Confirm The Work of Our Hands

Good News

2009-11-09T09:32:00.000-04:00

Last week was a great week. It started out pretty normal, but by Thursday, things started happening. That morning, I got a call from the school district to tell me my info had finally been entered into their system and they had a temporary employee number for me. From there, I had to log onto the subfinder system (what they use for supply teachers to get their calls for work) and make sure my info was correct, and basically let the system know I was now ready to get calls. Within 30-45 minutes, I had my first call to supply at one of the local schools!

I ended up getting a little less than four hours of work because I was filling in for a teacher who had just received a call that morning that there had been a death in her family. I was in a grade one class of about 16 students, and it turns out one of the little boys in the class is also in the Sunday school class I co-teach at church!

Thursday evening around supper time I got a call to supply for a full day at another school. The school I was at has a bad reputation amongst supply teachers (and teachers and the public in general). I was informed from Subfinder that I would be doing phys. ed., and so I dressed appropriately for that; however, when I got to the school on Friday, it turns out that they didn't want me for phys. ed., but for a variety of classes (basically I was floating around). I was in a kindergarten class for two periods, a grade one class for two periods, helped in a grade two class for one period, and then had a grade six class for one period.

After teaching a day and a half, I felt drained. I haven't felt that tired in so long. Working with kids all day is definitely takes a lot out of you!

Oh, I should add that Friday around supper time I got a call to work again for this week. I had figured they were going to ask for today (Monday), but it is for this coming Thursday. Here, there is no school for students on Tuesday because of parent-teacher interviews, as well as a PD day for the teachers. Wednesday is Rememberance Day, so there is no school that day either.

Satuday was my big day. I finally graduated from the Bachelor of Education program - I am finished with my schooling now, woo hoo! It really feels great. However, after I've been working a few years, which I'll need to do in order to get some money, there is an advanced literacy program that I would like to take as well.

As for the graduation, there were only about 38 students at the fall convocation. There were some who didn't show up, so there were less than that for actual graduates. For the education program, there were five of us graduating, but only three showed up (including me). My mom and brother came, and that was nice. I really wish my dad had lived long enough to see me graduate. He was proud of me for getting into the program, and I know he would be proud of me for graduating it and getting my first supply jobs last week as well.

This morning I was up bright and early - ok, so it was actually dark when I got up (a little after six), but you know what I mean, hehehe. Anyway, we can start to get calls at six in the morning until twelve, and then again from about 4:30 until 11:00 PM. If we are going to work that day, we would get the calls typically between six and seven. If the calls come later it could be because a teacher needs to leave early. If we work the next day or later on in the week (or even in the month), we are supposed to get calls starting at 4:30.

So, because I didn't know if I'd be getting a call this morning, I got up and took a shower and got ready just in case. With about two and a half hours left to get a call to work today, should I get called to come in during that time, I just have to change and get a lunch (or snack) and leave. I am finding that I am really tired though - I didn't get a lot of sleep last night from tossing and turning for awhile, and not falling asleep before midnight. If I don't get a call in the next few hours, I am most definitely going to lay down for a nap!

Well, I've talked long enough for now I think. I'm going to head off and see if I can get some photography practice in, or maybe do some knitting. I'll try to get on here again this week (or maybe even tomorrow) and update you on how things are going in my walk with the Lord!

Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

A Light

2009-10-27T21:22:00.000-03:00

For some time now I haven't had the best walk with the Lord. I don't exactly remember when I started to drift, when I stepped off the path to try to find my own way along. I can tell you that it didn't feel too great - I felt that separation, that isolation.

I think it all started when I went to South Korea and couldn't attend an English speaking church (there were none in my area), and the church I did go to for a few weeks was nice, but it was a Korean service and the English translation was rather poor. I think that is when I stopped reading my Bible and my prayer life grew less and less.

When I came back home to Canada a year later, I started attending church again. It didn't feel the same. I felt disconnected, out of place, disjointed. I've talked about some of those struggles at that time in previous blog posts over the last year, so I won't go into the details in this post.

I have felt for some time that I need to get regrounded again, rooted back in the Word. I know my prayer life needs improvement as well, because, let's face it...other than quick little prayers here and there, or falling asleep when I pray at night (maybe need to pray when I'm not lying down), there really isn't much of a fruitful prayer life for me.

I admit that my spiritual life felt dead - or at least comatose. I still believed in God, still believed that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins, rose from the dead three days later and is now in Heaven preparing a place for His followers. I know that my sins are forgiven; I know that I have eternal life. It felt as though the spiritual waters had run dry.

Fast forward to a week ago this past Sunday. My pastor called those who were in my situation (or similar situations, or those who wanted to renew their walk with the Lord) to come forward for prayer. I was the only one who went forward. I felt the Lord nudging me to go, so I went. Pastor Jonathan prayed for and with me, and had one of the ladies sitting in the front row come and pray for me too. After the service Pastor Jonathan and I talked for a little bit and he encouraged me greatly.

One of the things he told me to start doing was read my Bible. He said to just read and not read it to study. Sometimes that's what we need to do in order to get back into it. So, for now, I am reading. If something stands out for me I will underline it and think about it, but I am reading.

He also said that my best friend and I should get together and pray and just talk things over. We are both in similar situations and God is working in us. So, we sat down after I talked with Pastor Jonathan, and we prayed for each other and decided that we were going to begin being accountable to each other. Every day we must read the Bible (it doesn't matter how much) and pray for the other person. Then we must email the other one and tell her what we read (we don't have to say what we learned or what we felt God telling us if we don't want to, but we are free to share if we feel like it) and that we prayed for her. So far we have done this for the past 10 days.

Last night I decided to go to a Bible study. Pastor Jonathan said I need to get involved in one of those as well. I chose the one he co-hosts, and I was nervous about going. About an hour before it started, I was feeling like backing out; however, I decided to just go and see how it was. If I didn't feel comfortable at this one I would pick another one to try out. But, since I did feel comfortable at this one, I think this is where I will stay.

The group was doing a character study of Peter, and I think we all learned some great things. Not only did talk about Peter, but how we are like Peter in our own lives (i.e. what is an area in your life you want to step out of the boat with). We didn't get this one finished, so we're going to do the rest next week. From the sounds of it, they have a different leader every week.

I say all this to say that after so long of feeling like I'm spiritually treading water, I feel as though I'm beginning to see the light again. For nearly two weeks now I have felt much better and more on track in my walk with the Lord. It's as though I've taken His hand once again, and now he's leading me back to the path that I had strayed from. I'm still struggling in some areas, but I am working on those with God's help.

I am a continuing work in progress. But I feel like things are beginning to look up again. Thank You Jesus!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-12T20:26:00.000-03:00

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada. My mom and I had a sort of Thanksgiving dinner last weekend when we went out to a restaurant. One of my brothers and his wife was in New York this weekend as they were going to a concert (not sure what one). My other brother, his significant other, and their son (my nephew) stayed in Halifax and had Thanksgiving with Angela's parents. Today, I went with someone special out to a Thanksgiving lunch. It was good, but not quite as good as home made. My mom had decided that since it was only going to be her and I this year, she didn't want to bother having a big turkey dinner. That's ok.

We had rain for a few days recently, and on Saturday I waited for it to let up somewhat (so that it was more of a mist), put a plastic bag around my camera and went out to try to capture raindrops on flowers, leaves, etc. I got a couple of pretty good shots, but most of them didn't turn out all that well. It's the first time I really tried doing this, so I didn't expect to get anything really good this time around. It's something to practice though.

Yesterday's church service was good. The sermon was on being thankful, not only for things on earth, but to also be thankful for things to come in Heaven. A week or two ago, the pastor had told us the food kitchen in the church (the one they use to help those who don't have enough food) was quite low. He said Thanksgiving would be a good time to restock the shelves (though really, any time is a good time), and help those less fortunate. So, what they did yesterday, was have people bring in non-perishable food items for the kitchen and set them up on the front steps. There was a lot of food, thankfully. Unfortunately I had totally forgotten about this, so I didn't bring anything in. I felt bad about it when I walked into the sanctuary and saw the food at the front. I'll have to bring something in another time and put in the donation barrel they keep.

I talked to my friend Gisele yesterday at church about my elbow. I've been having problems with it in that it hurts when I bend or straighten it. I described the feeling to her and showed her where on my arm/elbow the pain was, and she said it sounds like it's what is referred to as being tennis elbow (caused by repetitive movements...in my mind I associated it as being like carpal tunnel only in the elbow). She's an occupational therapist, so I figured she'd have a good idea what the problem might be. I was concerned that maybe I was getting arthritis or something, but she reassured me that it probably wasn't. She said arthritis usually affects the hips, knees, ankles/feet, hands and not usually the elbow. She told me about a band you can get for tennis elbow that you wear when you are doing the things that affect it (for me it would be knitting or being on the computer). It's supposed to help so that the tendons don't rub together or something like that. She said the problem won't go away over night, but might take awhile to start feeling better. So, after church, I went and got one. Hopefully it will help.

