trytopayattention

scary

2010-04-20T18:06:00.001-07:00

i like the things that have scared me: diving, snowboarding, teaching high school and going to work with CpC. here's hoping i have lots of scary days ahead.

still trying

2010-04-09T22:47:00.001-07:00

so.....way back when, the title of this blog came from me sitting in a convention, trying to look interested. in an attempt to not lose my mind i wrote "try to pay attention" ,on what was probably a very important handout, about 100 times.

i was a bridesmaid last weekend for my cousin Heather, it was my grand finale as a bridesmaid, a final performance. during the rehearsal, the commissioner nicely, but firmly said to me "Heidi, try to pay attention". it caught me off guard because i thought i actually had been. in my head i thought, lady , I've been in enough weddings to know the drill. walk slow, walk slower, hold flowers at your waist, look up ( not at the flowers ), fix the wedding dress, smile, sign papers, look up again, still standing,still smiling, still looking at: the back of the bride, front of groom, the commissioner, the crowd and definitely not the flowers. and....finally walking out....after the happy couple.

i didn't need to pay attention, this one i got.

no title

2010-01-28T23:21:00.000-08:00

my 45 second commute, and yes i drive, takes me past a new subdivision. tonight, in the comfortable darkness, i saw houses becoming homes. the lit up rooms filled with sawhorses, 2 x 4's, chop saws and, extensions cords made me smile. that happiness warmed me up.

there are 2 things that i love to do. build houses and create cakes. they are similiar. you take your pile of ingredients, a basic plan, ideas to figure stuff out and then you create.

give me a cement mixer, a kitchen aid mixer, hammer, oven, flour, insulation, cocoa, hurricane ties and bucket of nails and i'm a happy girl. i long to create and do. it makes me feel alive.

resolutions

2009-12-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

so....i'm in complete new years resolution panic. it is now safe to say that i have successfully kept a new years resolution for the first time in my life. i did not dye my hair at all this year. as a result i have lots of thoughts spinning around in my head.

here are some of them:

wow....what power/willpower i didn't know i had, i need to do this again
what should i do
something meaningful, to me
it's easier to not do something, than do something
what should i not do
not drink coffee, too easy
not watch tv, too popular and i can take it or leave it anyways
not watch tv, and write about it
decorate a cake a week, again, its hard to do something
not eat sugar 3 days a week, ugh....the numbers things is hard
back to the tv thing, not watch it, maybe this is the one.
i only have a few days to decide,
of course my resolution could start on Jan 6th, why not,

as usual.....

2009-12-29T10:51:00.000-08:00

as ususal.....i have lots of stuff i plan to write here, unfortunately only about 2.2% of it gets here.

but....as usual....my life can be pure comedy, on Saturday night when i was on the ferry coming over to the island, a lady asked me if i was the chief stewards wife, i'm sure i had one my most confused looks ever. as i desparately tried to figure out what part of my current state led her to ask that question, my not so great at multitasking brain, continued to answer her questions. no, i'm not married to anyone who works on the boat, no, i don't work for BC ferries, and finally that question that answered it all....i got this bag from the gift shop. you can go buy something and have one as well. she then continued her query. how much longer will we be on the boat? why are you going to you car? should i be going to my car? blah....blah...blah...and i smiled and walked away.

boys are good

2009-11-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

had a "boy" in the house this week. boys are good to have around. girls need them. it's a good thing.

2009-11-21T22:26:00.000-08:00

Today was hard. I sat with the same face that was all messy 15 years ago. I love that girl Sara.

happy times

2009-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

i just made myself some scrumptious hot chocolate, i put the following in a pot: some milk, a bit of sugar, a splash of vanilla from mexico and, half of a baking square of semi-sweet chocolate. then i slowly warmed it....til the chocolate was melted, good things take time. it's yummy!

life is worth the risk

2009-11-13T22:33:00.000-08:00

2009-11-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

so this week i was forced to evaluate and comtemplate relationships. an unfortuate situation was the induction for this topic. i'm now on the other side of the dark cloud and can look back at its soft, round grayness and smile. i'm ok, actully more than ok. i allowed myself to spend 3 days on me. the books, the tea, the exercise, the decorating, the sun, the chocolate. the thoughts in my head. all were good.

