos taken of the two of us
32. Send out Christmas cards (most likely including #31)
33. Have family pictures taken with my family
34. Visit 3 out of town family members 2/3
I brought my SIL (in Steinbach) a birthday dessert 09/11
35. Buy 3 friends flowers 2/3
36. Go on a hot holiday
37. Sponsor a missionary we're not currently sponsoring
38. Email or call Monique once a week for 3 months
39. Email or call Karyn once a week for 3 months
40. Go on a date night once a month 2/32- we went to the Forks tonight 08/08
41. Invite a new friend out for a meal
42. Bake for 5 friends 5/5
43. Take my parents out for supper
44. Have pictures taken with Karyn and Monique

Out and About
45. Eat at 5 new restaurants 5/5
46. Eat at my old Boston Pizza (for some reason I just haven't been going back)- Went 9/5/08
47. Go to a Goldeye's Game
48. Go to two Bomber Games 0/2
49. Eat outside 10 days in 3 weeks 0/10
50. Eat at the dining room table every day for a month
51. Go to a concert
52. Try 5 new flavours of gelati 2/5- first new flavour tried was Blood Orange 08-15, Pink Grapefruit 08-17

Healthy Living
53. Get a gym membership
54. Go to the Gym 3 times a week for 6 months
55. Eat vegetarian once a week for 6 weeks 0/6
56. Lose 10 pounds and keep it off for 6 months
57. Be in bed by 10pm for 2 weeks
58. Wake up before 7 am for 3 weeks
59. Watch no TV for one month
60. Quit biting my nails for 4 months
61. Reward myself for not biting nails by having one manicure a month for every month without biting
62. Don't eat fried chips for two months
63. Drink only water for three weeks

Home to Stay
64. Create a sports room with Steve
65. Paint a room in our house by myself
66. Create a welcoming guest/Karyn + Monique room
67. Have flowers waiting for overnight guests
68. Start a garden
69. Buy a Christmas Tree
70. Buy a Christmas Tree Skirt
71. Install new lights, one of which must be done by me.
72. Buy or make curtains for the upstairs 0/6
73. Repaint the blue squares
74. Repaint the stripe
75. Get couches for the basement
76. Get two new pieces of art/mirrors 0/3
77. Shop at the farmers market 3 times
78. Paint bathroom
79. Read daily for 15 minutes, for one month
80. Install a wet-bar downstairs
81. Host a party in the new house
82. Install dishwasher
83. Replace mirror in the bathroom
84. Refinish one piece of furniture for the house
85. Honour Renee in one way in our house

Organization
86. Label my files in my filing cabinet at home and at school
87. Frame three pictures I have taken 0/3
88. Start and Finish our wedding album
89. Make a new list by May 12, 2011- by then the list may include... kids...

Can't Put it in a Category
90. Take a cooking class
91. Take a dance class
92. Watch all the seasons of SATC- started with season 3- 09/12
93. Start putting money into RRSP's
94. Read 10 non-teaching books - I've read False Witness, and Good-Byes are Always Hard
95. Incur no late fees at the library for 1 year (this may be hard)- Started August 16 with a clean slate!
96. Watch a sunset
97. Watch a sunrise- I drive into the sunrise every morning
98. Get a pet
99. Go credit card-less for one month
100. Watch our wedding video (yes, it's been 3 years and we haven't watched it)
101. Blog 3 times a week for 2 months

What did you do today?

Because I(we) bought a house... (Steve would like me to add that it is subject to inspection and financing)... ps it's hard to blog appropriately with him looking over my shoulder...

Anyways! We're super excited, Steve's excitement isn't coming exactly the way you would expect but I think he's excited none the less. He's worried about all the little stuff.

Anyways if you want to check out our new abode, we get possession on February 13th.

http://www.riverbendrealty.ca/database/display.php?display=4145

Still waiting

Waiting, waiting

We are waiting... I think you can figure out why... more details to follow once the waiting is over.

eeeekkkk

I'm going to see this house that I'm a little in love with tomorrow morning. I'm a little excited! It's this really cute starter home. Perfect for two (and whichever company comes our way). We're not quite ready to buy (maybe two months, maybe one...) but it's been on the market for a while, so it might be for a little bit longer. If not I will kind of know better what to look for in a house.

Oh, and tonight I was at a fabulous event with my friend Lynne. It was at Vandenbergs and it was a Ladies' Night. An evening with wine, appies, and trying on fabulous jewelery. With that jewelery came a "wish" list. I know I'm not getting jewelery this year but it's sure fun to try on diamonds and pearls. Lynne found a fabulous ring that she would love her BF to put on her finger. I guess time will tell.

And tomorrow, after the showing, and after school, Steve and I are going to a Jazz concert at the Art Gallery.

To that I say,
Life is good!

one by one they fall

16. Make bread from scratch (And it has to taste good)- I made Honey Whole Wheat Bread
100. Watch our Wedding Video
Now that was an interesting experience. It was over three years ago. So many of our little people and even Chad look so much younger. I realized for the first time that my bridesmaids walked down the aisle wrong (all at the same time), and Steve relived the horror of having to hold my flowers while I sang in the worship team. We sat through all of the speeches (which were mainly about Steve) and were very long... my apologies to those who sat through them the first time. I cried hearing the speech by my cousins and my parents. Even my brother's speeches were wonderful. I don't know that we'll watch it again but now we've relived that occasion once.

In progress currently--
27. Have a dinner party once a month for 6 months 2/6
32. Send out Christmas cards (most likely including #31) - ordered
34. Visit 3 out of town family members 2/3
I brought my SIL (in Steinbach) a birthday dessert 09/11
35. Buy 3 friends flowers 2/3
40. Go on a date night once a month 4/32
52. Try 5 new flavours of gelati 2/5- first new flavour tried was Blood Orange 08-15, Pink Grapefruit 08-17
62. Don't eat fried chips for two months- Started Sunday November 9/08
92. Watch all the seasons of SATC- Have watched Seasons 1-3
94. Read 10 non-teaching books - I've read False Witness, and Good-Byes are Always Hard
95. Incur no late fees at the library for 1 year (this may be hard)- Started August 16 with a clean slate!... update- I thought I renewed all the books I took out for my classroom. Turns out I forgot a few. Re-started November 4.