Well, not much news this weekend. I hope anyone from Canada who reads this has a happy thanksgiving, and that everyone has a blessed and Christ-filled day!

It's October!

2009-10-07T15:47:00.000-03:00

It's hard to believe we are into October already. The year has flown by! The autumn colours are in full swing now, but I suspect it won't be too much longer before they are gone. I went out yesterday to a local park to take some photos of the beautiful scenery and met up with an older lady. She talked about how amazed she was with God's creativity and how He's done such beautiful work - or words to that effect. And she's right - God has done some beautiful work with His creation!

It was a great day, though windy, to take pictures yesterday - cloudy! The colours show up a lot better on a cloudy day than they do on a sunny day. I was thinking of going to another park to get some more photos today, but it's been raining since around noon. I might go tomorrow or Friday if it's not raining then.

My back has been a little stiff lately, and today was the second day (not in a row) that I've taken a Robaxacet since I stopped taking them about a week after I came back from Australia. I don't think my back is totally healed yet; the doctor did say it could take awhile for it to get better. I think I'll have to start doing some yoga to start strengthening my core muscles. Also, I should start doing some walking as that will help take the stiffness out too.

I want to start eating better - less fatty and greasy/unhealthy type foods - and start earting healthier things. I also want to cut down on my portion sizes and start drinking more water and less pop. I've started drinking caffeine-free Diet Pepsi (though I couldn't get any this week since the grocery store we went to didn't have any cans) because I want to cut back on the caffeine. I also want to drink less pop and more water, but I struggle to drink more than a glass or two of water a day. I also need to start exercising, not only to help my back, but for my overall health. Today I went on my eliptical trainer for a short bit, and will go on for another short bit a couple more times (to work up to longer amounts of time).

I want to loose some weight (maybe 60-70 pounds) and get healthier. But, to do that I need to get off my butt and just do it instead of just thinking about it. It all starts with little steps and not denying myself things. If I deny myself something (like chocolate for example), then I'll end up binging on it in the end. If I can just have a little bit now and then, it's not so bad.

I am also wanting to improve on my spiritual life - reading my Bible and praying more/better. I think I've been feeling the Lord pulling me towards Him, wanting me to get back into a better relationship like I had in the past. I've had some things hold me back, and I'm slowly starting to realize that I instead of dealing with pain/hurt, I stuffed it all inside in a little ball and tried to ignore it. The result was to start overeating and stop listening to the Lord and be in a constant relationship with Him. I turned to other things for comfort instead of turning to the Lord.

So, the journey begins with a few little steps today. I ate breakfast, had a small lunch (though I think I'm going to need a snack because I'm feeling hungry again and it's only been about an hour or hour and a half since I ate; hopefully I can hold out until supper time though), did about 7 minutes on the elipitcal trainer (I know it's not much, but I don't want to overdo things in the beginning, and like I said, I will be going on it again in a little while to get some more time in), and I've been working at drinking some water. I will be honest though, and say that the water is sparkling water (with fizz and flavour) and it has aspartame in it...it's not the best, but it's a start.

And, on that note, I will head off now and do a little more time on the eliptical, and maybe later this evening I'll pull out my yoga DVDs and do some of that. Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Friday Fill-Ins #144

2009-10-02T21:14:00.000-03:00

1. I have a history of procrastinating.

2. How to be a really excellent (and professional) photographer is something I wish I knew.

3. I'm eating (or recently ate) Burger King - so not healthy, but oh so good.

4. I saw a dead raccoon recently on the road.

5. So that's it, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

6. Something is better than nothing!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on Photoshop Elements to edit another photo, tomorrow my plans include getting together with someone special and Sunday, I want to go, after church, and take some photos of the beautiful leaves!

2009-10-01T23:08:00.000-03:00

There really isn't a whole lot happening in my life right now. I'm still in limbo as I wait to attend the supply teaching information session that is being held October 26th. I found out this morning that I have been accepted to attend (this session is by invite only). I'm excited for this, and yet nervous. I've heard some of my classmates (some are taking a few classes they have left in order to complete the Education program; some, like me, have finished and are waiting for graduation and teaching licenses) they aren't getting very many calls to supply. I am hoping (selfishly) that they just didn't renew with the district to keep their name on the list. I would, after all, like to get enough work to have a steady flow of income coming in. I still have bills to pay.

I've been dabbling more in my photography. I still have lots to learn, but I am enjoying taking photos. I'm also enjoying learning to use Photoshop Elements to edit my shots. This week I found out a better way to convert colour photos to black & white. I was doing it one way, but this new way adds more oomph to the photo.

I'd like to get out soon and take some pictures of different things. I've focused a lot on flowers, but they are dying now (though my mom still has several dahlias growing in her garden). I'm thinking of doing a study or focus on one thing in particular for a certain amount of time. For example, maybe I'd focus on learning about light and taking pictures under different types of light - natural, candle, tungsten, etc. Or, maybe focus on a different colour for one week for the month (taking pictures of things that are blue, or red, or purple). I could also focus on landscapes, buildings, people, animals...the list and possibility is endless really. I just don't know what I should do (aside from taking random pictures). Maybe I could go on a photo walk and just take pictures of different things I see that capture my interest. I'll figure something out. In the meantime, if you want to see some of the shots I've posted on my photo blog, click here.

We had to take our car in again this week due to difficulties starting it. We'd taken it in last week and thought (and hoped and prayed) everything was fine; but then it happened a few more times - the car had trouble starting again. Turns out the problem was a sensor that was cracked. The mechanic also told us this sensor had never been replaced and was an original. He said the way he could tell was that the new sensors are square on the end, and this one was circular. So, we got it replaced and the car is working great. The next thing we have to do is take it in for the safety inspection, and that is toward the middle of the month.

Tomorrow is a busy day. I'm having breakfast with my mom and some of her friends from the horticulture society (this is a weekly event, and I've been joining in when I'm not busy), getting my hair coloured, and going to pick up a reference letter from the teacher I had done my observation and half of my internship with. I've asked if I could volunteer one or two mornings a week (it will look good on the resume and keep me in the classroom), and we're going to talk about that and whether or not I just wanted to help in her class, which is small this year, or if I wanted to also help in another class/grade. Not sure what I want to do just now though. I'll figure something out by then.

Well, heading off to read a little before bed. Hope your days are blessed and Christ filled!

Friday Fill-Ins #143

2009-09-24T23:59:00.003-03:00

I forgot I had followed Friday Fill-Ins, and to be honest I don't remember when. It might have been before I went to Australia or while I was there. At any rate, you can find the blog here. My answers are below:

1. One week ago I was working on editing some photos with my new Photoshop Elements program.

2. I used to eat cheese when I was young.

3. Mama told me when my dad was diagnosed as terminal (esophogeal cancer).

4. Jesus died for you and me.

5. Take your time and leave a comment for me :o).

6. This too will pass!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing and maybe baking some chocolate chip cookies, tomorrow my plans include hopefully meeting up with someone special and Sunday, I want to go to church and then go on a photoshoot!

Just Another Day

2009-09-23T19:53:00.001-03:00

Not a lot has been happening lately. This past week my mom's sister-in-law (who was married to mom's second oldest brother) came to visit on Monday. She stayed until Wednesday when her brother and his wife came to pick her up and take her to their place. She's staying with them and will come back here sometime on Saturday. She flies out next Monday morning.

On Sunday after church, I had a problem starting the car - it wouldn't start! It was fine when I started it on the way to church, so I don't know why it wouldn't on the way back. I went back in the church and got a couple of the men to come out and take a look at it (thinking maybe I needed a boost or something like that). They checked and it wasn't the battery or the engine. While one guy was starting it, the other jiggled one of the wires and it started up. So, they seemed to think it was either the spark plug or the wire(s).

Yesterday we took the car in to the garage we always go to (it's owned by my mom's cousin), and they checked it over and said it's not the spark plug(s) or the wire(s) but it might be the starter starting to go. They said it's difficult to know at this point and the car may be fine for a few weeks and then one day it won't start again. So, from my understanding, it's just something we have to wait and see about. While we had the car in, we got a service and got them to change the muffler because that was going.