too much of anything is bad, balance is good. i strive for it, crave it, embrace it, long for it and occaionsionally run away from it. as i thought about relationships i realized that balance is needed. you both need to equally want, need and love each other. i enjoy and cherish all my balanced realationships. the unbalanced ones frustrate me.

i had 3 days of glorious chocolateness, cinnamon buns, tea and general unbalance.

tomorrow morning there will be no pizza for breakfast, i will have protein smoothie ( it will be chocolate however )

food

2009-09-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

36 hours later.....

2009-09-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

This is not a plea for sympathy at all but... I cried myself to sleep the other night and that hasn't happened in years. 36 hours later on the other side of the life i'm just fine and smiling. Enduring a sad evening ( and unfortunatly the following morning as well ) reminded me of the ups & downs and twists & turn of a fulfilling life. I'd rather experience the slippery slope of sadness than a boring flatline of a life.

What intrigues me the most is the common denominiator of my tears of now and then, it was not what I expected or would've even predicted it would be, more to think about.

the best of both worlds

2009-08-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

breakfast in the calgary airport, competition is usually good the for the comsumers

bags

2009-05-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

here are 3 of my shopping bags. i can finally say that i have the good habit of always bringing a bag along to the store. my love of purses and bags makes this easy for me to do. the eco-friendly side of me feels good. my stash of plastic bags is gone. it's been years since my house has been plastic bag free. yesterday i had to buy garbage bags, i haven't done that in years. huh......

lunch...

2009-05-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Michael and Alena at the park

2009-05-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

baking with auntie

2009-04-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

yum....chocolate cake batter

feet

2009-04-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

i'm always looking at my feet, i check out my new toe nail polish, my need for new toe nail polish, my usually functional shoes and where my feet will land next so that i don't fall. i'm a klutz. i love the fact that my feet take me great places. i have lots of creative friends who put stuff up on flickr, keith puts up a pic a day and keeps on kindly bugging me to put up more pics. my life is a hilarious story with a new chapter everyday. i've decided to take up the creative challange and put a picture a day of my feet. you can check the pics out at www.flickr.com/heidiamelia (the link is on the side of my blog)

what i love about the pic above is my purple polish and the beginning of a sandal tan.

lol

2009-04-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

i've been reading and laughing out loud, it's been good for me. the book i've finished is "Battered Soles". you should read it.

by the way....

2009-03-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am basically keeping up with my "New Years" resolutions. I have not dyed my hair, I just walk past the boxes of hair color to test my will power. AND.....I've kept about 75% of the chocolate bar wrappers. ( My brother thinks its only 50% but...he lives in another country. )

subbing

2009-03-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today I "taught" gr. 10 Socials Studies. My first thought was that it was inconvienient. It turned out that I enjoyed the carefree feeling of subbing and teaching a class that has no right or wrong answers. Socials Studies may be easy to teach but, Science is easier to mark.

committment

2009-02-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

"The irony of committment is that it is deeply liberating."
This is "appoximately" the quote I read on Starbucks cup. I like it! This thought challenges my lovely spontaneous nature.

2009-01-09T22:42:00.000-08:00

so the reality is that i eat a lot of chocolate that is not in true collectable wrappers. i think the best chocolate may not be in a wrapper.

2009-01-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

just so you know...i started taking a "techniques in counselling class" last night. we'll see where it goes. i just might be a school counsellor some day!

for your enjoyment

2009-01-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

so....i'm pretty sure i've put stuff like this up before...and like they say..."hope this sticks".

Here are my two New Year's Resolutions ( or the new politically correct way...My Goals )

1. I am not going to dye my hair in 2009.
2. I am going to keep the wrappers of all the chocolate bars I eat in 2009.

happy new year to you!

gaps

2008-12-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

tonight my yoga instructor told us to spend time in gaps between our thoughts. i need to learn whats going on in the gaps.

