decorating

should i ?

Read this quote in a book this weekend. I'd love to put it up on a bulletin in my classroom.

"When the student is ready, the Master appears."

--Budhist Proverb

"geography is a flavour"


-saw this qoute last night and liked it

adding up the goals

played floor hockey in math class today. boy was it fun! i forgot how much i liked it. ahhhh......teaching in the prairies....hockey replaces basketball.

surroundings

surroundings....

do you like yours?
do you change them?
do they change you?

filling

went to the dentist for a filling today. the left side of my head is numb: my temple, scalp, ear, lip, tongue, cheek etc. still, i could feel the drilling through it all. my tooth was not numb. my appointment was 5 hours ago and still no feeling.

off to yoga....

a day in the life

today was a classic "heidi day". most noteworthy, i left my car/truck (what do I drive??) lights on, i know what you're thinking.....but my key is now fixed. leaving the lights on was pure carelessness as opposed to laziness. a kind friend called me to tell my lights were on in the school parking lot. i left the building, turned them off and then realized i had locked myself out of the school, since it was late and all the good adventist teachers had left early on a friday afternoon i was stuck. one of my students was upstairs in my office writing a test. in order to get his attention i would've had to throw things at my window on the second floor. not a real option since i can't throw. i was rescued by the last teacher exiting the building and yes he gave me "that look", you know...evil kindness

more "heidiness".... i went to the endodontist....the tooth fairy gods have smiled on me and i need a root canal....i've lost many months of life to the dentist chair and now i will add to that tab. i knew my life was going too well.

well its friday night, and i'm glad this week is done. this week i've: incorrectly explained how intermolecular bonds affect solubility, re-explained it ( much harder to do... i guess they were paying attention the first time, too bad ) , incorrectly added up test scores ( and yes i teach math) and, attempted to be way to flexible in yoga.

off to bed, maybe for 48 hours... monday morning has to be better.

anonymous

Anonymity is what I love. I want control over who knows what I'm doing. Here's the problem... I love my vehicle but, in small town alberta it blows my cover. I can't stay hidden. People are always waving to me as I drive along. Last fall in Saskatchwan it was the same but, there were no expectations of me. I just was me!

I like being me ( by myself or with those I chose ).

furniture

I love my purple couch and orange chair!!!

" Furniture is not supposed to match. It's supposed to evolve and inspire and communicate. It's supposed to tell people about you -- about who you are."
--lisa jewell

old enough

i have lots of ideas of things i need to put here. hopefully this weekend i'll have some time to get my creative juices flowing again.

my thought for the day.....it's nice to be old enough to not care about what others think!

the M's and J's in my life

Last night, in at attempt to amuse and educate myself, i read my thesuarus. I opened it up to 5 different pages and chose words that i thought suited the following people.

Michael: satisfied, poll, draft, branch, adapt

Jill: ritual, poplin, depot, goulash, spiel

Jon: turn, spurious, crave, cache, appraisal

Mindy: destiny, portrait, wish, fable, boldly

Matthew: contingency, gabardine, elucidate, epic, itinerant

Jim: evident, mimic, plummet, congeal, query

made a cake

heidi's happenings

Bought this yummy grape jelly at the farmers market.











More bubbles than boys.















Getting ready for cake decorating. This pic reminds of an illustration in the story of “Joseph and the coat of many colours” in “My Bible Friends”.













Project #1 from cake decorating. I decided to dedicate it to Faye ( a lady I work with ). I need to be nice to her for awhile.











All of the sudden my lack of a watch has driven me crazy.

compliments

we all like receiving compliments, most of us receive compliments frequently but, i bet they are usually repeats. i receive a lot of..."you're so outgoing", "you're such a good teacher", "you're a great cook".

the other day i received 2 compliments that were out of the ordinary for me.they both really made me stop and think. they were from people who did not know me, and they were genuine.

so...i challenge you....go compliment someone but, dare to be different and look for the interesting, thought provoking, meaningful compliment.

you'll make their day

a challenge

i like a challenge
teaching chemistry 20 has got my brain working again,
no more planning 10 for me

Molly's Wedding ( and Peter's )

go figure

cherries are cheaper in alberta than bc
and
gas is cheaper in bc than alberta

i've been

watching water
enjoying beautiful flowers
using my 'Steripen'
looking at glaciers
and
eating breakfast at Garibaldi Lake

non-fiction

Across the intersection I spotted ‘spandex man’. The light was red and I had stopped. Bright colours, wild patterns, tight fabric, all in a quick glance. We were the only two in sight.

