Thursday, September 27, 2012

ABC - Poem

September 27th - Make it funny: Roses are red......

Roses are red,
Pink, yellow or white.
Yes I love my vampires,
but that doesn't mean that I'll bite. 








 

Writer's Workshop - Fire

Tell a story (based on truth or fiction) where someone is playing with fire - literally or metaphorically --- and probably shouldn't be.

I have a bad habit.
When we go to restaurants,
I like to play with the candles.
I take a toothpick
and burn the ends.
I know,
not very smart.

Even at home.
when the power goes
and I have candles burning,
I like to play with the wax.

When I was in university,
I went to a restaurant with some mates.
It was a nice one,
and hadn't been there before.

A few years later,
I started working at a pre-school.
There was a nice restaurant nearby.
It looked familiar,
but I couldn't put my finger on it.

After going there for many months,
I had dinner there one evening
and was talking to the manager. 
It turned out
this was the same restaurant 
I had been to years before.
But it looked a little different.
The manager told me
it had been redecorated after the fire.

So, my mate and I finish dinner.
I put my napkin on the table
and the wind blows.
You guessed it,
right into the candle!
Yup,
I almost burnt the place down!!!

You'd think I'd have learnt to be more careful.
Unfortunately not.
There's just something about candles
and hot wax....






Wednesday, September 26, 2012

ABC - Good Friend

I've been feeling low and down lately
so today's prompt
really touched me.
What makes a good friend?

For me,
a good mate possess the qualities 
I would expect from myself.
Loyalty, love, humour and sensitivity.
And bringing a bottle of wine 
to every event is a plus.

With Scott away,
I'm feeling lonelier than ever.
I have good mates,
but have found myself 
questioning some over others.

All my mates here are incredible.
They have been super supportive
with Scott away.
They want to make sure I'm ok.
It makes me feel loved.
And shows me they are in fact
not just good mates,
but great ones too.

I also have a couple of mama mates.
There's a group of mamas
I "met" when I was pregnant.
While I don't often think I have a lot in common with them
I feel loved and special.
And that makes a good friend.

Lately,
I've come to realise,
I really have nothing in common
with many of them.
I'm not sure if it's loneliness,
age,
or self pity,
but I'm not sure if many of them think
of me as a mate.
I do,
however have a couple of them
that are incredibly supportive.
And despite never having met them
I think of them 
as some of my best mates.

So,
did I answer the question?
A good friend
is someone who's there for you,
who doesn't make you feel unwanted,
who listens to you
even though they may not be able to relate.
And I'm glad to have some of those
in my life.





Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Nightingale - Dawn Rae Miller

I have been waiting
for months for the release 
of Nightingale.
I thought this day
would never come.
And there's not a vampire
in sight.

Nightingale is the second book
in The Sensitives.
In the first book, 
we met Lark.
I fell in love with her,
and Beck.
They were characters you could love.

Well, 
Miller does not let you down.
I've actually caught myself
refering to these characters 
as real people.

At the end of Larkstorm,
Lark left Beck
in hopes of saving him.
Now back home with her mother
and sister-in-law,
she struggles to keep control of her Dark Magic,
her love for Beck
and, well,
her sanity.

But she must prove to be a strong descendant
of Caitlin Greene.
And soon Lark looses her sense of self.
Has she turned Dark?
Does Beck's Light still reside in her?
Is someone trying to control her?
Is she fated to kill the one she loves?
And who can she trust?

See,
just like a real person.
Utterly confused.
And in need of someone to help her.

Now....
we just have to wait 
months
before learning her ultimate fate!




52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 29

Scott comes home every other weekend.
And since he's only home
twice a month,
we make sure we get a date night
each time he's home.

Date night usually consists
of dinner and a movie.
Or as I like to call it,
casual night.

Don't get me wrong,
I love date night.
In fact, 
I pre-plan it
weeks in advance.
But I miss dressing up.

This past weekend,
the PTA organised a travelling dinner.
It was not Scott's weekend home,
but I guilted him into coming home.
I then got us the last 2 remaining tickets
for the travelling dinner.

Now the travelling dinner
is a casual affair.
But since I'm going to meet new people,
why not make an impression?
So I took advantage
and dressed up.

Nothing fancy. But it's a dress. 

Happiness is dressing up for date night.








Friday, September 21, 2012

Five Question Friday

This week has gone by in a confusing haze.
Monday and Tuesday I attended
a fabulous writer's workshop training session.
I love it when you take a workshop
and then can't wait to get in the classroom and start
implementing what you've learnt.
The next three days
I felt confused and disoriented.
But guess what?
It's Friday!!!!
And while it's not Scott's weekend home,
I did make him feel guilty
so he's coming home tomorrow afternoon.
He's mainly heading home
to assist with the move to the new place. 