2008-11-18T22:59:00.001-08:00

I'm happier than i look in my picture

choices i like to not make

2008-11-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

I'm a snowline on a hillside forest. Both options are good, go up, go down. Sea or Sky, Sky or Sea. My life is filled with options and they're all good. I wanna not make a choice and try to do it all. Somehow I need to make sure I don't get lost.

I took these pics on my drive back to AB from WA. I used to see this scene a lot around Bellingham. I miss it.

been making earrings

2008-11-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

who knows what i'll do next......

2008-11-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

Plum cake, just like my grandma used to make, possibly better than chocolate

Guess which way I went?

mascara

2008-11-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

today i fixed my mascara problem
somehow i bought waterproof mascara
meaning it doesn't come off in the shower
it involves the complicated process of using eye make up remover
another step in a routine that i'm not sure i need
today i fixed my problem
i bought non-waterproof mascara
i'm not that kinda girl

i love days when i don't wear make up
maybe you can only enjoy something if you don't do it all the time

lots to say

2008-11-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

i usually think of a couple things a day to put here....but

the town i live in has small theatre, currently it's showing 2 movies, "Saw V" and "High School Musical 3"
it speaks so loudly to me about what people value, how can this be what you might want to spend your free time doing?
knitting, cooking, reading, thinking, make wool circles, go for a walk, look at my beach glass......that's what i'd do

the third and fifith of anything aren't usually great however, i can hardly wait to watch "Transporter 3"

cleanliness is....a perspective

2008-09-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

i'm sitting here thinking about having a shower, i need to have one.....i think?

now that i'm back in classroom life i need a daily shower

of course i can work ouside in mexico building houses and not shower for 4 days....

hmm.....why do we do what we do?

the mall

2008-09-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

wandering around malls gives me quiet time without the silence of an empty house

in (sept 8-10)

2008-09-11T00:08:00.000-07:00

i've been inside my head the last 3 days, lots to think about, philosophy's to develop

Flower Pounding

2008-09-07T21:45:00.001-07:00

My first attempt at flower pounding, lots of fun, i made three of the ones below, "someone else" made the other one for me.

Sept 4-7

2008-09-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

made, decorated and ate chocolate mousse cake
made yummy salad dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pepper, brown sugar and fresh asiago)
got all my stuff from scott's
pounded flowers and chives
brunch at the wooden shoe
shook a lot of hands

today...

2008-09-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

decorated cupcakes

organized some of my earrings

things i see that make me smile

2008-09-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

really.....these are on the same car??

handful of happiness from island view beach

this is me

Aug 29 to Sept 3

2008-09-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

got stiches out
grazed in auntie Hilde's garden, ohh....yummy raspberries
drove to sask with auntie Hilde and Jindalee
played personal preference in the car

got my arm re-stiched back together, went from 3 to 5 stitches
sat in emergency reading a good book
ok, again, why me? do these things happen to other people?
i woke up saturday morning and the whole thing was wide open, like a canyon

ate sour leaf soup
ate ice cream in provost
went to dollarama
played the dollarama game ( buy something for everyone in the car )

registered for a running class again, maybe it will stick this time
held class elections
still wondering if democracy really works, i'm not sure it's the best plan

wrapper shopping

2008-08-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

I think i'll like the nice milk chocolate with the dark cocoa bits! I love crunchy bits. Haven't had it before.

Creamy, orange mousse. It's gonna be good. This one is new to me.

Ritter Sport, I love them, makes me think of Grandma. She'd buy Ritter Sports for me and got me hooked.

Chocolate coverd Cherries is my favourite blizzard, Black Forest Cake is to die for, this has to be good!

Maybe I'll keep the wrappers.

2008-08-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

hmmm......what did i do today?

started sci 30 with Treston, Damian, Zach, Nathan and Dan, it's gonna be fun

baked chocolate chip cookies

had cottage cheese on my salad at lunch, it was yummy

2008-08-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

started reading "Mere Christianity" again

put a sprite bottle from mexico in my window sil

2008-08-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

made a weeks worth of lesson plans

got a load of stuff from scott's

enjoyed the rain

2008-08-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

Erin, Mary and Anne

The breakwater in Victoria.

