smudge 001

Smudgie spends most of the day like this. It’s a perfect little house for him to lurk from. I don’t know how or when that gap in the bush appeared, but he sure found it, and he will sleep and watch in there for hours. It’s really very cute!

In other news, I got a badly needed hair cut this afternoon. Feels SO GOOD! Now I need to get Sarah to streak it next week. Ben left for Kelowna just a few minutes ago. He and Johnny are driving out to see Jess for the weekend. Sarah works today, and tomorrow (double time for Canada Day), and then she’s meeting Jay and some friends at Sylvan Lake where they’ve rented a cabin for the long weekend. She hasn’t seen him for several weeks. Hubby’s name got put in along with 6 other store managers from across Canada to go write the District Manager exam, so he was pretty pumped! He has tomorrow off, but has to work the rest of the weekend. I myself am now officially GAINFULLY UNEMPLOYED!!! Woot!

Last Day 007

It is finished, I am finished, I am not going back tomorrow, I am officially unemployed for the next 9 weeks.

It’s going to take several days for me to recover, as well as several beer. Everyone is thrilled with the room! I guess that’s a good thing.

This morning, we were greeted with a big bottle of Bailey’s by the coffee pot. During our staff meeting, we had a champagne and OJ toast to a good year. How straight do you think my lines were today? Hmmm???

Historic Commons vote paves way for same-sex marriage across Canada.

Gifts 002

This is the gift I received from Bradley. It’s so beautiful and appropriate considering we had worked with him for 7 years.

Let me preface this entry by saying this is PMS week for me, so maybe what follows will make a little more sense.

This morning, I had to be at work by 7:30. I was very organized, and was out the door shortly before 7:00. Coffee in hand. We had a big parent breakfast, and a farewell assembly, I was dressed nicely in my pale green capris, and a blouse. Looking summery, crisp and clean. First of all, my coffee cup lid didn’t fit worth a spit, and drizzled on my pant leg. Damn!! I’m cussing up a storm, looking for something to mop myself up, finally settling on my water bottle and attempted to “hose” the coffee out of my slacks. None too successfully I might add. Since I had enough time, I decided to stop and wash my car which was embarassingly muddy and dusty. I was nearly finished, when I got too close with the wand to a clump of mud on my mud flap! That mud splattered back up all over me like a volcano!!! All over my feet, legs, slacks, all up my front, my arms, my face and in my hair!! OMG! I was just horrified! WTF was I going to do?? If I went all the way home to change, and came back, I’d be late. If I didn’t, I’d have to go looking like Pigpen! I decided to go to work, and figure it out. Well, when I started walking across the parking lot, the other TA’s who saw me, nearly pissed their pants laughing!! (bitches) My only alternative was to go to Walmart (only thing open at 8:00 am) and attempt to find something to wear. I decided to just suck it up and attempt to sponge out my blouse, and look like a fool the rest of the day. Hmmmph

Then we had the awards assembly, and the farewell to the Grade sixes. The staff lined up at the front of the gym, and each child was called by name, and came and received a flower, certificate, and then hand shakes all the way through. Well when they said Tony’s name, he kind of just ignored it, and I snuck around and got him headed in the right direction. His Mom followed him from there. As I was walking back to my place at the end of the line, I just lost it. Started boo hooing like a big old baby. Seemed so hard to believe that 7 years had passed. As soon as that part was finished, Mrs. S, myself and several others headed straight to the bathroom for tissue!!

THEN after assembly Tony’s folks came to the classroom and gave each of us antique brooches, gift certificates, cards, and hugs. More tears!! Geeze.

The rest of the morning was calmer, then when I was out supervising at lunch, I got something in my eye, so I spent the rest of the day blinking and squinting trying to get rid of whatever was sharing my eye space with my contact.

The afternoon was spent watching a movie, and making banana splits. Then I had to walk Tony “off into the sunset” (hormonal exageration) to the handi-bus for the very last time. More tears. Shortly after that, Nick’s Mom came all teary with a card and pin for me, and I had to say goodbye to Nick. More tears. Then Bradley’s parents came with a beautiful figurine of a woman holding a child, and more hugs, and more tears.