Today I went to the school district and submitted my paper work for the upcoming supply teaching info session. I won't fine out for close to a couple weeks if I'm accepted or not because they have to wait until the police check comes in (it should take 7-10 days for them to get), plus they need references, and while I have them written down on the application and on my resume, I still need a couple of them to fill out the form the district provides. I'm waiting for one of the teachers I worked with for my internship to reply to my email so I can go get her reference letter (she said back in June she'd write one up for me in the fall) and get her to fill out the form and fax in to the district. I also have to take my internship journal and updated portfolio in to my prof and I'm going to get him to fill out the other reference form and send in. Other than that, I've done my part so all I can do is sit back and wait for a call or email saying whether or not I've been accepted to go to the info session. I don't see any problem as to why I wouldn't get accepted; the only thing being that the session filled up before the district gets all my info. If that's the case I'd have to wait until November or December - depending on when the next session is.

I am really hoping that I get into this session no problem and that I get my name on the supply teaching list. I need to start working and getting the money coming in again. I'm enjoying my time "off", but I've got some bills I'll need to start paying and for that I need money.

I had to go and get myself a cell phone (ok, maybe I didn't have to get it) because I don't want to be tied down to the house phone waiting for calls. The calls come from the States from a company the district hired to do the calls (not sure if real people call or an automated system), and we have not typically been answering the phone lately because of the telemarketers. We have caller display and screen the calls and if a long distance number comes up that we don't know, we don't answer. I'd be afraid that that would happen when I'd get a call for work and end up missing out. Also, I wouldn't want Mom to answer the phone and it be them calling me for a job and I'm not here (they don't call back if you aren't around or if you don't answer the call...they move on to the next person on the l ist), or if she would accept a job for me thinking I needed it but I already had one. So, I decided the best thing would be to get a cell phone and use that number; that way I'd have the phone with me and I could leave the house and not miss job opportunities.

This past Sunday was the first week for Sunday school starting up again. We had five kids in the class, and one was absent. My friend Angela and I teach the class together. She did last week's lesson on 1 Samuel 1, and I do next week's lesson on 1 Samuel 2...or part of it at any rate. We'll be rotating the lessons and she'll do one week and I do the other. The kids are good, and I know the parents of three of them. The others I've seen around church, but I don't know them. I'm looking forward to teaching Sunday school again. I haven't done this since before I went to Korea. Last year I took the year off from being involved in any teaching (including the mid week program) because I felt I needed to get regrounded. I could still use that regrounding (going to have to see about getting involved in a small group Bible study), but I thought I'd give the teaching a go again.

I'm supposed to head out with M ichelle tomorrow to go on a photo shoot. We had to cancel it twice this past weekend (one due to weather, the other due to my car problems) and have rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I'll get some great shots. I'll be sure to post them to my photography blog, Shutterbug. Why not head over there and check out the photos I have up so far. Feel free to comment too!

Back To Normal - Whatever That Is

2009-09-17T14:10:00.000-03:00

Finally I think I've gotten back on track with my sleeping - the jet lag seems to have passed! I have always been a night owl, though, so I still can go to bed somewhat late. But, currently, I'm not up until the sun is about to rise, or sleeping only a couple of hours and being wide awake when I should be sleeping.

My back also seems better. It still gets quite stiff when I've been sitting or laying down for awhile. The pain isn't so much now, but sometimes it's sore with the stiffness. I haven't been taking any Robaxacet for several days (though I did take one the other day), and I've run out of the pills the doctor in Australia prescribed me. I knew it would just be a matter of time for the healing to take place, simply because this has happened to me before. My plan now (and I pray I'll stick with it), is to strengthen my core muscles as the doctor said this should help prevent future problems like I just had with my back. I think, by the weekend, I will pull out my yoga DVDs and do some of that to start with. The doctor had suggested this and said it would help.

Sunday school starts this coming Sunday, and I'm back co-teaching the grade 1 & 2 class. The other teacher, my friend Angela, and I will be taking turns each week. She is taking the lesson this week as she's had a longer time with the book and will be more familiar with it. Since I just got the book this past Sunday (she had gotten it over the summer while I was in Australia), she wanted to give me some time to get familiar with it and go over the lessons. We only have a small class so far - about 5 kids I think, but that could change. I'm looking forward to getting back into teaching Sunday school, and hopefully I can transfer some of what I learning in school this past year into this class - things like classroom managment, etc.

I haven't been doing much this past week, mostly trying to readjust from the jet lag and help my back get better. I've gone to request a transcript for my marks as well as a letter stating that even though I haven't graduated (that's in November), I have completed my course. I'll have to send those off to apply for my teaching license, and I will be applying for the October 26 info session for supply teachers. I also need the copy of my marks for that and need to fill out some forms and get them sent in so I can reserve a spot. You have to be invited to the info session, you can't just show up. By sending the paper work in, they'll know I'm interested and can invite me, providing everything is satisfactory on my application.

I've also recently started a photography blog. I'm just really learning digital photography as well as editing the photos (I got Photoshop Elements 7 last week). The blog is a place to show some of my photos and the editing I've done. The pics aren't necessarily the best, nor is the editing, but remember, I'm still learning and that's a process. I'm enjoying both though. My friend Michelle and I are going on a photo shoot on Saturday and we're either going to do some macro shots of butterflies or moving water. We haven't quite decided yet. If you are interested in viewing my photography blog, it's called Shutterbug and it's located here.

Going to end here for now. I think I've rambled on more than I had planned. Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Another Early Start

2009-09-08T07:45:00.000-03:00

I've been awake again since about 4:00AM, and really hoping the jet lag wears off soon! I am now having my first cup of coffee (possibly my only cup of coffee, but a second one may be on the horizon), the sun has risen and the day is promising.

It's the first day of school for the kids in this area...for those going to university too. I'm torn on this...part of me misses not having to go to class today, but there is a bigger part that is excited. I guess with some of the high school kids, they only start tomorrow; those in grade nine (the first year of high school here) start today, to make things easier on them, and grades ten to twelve will go tomorrow. Other provinces have already started school last week. My nephew is in Nova Scotia, and he started last week.

I need to fill out a few forms and take my grad fee to the university today. I have to do it soon (as in within the next couple of weeks) because I will graduate in November and they are going to begin getting things ready for that soon. I also have to request a list of my courses and marks so they can be sent to the teacher's association (the registrar will also be sending a letter explaining that graduation is only in November, but I have finished my courses and internship now), so that I can get my teaching license. I don't know how long that takes, but I hope it is quick. I still have to wait until October or November before the district has their next supply teaching info session. I need to take that before I can do any supply teaching.

My brother has been mentioning to his teacher friends that they should call me to fill in for them when they are out (his wife may have done this too), or at least that's what he's told my mom. That's really nice of him. Also, yesterday, one of the teachers who goes to my church asked me about supplying. I told him about needing to wait for that info session, and he said as soon as I take it and get on the supply list to let him know. He said the schools have a list of preferred supply teachers they call first, and then if they can't get anyone from the list, they go to others. He said that when I'm on the supply list he'd add me to his (or his school's) preferred list. I thought that was really nice of him!

Another teacher friend from church asked my best friend (when I was in Australia) to pass on some advice from her - that if I have to hand out any work that needs to be corrected, to do it and not leave it for the teacher. They really appreciate that. Also, she said that I should do any photocopying, etc. that the teacher may need to do (probably would need to check in with the office to see about that, but I'm not totally sure), and ask the office if there is anything I can do to help another teacher (photocopying, correcting, etc.). She said that really puts you in a good light and the teachers appreciate it, and you would be more apt to get hired on by the school if you show a willingness to work or help out.

My back is still sore and stiff. I've been taking Robaxacet because the pills I got in Australia have run out (I have one more left of the anti-inflamatory one). They've been helping, but when I sit or lay down for a while (such as over night), then my back becomes quite stiff and sore. Yesterday I went out for awhile and took some pictures. I had taken some Robaxacet a little while before that and it really helped me to be able to move around and get in and out of the car without any real difficulty.

Speaking of photography, I had mentioned in my preivous post about doing some sort of project to help better my skills and become more creative with the pictures I take. Well, I haven't particularly started any project, per se, but I did create a photography blog. It's called Shutterbug, and can be found HERE. I've put a few of the pictures I've taken from Australia on there so far (I have 3 posts, 2 of which has a few pictures). I guess the theme seems to be birds and animals, so maybe I'll focus on that a bit. I was thinking if I do a 52 week or 365 day or even a 30 day project, it might be good to start at the beginning of a month. However, that's not totally necessary. I can start it at any time. I've also joined a couple of photography forums, so hopefully I can pick up some pointers there as well.

Well, going to head off and finish my coffee (hazelnut, yum!) and read the paper. Hope you have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

I Saw The Sunrise - Again

2009-09-05T06:39:00.002-03:00

I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, I was beginning to get over the jet lag. The night before last was great - I slept right through (though I did wake up a couple of times, but went right back to sleep) until around 7:00 AM. Last night, I went to bed a little later than the previous night, hoping that might help me sleep a little later in the morning. Sadly, I woke up before 5:00 AM and haven't been able to get back to sleep again.