The drive back to Alberta.

My beachglass earrings.

aug 24

2008-08-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

acccidentally broke 2 hourglasses at chapters, glass and sand everywhere

carried one box of stuff into maple hall

aug 23

2008-08-23T23:42:00.000-07:00

saw an airplane in a ditch

spilled grape pop in the car

had supper with cherri, shelly and shawn

ate a great "basil and blackberry" salad

aug 22

2008-08-22T11:37:00.001-07:00

picked up my beach glass earrings. i had a lady make them for me with some of my collection. ( i will put up pics of them )

tried to get cash from a bank machine but, it ran out of money. it did of course subtract to $$ from my account. it was complicated. (do things like this happen to other people??)

got my dark bad mole removed. just went to the dr. to have him check it and he said, " let's get rid of it now". at least i didn't have to think about it.

aug 21

2008-08-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Went on "cruise" for lunch on Sylvan Lake with the PAA staff and about 25 ladies from the "Red Hat Society".
Went to Auntie Hilde's and Uncle Albert's to pick up my new red purse from Mom & Dad & Singapore .
Burnt pizza in the oven, i don't actually burn things very often, huh.
Printed & photocopied course outlines and bulletin board stuff....not sure which i hate to do more??

Aug 18,19 & 20

2008-08-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

20.
Staff meeting.....ummm back to "real" life, quite weird

19:
Drove from Abbotsford to Lacombe, mostly in the rain.
Ate some Beautiful BC cherries on the way.

18:
Hiked up, down and in the Coquilhala River with Lizzie and Jim. ( yeah, i loved it )
Saw "Mamma Mia" again, with Dorian, definitly worth a second time around
Visited with Tobias and Heidi

2008-08-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

1. went to a lacross game
2. walked on the breakwater in downtown victoria

2008-08-16T22:33:00.001-07:00

ti....today i

1. ate a lavendar brownie
2. had thai food for lunch at Sabhai in Sidney
3. made pancakes and taco soup, it was fun to cook
4. went to glass beach
5. played scrabble again
6. had henna tatoo disaster with anne

things i did today

2008-08-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

1. Ate a moist and iced chocolate cupcake from Alexanders.
2. Bought 2 rings and 1 pair of earrings.
3. Picked up 10 pieces of beach glass at Island View Beach.
4. Played Scrabble with Keith, Anne and Ben.
5. Dyed my hair.

It's been a great "heidi" day!

I want to make this!!!

2008-08-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yep.... i googled this and i want to make it.... no credits to me....just passing on an idea!

Pineapple Poppy Seed Ice Cream

1 box firm silken tofu (I use Mori Nu brand)
1 cup pureed pineapple
½ cup vanilla soymilk
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
¼ cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch salt
1 tbsp poppy seeds

Combine all ingredients except for the poppy seeds in a food processor or blender until completely smooth. Stir in poppy seeds. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to your manufacturer’s directions.

I recommend letting the finished ice cream sit in the freezer for about an hour or two before serving. This helps it so set up a bit more firmly, Otherwise, the ice cream has the consistency of extreme soft serve (which isn’t a bad thing, per se – it’s still delicious!)

2008-08-14T00:45:00.000-07:00

i use chocolate bar wrappers for bookmarks

Quote

2008-07-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

"Relationships are like Mexico. Easy to get in to, a lot harder to get out of."
- John T. ( a guy on my team a couple of weeks ago )

2008-06-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

My 2 favourites part of building are wiring and framing. Just give me a framing hammer and wire strippers and i'm a happy girl.

Life is good here! It has finally cooled down, clouds have rolled in and there is some moisture in the air.

nothing

2008-05-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

i haven't left the house today (if you don't count locking myself out of the house when i took the garbage outside....that's another story)

its been one of those days where all you do is sit on couch and slowly watch tv. i was contemplating the fact that we all tend to accomplish more when we have a busy day but, when we are free to do nothing we tend to waste it. but,....is it a waste? i think we need those nothing days to help us on out upcoming busy ones. lose the guilt. do nothing.