So right now the ones that are done are--

14. Sew 4 things 4/4 I not only hemmed pants for myself, I mended some of Kurtis' clothes and sewed three totally cute take home bags for my students to take home some memory games I'm making.
16. Make bread from scratch (And it has to taste good)- Made Honey Whole Wheat Bread
22. Make Steve breakfast in bed
26. Throw a birthday party - My mom's 50th bday party- 09/07/08
30. Cook a meal for Steve's family (I think this will have to be after we buy a house, there's not room for all of them in our apartment) - By not saying entire family I am completing this 09/13 for my Mother-In-Law's bday- there will be a couple family members missing but we invited them all.
31. Have photos taken of the two of us
33. Have family pictures taken with my family
42. Bake for 5 friends 5/5
45. Eat at 5 new restaurants 5/5
Niko's- 08/17/08
MJ's with my SIL 09/29/08
Joey's 10/11/08
Lacoka
CHOP 11/09/08
46. Eat at my old Boston Pizza (for some reason I just haven't been going back)- Went 9/5/08
51. Go to a concert - we went to Ron Paley at Jazz under the Rooftop 11/14
86. Label my files in my filing cabinet at home and at school
96. Watch a sunset- I've driven into many lately
97. Watch a sunrise- I drive into the sunrise every morning
100. Watch our wedding video (yes, it's been 3 years and we haven't watched it)
101. Blog 3 times a week for 2 months - 8 weeks out of the 10 since I made this goal were 3 post weeks so I am going to count this as done since my goal was really just to do it more consistently.

And the ones I hope to complete or start soon--

70. Buy a Christmas Tree Skirt - maybe one on sale around Christmas
And hopefully #1 in the early new year.

And the ones on my Christmas list
4. Get a label maker
6. Get a KitchenAid Stand mixer
7. Get a food processor .... on my Christmas list
17. Get two new games 0/2... Killer Bunnies and Scotland Yard are the two I'm wanting

I hope to have 20 done by the first day of 2009

Home

Mom, surprisingly, got out of the hospital today. They said they were going to keep her in till Tuesday but now a complication means she can't get her angiogram tomorrow so they let her out and she'll do it outpatient instead. I went to visit her this morning and only a couple hours later she called to say they were letting her out.

Please pray that she doesn't overdo it now that she's home and no longer on bedrest.

Correction

So it's congestive heart disease not congenital. They still don't know why she got it because she hasn't had typical symptoms and she's not a typical candidate. She is doing well, even on bedrest. She should get home tomorrow and then will have to go back for an angiogram and other tests this coming week. Thanks for your prayers!

Matters of the Heart

Hey all- I would appreciate if you could pray for my momma. It seems like a traumatic health year in the Reimer family. First Chad had pneumonia, then dad had a pulmonary embolism and now my mom has been sick for the last two weeks and she went to the hospital today and has been admitted.

She has congenital heart failure and cardiac myopathy. Essentially her heart isn't working the way it should and they believe there is some damage. They believe she must have contracted a virus at least a month ago that attacked her heart. But she wasn't sick a month ago, so who knows.

So she's at St. B. Different doctors have said different things about the severity of the situation. Essentially it is not likely to be life threatening. Sanity threatening though. She's on bed rest and for those who know my mother... she's not a fan of sitting still for any length of time so she is not looking forward to this. Not like she would be if she was otherwise a sitting duck.

I've had a crazy busy week as I have been subbing all but one morning and have two Kindergarten classes to take care of tomorrow for Halloween.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers I know will be sent our way.

Eight Months

Eight months ago today we found out that Renee had passed away. In the last eight months so much has happened in our lives but not a day has gone by that I don't remember her smile and her belief in hope. So today I will leave you with part of a prayer that she kept with her in her last months of life.

St. Patrick's Breastplate
I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the
Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession
of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism,
through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial
through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom.

I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me,
God's host to secure me:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right,
Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length,
Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

9 Pages

Does that sound excessive for a guest teacher to read before they are "sufficiently" prepared to sub in my class? I just realized that's how many pages I have for my sub tomorrow. To be honest 6 pages of it are my general sub information that will be going in my sub binder including an index but no appendix and 3 are specific to tomorrow. It covers all my routines from duty, to behaviour, to bathrooms, to snack (hmm... right beside bathroom in this list), and how to properly send my children home (after all they can't just go home with anybody).

Neurotic? I'm not sure. I mean if someone had never met your kids before and they were going to be with them for 2 1/2 hours and had to get some very specific things accomplished wouldn't you leave a list that was even longer? I wonder some days how being a parent is going to compare with being a Kindergarten teacher. In a way it's different because I feel like I have 40 parents who trust me everyday to protect their little person. While if it's your own child it's your own flesh and blood that you are protecting. Guess I'll wait a while to blog about that.

And in case you were in suspense. The dairy farm went well today. Going on the bus was a big thrill for those of my students for whom it was the first time. We got to pet the calves, watch a cow being milked and we even got chocolate milk in convenient little cartons. Not straight from the brown cows this time.

Cheers!

Hmmm... not too much going on

Despite life being pretty busy it doesn't seem like much is going on. Just the usual.

I called in sick for the first time on Friday. I was feeling pretty worn out from my crazy day on Thursday. I have never felt more baffled. Maybe baffled is not the word but despite having all my students at school on Thursday there was not one time when we were all in the same roomat the same time. I had an EA pulling out kids for work, a volunteer doing some finish up with kids, and then they did all of my kids hearing and vision screenings in the same afternoon. It was nuts. I could have easily lost one and not known it till home time.