Part of me wonders if, in fact, my problem stems from a combination of jet lag and the meds I've been taking for my back pain. I wonder if I am waking up after the drowsy effects of the meds have passed and I have no more of the drug in my system. I do know that jet lag plays a big role in my situation, though. I also know that it will take a little while for that to wear off...

In other news, since I've been back I've had a lot of time on my hands - something I'm not too used to. I've been so busy with school work, but now that I'm finished with my B.Ed. (I need to do up necessary paper work and get my internship journal and an updated portfolio into my teacher by the end of this month though), and will graduate in November, I'm not sure what to do with all this time. I've been itching to do some more photography, maybe because I did a lot while I was in Australia. I want to improve, and the only way to do that is to keep practicing.

I was looking through some photography websites the other night, and one had an article suggesting doing things like a 365 day self-portrait project, or focus on shooting only pictures of certain colours (like one day take pictures of things that are only red, or only blue, etc.), a photography scavenger hunt, or an alphabet project (shooting items that begin with a certain letter, beginning with 'A' and go all the way through the alphabet), etc. Those sound interesting, and I'd like to do something like that, but I'm afraid I'd get so far into the project and then lose interest or not have the time to take the shots.

I suppose I could pick a topic or something, do several shots and have them onhand to post at a later date. For example, if I do a 365 day or 52 week colour project, I could pick the colours I want to shoot and then take several pictures for each colour. Then, I'd have pictures for these to post on the days I can't get out (for whatever reason) to take pictures. I don't know if that defeat the purpose of these projects or not.

The idea behind these projects is to help become better at photography, as well as explore your creative side and find new/creative ways to take photos of even every day subjects. I'm not the best at photography, but I enjoy it and I want to become better and more creative with my photos - that's why I have been thinking of taking on something like this. I just don't know which type of project to try. I would also probably have to set up another blog (unless I just incorporate it in with this one or even my knitting/craft/hobby blog) or maybe start a "group" on Facebook or something where I can post my work. I also have to learn how to add watermarks to my shots so people can't steal my pictures and claim them as their own. I guess you can't be too careful in this day and age!

Well, it's nearly 7:00 AM and the sun is up. Maybe I should go see if I can get some early morning pictures of some flowers in the garden, or a spider on its web that I saw on the side of the house yesterday. Have to start practicing some time, and now is just as good a time as any!

Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Back Home

2009-09-03T06:52:00.004-03:00

I've been back home in Canada since Monday morning. The trip was pretty uneventful, though there was some turbulence, especially for awhile at the beginning of the Sydney to Los Angeles leg of the trip. My back held up fine, and I took the meds the doctor had given me prior to leaving the Gold Coast. I only took one of the Valium, and I felt sleepy. As soon as I felt like I wanted to sleep, we were given our supper. It was actually pretty good for airline food, but unfortunately, I no longer felt tired. After trying for awhile to get to sleep I took a Gravol and that knocked me out pretty good. I slept a good portion of that flight.

The longest we had to wait was in Toronto. We arrived around 11:00 PM and our flight left at 6:30 the next morning. Sarah and I were the only ones to wait at the airport; the others went to a hotel for a few hours to shower and try to get a bit of sleep. From what they said, they didn't get much sleep. They had to wait for the shuttle to take them to their hotel, and by the time they got there and everyone got showered, there wasn't much time to sleep. Sarah and I only slept a bit at the airport and spent the rest of the time watching a couple of movies on her laptop.

It's nice to be home (but I do miss Australia and the wonderful people I met there). Unfortunately, jet lag has set in. I don't have that dizzy sort of feeling, but my sleep pattern is way off - probably still on Australian time! I slept fine the first night, but since then I've been getting up quite early (as early at 5:00 AM), sometimes sleeping in the afternoon, and going to bed late. Last night (Wednesday) was the worst so far. Tuesday I had taken some of my pain pills for my back and they made me sleepy; I laid down around 8:30 in the morning and woke up around 3:30 in the afternoon (I slept pretty good the night before but was up at 6:30). I went to bed around 1:30 or so and dozed for about an hour, maybe a little more than that. I was wide awake between 2:30 and 3:00 and tried to go back to sleep around 5:00. Sadly, I couldn't sleep and I've been awake since.

I'm supposed to help my brother at his bike shop this afternoon, doing a little computer work for him, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I might end up sleeping then instead. I might check with him to see if it would be OK if I come in next Monday instead, and hopefully my sleeping pattern will return more to normal by then.

I haven't done much since I've been home. I've gone with my mom on a few errands she had to run, and I've spent the past two evenings with a male friend, but other than that I've been sleeping and trying to rest my back (which seems to slowly be getting better, though at times it's still sore and stiff).

I need to finish off my journal for my teaching internship, update my portfolio and contact the registrar's department of the university to see what all I need to do (as in paperwork, etc.) to graduate. There are about four or five of us who are finished now and can graduate in November. I talked to my prof about it and he is the one who told me to check with the registrar, and if they don't get things done soon, maybe all four or five of us would have to get together and go to the school to try and get things taken care of all at once.

Well, not much to say right now. I just wanted to update the blog to say that I arrived home safe and sound from Australia.

Cheers!

One More Sleep

2009-08-28T23:07:00.003-03:00

It's hard to believe, but my time in Melbourne, Australia is finished. Tomorrow morning we begin our long journey back home to Canada. We've been here nearly two months, and the time has flown by so quickly.

Last week was my last week at the school, with Friday being my last day. Actually, we were there only half a day since we left for Sydney after lunch. Two of the teacher's from Sarah's school took us, and we stayed at the apartment of one of the teacher's brother. That last day of school was sad - I'll definitely miss those kids, as well as my host teacher and the other teacher in the room.

On Wednesday of that week, they had a little Australian party for me. They had the kids bring in some different foods that Aussies eat (and they were allowed to bring in food from other cultures if that is what they eat as well). There were lots of different things to eat, and the kids enjoyed it (I did too). There were several different types of cookies (or biscuits as they call them), some sandwiches, sweets/desserts, and one of the teachers brought in a little BBQ and cooked sausages on it. One of the "sandwiches" that were brought in tasted great - I loved it! It's called Fairy Bread and all you do is butter a piece of bread and put cake sprinkles on it. Sounds gross, but it's not.

I also had my first taste of Vegemite. That was totally disgusting! My host teacher, C, captured the moment on video. I thought she was only going to take a picture, but she taped the experience. She then showed it to some of the teachers, and then on my last day she showed the kids. Everyone thought it was quite funny (so did I). I really don't know how they can eat that stuff! I suppose, though, that if it's something you are brought up on you get used to it and grow a fondness for it.

Back to my last day...the two classes I helped in got me an Aussie kids book and they all signed it and put a picture of the classes in it, as well as a picture of me tasting the Vegemite. It was quite sweet (the book, not the Vegemite). C also got me an Australian kids book as well. The principal gave me a school mug and several different chocolate bars (one or two we have back home, but the others we don't have). When it was time for me to go, the kids all came over and hugged me, and one little boy says to me, "Ms. S, Tom's crying." One of the little boys had tears in his eyes, but just walked away after hugging me. I don't know if he was sad I was leaving, or if it was for some other reason, but I like to think he was sad that I was leaving.

That afternoon we flew to Sydney. We were there until Sunday night, and had a great time seeing the sights. The main reason we wanted to head to Sydney was to see the Opera House. We got to see that, the Sydney Harbour bridge, and several other places.

Early Monday morning we headed for the last leg of our vacation (the internship part wasn't vacation) and flew up to the Gold Coast. We stayed in a cute little town called Coolengata. Our hotel was a two minute walk from the beach. It was a beautiful place, and there was gorgeous weather. Unfortunately, Tuesday morning I wrenched my back and couldn't do much of anything the rest of the day and most of the next day. The girls went to a chemist (the Australian version of a drug store) and got me some meds after talking to the chemist/pharmacist. Those seemed to help as they had codeine in them. Thursday I walked around and took some pictures. I didn't go swimming because I didn't have a bathing suite, and my back was still sore. I was actually trying on a bathing suite when I wrenched my back...go figure.

Thursday evening I went to an after hours clinic to see a doctor for my back. He agreed with me that it was a muscle problem and wrote down two different types of pills to get (over the counter kind) as well as a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and Valium. He said the Valium was for the plane trip (it's a long flight) and that both the prescribed meds would make me drowsy. I have been taking all but the Valium and it's helping. I plan on only using the Valium on the plane ride.