Bike + Spandex + Pavement have always intrigued me. I learned to ride in fields, on gravel and, wearing my purple corduroy overalls. Bike riding has become one of the icons for a friendly environment. To me, the mere presence of pavement implies a lack of environmental concern.

He was turning left, I was going right. We were headed towards the same two lane road. He would have his lane, I mine. The advance arrow turned green and spandex man began to turn. I slowly crept forward to make my legal right hand turn on a red light. Looking up I saw dramatic, purposeful hand gestures being made to me. I tried to figure them out: not a left turn signal, right turn signal, stop or, middle finger. I had no idea what his signals meant. On ‘serious bike signal school’ day I must have been out riding by the creek stopping to pick crocuses.

As I turned, I assumed that the tight spandex must’ve cut off circulation to his brain.

If you want to communicate with me you must learn my language. And for the record, internal combustion engine beats spandex every time.

faith

"Faith isn't an act of intelligence, it's an act of imagination" -Christopher Moore

watching water

I sat. My chair was recovering from its trek through the water. Its ride had been full of slips, smiles and, sways. We now rested on the gravel bar.

Water swished around me with a lighthearted plan. It kept moving but, was enjoying the detours along the way. It carefully danced with joyful inhibition. The drops had gathered for an afternoon adventure. Still stones and moving water performed the duet that was the accompanying soundtrack.

I needed this time and space. I longed to follow.

Would you rather...

clever or wise
kindness or justice
chocolate or lemon

Spider Webs & Cotton Candy

One day as I was sweeping away spiders webs that had overtaken the cool and interesting spaces on a deck, I noticed a smiliarity between spider webs and cotton candy. The webs fastened themselves to the broom the way cotton candy attaches itself to a paper cone. Here are the similarities that I noted:

- sticky
- traps (a sugary high or death)
- look pretty from a distance
- created by a skillful artist ( i've made cotton candy, it's an art )

upstage the bride

"Little black dress": $59.99
Strapless bra: $9.99
Sterling silver/Amethyst Necklace: $6.49 ( an amazing 90% off)

Fabulous outfit for Molly's wedding: priceless

Grey

If I ever write a book it will be titled one of the following: “No sticks on Tuesday” or “Shades of Grey” (sorry, Billy Joel). Hmm…. I could write 2 books.

This entry would be in “Shades of Grey”.

I’m glad life is not black and white. We constantly need to be deciding where we stand on things. We need to maintain the balance of what we want and where we are going. And then decide which shade of grey we are leaning towards. Choosing a shade of grey is usually for the moment but, we go on from that moment, so it’s important to choose.

I have been listening to the song “Beautiful People” by Jason Upton, here are some of the lyrics:
“Turn down the radio,
I want to hear.
Turn down the voices,
Hurting my ears,
There’s a moment getting away
And there’s something I want to say”


Those last 2 lines get me thinking…… I’ve had a lot of moments get away. Here comes the grey. Sometimes it’s been good that they got away, I would’ve said or done something I’d regret. So, I’m glad I paused to look at the palette and choose a grey. Of course there have been times when the moment got away and I regretted it. You can learn from regret if you’re willing to look back.

Occasionally, I’ve been proud of myself for saying what I needed to say and of course reluctance having to admit there have been times when I spoke and shouldn’t have. All good, all bad, all grey.

Don’t be black or white, make the hard decision, pick a shade of grey.

OAR

Here are a few pics from my weekend in Sask!

kinetic OR potential

tall grass OR short stop sign

permanent OR temporary

worth it ( 19 min of fireworks) OR wasted time (55 min in parking lot)

Smurf Blue OR Smartie Blue

details, details, details, detials......

I am not a detail person. However, i am spending part of my summer doing very detailed, pay attention work. As I sit mindlessly entering numbers, trying to pay attention.... i wonder.... is it good to develop skills,traits etc that we lack OR work on improving the ones we are good at and enjoy. Is it better to be an expert at a few things, or o.k at a bunch of things.?