Despite really needing a sick day I wasn't sure how my kids would do with a sub. I felt a little like a mother hen, a little protective. However, my sub on Friday who is my room partner reported this morning that all had gone well and my kids had been great. Phew. I was glad that their first sub was someone they see quite often. She's usually working in my class in the afternoons while they are there so she wasn't a stranger. And today I started preparing them for their next sub. I have to go to a Kindergarten inservice on Wednesday and my room partner is going too, so they will have someone different. Hopefully they're good for her too.

But tomorrow we are going to the farm. Watch your feet, and hold your noses. Heading to the dairy farm. I am subbing in the morning and going to a meeting and then a banquet after school so I will definitely be bringing at least one change of clothes. It's not that I don't like farms, after all I was a farmer this summer, but I do not want to smell like one.

That's all the excitement I have for now.

Cheers

So many thoughts!

Right now I am sitting at my computer with so many thoughts running through my mind. None of them are thoughts I can actually do anything about. Thoughts about our future, where to live, where to buy, when to buy, to buy or build, feeling like I'm picking one family over the other, what will happen if we move, will we make new friends and still be able to maintain our current relationships, what will happen with the housing market, will I get more subbing, another half-time position, a full-time position next year, what financial decisions to make now so we benefit in the future....???

I was talking to a friend about being patient tonight. Neither of us are good at that, but yet we "must" be because we cannot change the situations we are in. We just have to wait and see what happens.

Is it the culture that we are in to not just live and trust that God will make things happen? Are we so anxious and high strung that we cannot just be still and know that things will work out? When will I learn that God will take care of it if I let him?

Cheers to God's infinite control, and being able to have some one to give it to.

Thankful

I have so many things to be thankful for today so I'm going to make a list. (Thanks for the inspiration Dayna)

- God, whose love endures forever
- My wonderful husband- who has a plan and a vision for our life
- my family biological and in-laws
- Great friends who love me even when I screw up
- Family which fits into the friend category too
- Karyn and Monique (and 23 great years with Renee)
- A job which I love most moments (and a carpool to get there)
- A roof (even though there's neighbours up there) over my head
- a warm bed
- Steve's new job
- food... mmm cheese, cheesecake, bread, cupcakes, and so many wonderful things
- Reading
- My shoes
- shopping online
- Dreaming
- Digital Cameras
- Dutch Blitz, Killer Bunnies, Scotland Yard and the good times around these games
- Having people over
- Hugs (man this should be higher up on the list)
- Birthdays
- Christmas lists
- Wine
- The freedom to try and be who I want to be
- Celebrating
- Life

For all these things and so many more I am very thankful. Yes life may be stressful some times but maybe I should just remember in those times "I'm to blessed to be stressed".

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Poems

These are for Pam and Tammi and anyone else that thinks poems are funny...

First one- The Turkey

The Turkey is a funny bird
It's head goes wibble, wobble
The Turkey only knows one word
and that is gobble, gobble.

(with the appropriate head bobbing and emphasis)

The other- sung to Frere Jacque I believe

Turkey Dinner

Turkey dinner, turkey dinner
Gather round, gather round
Who will get the drumstick?
Yummy yummy yumstick
All sit down, all sit down

Turkey stuffing,
Cornbread muffins
Pumpkin pie, with whip cream

All of us were thinner
Before we came to dinner
Me oh my, too much pie. (with appropriate exaggerated stomach grabbing)

And I do not share these with my room partner, not that I wouldn't be willing to share. They actually came from my cooperating teacher the year I was in Kindergarten. She lent me all of her poems already written out (yay!)

Anyways, as you have too much pie think of this poem and say Me oh my, too much pie.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Scared and hoping for the best

Although I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving I am also scared. Steve and I have a plan. A plan that's very doable to buy a house but with the market crashing... my head is swimming with thoughts of what this will mean for us, for the people around us. Never mind wanting to go cross-border shopping. That definitely won't be happening with the dollar. All in the midst of elections both sides of the border. Here's for hoping and praying that something... anything... will fix this situation.

Pumpkins

As Thanksgiving approaches and Halloween is around the corner we are "studying" Apples and Pumpkins in KKS. This week we've mainly been talking Turkey and pumpkin pie with some really funny poems. My favourite poem ends with the phrase (and appropriate stomach grabbing) "All of us were thinner, before we came to dinner. Me oh my, too much pie".

Well I brought in two pumpkins yesterday and today my students were very interested in their presence in our classroom. One boy was quite certain and convinced that we should make something out of them. He suggested one recipe... or something like it... including sticking pencils in it and eating the pumpkin. Not quite sure how that would work. But that's the same student who tried to convince me he went to the Icefields in Florida and who when I ask what they did over the weekend says he went to Edmonton for a week. Love him but his facts are kind of wonky.

On a very positive note- my prayers are starting to be answered in one area. I was really hoping for some subbing work and low and behold. Two mornings already this week. This morning a teacher got really sick after she got to school so it was very last minute but that was fine.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. Mine starts tomorrow at my Reimer gathering. I have so much to be thankful for this year (like every year). God is good.

Cheers!

More and more...

