THE COUNTDOWN IS ON...

Well, just four more school days until spring break starts. Actually 3 because Friday is "winter activity day." This is basically just a day to play outside with the kids (weather permitting). Today was such a busy day, it flew by. Hopefully the rest of the week will be this good.

I guess now that the Olympics is over I don't have to worry about conserving oxygen (see previous post). My body wouldn't cooperate with me this morning. I woke up at 6:00, did a head to toe analysis and decided that my back hurt and I had a slight headache. So, I went back to sleep for another hour and a half. Needless to say that at 6:00 am my analysis isn't always accurate. And due to my recent lack of exercise I really did have a sore back by the time I got to work. Therefore, tomorrow I must get back to my exercising routine. Please inform me if there are any more major sporting events happening that I need to take into consideration in my environmental quest for oxygen conservation. Thanks.

MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND

I must say, Brian is one of the greatest people I know. I could not have married anyone better. It's not everyday you will find a man who will cook supper once a week and also clean the bathroom everyweek. It is really nice to have him do these things. It is a nice break for me. Another great thing he does is something that I just can't do - he helps the girls with their math homework. Naomi is now bringing home math that is far beyond me. When Brian was gone last week she didn't even bother to bring it home since she knew I was hopeless to help her. I must admit it is pretty sad that I am useless with grade 9 math, but it is the truth. There is a lot more I could say, but I am going to leave it at that. Here is a picture of him bringing home the bacon (or rather, the moose!)

MY LIFE IN THE YUKON...

I absolutely love living in the Yukon, although some think I'm crazy (no names mentioned, Sonya). Today is Heritage Day. Basically they just invented this holiday to give everyone an extra day off in the middle of a long winter. It worked out well this year because we were able to stay home and watch the men's gold medal curling game. I don't usually like to watch curling, but this was a great game. It is also a good day to stay indoors since it was -38 when I got up this morning. Normally on a long weekend like this Brian and I would be going out skiing, etc. But he came home from Whitehorse on Wednesday and was sick. So, he is just taking it easy for a few days. I, on the other hand, am exercising vicariously through the olympic athletes I keep watching. No sense having too many people using up the oxygen on this great planet at once. I figure with all these sports going on in Italy right now, I don't want to risk an oxygen shortage. So, in order to keep Ross River safe, I am letting others do the work for a day or two.

We only have one more week before Spring Break. I am really looking forward to the break. And after that we only have 13 weeks left before summer vacation starts - unlike you that live in BC and are in school until the end of June. LOL. That alone is reason enough to love the north!

WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG????

Here's the thing - you raise your kids the best you can and think that your kids will be everything you could hope for. So, here is the ordeal...Hannah and Josh both worked at the hockey tournament this weekend. They earned $9/hour (not bad for being 12 and 13). Anyways, when they came home with their cash (about $130 each) they didn't want to split it with me. I thought I deserved at least a 50/50 split considering what a great mom I am. But no, they wanted to keep it all for themselves. "For summer vacation," they said. Seriously though, I am really proud of them. Karen, the rec director, was raving on about my kids. Hannah worked in the concession stand and Josh did some cleaning and worked the time clock for the games. They had a great weekend, although they are quite tired today. The problem is that after all the praise from Karen about my kids, who obviously take after me, I will need the money the kids earned to buy myself a new hat to fit over my big, fat head.

THANK GOD IT'S THE WEEKEND!

Well, my week turned out o.k. We had Kaska Day on Friday. It was a nightmare to coordinate all the kids in the school into the events they chose to do. They got to choose from Traditional dancing, arctic sports, dene games, carving (which was a bust because the leader never showed up), traditional medicine or making babiche (rope from caribou hide).Normally this task would not be too overwhelming since we only have about 60 students. However, when you have to keep 6 students separated and still try to put them in the events they want, it becomes somewhat of a challenge. I kind of fell into the job of organizing everyone. Fran, the teacher in charge of this type of stuff, had a worse week than me. She spent the week
- being the principal (Thomas was away)
-dealing with "artist in the school" (a woman came and took each class for half a day and they did painting)
- handling monumental student problems (kids threatening each other, which ultimately resulted in 2/3 of the high school class losing their school email account - proud to say my girls and their best friends were among the other third)
- organizing Kaska day
- trying to teach her class (it is no accident this is listed last)


Anyway, I just followed her around like a lost puppy begging, until she gave me something to do that would help in a significant way. All that said, we had a great time on Friday. The kids were all great - we only had to send 1 home. I spent Thursday and Friday working in the kitchen. We made beef stew for lunch for everyone on Friday. Needless to say I was exhausted last night. I came home and just collapsed.

