end of a long week

James finished school on Thursday and has been in a hockey tournament since. His team lost 2 games but won 2 and this was enough to move them on to the next round. (The 2 they lost to were triple A teams) This means he has to be at the rink at 7:15am tomorrow.

Last night I watched the US gymnastic trials. Day 2 of the competition is tomorrow night.

I was pretty wiped today. I mowed the back lawn after I got up. (push mower so it wouldn't disturb others who might still be sleeping) Then I lay down in the backyard and watched the clouds float by. Pretty soon there were no more clouds and it was a clear blue sky. Then I came in and caught a nap. Glorious naps! It gave me a much needed energy boost.

Then I mowed the front lawn and vacuumed. So I didn't scratch much off my "to do" list but I got some restoration in!

needs

All of the first year students are now loaded in their classes!

I got a lot of other work downloaded on me this week so next week will be busy as I haven't had a change to tackle anything much this week. And next week is only a 4 day week, so I'll be busy. I also hope to get some painting done. I want to paint some of the trim that is flaky and parts of the garage. I have already done most of the scraping. I don't think the painting will take long - it's the prepping that does. I'll have to check if something in the heap of paint cans in the basement will work. If anyone has use for leftover paint let me know. I have pretty much every kind!

James is powerskating this evening to prepare for the tournament. His mouth was still frozen from the dentist so he was worried about putting his mouthguard in.

My old boss dropped off lots of girls clothes in super condition size 8-12. I think Rachel is coming over to look for her girls. I can't picture Clover's size but maybe Jordin you might be interested. It's probably too big for Brianna but you are welcome as well Marlene! Anyone else with girls that size let me know- there is a lot to chose from!

I wish I could nap now and still sleep later but I know that is not possible so I will carry on!

twin

My parents may be surprised to know this but I have a twin! She is very athletic and spends time at the gym. I do not ever spend time in a gym. So if you think you see me in a gym, it is not me - it is my twin. I know this because on quite a number of occasions people have come up to me to ask if I was in the gym because they thought they saw me. But no, it is not me!

James' last day of school is tomorrow and he has a dentist appt. at 3pm so he'll end the year with a bang!
He's asked for pasta afterwards to he can eat something 'soft'.
After dinner he has a power skating lesson.
On Friday he is in a hockey tournament.

The weather was beautiful today. I enjoyed walking downtown at lunchtime. Lots of people seemed to be carrying cake boxes. Must be celebrating the good weather :)

I'm thinking about making a 'chore wheel' to spin to make it more fun to decide where to clean next!

strawberries

For some reason I have a child that prefers the hard California strawberries to the juicy Ontario ones. Very hard to believe.

Last night was my tv evening. On the Bach Emily saw the polarization between the guys she had deep feelings for and the ones she didn't. And so Doug and Sean went home. Chris showed a lack of confidence. Emily likes confidence so that doesn't look so good. Next week Emily gets to meet the guy's families!

Then I watched The Glass House which was pretty fun. In some ways better than BB because it is less complicated.

James and I had a disagreement on which direction is South. He was 90 degrees off and didn't particularly like to hear he was wrong. He thought I was joking with him!

He had his last karate lesson before his trip today. He learned how to breathe properly! It was a pretty good lesson.

At work the block load that I was supposed to be working on is broken. They are surprised that it EVER worked. Because I had done all the groundwork and had everything set up to go, the guys working on fixing it are using my stuff as the test case. They hope to have it fixed for tomorrow. We'll see!

Reunion of the spirit

So many old friends came out for Al's commissioning it was good to see everyone. It was such a great day! Wouldn't have missed it for the world :)

lazy day

...for James. He said he wanted a lazy day today and did not go to his karate. He just played all day. AJ was over in the morning.

I did lots of laundry. My ironing was very behind since the basement had been torn up and I lost my ironing spot. I am mostly caught up now. James and I spent the afternoon companionably. He happy to play on his own while I ironed beside him.

One thing Clara told me about their trip to Hawaii is that they do not check any luggage on the plane. They take it all as carry-on. There are 5 of them and they each can bring underwear, a few shorts and shirts and for the kids life jackets. They wear their long sleeves and pants as the plane is AC and that is it! Minimalist travel :)

The weather was not too hot today- did not need the AC :)

I am now contemplating if I have the energy to do the lawn mowing.

I thought this video of a cat a la Albert Camus would amuse my literary readers.