My List
1. Buy a house
2. Get a full-time permanent job

Purchases and Creations
3. Buy a new coffee table
4. Get a label maker... on my Christmas list
5. Buy a new TV stand
6. Get a KitchenAid Stand mixer ... on my Christmas list (hint hint Kitchen Collection, Albertville, less then half price... Black, Chrome, White, anything but pink or red) ps. Love you Mom!!!
7. Get a food processor .... on my Christmas list
8. Buy a bike
9. Buy a new computer
10. Buy a piece of jewelry at Tiffany's- I have my eye on this http://tinyurl.com/4f34gf
11. Make an upholstered headboard
12. Make pillows for the couch
13. Make a gift for a friend
14. Sew 4 things 1/4 - I hemmed a pair of pants 09/04/08
15. Buy a new(er) car (I would like a Mazda 3)
16. Make bread from scratch (And it has to taste good)
17. Get two new games 0/2... Killer Bunnies and Scotland Yard are the two I'm wanting

People and Places
18. Go to New York with Steve (I've been twice, and he would really love to go)
19. Go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building
20. Go on a plane with Steve (he's been on a few planes, I've been on more but never together)
21. Go to camp for two weeks (not necessarily in the same year)
22. Make Steve breakfast in bed
23. Go camping with just Steve
24. Go on an anniversary trip (probably won't include #23)
25. Go on a road trip longer then 6 hours away
26. Throw a birthday party - My mom's 50th bday party- 09/07/08
27. Have a dinner party once a month for 6 months 2/6
28. Visit a new state
29. Cook a meal for my family
30. Cook a meal for Steve's family (I think this will have to be after we buy a house, there's not room for all of them in our apartment) - By not saying entire family I am completing this 09/13 for my Mother-In-Law's bday- there will be a couple family members missing but we invited them all.
31. Have photos taken of the two of us
32. Send out Christmas cards (most likely including #31)
33. Have family pictures taken with my family
34. Visit 3 out of town family members 1/3
I brought my SIL (in Steinbach) a birthday dessert 09/11
35. Buy 3 friends flowers 0/3
36. Go on a hot holiday
37. Sponsor a missionary we're not currently sponsoring
38. Email or call Monique once a week for 3 months
39. Email or call Karyn once a week for 3 months
40. Go on a date night once a month 2/32- we went to the Forks tonight 08/08
41. Invite a new friend out for a meal
42. Bake for 5 friends 5/5
43. Take my parents out for supper
44. Have pictures taken with Karyn and Monique

Out and About
45. Eat at 5 new restaurants 3/5
We went to Niko's- 08/17/08
Went to MJ's with my SIL 09/29/08
Went to Joey's 10/11/08
46. Eat at my old Boston Pizza (for some reason I just haven't been going back)- Went 9/5/08
47. Go to a Goldeye's Game
48. Go to two Bomber Games 0/2
49. Eat outside 10 days in 3 weeks 0/10
50. Eat at the dining room table every day for a month
51. Go to a concert
52. Try 5 new flavours of gelati 2/5- first new flavour tried was Blood Orange 08-15, Pink Grapefruit 08-17

Healthy Living
53. Get a gym membership
54. Go to the Gym 3 times a week for 6 months
55. Eat vegetarian once a week for 6 weeks 0/6
56. Lose 10 pounds and keep it off for 6 months
57. Be in bed by 10pm for 2 weeks
58. Wake up before 7 am for 3 weeks
59. Watch no TV for one month
60. Quit biting my nails for 4 months
61. Reward myself for not biting nails by having one manicure a month for every month without biting
62. Don't eat fried chips for two months
63. Drink only water for three weeks

Home to Stay
64. Create a sports room with Steve
65. Paint a room in our house by myself
66. Create a welcoming guest/Karyn + Monique room
67. Have flowers waiting for overnight guests
68. Start a garden
69. Buy a Christmas Tree
70. Buy a Christmas Tree Skirt
71-85- To Be Determined once we buy a house (#1)

Organization
86. Label my files in my filing cabinet at home and at school
87. Frame three pictures I have taken 0/3
88. Start and Finish our wedding album
89. Make a new list by May 12, 2011- by then the list may include... kids...

Can't Put it in a Category
90. Take a cooking class
91. Take a dance class
92. Watch all the seasons of SATC- started with season 3- 09/12
93. Start putting money into RRSP's
94. Read 10 non-teaching books - I've read False Witness, and Good-Byes are Always Hard
95. Incur no late fees at the library for 1 year (this may be hard)- Started August 16 with a clean slate!
96. Watch a sunset
97. Watch a sunrise- I drive into the sunrise every morning
98. Get a pet
99. Go credit card-less for one month
100. Watch our wedding video (yes, it's been 3 years and we haven't watched it)
101. Blog 3 times a week for 2 months

Sneak Peak at the Pictures

http://b2photo.blogspot.com

Feeling Better

Thanks to those of you who have prayed and commented. Although not much in my life has actually changed physically since Sunday I feel better on the inside.

What has changed is those family members I said weren't calling me called last night. Not because they read my blog, but because they were out of town last week.

Today we had family pictures taken, and some of just Steve and I. I am very excited to see how they turn out. They were taken by an old friend of mine who does photography on the side and is amazing. I will definitely show you once I get them. We did the shoot outside in the exchange and my fingers are still numb, but it was worth it.

Cheers!

Feeling Low

Well if you are my friend on FB you may have noticed that my status last night was less then inspiring. It was downright depressing, but that's how I felt. Last night I was feeling very lonely and depressed after Steve fell asleep. My smile and optimism were broken at best.

If you stop reading right here I will never know. That's the thing about blogs.

I felt last night like I've been trying so hard to be positive and optimistic. About life in general and about some specific things. Like our quest for a house. I feel like I've been singing a false hope tune for two years now as I have believed we would have enough at the end of the month to save and put in our down-payment fund but I was only fooling myself. Even now it feels like we are so far away from our goals. I feel useless because I accepted a half-time position and there is no morning subbing opportunities to be found. I feel like I'm running around in circles and getting no closer to our goal. I feel so much pressure being in a room with another teacher who spends way more time there then I do.

I wish, and I long for someone who lived near by that would be to me like Karyn and Monique. They are too far away for a coffee, or a quick phone call. And as much as I wish that situation would change, it is simply not reality. I can not wish them back for my own sake.

I have not written this for pity, or for applications for a new best friend, but maybe as a prayer request. This is not the first time I have struggled with this but I hope it is the last.

My mind is running and my heart is heavy. I feel spent...