But I digress.
Let's get on with
Five Question Friday!!!!


1) What is one grammar issue you cannot let go without correction?
Popcorns!!!
It sends chills down my spine. 
It is popcorn
not popcorns!!!
You eat popcorn
not popcorns!
You buy a bag of popcorn
at the cinema.
Not popcorns!

2) What's your favourite thing about fall?
I miss fall.
I miss seeing the colours of the leaves.
I miss the smell.
And I'm told
I also miss out on 
Starbucks pumpkin spice latte!



3) What's your favourite dish to bring to a potluck?
If you recall,
I do not cook.
So I usually try to bring dessert.
I'm into cheesecakes lately.
Or banoffi pie.



4) When do you start Christmas shopping.
Since I do most of my shopping online
I usually start early December.
That way my stuff is at home
when I get there.

5) Did you move homes a lot growing up?
Not when I was growing up.
But now a days
yes.
When Scott and I got married,
within the first year
we moved twice.
Then in Korea, 
we moved houses twice.
Nine years in Dar
was also five different houses.
We've been in Lusaka
for a little over a year
and we're moving houses next week.

And yes,
I shall share pictures of our new place.


ABC - Where in the World

September 21st - If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?

Seeing how I already live abroad,
this is a tough one.
Asides from Canada,
we've lived in Korea,
Tanzania 
and now Zambia.

I love Cape Town,
and often tease Scott he needs to get a job there.



But having done the Africa thing,
sometimes I think living in Europe 
would be cool.
Spain anyone?


Or maybe I could keep going east.
How about Australia?











Thursday, September 20, 2012

Desert Island

September 20 - If you were trapped on a desert island, what are three items you would take with you?

I keep thinking,
years ago,
before the age of cell phones
and iPads,
this prompt would have so much more meaning.
I've done this with my students
and I keep getting iPhone and iPads.
I think something gets lost 
in the experience of thinking
when they go electronic. 

So,
I'm going to do this
the non-electronic way.

1) Book
I am torn between taking an Anne Rice book
or JR Ward book. 
I'm thinking which ever book
survives the reason I'm on this island
is the one I'll...
well.....
take!

2) Picture
I'm assuming I'm alone 
on this island.
And if I'm alone,
I want Ethan and Scott with me.
And if they cannot be with me physically,
I'll take them with me
through a photograph.

3) A Journal
I hope it's ok to also include
a pen here.
But if I'm going to be stuck alone,
I'll need to write my crazies down.








Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Personal Goals

This past summer,
I began a Summer Blog Challenge.
It didn't go very well.
But I've decided to give it another shot.
So I've joined the Autumn Blog Challenge.
I know posting each day will be difficult,
but I'm always looking for good prompts,
so I figure as long as I put my best foot forward,
I'll have a blast!

September 19th - List 5 short-term personal goals.

1) Study - Have you heard?
I've been accepted to Grad School.
Yup me!
I start next month. 
Am taking 2 courses
and plan to study my butt off.

2) Get Fit - I've been slacking lately.
Need to get back into a healthy routine.
Like how I said get fit
and not loose weight!

3) Reach my Goodreads goal.
I've challenged myself to read
fifty books this year. 
I'm almost there.

4) Move - We're moving at the end of the month.
I plan to get the pictures up
and settled 
as soon as possible.

5) Shoes
Oh come on!
You knew shopping would be here somewhere.
I came across these gorgeous boots,
don't you think I'd look great in them?
Think I need to make a purchase soon.













52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 28

Did you hear?
I got accepted into Grad School.
Yay me!!!!
I start next month.
I'm taking two courses this semester
and went and ordered my books.

Guess what arrived?

Two of the three required books.

Isn't it exciting?

Happiness is getting your school books. 





Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Eternal - V. K. Forrest

With going back to work,
I've been a little busy
that I haven't had much time to read.
I was finally able to finish reading
Eternal
this weekend.

Eternal is the first book in the Clare Point series. 
Clare Point is a small village
inhabited by ......
you guessed it....
vampires!

Fia Kahill in a vampire
and FBI agent, 
who has learnt that her cousin 
was murdered.
His body is found burnt
and his head and hands are missing.
Who else but a slayer would know
how to kill a vampire?

Fia is assigned to work with
FBI agent, Glen Duncan.
Glen, is the splitting image of Ian,
a man Fia once loved,
and who betrayed her. 

Fia and Glen must work together to solve the murder.
And more murders are happening.
Can Fia solve them before more of her loved ones are killed?
Can she solve them without Glen learning her secret?
Can she resist her attraction to Glen?








Tuesday, September 11, 2012

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 27

Last week,
I suddenly realized
that I had not done any marking.
None.
Since the beginning of the school year.
I know.
Pretty sad.