2008-05-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

here are some pics of what i do each week

2008-05-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

2008-05-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

2008-05-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

2008-05-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

ticketmaster

2008-05-23T20:33:00.001-07:00

Today I talked myself out of a ticket. It's the second one in nine days. One in Mexico, one in Texas. Clearly I need to branch out and use my skills to get a date.

God Talk

2008-05-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

For most of my life I feel I've heard people talk about God and not have their actions show it.

I'm now in a place where the fact that people talk about God really impresses me. They speak with passion and love about the God they serve. Thanks to all of you at CpC, your obvious love of God has made me a better person.

Heather ....... a Tiger!!

2008-05-17T10:45:00.001-07:00

Heather is always telling me to write a book about my life, the "heidi" stories.

Here's a good one.

While driving in Mexico the other day.....
I was stopped/stuck in traffic, with nowhere to go, i just sat with the window rolled down. A truck pulled up beside me and I looked up and saw a tiger ( in a cage ) about a foot from my head. I could've reached through my window and his cage and touched him. Obviously I screamed and sorta jumped. As the driver backed up to see my face he was laughing. Another non-boring day in my life.

nothing says....

2008-05-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Nothing says Happy Birthday like a freaky clown on your cake/cookie!!

Last night the interns and some staff went out for supper for my birthday. They brought along giant decroated cookies and the one that said Happy Birthday had this lovely clown on it.

Alena and the cake I made for her!

2008-05-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

3 of my favourites

2008-05-11T16:13:00.001-07:00

2008-05-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

"Ever notice that "what the hell" is always the right decision?"
-unknown Hollywood script writer

back to the desert

2008-05-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

I just spent the week in Walla Walla with Michael, Avril and, Alena.

I used to think that WW was dry and desert like. Last week as my plane landed in Phoenix, I thought it looked absolutely lush compared to El Paso, and by the time I got to WW I thought I was in a rainforest. This morning as I got off the plane in Seattle (one of those small ones, where you are actually outside ) I stopped to enjoy the rain. Some people hate the rainy gray weather but, I miss it. I've been soaking up the clouds all morning. My skin feels happy to be moist again.

Last Week I.....

played and played with Alena
hiked and biked with Mike (early most mornings),
conquered, the really small cliff that Mike made me climb,
made a cake for Alena (i'll put a pic later, my camera is in my checked bag)
cooked and baked
watched hockey, csi and, law & order,
went to macy's with Avril
slept and read

I'm glad to be going back to Casas, I love what they do for people.
I will try to post things more often,
I always have interesting "heidi" weeks filled with adventure,
you know you've had a good day when you are tired at night,
and I always sleep well.

bloom

2008-04-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

The desert is in full bloom around here. Plants that I thought were ugly, painful and, needed to be destroyed are now catching my attention. Hmmm..... i guess patience is a good thing.

The Mob

2008-04-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last week I worked with Italians from New York. If I closed my eyes and listened to them I thought I was with the Soprano's/Mafia.

franchise

2008-04-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I love a good franchise. It's nice to be in the desert of El Paso and be able to walk into Starbucks and feel like a walk on the beach or some good snowboarding is just around the corner.

confused canadian

2008-04-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

Do you want a coke? Down here... coke means pop/soda. If you're asked if you want a coke you then have to tell them what kind such as root beer, orange, sprite or actually coke. Confusing. On the note of soft drinks...I've decided that i need to stop drinking them. too much sugar for me and I do love my sweet things.

My team last week kept telling everyone to "mount up" when it was time to get in the van. They couldn't understand why I thought that was strange. Yep, I laughed a lot!

some words....

2008-03-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

i am still loving it here....

i finally got a sunburn on my neck, its getting hot but, I think I'll stay until July....

i now lead teams on my own,

i'm their tour guide and contractor,

finally more pics

2008-03-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

Todd, the other Canadian down here, about to burn his mouth on local fare.

There's lots of limeade here, this was put out for us to eat by one of the families who cooked for us.

Looking down from the Mesa, I wish there had been water in that pool.