Edited- 10-10-08

More 101

To be completed this week-

Today I made Steve breakfast in bed... he had gotten up 2 hours before me (6am on a Sunday) so he went back to bed to eat his breakfast. #22

We are having family pictures, and pictures of just Steve and I taken on Tuesday #31 + #33

In Progress...
#45 I am going to the restaurant CHOP tonight with my friend Lynne, apparently they have a 24 layer chocolate cake. Edit- not happening- Lynne is sick... maybe another time.

#94- I have read 2/10 non-teaching books- The first one was False Witness, second was Good-byes Are Always Hard both from our church library. Next I hope to read Blue Like Jazz, and a friend at the restaurant is going to borrow me this book she says is amazing.

On another note... Steve is giving his two weeks notice tomorrow because he got a new job. It's not in radio but we are very excited about it.

Cheers!

If it was YOUR goal

I was looking at my 101 and one of my goals is to go credit card free for a whole month. Today I noticed a snag. Our Yak and Free Press both go on the credit card. Now... if this was your goal. Would you count it as not complete, or complete if you had made no (unscheduled) purchases?

Just looking for opinions. I suppose if I changed both of them from "my" card to "Steve's" card (joint) it wouldn't be on my statement.

Give me your 2 cents...

Cheers to Friday!!!

First Field Trip

Today was our field trip to the Steinbach Library. It was pretty good. A couple snags, a couple frusterations as walking in pairs behind another pair, on the sidewalk, without leaving huge gaps was clearly too much for my kids to do all at the same time. They looked like a clump walking down the sidewalk (or on the grass...). The Library is about 4 blocks away from our school and I was so happy to have a glorious fall day to walk there. And we even did some learning along the way talking about the leaves, evergreens and deciduous trees. I even let them feel the different kinds of trees. But their favourite part was the stories. The librarian read us two hillarious stories and she had some great character voices to go along with them. And the kid's "second" favourite... when the librarian gave them suckers.

The mother that I had with me asked me at the end. "How do you do this everyday?" (and she used to be a teacher !?!) to which I replied "With love and patience." I may have to say the same thing 30 times a day but I imagine that as the year goes on I may only have to say that 20 times in January and 10 times in Spring. They have already learned a lot so I know that my work is worth it. Even for the petit paycheques...

Longing

This week has been full of lots of longing... I miss Renee. I long to pick up the phone and call her, to hear her voice, her laugh, her opinions, even her silence. To pick her up at the airport and have cheesecake. To talk to her about life. I think in those last couple months I was too scared, too cowardly to talk about anything of real importance and now I wish I could have asked her what she was feeling, how she was doing in her head, in her heart. It comes up so much more when I sit down and think about her, when I look at pictures and remember her laugh.

I have talked to Karyn and Monique several times in the last couple weeks. It seems there is so much going on. We had a phone call together last week when Monique was in Jordan with Karyn. We've had many FB conversations this week over a book being made about Renee. We were hesitant, after all this was the girl we loved so fiercely and miss everyday. How could someone who didn't know her interpret her and get it right? We had so many fears about trusting this writer with our memories. To me it felt like we were giving the part of our hearts that held our love for Renee to this author without knowing if she would get it "right"... But then we found out more about this author. When I read about her I felt like this was someone who seemed like a girl after Renee's heart. Someone with common experiences and loves. She just might be okay.

So I poured out that part of my heart and mind that holds my love for Renee into words. I wrote until I could write no more. Tears pouring down my face, a refreshing change, a healing change. I wrote about her loves and quirks, her passion and her hope. Renee from my eyes. And what I got in response from the author calmed my fears. This author had never met Renee, but when I got an email back from her it felt as if it was right, her soul was so passionate much like Renee's. It felt as if she could really understand Renee. She wrote how my tribute had brought her to tears... but her response to me brought me to tears as well. It felt as if we could really trust that our memories were in good hands.

Renee died almost seven months ago and at the time my heart ached but there were almost no tears. I lived in that sense of denial and shock for the first while, I wanted to feel but yet I did not allow myself to. I find myself still in shock sometimes, like it can't possibly be true. But it is. This week the tears have flowed. It seems as if the fear that was holding them back has crumbled. My heart has gotten to the point where I am allowing myself to feel and I am no longer numb. There were so many people who loved her so much, she was a great friend and had great friends. I am looking forward to seeing how this book is formed, how all those memories will be turned told. We will have to wait and see. Although we will never get to talk to her again, we may get to see her in a new light as the story of her life is told.

The last line of the tribute I sent to the author was-

She was hope, she was love and she was the smile that we'll never forget.

Maybe the Most Bizarre News You've Heard All Day

I have some good news, but not just any good news.... Krista the heifer became Krista the cow when she gave birth to a bouncing baby bull named Milt last week.

Confused? Bewildered that I had a baby and didn't tell you? Wondering what a heifer is and how it can turn into a cow?

My aunt has a diary farm with her husband in Ottawa. They named their heifers (female bovine before they have a baby) after her female family members (in sequential order). So four little heifer calves became Krista, Karyn, Monique and Renee and so on and so forth. And to further the biology lesson, when a heifer becomes pregnant and has a baby it becomes a cow. So Krista the heifer (and Karyn the heifer I should mention) became pregnant earlier this year and became mom's (cows) last week. We both had boys (bulls)

And to make the story even sweeter... my aunt named the baby bull Milt.

So... I do not think at this point that it would be appropriate to name my first son (child) the same name as my first bull and that's not just BS.

Cheers.

(flowers and homemade meals are not necessary for the birth of my first bull. Although if you really feel elated go ahead bake me something... hehe)

Getting More Done

Here is my updated list- I have 12 in the works, and 5 done (as of tomorrow). Today I went into school early and organized all my files. I love this list! For me it is a way of living consciously aiming towards what I want to do, and who I want to be.