I am currently enjoying this song.

hawaii

One of the interesting things that Clara told me was that her family has a time share in Hawaii now and their plan is to spend a month of the year there. Hard to imagine 1/12 of your year in an exotic location. Shi has been there as well and really enjoyed it as well. It's quite a lot of flying though!

Kim worked at midnight so she slept here after the service which is why I was up so late last night.

Preparing for Al's celebration day tomorrow, I am looking forward to it!

break every chain

I had a great time hanging out with Clara. We took James to karate after picking him up from school and took a long walk down by the water yesterday. Today we walked down to campus and I pointed out the changes. Then she went to meet Colleen and Pete for lunch and I went to work. I got in just before 11am and found that I had been scheduled for a meeting at 11am.
In the afternoon, I worked on getting my students' schedules block loaded. But there is some problem with the program to do this which I hope they are going to resolve soon.
In the evening I went with Kim to the prayer meeting. It was very sparsely attended but had some great speakers. It was an amazing time. Words are never adequate enough!

Break every chain

SUV

I thought I was watching a movie for a few minutes after I left work. I was walking north on Division and a police car came flying by me. It was going very fast I would say 80-90 km/hr. It's siren was blaring and lights flashing as it approached a red light at Johnson. It didn't look like it was slowing, though it must have been because he didn't hit the SUV that drove right in front of him. He had to do some fancy driving, and it was only due to this expert driving of the police that the SUV is intact. I hope the SUV is happy. My heart was in my throat!

Clara is coming to visit tomorrow. I have meetings in the morning and she is arriving around lunchtime. So I am busy cleaning tonight!

maybe

To follow with the Carly Rae theme from yesterday see above!

On the weekend the Bay had a big sale so I shopped online and got a new dress and a shirt as well as a pair of pants for James and paid only about 30% of the regular price AND had it delivered for free. The bonus was when they packed the box, they put in about 100 of those air packages which James had GREAT fun popping.

I should have mentioned about Sunday that there will be some very special guests on Sunday at the knighting of Al. (I'll call it something different each time, just to keep everyone on their toes) The Bishop will be there. Hopefully he'll be able to still put the sword on Al's shoulders even though he moves diagonally and Al moves 3 steps forward and one to the side. Jared will be there too. Maybe he's a rook. I don't know. I do know that it will be a blast. I don't know where we will seat everyone. Maybe we'll have to spill into the garden and set up a remote viewing area. Whatever, come Sunday for Al's knighting and we'll find a place!

I am excited at work because the timetable loaded and now we are looking at enrolling the students. It looks like I am going to be allowed to load the first year class, which is pretty exciting for me anyway as it has always been done by the Registrar previously. I hope it goes well :)

Last night on the Bach I thought probably for her axing Travis was best. Definitely, axing Ryan was good. I thought it was funny that Ryan told the producer in the limo not to portray him as arrogant but really, could they help it? So props to Emily on that. Who did I like this week the most? Maybe Arie. I thought it was interesting on the preview for next week they bring up that he had a previous relationship with a producer. I would have though the network might cover that over more, but that they bring it to the open should be interesting to see.

I also watched the Glass building which was a bit interesting. Seemed a lot like BB but the set is poorly lit in comparison. Interesting idea to keep it so interactive with the audience. And with only 10 episodes at 1 hour each, is not too much of a commitment. It didn't do too well in the ratings so who knows if it will make it ot the end. I remember watching one pirate themed reality show that only showed half the episodes and I never found out who won.

jump

This is a crazy jump video - no mats!


This is a crazy girl video- she doesn't have mats either!

At work today, one guy down the hall from us discovered a "student" in his office. The "student" said he had questions about registration so our guy sent him to our office. Our secretary sent him to the Registrar. Our guy from down the hall was pretty suspicious and when he was not seen to be heading to the Registrar, he called campus security. They apparently found the "student" (our guy must give a good description) and he had stolen good on him. Our guy has good instincts.

Going to watch the Bach now!!

comtemplating

My robin friends were contemplating building a nest and gave it a bit of a start this morning, but apparently my desire to hang laundry close to the nest did not sit well with them and they did not continue. It is good that they make the decision early- if they can't handle me and my laundry they should not build there!

Rustle was very impressive today with the fact that everyone was there and ready to go at 11am! (Except for Bob N. but he would have been late even if we started at 11:30)And we started at 11am! For the service Sam had 3 fathers come to the front and answer some questions about fathering. It was very heartfelt. And there was cake. Next week is Al's coronation. And we'll start on time. And we'll be packed to the rafters. And it will be good!

