New Hobby and COLD Days!

Over Christmas I invested my Christmas gift money in a pair of Cross Country Skis. Mom had gotten some for her birthday in November, and after a ski with her (I rented skis) I was hooked! I went out and bought a nice set and have used them a couple of times already. I have made a loop around the school yard; it was tough to plow it out the first time (and then it snowed a ton the next day), I have since made my track again. I have also been to Windsor Park a couple of times with mom. It has been fun, and a great way to get active! I do have a rule though; I won’t go out if the wind chill is below -30!

I guess that brings me to the cold day topic! I am currently on day 2 of no students. The wind chill has just been too much to have kids driving to school. When it hits -45 they get to stay home. From the phone calls I made today I gather they don’t really mind. Yesterday was extremely productive. I am participating in a very cool space program (Marsville) with my students starting this month, and I managed to get it all planned yesterday! What a great gift to have a whole day to work on it. If only I could start already (I am a tad excited about it!)!! Today I set my sights on the pile o’marking! I managed to get some of it done, plus a few random things that have been on my to-do list. These days are really blessings (except of course for the walk to and from school, which is a little cold!). Tomorrow I want students in desks here at school though. In order to start Marsville we need to finish our current unit in Science, plus three days at work without students will be very boring!! We have work to do!

When the cold comes I think about next February! I am already dreaming about warm beaches!!

Those of you going to Mesa, don’t rub it in! You will be warm, the rest of us won’t be, I already know that!

The Reason to Collect Coins!

I have bags, envelopes, and stashes of coin all over my house (I am clearly my grandfather’s grandchild). Every year my students have done a Christmas project, which has involved bringing in money for either World Vision or Gospel for Asia (this year Room 4 students raised enough to buy 2 pigs, 4 chickens, a water filter, a blanket and gospel tracks!). Kids, being kids, bring every form of money they can, they do bring in the occasional bill, but with it always comes many pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies and toonies. Neither of these two charities want to be shipped a bag full of pennies so I always pay for the gifts and take the coins, etc. Students also pay for book orders with random change. I have taken all these coins, and many others that I have found at the bottom of my purse (and often I leave some in old purses that find their way into the closet), in pockets, in the washing machine, the list is endless. The bags have grown, and when I moved, they all found their way into a drawer of my desk.

Last night Jay and I decided that this money would become the start of our Mexico trip fund. It was all just sitting there, and we have a trip to go on! At first we guessed that maybe there was $200 dollars. We sorted the coins, and then the counting began… We counted, and counted, and counted (okay it didn’t really take that long but it was a process). We passed $200 quite easily and kept on counting. In the end we had counted almost $600!! Maybe I shouldn’t have had all that money sitting in my desk!

In the end the Mexico fund has started (we even added more to it with a gift we received over Christmas!). Now I just need next February to come, bring on the warmth!

I now love coins! My new coin collection will start tomorrow!

Welcome 2009, Goodbye To One of The Best Years Of My LIfe!

With 2009 now begun it might be fun to think about the year that has just past, what a year it was! My friends Dayna and Alyssa did month by month recaps on their blogs, I very much enjoyed reading them; however many of the months in 2008 would include wedding planning, wedding planning and more wedding planning (with very little other news)! While it was exciting then I just can’t write a whole month-by-month post about it! So here is my year recap, with a little different format:

It was certainly a big year in my life! The highlight, of course, was the wedding! After months of planning the day went by so quickly! All of a sudden it was over and we were married! I don’t know if you can get much more life changing than that!

Of course there were other events and milestones this year, it was a whole 12 months after all! Jay moved into what would be “our” house, and I spent less time at my apartment, and more time across the road. Of course one of my sacriest moments happened in the house when I was there alone. I will never forget the bird visiting! I slowly moved my stuff over (things I didn’t need/want at home), the big move didn’t come until the end of June, when I threw all of my stuff into the kitchen and left for my parent’s house. Of course I enjoyed setting up my house after we were married, what fun!

I spent the second week of our marriage at BCBC. It was under sad circumstances that I went, but I love camp and love what camp is about, at least it was something I could do. It was a ton of fun with some great kids!

This summer the cottage sold, so we had no weekends out there. As much as I didn’t want it to go I had so little time for it this year that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. My parents bought the condo in Mesa, one of these years we might even get to go down there.

In November my little brother asked Ashley to be his wife. My parents might have thought the wedding planning (and spending) was over, but not for long. We get to look forward to their wedding in 2010!
Now Christmas has come and gone and I look forward to another (maybe a little less life-changing year). At this time last year I knew some of the things that would happen in my life in 2008, 2009 is a big blur. The blur make life a little exciting, God has a big open door to do great things!