My List
1. Buy a house
2. Get a full-time permanent job

Purchases and Creations
3. Buy a new coffee table
4. Get a label maker... going to be on my Christmas list
5. Buy a new TV stand
6. Get a KitchenAid Stand mixer
7. Get a food processor .... going to be on my Christmas list
8. Buy a bike
9. Buy a new computer
10. Buy a piece of jewelry at Tiffany's
11. Make an upholstered headboard
12. Make pillows for the couch
13. Make a gift for a friend
14. Sew 4 things 1/4 - I hemmed a pair of pants 09/04/08
15. Buy a new(er) car
16. Make bread from scratch (And it has to taste good)
17. Get two new games 0/2... also going to be on my Christmas list
(I selectively used the word get in some places as you never know what people are going to want to buy me...)

People and Places
18. Go to New York with Steve (I've been twice, and he would really love to go)
19. Go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building
20. Go on a plane with Steve (he's been on a few planes, I've been on more but never together)
21. Go to camp for two weeks (not necessarily in the same year)
22. Make Steve breakfast in bed
23. Go camping with just Steve
24. Go on an anniversary trip (probably won't include #23)
25. Go on a road trip longer then 6 hours away
26. Throw a birthday party - My mom's 50th bday party- 09/07/08
27. Have a dinner party once a month for 6 months 1/6
28. Visit a new state
29. Cook a meal for my family
30. Cook a meal for Steve's family (I think this will have to be after we buy a house, there's not room for all of them in our apartment) - By not saying entire family I am completing this 09/13 for my Mother-In-Law's bday- there will be a couple family members missing but we invited them all.
31. Have photos taken of the two of us
32. Send out Christmas cards (most likely including #31)
33. Have family pictures taken with my family
34. Visit 3 out of town family members 1/3
I brought my SIL (in Steinbach) a birthday dessert 09/11
35. Buy 3 friends flowers 0/3
36. Go on a hot holiday
37. Sponsor a missionary we're not currently sponsoring
38. Email or call Monique once a week for 3 months
39. Email or call Karyn once a week for 3 months
40. Go on a date night once a month 1/32- we went to the Forks tonight 08/08
41. Invite a new friend out for a meal
42. Bake for 5 friends 5/5
43. Take my parents out for supper
44. Have pictures taken with Karyn and Monique

Out and About
45. Eat at 5 new restaurants 1/5
We went to Niko's- 08/17/08
46. Eat at my old Boston Pizza (for some reason I just haven't been going back)- Went 9/5/08
47. Go to a Goldeye's Game
48. Go to two Bomber Games 0/2
49. Eat outside 10 days in 3 weeks 0/10
50. Eat at the dining room table every day for a month
51. Go to a concert
52. Try 5 new flavours of gelati 2/5- first new flavour tried was Blood Orange 08-15, Pink Grapefruit 08-17

Healthy Living
53. Get a gym membership
54. Go to the Gym 3 times a week for 6 months
55. Eat vegetarian once a week for 6 weeks 0/6
56. Lose 10 pounds and keep it off for 6 months
57. Be in bed by 10pm for 2 weeks
58. Wake up before 7 am for 3 weeks
59. Watch no TV for one month
60. Quit biting my nails for 4 months
61. Reward myself for not biting nails by having one manicure a month for every month without biting
62. Don't eat fried chips for two months
63. Drink only water for three weeks

Home to Stay
64. Create a sports room with Steve
65. Paint a room in our house by myself
66. Create a welcoming guest/Karyn + Monique room
67. Have flowers waiting for overnight guests
68. Start a garden
69. Buy a Christmas Tree
70. Buy a Christmas Tree Skirt
71-85- To Be Determined once we buy a house (#1)

Organization
86. Label my files in my filing cabinet at home and at school
87. Frame three pictures I have taken 0/3
88. Start and Finish our wedding album
89. Make a new list by May 12, 2011- by then the list may include... kids...

Can't Put it in a Category
90. Take a cooking class
91. Take a dance class
92. Watch all the seasons of SATC- started with season 3- 09/12
93. Start putting money into RRSP's
94. Read 10 non-teaching books
95. Incur no late fees at the library for 1 year (this may be hard)- Started August 16 with a clean slate!
96. Watch a sunset
97. Watch a sunrise
98. Get a pet
99. Go credit card-less for one month
100. Watch our wedding video (yes, it's been 3 years and we haven't watched it)
101. Blog 3 times a week for 2 months

My German Kids

Two of my German boys, who I sat beside each other in hopes they could help each other out in German... have now finally discovered that they speak the same language and were helping each other fool me into thinking they don't know what I'm saying. They are conspiring against me and being silly in the process. Sheesh, five year olds... hehe

Today

Today was my first day with all 22 of my kiddos. It went really well... considering. My crying child from yesterday only cried for half the day today (half of the half day I guess). He even had snack. There was couple other tears, but each of the criers was very quiet about it. There was no huge emotional outbursts.

Every once in a while I try to make up some German to try to communicate with my 5/6 that really have no clue what I'm talking about. For the most part they are able to interact (enough) with the other children and follow the crowd of children when I give an instruction but I feel so bad for them. They will learn English eventually... I thought that the German kids would interact with each other more but they really don't. They are so quiet that they probably don't know that there's others who speak their language.

Today was also the first day the kids came to and left school on the bus. I was there to greet them and so were some of the moms. Some of the moms sent their child on the bus and then drove to school to see them come off the bus. Now that's love. I definitely thought of my friends Andrea and Crystal who also sent their big kindergarten kids on the bus for the first time today.


Well time for bed, got to get ready for tomorrow!

The Criers Came Today

I can't really hold it against them. One child cried the whole day but this child did not speak any English and it must have been a scary place to be. This child didn't even want to have a cupcake. Life has to be really rough to not want a cupcake.

That's my solitary thought for the day.

2 More 101s Done

I've been working on a surprise for a while now. A surprise birthday party for my mom for her 50th birthday. Thus fulfilling my #26- Plan a birthday party. There was roughly 75 people there. It was incredibly frigid (we had it at a park) but she was somewhat surprised and after being really stressed out all week about it, it is now behind me and I can relax... and worry about my students. She definitely did not make it easy but it was worth it.