All in all, I had a great time here in Australia. If you ever get the chance to visit this country, you should go - lots to see and do! I don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to come back here, but if I do, I'll head this way again; I'd like to see the teachers/friends I've made on this trip again.

But for now, I need to get some rest (the pain pills I took a little while ago are kicking in and I'm feeling tired), and then do my packing. I'd like to take my host family out for supper tonight to show them my appreciation for all they have done for me while I was here. They are great people, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet and stay with them.

The next time I write, I'll be back home in Canada. See you soon!

Oi!

2009-08-15T05:25:00.006-03:00

I am still going strong here in outskirts of Melbourne. This coming week will be my last in the classroom, the following week I'll be travelling to the Gold Coast, and the weekend after that I head back home.

School has been going well. I've done quite a bit of teaching, mostly maths (here they put an 's' on the end of math) and reading. I've also been doing the roll call and going over the daily time table with the kids. For maths, I had to teach both of the classes in the room, but for reading I only had the one class belonging to the teacher I have been assigned to.

At the end of my last post I had mentioned that we were going to the zoo. It was, in fact, the Melbourne Zoo and it was really great! The zoo is quite big and took us nearly four hours to go through it all (including a stop for something to eat for lunch on zoo grounds, which was terribly expensive). We didn't see many kangaroos, and only one koala bear but that might be because Australians wouldn't want to see them in the zoo when they could see them in the wild, etc. It was a great zoo to visit, though. They even have a butterfly exhibit where you can go in with the butterflies. I got some great close up shots of different butterflies.

The following week we went to the Werribee zoo with Sarah's host teacher. This zoo was an open range zoo. We got on a bus and the tour guide/driver drove us around and told us about all the animals we saw. It was great too, but not nearly as many animals.

We also travelled down the Great Ocean Road. That was amazing. I think we ended up driving something like 700 km (we left around 9:00 am and got back home a little after 10:30 pm). The road is twisty, turny and runs along the ocean (which could be how it got its name). There is such beautiful scenery here and we even saw a couple of whales in two different locations! There were some surfers early in the trip, but the further along we got, the stronger the waves were, and in some locations they had signs up to not go in the water.

The Great Ocean Road is where you'll find the Twelve Apostles. There are only about seven of them left now, with one falling down a couple of months ago I think. These are rock formations that, once upon a time, had been part of the cliffs; erosion from wind, rain, and the water/waves have separated them. These reminds me of the Hopewell Rocks back home. It's definitely worth taking this trip around the coast, even though it takes awhile.

Today was the first Saturday since the first weekend we got here, that I didn't have any excursion planned. It's OK though because it was nice to have some time to myself - especially since I felt a little down today. It's getting closer to the one year anniversary (Aug. 19) of my dad's death. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Sarah and I are going to a place called Science Works tomorrow, and I think we might be meeting a couple of the others there as well. Sarah's hostess (where she's staying) is supposed to take us and drop us off while she goes to visit her grandmother (who lives a few streets over), and then we'll call her when we are ready to go home.

Next weekend we'll be heading to Sydney from Friday until Sunday. The following morning we'll head to the Gold Coast (Monday to Friday). That Saturday we'll probably go to the Victoria Market one last time and then we fly out Sunday to head back home.

It's getting quite windy out now. They are calling for gale force winds tonight I guess, and warning people not to park under trees and to fasten down any outdoor furniture, etc. Hopefully it won't be too bad and there will be little to no damage.

Going to head off for now since this post has gotten quite long. God bless, and have a Christ-filled day!

Melbourne This 'n That

2009-07-31T19:32:00.004-03:00

I have now finished up three weeks of my internship at Baden Powell College, Derrimut Heath campus. I am in one of the "prep" classes, which is equivalent to kindergarten back home. I am really enjoying my time at this school - the teachers and staff are all really friendly. The teacher I'm working with, C, is awesome. She's in her fifth or sixth year of teaching and she has some great ideas. I've been writing things down so that I can use them when I get my own classroom. I am also going to see if I can take some pictures of the classroom so that I can have a visual of some things, rather than writing them down.

In the schools here (or most of them it seems), they do team teaching. There is one big classroom and in it there are two classes and two teacher. Basically, the teachers take turns teaching things. Sometimes the teacher would teach both classes together, and sometimes they break off into groups (like for reading) and both teachers are required to teach their own group. I can see a benefit to team teaching, but at the same time there aspects I don't like - such has having to teach such a large class. When these two prep classes are together, there are 40 children to teach; that can be a little difficult, especially with the noise factor.

My professor was in this past Monday to do my first evaluation. I had only received his email saying he'd be in Monday morning (at 10:00am), on Friday evening. Not much time to prepare. I felt very unprepared for that class, but I managed to do well and get things printed out and photocopied on time. Apparently he had sent me an email earlier in the week but I hadn't received it. He'd sent one to Sarah as well and she never got it either. She only found out Sunday afternoon he'd be coming to observe her the next day as well, though I told her when mine was and that he wanted to visit both people at the school (though Sarah is at the other campus) on the same day. Poor Sarah though, she hadn't done any teaching to that point and Monday was her first day for that. I think she did well, though. My evaluation went well also, so that's good!

The last three weekends we've had some excursions. One Saturday the group of us from ABU were taken into the city for a little walking around, a visit to the Victoria Market (got several souvenirs there), and an Australian rules football game that evening. It was a great day, and even though we didn't understand (or know) most of the rules, we still enjoyed the football game (or footy as they call it).

One Monday evening, a couple of the younger teachers from Sarah's school took us to the movies. One of these girls is the daughter to one of the librarians at my school. These two girls, Sarah (the librarian's daughter) and Julie are really great. We went for supper after the movie and had lots of laughs.

Sarah (from Canada) and I went back to the Victorian market last Saturday again because there were some other things we wanted to get there. We were there only for a couple of hours, then went and got some supper (or, as they say in Australia, tea) and headed home. We feel pretty comfortable with taking the train into the city and home; we know which stops we need to get on/off at and we did great taking the tram from Flinder's Street Station to the market. We asked someone to make sure it went to the market, and once we knew it did, there were no problems. We got one back to the station afterwards without having to ask anyone.

On Sunday, a couple of ladies from the schools took us to Lygon Street for lunch. This is Melbourne's Little Italy section. It was really nice. The prices were high, but the food was good.

Yesterday our professor let us have the day off school and took us to the Dandenongs. It's a rain forest and has really big trees, great nature, etc. It was beautiful! We stopped at a restaurant (he made reservations) called the Cuckoo, which is Bavarian. The food (buffet style) was delicious and we all ate lots. There was also a floor show with music, singing, and laughter, which was great.

Today, the girls who took us to the movies the other week are going to take us to the zoo. I think it's the Melbourne Zoo that we are going to. There are a couple of others around here, and one is like a safari. We want to go to those ones as well, but not sure if that is today or we'll do it another day.

Well, I had better go get ready for the day's excursion. Hopefully my next post won't take as long to write!

I Come From A Land Down Under

2009-07-11T03:06:00.003-03:00

OK, I don't come from a land down under...but I am currently there! I made it safely to Australia, with uneventful flights. Well, most of the flights were uneventful. In Toronto, our bags were late getting to where they were supposed to be (we had an hour and twenty minutes until our flight to Los Angeles was supposed to leave), and as a result, we missed that flight. It wasn't our fault in the least. They told us we could have gone on and not receive our bags at our destination for three days, but we were told it would be better to get on the next flight. Thankfully it wouldn't involve us missing the flight in L.A. So, instead of a twelve hour wait time, we only had eight.

The five of us (Sarah, Caroline, Adam, Jonathan, and myself) met up with the rest of the crew later on. Our prof, Mr. T. (no, not that Mr. T.) was the first one we met up with. He had been there a couple of hours before we were, and the other three (Maria, Ashley, and Jock) came along an hour and a half (roughly) before our flight was to leave.

The flight to Melbourne was sixteen hours, and that included a stopover, to refuel and change the crew, in Sydney. When we got to Melbourne, our host families were waiting for us. The mom of the house where I'm staying (she has three kids in their twenties) and the principal of the two campuses of the school where Sarah and I teach, were there, and they also picked Sarah up and dropped her off where she is to stay.

The family I'm staying with all seem nice (though I've yet to meet one of their daughters because she's in America right now). Maree had errands and whatnot to do (something every day), and took me along with her. This allowed me to see some of the area where I'm staying. I've not been to Melbourne yet, but Caroline, Sarah, and I are supposed to head in to the aquarium tomorrow (Sunday).