This morning, however, I have recovered and am looking forward to a relaxing weekend dreaming of Olympic glory!

THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THOSE WEEKS...

You know the saying, "If you don't have anything good to say..." However, tomorrow is Friday and next week can't be this bad!

MONDAY...

Today was a Monday in every sense of the word. I just kept wishing it was Friday. It's amazing how one day can feel like a week. Just to let you know how bad it is - we are having hotdogs for supper. Oh well, tomorrow isn't Monday - Hooray!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Today being Valentine's Day, I am in for a special treat. Brian is taking me to the TND Restaurant for supper. For those few of you that have been to Ross River, you will realize what a special treat this really is! LOL! For those of you who have not been here I will enlighten you a little, although there is nothing like experiencing it for yourself. The TND is the only restaurant in town. They just renovated it last year, meaning that they moved the tables around. It only took them about a month to accomplish this amazing feat. However you place the tables, it is still the type of restaurant that you only find in a town in the back of beyond. The restaurant exhibits some local taxidermist gems (i.e. wolverines, cougars). They are pulling out all the stops tonight with a "ham special". Sometimes you just need a night out no matter where you go. In all fairness, last Valentine's Day they put on a wonderful meal and decorated the place up too. Anyways, after all is said and done, I am going out with my husband, and leaving the kids at home with some pizza pops. Happy Valentine's day.

O.K.we are back from the TND.

By the way the animals exhibited are a wolverine, a beaver and a lynx. Quite a collection! We had a really nice time. However, we left earlier than anticipated because a group of kids from Brian's class showed up. Enough said! Clarence, the waiter, even found a vase of flowers for our table. I forgot to tell you about the flower planters in the front yard of the restaurant/hotel. There are two of those old giant satellite dishes. In the summer they are filled with a conglomeration of flowers and weeds, right now they are filled with snow. Oh well, it was nice not to have to cook and the food was good (real ham, what more could a girl want!).

PIZZA...

Tonight we are having pizza for dinner. It is a total family affair, everyone is pitching in to help. I love it when we all work together for stuff like this. Sometimes I get very frustrated when I'm stuck in the kitchen making yet another dinner that will be devoured in 3 minutes flat, while everyone else is lounging around watching t.v., playing on the computer or reading. I think it makes everyone appreciate the meal a lot more. Just for interest sake, I thought I would give you my recipe - it is excellent!

Here goes:

1 cup beer
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp yeast

Warm beer until it is warmer than lukewarm, not hot. Add yeast and sugar. Mix. Let stand 10 minutes.

2 cups beer
3 Tbsp oil
4 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp salt
7-8 cups flour

Warm beer as before. Add oil, sugar and salt. Stir to dissolve. Add yeast mixture. Stir. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing, then kneading until smooth and elastic. Let rise, covered, for about 1 hour. Bake at 400.

Next time you make pizza try this, it's worth the effort. Let me know if you do.

SHOULD I BE JEALOUS???

It turns out Brian has a secret admirer - only she's not so secret.
As you may know, Brian teaches grades 5/6/7, he also coordinates our school website. Well, a couple months back he was taking pictures in the kindergarten class and one of the little girls attached herself to him. Well, Friday we went into school after lunch and shortly after the kindergarten teacher came in with 2 of her students. I was in the hallway and the kids were so excited to see me, they started calling out "Hi, Ann". So, here I was basking in my popularity when Brian walks down the hallway, I was immediately forgotten. Maggies eyes lit up and she ran up to him and gave him a big hug around the legs. I guess I'm not as important or popular as him. As I said to Naomi, that is the benefit of staying here long term - by the time these kids get to his class he will have these 10 year old kids running up to him and hugging him around the legs. He will be a very popular teacher. LOL.

MY DILEMNA

I know I should have thought of this sooner since the Olympics started today. However, I have been debating this same question for a couple years. Here it is: Should I enter the Olympics in Cross-Country Skiing and Mountain Biking? Maybe it would be too hard on my frail little body to train for two events. Also, it I train that much I could end up with "thunder thighs" and that would not be attractive. As it is right now, my legs aren't too bad - it's probably the only part of my body that passes muster, besides my ears. I guess I will have to go with the mountain biking. There are two reasons for this: first, it's not as cold in the winter and second, I have the whole summer off to attend the olympics. On the other hand, Skiing is good because there are no bugs in the winter and the winter olympics 2010 will be in Vancouver. If I was Jewish I would say "Oy, such a dilemna I have."

Rant for the Day

O.K., Hannah's braces have to wait because I'm having problems with the camera.