And #46 to celebrate my first day of teaching we went to my old Boston Pizza on Friday. It was weird because I had not been there since I left and I was wondering how it would feel. Not being there for so long definitely created some separation and so it felt like I knew a lot of people but not like I should still be working there. And BPs now has a multi-grain pizza crust so I got to try that and it was AWESOME.

Cheers to life- and crossing things off my list.

First Day as "The Teacher"

Yesterday was my first day actually teaching. I had only part of my class- 7 kids, and I'd like to say. I could totally get used to only having that many. The other half of my class is coming on Monday and hopefully it will be as successful as my first day.

There were... no tears (if the parents cried it was after they left), the parents didn't stick around, no accidents, and everyone remembered to close the door when they went to the washroom.

There was a minor fiasco when one my students couldn't find her outdoor shoes and so I sent her to her bus in her indoor shoes. Except we solved the problem before she left and SUPER MRS. SMITH got the right shoes on her feet before she got on the bus.

It's all in a days work...

Cheers!

Welcome to my Classroom!

I've been...

Meaning to take pictures of my classroom... I've brought my camera many days. Except... today was the first day it looked good and complete.

Today was my first day "on the job". It was the first day I had to be there. We had meeting, and more meetings. And then it was Meet the Teacher night and I thought I'd meet a lot of kids but... Only 7 of my 23 kids came. I suppose it makes sense as they all have individual conferences with me tomorrow and Thursday.

Well, I will plan to take pictures of my class again tomorrow. But we'll see what happens!

101 in Progress

I'm trying to get some of these done, so this weekend which was possibly the most BORING weekend ever. I worked on a couple.

42. Bake for 5 friends 5/5- Done- it pays to comment. I delivered goodies for the 3 Pams, Melissa and Andrea
- Four people are receiving Random Acts of Baking tomorrow morning. I made Chocolate Zucchini Cake, Rhubarb Struesel Muffins and this awesome Cinny Bun Loaf. Should be good. I would be doing five but I couldn't think of anyone else on my drive to Steinbach. Hopefully all my intended targets are home. I may pack a fifth for my room partner.

86. Label my files in my filing cabinet at home and at school
- I've started with my school files. Since they are all new it's much easier!

Have a good week!

Cheers!

PS. And as incentive to comment on my blog more often- the people I have chosen are my most frequent and darling commenters!

Just What I Needed

Once again last night I was so utterly tired, I went to sleep and couldn't fall asleep. Off to the TV I go. But the difference last night was that I was working at home today. So once I got to bed, I did not set the alarm and I just slept. So now I'm up, I feel fabulous because I finally slept well. So despite the incredibly long list that I have for today I feel like everything is under control.

Cheers to Friday!

Somewhere between Wide Eyed and ZZZZ

Today was another very busy day. I was in my class, by myself this time which was great, all day. I drove home and we immediately got in the car and drove to Morris to the in-laws. While we drove I cut all of the laminating I did today. I was beat, spent, just like yesterday. We left the in-laws at 8pm because of how tired I was. Now that we're home and it's finally bed time, I'm not tired. Stupid second wind. Happened last night too. Sooo frustrating. Oh well, there are bigger problems in the world.

First Day in my Class!

Today, I woke up bright and early. Loaded my car and... went back to bed. I didn't want to be a super keener. I did have to load the car early though because I had to get it out of the parkade as they were sweeping it. So after I slept for a little bit more (after all I didn't want to be there at 9am on the first day possible) I headed in. Turned out I came at the perfect time. My room partner came in just before me and we figured out our room configuration for the year. We think. It's hard to know what's going to work. In our very packed room we managed to eliminate 2 pieces of furniture. Yay for less clutter!

It was very overwhelming though. I sat there and wondered what I was supposed to do next. I brought way more work to do at school then I actually needed so I ended up bringing a lot of it back home with me. And I did a bunch tonight!

But what is sure to turn out to be an AWESOME help is my former cooperating teacher whom I finally connected with tonight. She taught K for one year and is now a behavioural consultant so she's allowing me to use tons of her stuff!!!! So exciting! She has units and all sorts of stuff for me to borrow. Between that and the other K teachers at my school I should have some great resources. But at the end of the day it's just me and the Kinders....

I got my student files today. The first one I opened was... tendency to cry. I don't know if I'm ready for the criers.

I'm back in my class Wednesday and Friday. Here's to some good prep days. Oh and today I saw the superintendent of the division and part of me wanted to call out "Hey, come back here, I still need another half time position"... but I didn't. Hopefully he has ESP and got the brain wave I sent! lol

Cheers!
Krista

My 101 in 1001

I've been reading as Pam has been checking off her 101 in 1001 in the last couple months and now I want in. It seems like a great way to get those little things that you want to do in life done.

Here's the idea
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.


Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

My Start date- August 15, 2008
My End date- May 13, 2011
Goals in Bold are Done
Goals in italicized are in progress

My List
1. Buy a house
2. Get a full-time permanent job

Purchases and Creations
3. Buy a new coffee table
4. Get a label maker
5. Buy a new TV stand
6. Get a KitchenAid Stand mixer
7. Get a food processor
8. Buy a bike
9. Buy a new computer
10. Buy a piece of jewelry at Tiffany's
11. Make an upholstered headboard
12. Make pillows for the couch
13. Make a gift for a friend
14. Sew 4 things 1/4 - I hemmed a pair of pants 09/04/08
15. Buy a new(er) car
16. Make bread from scratch (And it has to taste good)
17. Get two new games 0/2
(I selectively used the word get in some places as you never know what people are going to want to buy me...)