Since it was not Scott's weekend home,
I figured I could get a lot accompished.

I promised Ethan a pizza and movie night,
Friday night.
So while he enjoyed his pizza
while watching TV,
I did some marking.

After he went to bed,
I did some marking.

On Saturday,
he went swimming with our neighbours.
Guess what I did?
Yup,
marking.

And Saturday night
I finished all my marking.
Yippee!!!!

So, Sunday morning,
after making Ethan his waffles,
I grabbed a latte
and my Kindle
and enjoyed the morning
out in the sun.

Ok yes, it's my iPad. Scott has my Kindle, but I do have the Kindle app.



Happiness is a latte and a book
on a Sunday morning.




Saturday, September 8, 2012

Shoes

Yes.
This is another post about my shoes.
I came across a tweet about shoes.
Apparently,
your shoes have something to say about your personality.
Six things according to this
Which made me wonder 
what do my shoes say about me?

(BTW - I feel the need to add in here
my last year's Grade 2s
are disappointed that this year's class
do not appreciate my diverse shoe collection)


1. Practical and functional shoes generally belong to agreeable people.
These are my go-to shoes.
They are well worn,
well,
because they are my functional shoes.
So I must be agreeable.



2. Ankle boots belong to those with more aggressive personalities.
My black ones broke.
I need another pair.
Have seen a few great looking ones.
Now just need to choose one.
Apparently I'm agreeably aggressive. 



3. Uncomfortable looking shoes are usually worn by those with calm personalities.
I wouldn't say these are uncomfortable exactly.
They're just not meant for a lot of walking.
But at least we know I'm calmly aggressive. 



4. Those who are worried about relationships wear new or well-kept shoes.
I don't have a new pair of shoes to show you,
but since I have many,
there are many that are still looking good.
Hmmmm.... wonder why I'm worried?



5. Cheap people wear less expensive shoes.
I don't really wear these.
They're for going to the pool,
or in winter,
when the house is cold
they are my house shoes.



6. The more boring a shoe is, the harder it is for the owner to form relationships. 
This is because they don't care what others think of them.
You cannot get much more boring than a pair
of trainers.
I only wear them to exercise.
I will not wear them to go out.
So I suppose I care what people think of me.



 So what have we learnt?
I'm 
agreeable,
aggressive,
calm,
worried,
cheap
and
don't care what others think about me.






Thursday, September 6, 2012

Writer's Workshop - The One

Tell us about the moment you knew your spouse was "The One".

Did I ever tell you how Scott and I met?
Well.... I guess today's the day.
Scott and I met...
over the phone.
Yup!
And no!!!!
Not like that!

Scott ran the logistics department at Nortel.
(This was back in the day when Nortel was huge in Ottawa.)
I was the supervisor at a local courier company.

Scott would call several times a day,
in need of something going from his office
to one of the other Nortel offices.
And after talking to someone
six times a day,
the conversations always included a
"how's it going?"
"How was your weekend?"

The Easter before we met,
I was single,
doing the dating thing.
Scott called one day,
to have something taken to another office
and I reminded him that Easter was coming.
He didn't get it.
I had to explain that he just asked me
to ensure that something very important
reach another office.
And I wanted chocolate for Easter.

I'd like to point out that:
a) some things never change
and
b) I bugged a few people to send me chocolate.

A few months later I resigned from my job.
I was going back to school
to get my teaching certificate.
I wanted to meet the people I had spent
the last two years 
chatting on the phone with.

Scott was one of those people.

We met.
We went on a few dates.
I liked spending time with him.

I had a box under my bed
with momentos.
One evening,
I was looking through the box
and found the note Scott had sent me
with my Easter chocolate.
(Yes, he sent me chocolate.)

This was the moment.

I like to say
I knew he was the one
before we ever met.

Why else would I have kept his note?
I didn't keep notes from anyone else.













Tuesday, September 4, 2012

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 26

I love the weekends when Scott comes home.
And this weekend was extra special.
It was my birthday!
Yay me!
Ethan told a classmate on Friday
that his mommy is turning 24.
Gotta love the boy!

Being... well... me,
I love presents.
Both my boys spoilt me.

A new necklace and a gift voucher for a spa day.
Ethan is so my child.
He wanted to know which gift I liked better!

Saturday night,
Scott took me out for dinner.
He even arranged for some mates to meet us there.

The ladies
I had been bugging Scott for weeks now
to make sure he got a me a decent cake.
(He was in Australia last year,
so he owes me a cake from then.)
Of course,
he delivered.

Chocolate mousse cake. Yum!
We got home that evening,
and I found this on my doorstep.


Like I said,
I love pressies.


Happiness is spending your birthday 
with some amazing mates.