Geeze Louise!! It must be time for a beer!!!

Cruise Gets Confrontational - He is an asshole plain and simple!

I worked until 7:30 pm again tonight, painting. I’m nearly finished. The cupboards are all back together. Today I sprayed all the handles white, as half were stainless, and half were black! I got those back on tonight right before I left. I have the 3 walls all finished, except for a bit more trimming to do. I also finished all the shelves, again just having a bit more trim work to do. It’s looking pretty good. Tomorrow, Mrs. E’s husband is going to come in and paint the upper 2 feet of the walls, as they’re so high, that I couldn’t do them.

I worked in our classroom this morning, and the 3 of us went out for lunch. I got a nice gift and a very gushy card from Mrs. S. I also had the unpleasant task of telling Nick’s mom that I won’t be working with him next year. She was pretty sad about that, but glad that I’d still be in the school for him to visit with. She told me, “I hoped you’d be with him right until Junior High!”

I have to be at school by 7:30 tomorrow morning, for a parent volunteer appreciation breakfast. BLECH! Then it’s a huge award/farewell assembly. After that, most of the school is going swimming. We’re not. We’re going to do some games and things outside if the weather allows, or watch a movie inside, and then make banana splits with the kids before they go home.

Then I have to say goodbye to Tony. I worked with him for the first 3 years he was in our school. We have a very strong bond. When he came to the school, he had no language, and every time we went to a room in the school that he hadn’t been to before, or on a field trip, he screamed. Blood curdling screams. Terrified screams. The only way I could calm him, was to hold him very tight, and rock him and sing to him. Now he’s laid back most of the time, will go anywhere without fear, and has enough language to ask for anything he needs. It’s going to be a really sad time. I’ll also be saying goodbye to Nick. In that I won’t be working with him anymore. *sniff*


Nick and Tony

I stole this from LaLa. You are supposed to pick 5 things that the rest of society appear to think are “all that”, that you just “DON’T GET!”

Number One: Angelina Jolie

I’m sure she is wonderful, but she just strikes me as a skank. She always has, even long before the latest rumors, etc. Maybe she’s just to blatantly sexy for me, but she annoys me greatly.

Number Two: Eggplant

This is one NASTY food item! There’s very little food that I don’t like, as is evident by the size of my ass, but eggplant, is squooshy and spongy. Not impressed!

Number Three: Cardio Striptease

Why in the name of GAWD, would anyone choose to do this as their form of “exercise”?? You could run, use a treadmill, do step aerobics, ride a bike, go swimming, but NOOOOOOOOOooooooooo stand in front of your TV and act like a stripper. Hmmmm not for me!!!

Number Four: TomKat

I used to really like Tom Cruise. I thought he was a pretty good guy, and generally liked his movies. Since this latest bunch of hoopla, I think he’s “silly”! Seeing him on Oprah… PUHLEASE! Hearing him gush and carry on over a girl only slightly older than my daughter!! Uck! But the last straw is him pushing his scientology beliefs on the rest of the world, saying there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance, and that anti-depressants “mask” the symptoms, but don’t get to the cause. He got his doctor’s degree when??? Right after his Samurai warrior status I guess.

Number Five: Homer Simpson

I have never gotten the whole Simpson fascination. I think it’s because when they originally aired, my kids were still very young and I wouldn’t let them watch it because I hated the way Bart talked. I’ve just always found the whole thing lame, and I know I’m in the minority on this one. My whole family LOVES it!

I woke up ridiculously early this morning. I think it’s because I fell asleep BEFORE 9:00 pm last night! I was waiting for hubby to get home, and he called and said he’d be back in an hour. I thought that I would have a snooze while I waited. I must have just absolutely ZONKED out, as when he got home, and I woke, I didn’t know what day it was, where he’d been, anything!! DURH!

I’ve got most of the housework finished, beds changed, and laundry going. I don’t plan to do much tomorrow other than get some groceries, and rest up for the final 2 days of classes.

steve

The guy on the left is my “baby” brother, Steve, and some of his friends at their 25th High School Reunion. He’s single, never married, and no… not gay. Just fussy.