The thing for today is exercise. I know it's a nasty word. I just wonder why I can exercise day in and day out and Brian is the one who gets in shape. Seriously, he decided to get in shape. So, he thought I'll just do a few chin ups a day and maybe some situps and pushups. Within a week, with only 5 minutes a day, he was looking pretty muscular. Why doesn't it work like that for me? I just sit there on the couch looking like Jaba the Hut after working out for an hour of strenuous working out.

Maybe I should just buy myself some really good chocolates and enjoy them while I'm on the treadmill.

Whatever! Life just isn't fair!

2 Days in a Row

Can you believe that I am actually posting on two consecutive days? Actually I am just procrastinating so I don't have to start supper yet.

Today was a rather blustery day. And I had to walk to the river and back with the grade 1/2 class. To top it off, the teacher was at the front of the pack and I was left at the back with kids that may have well been walking backwards. When I finally had to go back for the last kid I was cold and pretty ticked off. So, I stomped back to him, grabbed his arm and made him run and fast as I could all the way to the school. All the while, I was panting, "I am sick of waiting for you, so you are going to run all the way to the school now because I had to come back for you!!!" Needless to say the little girl in second last place started running to the school without me saying a word to her! Maybe I'm just a control freak!

That was pretty much the highlight of my day! I told you when I started this blog thing that I lead a boring life. I guess this goes to prove my point.

This may sound really, really pathetic, but tomorrow I will highlight Hannah and her braces! I bet you just can't wait!

This One is for you, Sonya...

O.K. I guess I just haven't had as much time on my hands lately. The strep throat crisis seems to have passed, so I am back to work and the kids are back to school, which as you may know means we are still all together, just in a different building. I guess we are just a very close knit family, always together!



This is how I've been feeling lately - a little lazy.



This is just to confirm that there is life in all of us - even Oscar (and me for that matter.)

Anyways, I guess the above pictures may give you an idea of why I haven't posted for a few days. I will try to do better. But I must go for now, Rick Mercer is on his way to visit.

TESTS

Upon being asked by her father whether she would pass her math test tomorrow, Hannah responded with the following: "How should I know, I can't see into the future!" I know that as a mother I should be outraged at such an attitude, especially since we both work in the school system. However, all I could do is put my head down and laugh.

I always figure I've lived a pretty boring life. But here it is in a nutshell for your amusement.
Four jobs I've had:
Waitress
Church secretary
Substitute teacher
Education Assistant (Current, and the pay is nice too!)
Four Movies I could Watch Over and Over:
So I Married An Axe Murderer
Bed of Roses
Little Women
Indiana Jones
(Like I said not too exciting. Not too up-to-date either. That's what I get for living off in the sticks.)
Four Places I've Lived:
Burns Lake
Abbotsford
Kamloops
Kitimat
Ross River
(O.K., I can't keep it to just 4, I have to have something interesting. You will probably need a map to find some of these.)
Four T.V. shows I love:
Rick Mercer Report
Chilly Beach
That is about all CBC has to offer - sorry!
Four places I've vacationed:
California
Yellowstone (I agree with the bison thing!)
Drumheller
Fort McMurray (I guess this depends on your definition of a holiday!)
Four of my Favourite Foods:
spaghetti
chocolate
coffee
ice cream (Do these constitute the 4 major food groups?)
Four Websites I visit daily:
Hotmail - to see if anyone loves me.
My bank account - to see if I've suddenly inherited oodles of cash (apparently, not yet)
Weather station - to see if winter is over yet (again, apparently not)
My bank account - again to see if I have any extra, unexpected money
Four Albums I like a lot:
O.K., for someone who is quite musical (a matter of opinion), I really don't listen to much music. However, if this was judged by what we listen to the most on the way to Whitehorse, you would think my answer was Black Eyed Peas. (Yuch! thanks to my teenagers)
Four Cars I've Owned:
Are you sure you are ready for this?
1978 Toyota Corolla - this was from my parents, they bought it from my sister. Funny thing is it never worked. They promised to fix it for me. I finally sold it for about $200.
1976 Chevette - This was a puke orange colour. I bought it from my brother for $400. What a deal. Believe it or not, this was the car I had when we got married in 1990. We replaced it when the holes in the floorboards started letting in too much snow.
1982 Toyota pickup - Remember the big flashing safety light?
1987 Honda Civic - by far my fav. But we had to give it up in honour of something that would hold 3 car seats! Crazy, I know.
Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:
Any place warm: Bahamas, Hawaii, Mayan Riviera, even Kamloops (lol). Take your pick.

Sorry I don't have any one to tag (i.e. no friends)