Kim called today to tell me that there is a "Cry" pre-event rally on Friday at 3rd day Church. "The Cry" is a prayer for the nation event in TO on July 28. You can watch a 1 minute video on it here.

I tried to get as much done in the house as possible so tomorrow I can watch the Bach stress-free. Tomorrow The Glass House starts following the Bach. Trying to decide if I want to stay up that late to watch it! It looks a lot like BB.

Gold!

James wanted me to name the title of this post Gold! in his honour. He won the gold in his category at the kids karate tournament. He has had all of 8 lessons so far. His sensei will be pleased! When signing up for it I asked if there really was anything he could do (as I said he only had 8 lessons I wasn't sure) and the sensei said he could do some combinations. He practiced a lot at his lesson on Friday and it seems to have paid off! He did look good on Friday compared to the rest of the class. He's got determination and crisp moves so well done buddy! He just has to work on not rushing them so much.



James figured out how to take photographs of himself using the 'smile' feature on my camera. He set the camera on his dresser on the smile setting then when he smiles it takes the picture. He got 4 photos like this that are perfect. I thought that was ingenious that he figured that out.



He had a great time taking photos while I was on the phone with Oma.

hair breaking

I was amused by a commercial that had a model very distressed about "hair breakage". She said that you could see it in your hairbrush and on your pillow. Well, I do expect to see hair in my hairbrush because it is , well, a hairbrush. And I personally don't see anything on my pillow as it is generally either covered with NHL team logos or bright stripes so any hair that may be there is well camouflaged. Now, my hair falls out a lot. (except for when I was pregnant) But I've gotten used to that and am not bent out of shape about it. Was the girl on the commercial overreacting? Is this a serious problem?

Good news- Nick made it over the Falls (without falling in!)

Today James is going to a karate tournament. He was supposed to be at a soccer tournament but it was cancelled.

Tomorrow Rustle is going to start at 11am. This is actually quite exciting!

Monday James has a soccer game in Trenton.

Wednesday and/or Thursday Clara is coming for a visit.

Should clean the house now!

HHOF Part 2

Lunch after the bus trip to Toronto


Interactive games




On display












Things you could buy!






Perspective


Reflection


Silly!




Thanks Oma and Grandad for a great birthday present for James!

wave

Today was a bit rainy on the way in to work. Not bad. I was only slightly damp at work. It was nice at 1pm when I left. I went by Metro. Then took a nap as I was wearing down. Then I picked up James from school and took him to karate. I was actually pretty disappointed in the lesson as the instructor spent a lot of time talking and they barely did 5 minutes of karate in a 45 minute lesson. James may have different reasons for taking karate but for me, it is all about keeping him active. So, thumbs down on that lesson for me.

Marlene commented about the Bachelorette and asked why she kept Ryan around. I think he made her laugh in a difficult situation so I think he helped lighten her mood so she kept him. But she had misgivings about Kalon and didn't ditch him (and blamed the guys) so why she is keeping other guys she has misgivings about I do not know.
I like Jef as well. I was trying to think which guys can really handle her and I'm not sure I can tell that yet.

Right when Judge Judy was supposed to start the heavens opened and the water poured out of the sky. The satellite went down pretty quickly. I was pleased that this house has a real porch so I could start outside and watch the torrents. I was also pleased the Les' crew had installed the sewer backflow valve as today may have been the sort of day it was useful for! I show pictures while it poured. The last picture above it is still pouring rain but you can see the light on the horizon.

show

The fence is now complete but this is a picture from last week when it was still in the process of completion.



James comes by the family trait of posing with statues naturally. He totally posed himself!

From the looks of the game tonight they are going to be needing this.

After tonight on the B'ette, I am leaning toward Sean. We'll see how it goes!

Last night Kim came over to crash so she could get some sleep. She worked until 10pm and her next shift started at 6am. She lives in Harrowsmith so staying here allowed her to get a somewhat decent sleep. But I've been up since very early and it is my late night with the B'ette so I'm pretty beat.

I am loving the heat. I only worked until 1pm today and I was so glad to get out of the freezing air conditioning and into the beautiful heat. AC is spoiled on me as I am clearly unappreciative!