The first family I built for on my own. ( The team actually built, I was the leader )

Miriam and Me

building, building buliding...

2008-03-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

One week I had to build in a fort....concrete walls, pillars and beams....

I resized the house to fit it behind the pillar but, we (the team ) had to knock out a concrete beam so that we could put the roof on.

The skinny people had to work on the back wall.

The chuch I've been attending meets in an elementary gym/cafeteria. I really want to know which kids ordered the lentils for lunch.

Last weeks family lived in this bus. ( these are two of the guys on the team )

things i can almost say in spanish

2008-03-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

We will be back tomorrow at eight. Hasta mañana a las ocho
Where is the bathorom? ¿Dónde está de baño?
I need 15 more bags of cement. Necesito quince mas de cemento
I need a door. Necesito una puerta
Where do you want 3 windows?¿Dónde tres ventanas?
Where do you want 2 doors? ¿Dónde dos puertas?
Which way do you want the roof to slope? inclinación (keep saying this and point)
I am at site # 10232. Soy en el sitio uno cero dos tres dos
2 cheese enchiladeas, please. Dos enchiladas queso, por favor.
This is the "Heidi" version, not neceessarily real spanish, or complete sentences.

My most difficult conversation of the week was when tried to ask a guy at a lumber yard for 3 eight foot long 1"x4" boards.Even though this includes a lot of numbers I had to resort to a lot of charrades. My prop was a tape measure and it barely helped. He did finally cut them for me from a 16' 1"x10".

2008-03-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

2008-03-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Lovely Little Alena

My truck and house ( for now )

View from the house

Beginning of house #1

Bodyguards

2008-03-01T06:41:00.000-08:00

So far i've built 3 houses with supervision. Next week Todd (the other new guy) and I build together and then....I'm on my own.

My last build was with some local 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Our main problem was that they all needed ladders. It was certainly a challenging weekend. One of the staff memebers who was training me kept saying, " It's all down hill here from here...". I still maintain that there is a special place in Heaven for middle school teachers. Although they could probably survive hell. I'll stick with the cute little kids or the ones on their way out of high school.

One boy was trying to get down from the roof(techo)was going to jump down and asked me to catch him. He was no small 7th grader. I now remember why the first time I taught grade 7 and 8 I wondered what had happened to their brains.

Actually the kids were great, I didn't hear any complaints from them and they basically worked hard the whole time. I went to their school for "Veggie Assembly" on Thursday, they are a neat bunch of kids.

The other interesting things was that we had body guards with us the whole time. Most of students were Mexicans who go to school in the US. Some were from such important families that they needed bodyguards. An intersting experience. Everywhere we went was a big ordeal. For the most part the bodyguards stood around and did their job but, after my "How to do stucco" demonstration, they came over and re-did my demo. We all learned alot. The local mexicans sure put our stuccoing to shame.

Still having lots of fun.

Sharp Beauty

2008-02-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

showers

2008-02-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

There are 2 types of work in this world. Depending on what you do you either shower before or after work. I am definitely in the "shower after work" category right now.

By the way....they are forcasting snow for El Paso tomorrow..... we'll see.

2008-02-10T14:48:00.001-08:00

I'm happy today!

Feb. 7

2008-02-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

Feb 7
Heidi in Mexico

i''ve built house number one.
Alexis was the leader/CpC staff member who trained me.
Our group was from Roswell, New Mexico. Yep....that's where the aliens landed
We had 12 adults and one teenager.
A really nice group, they worked hard, got along well, listened to Alexis and were happy to share their constuction knowledge with me. Tom is a contractor and he gave me lots of helpful hints. Danny brought lots of powertools. He taught me how to be an "electrician" and then left me his volt/ohmeter. I laughed lots with Jane and Nancy, two adventurous ladies. Jane is from Tasmania and Nancy is a artist. The rest of the team was wonderful as well. I had fun bugging Richard, the one teenager. I told him that usually groups had 1 adult for every 6-10 kids but, they brought 12 adults to supervise him.

It's warm enough to be wearing flip flops. The locals think I'm strange.

