Hello? Is this thing on??
Phhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (sound effects of blowing the dust off my blog)
Well, that was a slightly longer than expected intermission, now wasn’t it? I got busy. Something had to give. Unfortunately, it was the writing.
But I’m back!
School is done for this semester. I’m hoping to go back to teaching in the Fall. But who knows what the stars have aligned for my career?
What a school year it was. Highs – being called the best teacher ever(!) by my first group of accounting students. Lows – having a student tell me to fuck off when I asked him for his overdue assignment. Such are the joys of teaching. Some days are diamonds. Some days are stones. Can’t focus too much on the shiny, bright days or the dull, grey days – I’m trying to find a balance somewhere in the middle.
In the meantime, whatcha been up to?
Me? Well, between the two of us, Buzz and I have lost the equivalent of a small child – 100 lbs in total. It’s taken us 7 months to get there, and I have a short way to go before I’m done, but hey, I’m “almost” where I want to be. People keep telling me I’ve worked so hard to get where I am. Want to know a secret? It really hasn’t been work at all. Oh sure, it was at first, trying to figure out what to eat, how much to eat and how much exercise I needed to balance out what I’ve eaten. But the thing is…long about 16 weeks all that hard work just sort of becomes your life. It’s old habit by now.
The best part about it though? Cute clothes. It’s been YEARS since I’ve had cute clothes. Okay, that’s not really true, I’ve always been a stylish dresser, but HEY!! The clothes look so much better when they aren’t made by Omar the Tent Maker and they fit with room to spare, instead of being spray painted on. Some day I’m going to write a blog about how difficult shopping is when you are overweight and the fat lady stores don’t sell anything even remotely cute, so you stuff your overweight ass into clothes that you really don’t fit into very well, but Gawd their cute so you suck your gut in for 8-10 hours a day, all in the name of fashion. Let’s face it. It’s just easier if you don’t gain the weight in the first place and you can buy cute clothes when they’re in style.
So what else?
Oh, yeah, as school has been winding down I’ve been busy obsessing about what I’m going to do when I’m done teaching and so far the list includes things that:
• Feeds my mind - I’m taking my certification in adult education courses at UPEI & Holland College throughout the summer
• Feeds my creativity - I’m going to put my new DSLR camera to the test and then take a spin through my new PhotoShop Elements photo editing suite. Samples of my work coming to my Facebook page soon.
• Feeds my creativity, part II – write, write, write and write. I have a lot to say. It’s practically choking me trying to get out. I’m putting a list together about all the things I can write about.
• Feeds my family – plans for the vegetable garden are already taking shape. Our only hitch is the need for someone to care for it while we’re on vacation this summer – any takers? Free house for you if you’re interested! Comes with two dogs and a garden, all of which will need to be fed on a daily basis, but other than that, can you say “free” vacation on PEI? Seriously, two weeks in July beginning around July 11th.
• Keeps me healthy – BOOTCAMP starts on May 6th. Twice a week I’m going to be “motivated” by some drill-sergeant fitness instructor chasing me around a soccer field getting what’s left of my arse into some semblance of “shape” for summer. Seriously, just trying to kick up my fitness routine a notch. Running on a treadmill is getting seriously boring.
• Blows off the cobwebs – seriously. Spring cleaning is in order - I’m going to pull apart all those places you don’t pull apart on a regular basis and de-cobweb-ify them. Sounds like fun you say? Not so much, but it has to be done and I’ll have the time, so um, yay for me.
• Lighten & brighten – we’re painting the house this summer. Inside and out. And by “we” I mean “I”. I figure it’s a great arm workout, plus the old gal (the house, not me) needs a fresh coat of makeup.
• Gets us off this island – yup, just like the TV show “Lost” we’re stranded on this island in the middle of the Northumberland Strait and we’ve been hatching plans all winter of ways to escape. So far those plans include a quick trip in May to Ontario for a family wedding and then…then my friends? We are WESTWARD HO! We’re taking two weeks in July to return to the mountains in Jasper, attend a wedding in Valemont, visit some family in Kelowna and then…then…we head to … Vancouver …city of my dreams, home sweet home, the place where if not everyone, lots of people know my name and will be happy to see me and meet my husband and share drinks with us on an outdoor patio somewhere. Late July, baby, we’re coming to see you!
I could go on and on, but I just got so excited about that last paragraph and the mere idea of seeing my friends and visiting the city I so very dearly love – well I’ve gotten a bit verklempt and I need to finish this up so…so…
What are your plans for the summer?