The weather, for the most part, has been quite cool, and I've been cold at night. Thankfully the blankets are nice and warm. The main part of the house has the heat on, so that's nice and toasty, but my room is in the old part and doesn't get much heat. Right now, I feel like I should have some mittens on because my hands are freezing! I guess that's what you get for coming in winter, LOL.

School starts on Monday, and I'm quite looking forward to it - though to be honest, I am a little nervous. Maree went to the school on Friday to look for something and I tagged along. I got to see the library (she's a librarian/teacher) and meet some of the people who work at the school. After that, she took me to the teacher's lounge and I met a few more of the teachers and the vice principal (I think that's who she was...she's definitely someone in charge though). The teacher I'll be with wasn't there, so I couldn't meet her or see the classroom where I'll be teaching.

Well, this post is quite long. I'll try to update soon - maybe after tomorrow's excursion to Melbourne. Sarah and I've decided that even if Caroline changes her mind, we're still going there tomorrow. Please pray for Sarah as she's come down with a bad cold already.

Have a blessed Christ-filled day!

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 40

2009-07-03T19:55:00.009-03:00

Once again, it's time for 7 Quick Takes, hosted by Jennifer at Conversion Diary. Here is my installment this week:

1. The time for heading off to Australia is drawing closer - only three more days! I haven't started packing yet. I know, I shouldn't procrastinate. However, I am a last minute packer and I am wearing clothes and using items that I'll need to take anyway, so they can't be packed. I need to do some laundry tonight, also. I've been doing some shopping lately as well, as there were things I needed to pick up. Another reason for not packing is that I am afraid of getting everything packed up and then freaking out because I might have forgotten something, and then having to unpack (or root around) and pack up again to check. I will say this, though...I do have a list made up of things to take.

2. I have no idea what I did, but today my back started acting up (lower back near the top of my butt - I know, T.M.I...). It's not hurting, thankfully, but it does feel lame and stiff. I took some Robaxacet about four hours ago, and in another couple of hours I can take some more. I had a nap this afternoon, about the time I took the pills, and when I woke up my back felt stiff.

This is quite similar to what happened last year just before I left for Korea. The only difference was that I had muscle spasms last year and was in a lot of pain. The 16 hour trip (that's the two flights, not including waiting time at the airports), plus the 2-3 hours on a bus afterwards, didn't do anything to help my back then.

Please pray that my back gets better, and that I don't end up pulling something and/or having muscle spasms. I don't want this trip to be spent in pain like last year!

3. We had quite a downpour today. We've gotten a little too much rain for my liking lately, but there's nothing I can do about that. Anyway, we also had a little thunder storm this afternoon. I HATE thunder storms. Thankfully, this one wasn't too bad; however, at one point there was one really loud clap of thunder and flash of lightning - I think something got hit (hopefully just a tree or something like that).

4. My friend, F, can use your prayers. I hope she doesn't mind my asking on her behalf. I won't mention what her situation is, but the Lord knows just what she needs.

5. Yesterday would have been my parents' 49th wedding anniversary. Dad died 10 months ago. I think my mom handled things pretty well - she's strong and showed no signs of being upset. She's more like me though, in that she waits until she's alone to show her emotions (i.e. crying). When I was around, she didn't look as though she'd been crying or anything. I'm sure she was very much aware of the day and that it was the first anniversary since Dad died.

6. As of yesterday, my prof was still waiting for my police check. I had it done last Friday and they wouldn't let me fax it to him (he had asked me to do that). It had to be sent out in the mail, and I was told it would take about a week. A friend of mine said when he had one done it only took a couple of days. But, since there was a holiday here on Wednesday (Canada Day), that might have affected things. Hopefully he got it today. I should check my email to see if there is anything from him with regard to the police check. He didn't call me today, so hopefully that's a good sign! OK, I just checked - nothing from my prof.

7. I am now addicted to Farm Town on Facebook...I thought I'd check it out since my cousin kept sending invites and whatnot for it. I wanted to see what it was about. Big mistake. I am enjoying the game though. Unfortunately, when I am doing my travelling to the Land of Oz, I'll probably loose my crops. Oh well. C'est la vie!

Anyway, that's about it for now. If you are here from 7 Quick Takes (and anyone else), I hope you'll leave a comment so I can visit your blog, too!

Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Past Posts

2009-06-27T21:05:00.005-03:00

I installed a new feature on my blogs today. It is the LinkWithin widget (which I saw on someone else's blog) and at the end of every post, it gives a list of about three other posts the reader may be interested in.

I didn't recognize some of the titles (and pictures in some cases) that were being posted, so I checked them out to refresh my memory. Some of them I can't believe I wrote. To me they were really good, thought provoking or inspirational type posts. It's been a long while since I've been able to come up with some really good posts - for any of my blogs.

At any rate, I thought I would share a link to some of those posts I came across today:

1. Being Fed

2. In Other Words

3. Faces - sorry that the pictures that had accompanied this post are no longer there

4. I Will Not Forget You

5. Associating With Sinners and Such

Hope you enjoy reading these previous posts. I've not read them in a long time, so I liked reading them all again - and still can't believe I created half-decent posts! Let me know what you think in the comments here, rather than on the posts themselves.

Seven Quick Takes

2009-06-26T20:44:00.004-03:00

Jennifer over at Conversion Diary is doing Seven Quick Takes on Fridays. I've decided to play along!

1. Australia

In just ten more days, I leave for Australia. Yesterday I went to one of the banks to get a little Australian money for the trip. I was surprised that the exchange was just about on par with Canadian money. I'm not taking a whole lot with me because our prof told us it is cheaper to just take the money from an ATM machine when we get down there. Mind you, he said not to use it to take ten or twenty dollars at a time, but take large sums. The reason is that every time we take money out, we'll be charged a fee; so it's better to take larger sums, that way you aren't being charged as many fees. He also said it was cheaper to do this than even exchange money at the airport or a bank down there. I've also got a little American money to have on hand for when we make our 12-hour stop at LAX. This way I'll have a little money on hand to get something to eat or if I see a little trinket to buy to represent my "trip" to Los Angeles.

I haven't started packing yet. That will come next week. I did go shopping the day before yesterday to get a few articles of clothing for the trip. I'll have to make a list with what I'll need to take with me so that I don't forget anything! Although, if I do forget something, I'm not too concerned because I'm sure I will be more apt to find what I'm looking for in Australia than when I was in Korea...

2. Bon Jovi

Tomorrow is the Bon Jovi concert. It's one of the "big" concerts planned for the city this summer (the other is AC DC but I am not a fan of theirs0. I like Bon Jovi's music, but I'm not going to the concert. I don't live overly far from the site, and I'm sure I just have to open the windows of the house and I'll be able to hear it - or some of it.

I plan on staying in tomorrow (or at least just around the house). Traffic is going to be horrible at this end of town. People can only drive so far, and then they have to park their cars and either walk or take a bus (I believe they are going to be charging $7) to the concert site.

I think it would be nice to see Bon Jovi in concert, but I don't want to deal with the crowds. I must be getting old. Also, there are a lot of rules for the concert site - no umbrellas, no lawn chairs, no food, only allowed to take a 1 Litre bottle of water in...there are other rules, but I don't recall them. The reason there is no food allowed, and only 1 Litre of water is because the vendors will be selling items there (with the prices jacked up no doubt).

3. Police Check

I had to go today and get my police check done. This is for our trip to Australia. My prof called me this afternoon to say he'd been going through the files of those who are going on the trip, and he was getting documentation that he'd need for us Down Under. He said there was no police check for me, and I'd need to get one.

We were supposed to have this done before we started the Education program, but I was in Korea at the time, so it was rather difficult for me to get a police check done. The school told me I could wait until I got back from Korea and do it then. When I got back, it was the last thing on my mind since I came back three weeks early because of my dad being diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was able to spend one week with him before he died, and getting a police check was the last thing on my mind. Needless to say, getting this done never entered my mind again...OK, that's a lie. I thought of it once, but it was during class and by the time class was over I had forgotten about it. Since then, it never entered my mind again - until my prof called this afternoon.

The policeman told me it would take about a week for them to get the results and send it to the school. Hopefully they will get it in time - otherwise I don't know what will happen. I'm praying that it works out and won't be delayed for some reason.

4. Michael Jackson

It's so sad about Michael Jackson dying. The world has lost another musical icon; he was a big influence on so many musicians throughout his career.

I was a huge fan of his in the '80s and had his posters plastered to my walls, played his records all the time, and I even had a white "sequined" glove. In recent years - probably since the '90s, I hadn't listened to his music as much. I was quite surprised when I heard about his death - thought maybe it was a rumour because when the story first broke, there wasn't really anything online. Only after an hour after I first heard, did the reports start coming in that he was in a coma, and then he had died.