This last week I learned....

most of the CpC staff wanted New York to win the Superbowl ( not me )
how to mark wall plates
how to wire a double light switch
how to install/wire a ceiling fan
how to find the new super Wal-mart in Juarez
not to nail through the roofing unless it is sealed with tar
i can get out of the drivers door of my truck (not in )
i can get in the passengers door of my truck (not out)
the cement ratio is 3 sand; 3 gravel; 1 cement; 1 water
the stucco ratio is 3 sand ( sifted); 1 cement; 1 water
that i love being outside in sun all day

Feb 1

2008-02-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

February 1, 2008
Here I am in Spokane. My past days of teaching phonics is kicking in and i wonder why its pronounced spo - can instead of spo-cane? This is day 3 of my adventure. I've decided to make a list of events, thoughts or whatever i want of the "Heidi in Mexico" chapter of my life.
19 hours in the car
police incidents
detours
drinking coconut black milk "ICE" tea in Claresholm
foolish drivers in the ditch after they speed past me
snow, lots and lots of snow
leaving minus forty degrees ( this is where farenheight and celsius meet ) so its cold no matter how you think about it
swimming with Alena
fluffy head
Canucks puck, a great teething toy for the daughter of a "Canadians" fan
napping
packing, repacking and wondering what stuff I really need in life
15 minute security check in Walla Walla, do i look like a security threat or do they have nothing to do, the poor man hand inspected each of my tampons
security personal baffled by my Canadian passport, they aren't sure how to check if its real, considering that Washington borders Canada you would think they might brush up on the latest Canadian passport technology
yummy pizza with artichokes
half price books
free books
pleasant, cheerful and competent service
i'm no longer in Alberta

boxes

2008-01-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

boxes surround me, i'm packing. it's comforting to be surrounded by your stuff and know that it is meaningful. i've moved so much lately that i've learned to enjoy the process of sorting and keeping only what i desire: my green tea pot from the antique store in town, tea cups from my grandmother, a purple shawl from my other grandmother, pink cars i used to play with ( i'm sure my parents looked for purple ) , the orange curtains i dyed, and my only wedding gift ( a crystal bowl). packing is a ritual and all rituals have meaning.

floating island

2008-01-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

This picture is not the one I made but, it looks pretty close to mine. Just imagine grated chocolate on top!!

Found this easy-to-make,recipe in Mireille Guiliano’s book French Women Don’t Get Fat. I made it on Friday night and it was quite good. I plan to add my own flare next time with chocolate or fruit.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cocoa or cinnamon powder for sprinkling

Scald the milk in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar and the vanilla. Cover and remove from heat.

Separate the eggs and reserve the egg yolks in a mixing bowl.

In another bowl, beat the whites with the salt until foamy and then gradually beat iin the 1 tablespoon of sugar. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Return the saucepan with milk to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.

With a soup spoon, scoop out a mound of the egg whites and drop into the milk.
Cook gently for 2 minutes and turn gently to cook the other side for 2 minutes. Remove and drain on a dry towel. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate on a plate until ready to serve.

In the bowl containing the egg yolks, gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon. Gradually add the hot milk in a thin stream to slowly warm the yolks and avoid scrambling them. ( Next time I would cook this mixutre on the stove a little more to ensure that the custard slightly thickens.)

Chill the custard in a serving bowl.

When ready to serve, place the poached egg whites on top of the custard.
Sprinkle the egg whites with cocoa or cinnamon powder.

gray and snowy

2008-01-17T15:38:00.001-08:00

it's a gray snowy day and i kinda like it! i feel sort of cozy with a nice sweater on. maybe i like it cause i know i won't be here for long. who knew i'd long for snow?

free

2008-01-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

" You are never free to do as you please when you stay with the familiar"
On Feb. 1st I will be free. I'm taking a break from teaching and going to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to build houses. I will try to put pictures up on the blog more regularly. Check out where I will be! www.casasporcristo.org

decorating

2007-12-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

should i ?

2007-12-10T10:21:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

"geography is a flavour"

-saw this qoute last night and liked it

adding up the goals

2007-11-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

surroundings....

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

filling

2007-11-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

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