People and Places
18. Go to New York with Steve (I've been twice, and he would really love to go)
19. Go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building
20. Go on a plane with Steve (he's been on a few planes, I've been on more but never together)
21. Go to camp for two weeks (not necessarily in the same year)
22. Make Steve breakfast in bed
23. Go camping with just Steve
24. Go on an anniversary trip (probably won't include #23)
25. Go on a road trip longer then 6 hours away
26. Throw a birthday party - My mom's 50th bday party- 09/07/08
27. Have a dinner party once a month for 6 months 0/6
28. Visit a new state
29. Cook a meal for my family
30. Cook a meal for Steve's family (I think this will have to be after we buy a house, there's not room for all of them in our apartment)
31. Have photos taken of the two of us
32. Send out Christmas cards (most likely including #31)
33. Have family pictures taken with my family
34. Visit 3 out of town family members 0/3
35. Buy 3 friends flowers 0/3
36. Go on a hot holiday
37. Sponsor a missionary we're not currently sponsoring
38. Email or call Monique once a week for 3 months
39. Email or call Karyn once a week for 3 months
40. Go on a date night once a month 1/32- we went to the Forks tonight
41. Invite a new friend out for a meal
42. Bake for 5 friends 5/5
43. Take my parents out for supper
44. Have pictures taken with Karyn and Monique

Out and About
45. Eat at 5 new restaurants 1/5
We went to Niko's- 08/17/08
46. Eat at my old Boston Pizza (for some reason I just haven't been going back)- Went 9/5/08
47. Go to a Goldeye's Game
48. Go to two Bomber Games 0/2
49. Eat outside 10 days in 3 weeks 0/10
50. Eat at the dining room table every day for a month
51. Go to a concert
52. Try 5 new flavours of gelati 2/5- first new flavour tried was Blood Orange 08-15, Pink Grapefruit 08-17

Healthy Living
53. Get a gym membership
54. Go to the Gym 3 times a week for 6 months
55. Eat vegetarian once a week for 6 weeks 0/6
56. Lose 10 pounds and keep it off for 6 months
57. Be in bed by 10pm for 2 weeks
58. Wake up before 7 am for 3 weeks
59. Watch no TV for one month
60. Quit biting my nails for 4 months
61. Reward myself for not biting nails by having one manicure a month for every month without biting
62. Don't eat fried chips for two months
63. Drink only water for three weeks

Home to Stay
64. Create a sports room with Steve
65. Paint a room in our house by myself
66. Create a welcoming guest/Karyn + Monique room
67. Have flowers waiting for overnight guests
68. Start a garden
69. Buy a Christmas Tree
70. Buy a Christmas Tree Skirt
71-85- To Be Determined once we buy a house (#1)

Organization
86. Label my files in my filing cabinet at home and at school
87. Frame three pictures I have taken 0/3
88. Start and Finish our wedding album
89. Make a new list by May 12, 2011- by then the list may include... kids...

Can't Put it in a Category
90. Take a cooking class
91. Take a dance class
92. Watch all the seasons of SATC
93. Start putting money into RRSP's
94. Read 10 non-teaching books
95. Incur no late fees at the library for 1 year (this may be hard)- Started August 16 with a clean slate!
96. Watch a sunset
97. Watch a sunrise
98. Get a pet
99. Go credit card-less for one month
100. Watch our wedding video (yes, it's been 3 years and we haven't watched it)
101. Blog 3 times a week for 2 months

That's my 101 minus a couple. Here's to the next 1001 days!
Cheers!

Krista

Camp Pictures

Here's a couple pictures from camp. The one where the water is red is the actual Beaver Creek. My aunt said it looked like stained glass and that's really looking at it in a positive light!!!





And then there was hope, when you look for it you can find it everywhere you look!!!

What's the Deal?

Big Pout...

I know there' s a lot of you visiting! Where's your comments? There'll be no more posts until I get at least 5 comments. Consider me on strike.

Camp

I cannot even start to say what going to camp meant to me this week. I took my books with me to do as much prep as possible and I am glad I didn't say no because God definitely had a great plan when He prompted others to ask me to come. It was a very emotional week, possibly one of the most emotional that I've ever experienced but it was hugely healing to my heart. Days prior and especially once I got there the memories washed over me like an uncontrollable flood. Everywhere I looked I saw Renee and it was once I got to camp that I realized that our shared love, that was unique within our four was camp. It was here that we had so many great memories together. Not only during the week but also hanging out in between weeks of camp on the weekends at her parents house. The camp has changed a fair bit building wise since I was there last but the spirit and the memories were exactly the same.

It's funny, and I've found this in other situations, how you can almost completely forget what was a huge portion of your life. I had forgotten about so many great things that can only be found at camp. Like cup games, encouragement notes, cabin/bunk graffiti, the food, tuck time, rec. I was amazed by the fabulous staff at camp this week. So many awesome kids, including my brother Chad who was working with one of the kids with Down's Syndrome that used to be my mom's daycare kid. Five of my mom's former and current daycare kids came up, four of which have different special needs. It was so fantastic to watch them really love camp and get involved in everything.

Going back to the graffiti, which is just notes and names that people have written on the bunks throughout the years, one of the counselors found something that Renee had written on one of the bunks. That was so special that I tried to find more in other cabins but I didn't find anything else. And on the last day I wrote something "back" to her. There were several times during the week that I was really prompted to remember and at one point I wrote a letter "to" Renee. It was part of this letter that I wrote on the bunk. It was such a great way of synthesizing my thoughts and my memories.

As I had said in my post before camp, one of my former campers is now an assistant director and I also had another former camper there on staff. It was such a great little reunion. They have grown into amazing women of God and I am so proud to say I was their counselor.

It will definitely not be another six years till I return to camp again. Now with being a teacher, I can definitely say I will try to go back next year. I don't know if I'd do the kitchen thing again. It wasn't too bad, but there's no sun in the kitchen and that's definitely a downfall.

So now it's back to regular life. Lots of prep to do this week as well as pack all my stuff to move it into my classroom next week. It's also our anniversary (#3) on Wednesday and this week (the evenings anyways) are definitely filling up quickly.

Cheers to camp, cheers to hope and cheers to life!
Krista