Toronto 2012- the early images

Had a great time in Toronto with my parents! Long day but good! More pics to come :)

Dr. Jabs and the failed medical exam

I went to KGH to get a special sonohysteriaogram today. My doctor was called Dr. Jabs. I don't know how it was spelled really but it sure *sounded* like Dr. Jabs. They were trying to look to see if there were polyps in my uterus. But apparently by uterus is tipped back and that made some issues with them inserting the catheter. They were going to insert it, blow up a balloon and then spray a saline solution in so they could see what they wanted to see. But alas, I missed all that fun stuff because the catheter wouldn't go in.

It has been very nice sunny weather this week but the weather forecast kept showing showers. Now I am way behind in my laundry as I didn't hang it as I thought it would be rainy.

Sigh.

Looking forward to Saturday- trip to Toronto's hockey hall of Fame!

6 6 6 12

It's 6pm on June 6th 2012. I hope Jordin's baby is born at a cool time. I hope Jordin's baby is already born. I hope Jordin is ok!

It was supposed to be rainy today but ended up being quite sunny. I am getting way behind on my laundry because it keeps saying it will be rainy. It keeps lying to me!
It is supposed to be rainy tomorrow now.

This is a song by the Lasalle Causeway. It totally brings back memories of the many times I walked/biked over it.

rockin' robin and some backyard flowers

microwave popcorn

When I was at John's the lady behind me was buying a bag of popcorn. (unpopped kernels from bulk section) The (young) cashier seemed surprised to see this. Likely she had only experienced microwave popcorn. She said to the lady who was buying them that she wouldn't know what to do with this. Does she cook them on the stove? The lady indicated that she had a popcorn popper. Enlightening young people one at a time. I remember my mom making them on the stovetop though. Before poppers were invented :)

This morning I rearranged my bedroom. Les' electrician had made a new outlet for me with a 3 prongs so I could move the computer into the corner that I wanted it in. I am quite pleased with the new rearrangement and the computer still works too- bonus.

Sunday June 24 is Al's commissioning or ordination service. The Bishop and Jared will be there. Good times. We'll start that service promptly at 11am! (Marlene, I am looking at you. Jordin, I would be looking at you but I'm hoping you are having a baby right now?)
We're going to start actually starting on time on Father's day to get in the groove before the 24th.
We hope to stay in the groove afterwards.

James had a great time at the soccer tournament (which is why I was able to accomplish so much!). His team played 7 games but were eliminated at the quarter finals. His first regular season game is tomorrow. His ankle seems to be fine now.

Eaton

Apparently there was just a shooting at the Eaton Center. The Star is running a picture from a tweet by blue jay Brett until, I presume they can get their own staff down there. He took a pretty good photo of the emergency response, maybe they will keep it.

There is some sun now. I managed to use a bit of it to dry some laundry. Since this morning I have cleaned bathroom #2, washed all the wood floors and made a trip to Giant Tiger. I'm going to try to switch over my closet from winter to summer now- though it feels a bit chilly for summer today!

morning has broken

Well, you can't really tell that it is 10am as it is so grey.
I have had a productive morning though.
I got up around 6:30, did some writing, ate yogurt for breakfast, laundry, finished cleaning bathroom #1 by washing the floor, then worked on the little landing area beside the side door. I vacuumed it first. I hadn't given it a good scrubbing since we moved in but I did today and the tiles look almost white!
I am trying to balance the regular cleaning with the extra cleaning due to the renovations.
I haven't started the extra yet but that is the next step.
I've also played a game on FB called "Hungry Worms". You try to match fruit before the worms eat them all. And they keep giving you more worms as you progress so you need to juggle lots of them to keep going. The game is unwinnable but I keep playing. Not sure why!
Just had my lunch- leftover chicken Tikka. Yum!

cauldron

As I was walking into work this morning my route took me to Aberdeen. As I turned the corner I saw something on fire and police cars everywhere. Must be a riot, I thought. But there were no milling crowds. Noone on the street at all. Just one car and it ran the stop sign. As I got closer to the fire, I saw 2 police officers in front of it. They didn't seem worried about the fire behind them. Apparently it was a contained fire. In a cauldron. I had happened on the special olympics, not a riot!

The work in the basement is done and now I can start the clean up. I have to wash the walls now.
I started the weekend tasks- I vacuumed the whole house (except the stairs as I can't find the piece to do that) and scrubbed the upstairs bathroom (why I decided to buy James bath crayons I really don't know!). As well as a couple of loads of laundry and dishes. At least with a rainy weekend I hope to get a lot of the indoor tasks done!