Should you get out of your comfort zone and grow OR embrace who you are and love yourself?

50-90

This morning as I was driving I came to the conclusion that dangerous drivers drive between 50-90km/h. If you're going 90 on a 4 lane highway, you probably shouldn't be driving. Who knows what you're doing but, it certainly isn't DRIVING!

Driving 50 or less, usually means that the roads, traffic, weather etc. require your careful attention. You obviously need to be safe and slow. Good choice!

So, if you're speedometer creeps past 50..... STEP ON THE GAS, pay attention and, DRIVE!!!

Funday Sunday

Here's what 3 teachers with the summer off did today! Tracey, Dayna and, I went to West Edmonton Mall. We each had a pre-made list of 6 characteristics that people in the mall could have. Then we set off to find & follow them. We found the first person on our list and then followed them until we spotted the next person on are list. We each bought something to trade with others in whatever store we ended up in. It was loads of fun! I felt like a stalker. I don't think I'd be a great PI.

Here is my list:
- a person with a purple shirt ( i followed a little girl, with her family and saw the sea lion show)
- a person with a red ball cap ( went into a scary store, where i couldn't be inconspicuous)
- a person with headphones ( lost the 1st guy, he walked way to fast, 2nd dude also fast)
- a person eating ice cream ( old guy who sauntered along and spent a lot of time looking at a Ferrari)
- a person with a scarf in their hair ( the longest one to find)
- a guy carrying 1 shopping bag ( young guy, stopped and looked at everything in Galaxyland, and finally ended up in the food court)


All in all, a fun day!

Mrs. McConaughey

Heidi McConaughey.

It could happen!!

irony

I don't have whooping cough! However, here's the math....I have bronchitis + 1 kid at school has whooping cough = Doctor will not let me go to school. Yep, school's done!

ENTP

Remember doing this in college? Here are my results....try it for yourself.

***Your Personality is Very Rare (ENTP)***
Your personality type is optimistic, curious, enthusiastic, and open.
Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 5% of all men.You are Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.
How Rare Is Your Personality?http://www.blogthings.com/howrareisyourpersonalityquiz/

#2

Plate number two at the Chocolate Buffet at the Saskatoon Inn. What can I say, it was divine!

me & Irene

One of the great things about my fall in Saskatchewan, was visiting with Irene Epp. She's beautiful lady that I've known all my life. She is always smiling, happy and, positive. She eats "health cookies" ( yep, they're chocolate chip ) for breakfast. When you're 95 you can do what you want. I can only hope that I live my life that way she does. If I do, it will be long, happy and, full of fun.

aaahhhhhh..............

Booming Economy = Lousy Service
enough said!!

Alena

Alena,

I promise to:

- buy you purple things

- protect you from the games and experiments your father will play with you

- love you!!

and...eat lots of chocolate with you!

Love,

Auntie Heidi

What is a salad?

I read an article in this weeks issue of Macleans about a lady that is eating only salad for a month in hopes to drop down 4 sizes. http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070528_105314_105314 Now... I love salads, they are a close second to chocolate but, what defines a salad. If you put enough feta cheese in your daily salad I doubt you would drop 4 sizes in time for beach weather. Technically you can put anything in a salad. A salad can have tomatoes, nuts, fruit, (vege)meat, cheese, eggs, bit of bread ( we call them croutons for those who want a low carb diet). Why not have chocolate cherry salads.


By the way... the cover of this weeks Macleans was "What will it take to make you breed?" Very interesting.... I will blog on it later. Check it out! http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070528_105313_105313

in my head

through out the day i think of interesting, clever or, profound things to add to this blog. but by the time i sit down to type they have all been long gone... lost in the moment that slipped away. if only my brain had wireless internet.

Spelling

Today i had the pleasure of supervising a provincial english exam. Here in Alberta, the supervising teacher can help the students spell (who knew???). About 2 hours into the exam, with only 4 students left, one of the girls said, " Ms. Lehmann, how do you spell chihuahua?" Before I could reply, one of the quick witted boys replied, "Dog. D-O-G, that's how!"