5. Romans

I have begun reading the book of Romans. I had read some of the Psalms, some of the prophets, a little in Ephesians, and 1 Peter. I've decided that maybe I need to read Romans for the reminders it holds, like "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23, NASB).

I have been realizing lately that I've gotten quite off the beaten track in my relationship with the Lord. My Bible reading and prayer life is certainly not the best - in fact, it lacks a great deal. I need to do something before I backslide too much. Mind you, I haven't lost my faith or my beliefs, but my relationship with Jesus lacks. I know He is there, waiting for me, but I need to take the proper steps to get back into the relationship. I'm so glad that at these times, He doesn't wander off ahead of me or forget about me.

Thank you Jesus for being with me even when I tend to ignore you. Please forgive me!

6. What now?

Wow, I must have no life - I'm finding it difficult to come up with seven things to talk about. Any suggestions?

7. Changes

After reading Jennifer's post over at Rachelle's the other day, I am going to attempt to revamp my three blogs (this one, Kitten Knits yarn, and Ink Scrawls) and make them more user friendly so I can get more comments and traffic to them. She has a lot of great ideas! So, bear with me as I make the changes, and please keep coming back and commenting. If you are lurking, please leave a comment - I'd like to know you're out there!

OK, I guess that's it for my Seven Quick Takes. I hope to take part again next week! Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Week 9 - Teaching Internship

2009-06-21T15:18:00.006-03:00

The last week of my internship, at least for the Canadian portion, was also the last week of school. Monday was used as a "regular" school day in which my host teacher, Mrs. G., did most of the teaching. I still did the morning message and the last of the poetry lessons (limericks). The rest of the week was filled with activities for the kids.

On Tuesday, the grades one to three went to a local park for about three hours. The teachers went (of course), and some of the parents showed up part way through to help keep an eye on the kids. The kids were great, and while there were no great emergencies, three kids in our class all banged their heads on playground equipment. One boy ended up with a large bump on his head as a result; the rest were fine. Another little boy jumped over a little ditch that had some water in it. There was also mud around it. I didn't see it, but apparently his foot lost hold and he sprawled out in the mud and his pants were soaked and muddy (not sure about his t-shirt though). Mrs. G. called his mom and she and the boy's step-father came with a change of clothes for him. This little fellow, even though his step-father had told him he'd bring the clothes, worried the entire time he had to wait.

"What if his work calls him in and he doesn't bring my clothes?" he asked.

"I'm sure your step-father will tell his boss that he has to drop your clothes off and he'll be in after." I assured him.

"Well, what if his boss tells him he has to come in right now or else he's fired?" The little fellow frowned.

"I'm sure his boss will let him bring you your clothes first. I don't think they'll fire him for that."

The poor little guy worried and worried until his family showed up about fifteen or twenty minutes later. He was so glad. He even got his mom to buy him a bottle of Coke from a pop machine that was by the park, and he wanted me to take a picture of him holding the bottle up. I did, and he was thrilled when I told him that would probably end up on the slide show the teacher was going to have for the kids.

Wednesday morning there was a field day for the kindergarten to grade four classes. They really enjoyed this. We were unsure if it was even going to take place until that morning, because there were no messages or emails about it until then. The first portion took place in the gym because it had been rainy out. By recess, the sun had come out and it had gotten incredibly warm - hot by the end of the afternoon.

That afternoon, we set our butterflies free. We invited the grades one and threes to come and watch as we did this. I had the class recite a few things they had learned for the others, and then we opened the top of the tank. One flew out immediately, and the rest we had to get on a stick and bring out of the tank and find a way to get them to fly off (most went on their own). We didn't touch the butterflies in any way so as not to hurt or damage their wings. It was a great afternoon and we all enjoyed setting the butterflies free! We were lucky that they were all out of their cocoons, because we weren't sure if they would be out by the end of the week when school was over. The last one emerged that morning!

Thursday Mrs. G. had showed the slide show she had her husband prepare. This was pictures from throughout the year of the grades one to three classes, and it was set to music. The kids really enjoyed it - as did the teachers and parents who had been allowed to come and watch as well. That afternoon, we let the kids play outside since there wasn't any work for them to do.

Friday was only half a day, and the kids were all gone by noon. I was really touched when Mrs. G. presented me with a gift on behalf of the class. She had a class picture taken when we were out at the park on Wednesday, and had me and the TA in one of them (she took that picture). She had purchased one of those frames you can write on, and had the kids all sign it. I was almost in tears when she gave it to me, but I held them back. I also got a gift from a couple of the students, a potted Gerber Daisy plant from another, and one little boy had planted seeds in a can, wound yarn around the can and the seeds grew into little yellow flowers. My mom calls them "Johnny Jump Ups" but I don't know if that is the correct name for them or not. I also got a couple of thank you cards, one from Mrs. G. as well. I wasn't expecting any gifts since I was only the intern.

The staff went to lunch together, and then when we got back, Mrs. G. gave me my evaluation and went over it with me. She said I did an awesome job, and that any class that has me as a teacher will be very lucky. She said that she can tell that I have a passion for teaching and will make a wonderful teacher.

I enjoyed the first part of my internship a great deal. I was lucky to have a wonderful class with wonderful students, and an awesome host teacher. I certainly "lucked out"! I will miss them all a great deal, and hopefully when I get on the supply teacher list I will get to teach/see them again! I'll definitely be popping in to see Mrs. G. in the fall because she said she'd write me a reference letter for my portfolio.

Now, there are only 15 more days until I head off to Australia for the second half of my internship. I'm getting more and more excited and hope to get to see many sights while I am there! We had a BBQ last night at our prof's home; it was for the interns bound for Australia. While there he talked a little more about the trip and gave us our tickets, visas (I had mine already since I went in to do that part myself), and insurance. It now seems that much more real that I am heading off to Australia for two months! How exciting!

Week 8 - Teaching Internship

2009-06-12T22:40:00.003-03:00

This past week went well. It's the last week where I am in charge of the class and teach everything. I taught a little multiplication and division, as well as a little on estimation. All of these things aren't required outcomes for grade two, but they have to just be introduced to them so that they'll be a little familiar with them next year.

We also did poetry this week, and the kids seemed to love it. Most of them (some of the boys included) really enjoyed doing acrostic poems and writing couplets. This is also something they aren't required to learn/know for grade two; it's another "get them acquainted with it" lesson. We did up acrostic poems for the principal and vice principal, the mother who taught gym class for two or three months, and the mother who came in every Friday afternoon this year to help the teacher do administrative type jobs around the classroom. We are also going to be doing one for the boy in grade six (I think that's the grade he's in) who comes down once a week to read to the kids and help them a little. We came up with the descriptive words as a group and voted on which ones to use (most votes won). I typed them up and printed them on nice paper and we glued them to some construction paper and the kids all signed them. We'll present them next week, and the kids are super excited to give them to their recipients!

Also, the caterpillars we got from the kindergarten class were all in their cocoons this week (by Monday or Tuesday), and today at lunch we got a surprise! One of the butterflies emerged! We should have the rest out by Monday or Tuesday at the latest (that is if we didn't lose any). The kids were extatic to see this. I don't know if they actually witnessed the butterfly coming out, or if they only noticed that it was out and flapping its wings to get them dried and build up strength. I think I was (and am) just as excited about this as the kids! I've never seen this happen, and it is definitely amazing!

God does some awesome work! To think, he created a creature that spins a cocoon (amazing) where it changes into a different creature (butterfly), becoming more beautiful than it had been going in! It just amazes me at what God has created!

Next week is my last week (it's the last week of school as well). I won't be teaching everything, but I'll finish up doing another lesson of poetry on Monday. Mrs. G. will do math, and we have several of the kids who want to read books to the class, so they'll do that this week as well. Starting Tuesday, there isn't much school work to be done. Tuesday is an all day field trip to a local park and we'll have a pic nic there as well. There are assemblies and presentations of certificates and whatnot the rest of the week. Friday is only a half day; I'm not sure if I'll have to stay until 2:00 or 3:00 or whenever, but even though the teachers have to come back the following Monday and Tuesday, I don't have to. My prof said we're done when the kids are done. So, maybe I'll get to leave when the kids do as well!

I found out this afternoon that I'll be teaching a kindergarten (or primary as they call it) class when I'm in Australia. I'm going to try to talk to the kindergarten teacher here to get some idea of what the kids learn at that level so I'll have a little idea. Also, I'd like to see if there are any books on Canada for that age level so I can read them to the kids in Australia, to help them learn about Canada.

I'm getting a little more excited about going Down Under, but truthfully, I haven't really been thinking about it too much. I think as the day we leave (July 6) draws closer, I'll get more excited - and nervous.

Well, I'd better end here for now. I'm getting tired and for some reason my body feels restless tonight. I was wondering if it might be because I'm over-tired...at least tomorrow is Saturday, and I can sleep in!

Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

An Encouraging Link

2009-06-06T10:52:00.002-03:00

Internet Cafe Devotions has a great post here. Why not head over and read it. I find it to be very encouraging.

Teaching Intership - Week 6 & 7

2009-06-05T20:49:00.002-03:00

Weeks six and seven have gone well. The children are looking at me as more of a teacher now than just a "helper" in the classroom. One thing though, is that several of them consistantly push the envelope to see what they can or can't get away with (which is normal). There is one of these children who seems to try to joke around with me a little too much and tries to treat me more as a friend than a teacher. Now, don't get me wrong. It's fine to joke around and be friendly with the kids, but they need to know when to stop and listen and treat the teacher as a teacher/authority figure. However, this whole situation is helping to build relationships with the children and help them to learn that they can come to me to ask questions or tell me something.

Last month my host teacher (after we had discussed and agreed that the idea was a good one), contacted a company to get some butterfly eggs/baby caterpillars for the classroom. We've been studying the butterfly life cycle, and we thought it would be a good idea if the kids had some to observe. The kindergarten class is also doing this (and I believe one of the grade four classes as well...but the kindergarten teacher may just have given them some of theirs), and they got their order last week. Our class should have gotten ours by Monday or Tuesday.

By Wednesday after school, we still hadn't received anything and it's too late for them to send us anything because school finishes on June 19, and there wouldn't be enough time for the process to take place before the kids are finished school. My host teacher called the company with regard to our not getting our package, and they said that the order had been processed, but for some unknown reason it hadn't been shipped!

Yesterday we talked to the kindergarten teacher (we had told her on Monday we still hadn't received our caterpillars yet, and she said if we wanted some of theirs we could have some) and told her about our situation. She gave us eight of their caterpillars for the class to keep! That was so nice of them to do. I mentioned to my host teacher that maybe we could do up a thank you note or card to the class and have the kids sign it. The kindergarten teacher also would like for us to come and share some of the questions and answers the kids had with regard to the butterfly life cycle with her class (to bring her students' learning up a level...I think they kept everything very basic). I thought when the kids do that, they could give the card then. Also, since there weren't very many different questions (seven or eight in total), maybe some of them could read a couple of butterfly or caterpillar poems to the kids as well. My host teacher thought it was a great idea, so we have to check with the kindergarten teacher to find out when would be a good time to do this for her.

Today, another of my profs (not the same one as last time) came to observe me teaching a class. It went well, and he wasn't there for quite the entire class - maybe about 40 minutes. He pulled me out of the class (my host teacher continued teaching while I was out) to discuss how things went. He had a lot of great things to say, had some questions as to how or why I did something a certain way (just out of curiosity and not because it was right or wrong), and I came away feeling successful and encouraged. The next time I get observed will be when we are down in Australia doing the second half of the internship (there are 10 of us going).

Next week is my final week of me doing all the teaching, and my host teacher will then start up again, though she won't have much to do since there isn't a great deal done during the last week of school. I do know the kindergarten to grade threes classes are all planning a "field trip" and picnic at a local park near the beginning of that week (a week and a little bit from now), but I'm not sure what else will be done. It shouldn't be a too difficult week though.

Well, I've rattled on long enough I think. Hope you all have a blessed and Christ-filled day/evening!

Teaching Internship - Week 5

2009-05-25T20:43:00.004-03:00

I'm a day or two late in posting my update, so sorry about that. Week five went well, nothing too major happened.

On Friday the kids began their provincial assessments in language arts. They have a week to do this, and the teacher is giving them about half an hour to an hour each day to work on it. As teachers, we aren't allowed to help them with these assessments at all. We can't help them pronounce words or tell them what they mean. The kids just have to do their best and try.

Last Wednesday I helped again with the grades four and five (and possibly six) track and field. They all had a chance to do a long distance run (I believe it was 800 metres), long jump and shot put. I think this week they might be starting with sprints, but I'm not sure. I helped keep the distance for the long jump, and let me tell you, there were a few awesome long jumpers!

On Thursday, we had the parents visit the class. The kids read them their "published" stories (which are stories they write during Writer's Workshop and then make a good copy and decorate a title page), and they also performed their Reader's Theatre plays. The kids all did a fantastic job. They had practiced for a couple of weeks, and then early in the week they performed it for the kindergarten class, the grades one, three, and the two grade four classes. The principal also came down one day to watch them perform. The kids all seemed to enjoy their plays and have a good time. With Reader's Theatre, they don't have to memorize lines; they keep the scripts in front of them the whole time. This is just another way to help them practice reading and have fun while doing it.

This week, and the following two weeks, I am in charge of the class - I teach everything. My host teacher will still be around if I need her, but she will more than likely be out of the class. The only thing is that she is in charge of the assessments, and she is also pulling students out at times to do running records with them ("testing" the kids to see which level they are at in reading).

Apart from what I've mentioned, nothing in particular has stood out from this past week. I am enjoying my internship a lot, and I feel lucky to have the class and host teacher that I have. I'm not sure what grade I'll be doing my internship for in Australia yet. I should find out soon, maybe even Friday, because we have a meeting with our instructor(s) to go over how things are going for us, etc.

Well, I will sign off for now and keep you up to date on week six! Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Teaching Internship - Week Four

2009-05-16T20:04:00.003-03:00

Another great week in the classroom. On Tuesday my prof came to observe me. He was there from from 8:20 until 10:00. He said I did a great job (and so did my host teacher)! I wasn't nervous like I had expected to be, though there were a few times I would think to myself, "I wonder what Vince will say about this..." or some such thought. There were a couple of things he wondered about, but those were out of curiosity and not because they shouldn't have been done or said.

My prof really loved the activity I had the kids do that morning. We've been reading Barbara Reid books and learning a little about her, so this activity was to have the kids use modeling clay/plasticine to make a picture to go along with the little stories they had finished writing the day before. Vince thought that was an excellent activity - it was engaging and the kids were very enthusiastic about it. He also said that whoever thought of it (me or my host teacher) struck gold with it - or something to that effect. I told him it was a combined effort. I had mentioned it to my host teacher that I thought it might be nice if the kids could do something like that and she said she has done that in the past and that it would be a good idea for the class to do it as well.

All in all, I did very well. Vince pointed out a couple of things for me to keep in mind, or things I might think about for next time, but they weren't much of a big deal.

My host teacher was out on Thursday, so there was a supply teacher filling in. He just graduated a couple of weeks ago from the course I am in now. He had been doing his internship in the grade three class at the same school, and since he was on the list of the school's preferred supply teachers, Mrs. G decided to see if she could get him booked.

I ended up doing most (if not all) of the teaching that day - though there wasn't much to do because there was a guest speaker in for most of the morning and we didn't have to teach at that time. Mr. M (the supply teacher) told me at the end of the day that he was sorry he hadn't done more in the class, that I had had to do it. I told him that I was sorry I had "taken over" and didn't get him to do much, but he said that in that grade you need consistency and I knew the routine so it was probably better that I had taken control of the class. At least he got paid for an easy day of work!

Next week is a short week - three days. Monday is a holiday here (Victoria Day), and Tuesday the teacher's association has some sort of PD day for them dealing with union stuff and voting. Since I'm not a teacher yet, and only doing my internship, Mrs. G. said I probably didn't need to go to it. I didn't want to ask my profs in case they told me to go...Mrs. G. said it was going to be a boring day anyway. But, I really agree with Mrs. G. - I'm not a part of the teacher's association yet (I don't have my license yet), so I probably shouldn't even be there. I'm not going.

I will take this weekend and start doing some planning for when I start teaching all day, every day, for three weeks. I'm not entirely sure yet what I'll do, but I do have an idea for one language arts class so far, and Mrs. G. gave me an idea for another class - something she does every year with her class (a sort of end of year newsletter where the kids write about their favourite thing they did or learned over the course of the year). That would be another couple of classes. I'll have one or two more classes for social studies dealing with the butterfly topic (no social studies this coming week though), and might do a class or two on the life cycle of the frog and then they can compare the that with the life cycle of the butterfly. Mrs. G. said she'd sit down with me though, after school, and help me to plan my lessons. That should help.

I'm looking forward to a short week next week. Language Arts provincial assessments take place starting next Friday, and they have a week to do it. So, I'll get to observe that and see how that is done. I think the kids (or the majority of them) will do great on the assessments.

Anyway, I'm going to head off and do some more reading. This is something I've not been able to do in a long time (due to school), and I'm getting caught up on the books I've had and not been able to read. I've read about four or five books in the last couple of months. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Well, I hope you have a blessed and Christ-filled weekend!