hey June.

June=

Field trips.
Permission Slips.
Musicals.
Recitals.
Baseball games.
No jackets.
Sports Day.
Fun Fair.
Farmer's Market.
Barbeque for dinner.
Popsicles.
Ponytails.
One more daycare cheque.
Stanley Cup playoffs.
Shorts to school.
Introduction to deodorant (for my students).
Flip flops.
Long days that seem to zoom by.
Report Cards to write.
Cleaning out the desks.
Saying Goodbye friends.
Saying Hello Summer.

Gosh, We're good looking...

www.sharaleeprangphotography.com

I haven't been blogging much lately.
I've been planning a wedding.
I've been working.
A LOT.
But, you know, now and then, we clean up real nice.
Here's a little photo of us at my sister's wedding on the Easter weekend.
It was a perfect Spring day.
Love and lovely.
Can't complain.

When I'm done work, I'm planning to blog on all my adventures this summer.
Stay tuned.
I'll try to be witty and funny.

The New Guy

I'm on a committee at my church called "creative team". We plan the visuals, the media, the stage design. You know, the creative stuff.

It's a crazy time.

The only agenda we have is to come up with something creative.

And that's where the agenda ends. Hopefully at the end of an hour and a half we've come up with something. This is often a series of rabbit trails, shouting ideas, using a flippy chart, checking out websites, editing videos... Mostly, we try to find a creative way to get the message across.

It can get a little nuts. (I have to admit, it's usually my fault. I am all over the place in my popcorn-brain! Just call me the queen of "random").

Someone should have warned the new guy.

It should have been part of his interview.

I'm not sure if he knew what hit him. He politely thanked us all at the end, but I'm certain he drove home shaking his head.

He took it all in stride, but he's leading the meetings from now on.

So, as a "veteran" on this committee, I am offering some words of wisdom:

* start on time, end 90 min. later-- things go completely off the wall after 90 minutes.

* make sure the coffee is decaf.

* encourage the cookie-maker to keep coming back!

* you have to hum and whistle at the same time. It keeps us focussed.

* we will always have your back, even if we don't agree on the title you came up with for the sermon series

* we will provide constructive criticism, but don't get bogged down in the negative unless you know you can learn from it.

* go home for dinner

* surround yourself with mentors and good friends

* pray always

* sing

* know your purpose

* recognize that you are part of a divine plan

* be approachable

* communicate well

* laugh with us and at us

* celebrate success and failures

Welcome, new guy. We're glad to have you.

do's and don'ts

I have blog envy.

I don't sew.

I don't cook fancy, healthy, or exotic meals.

I don't scrapbook.

I don't decorate.

I can't figure out how to post photos.

Basically, I don't have it all together.

My blog is just a bunch of crazy things that I ha

ve in my head. I'm inviting others into my world of random, unconnected thoughts. It's like living in a popcorn maker.

So, if you like it, I'm glad. If you don't, I'm not going to apologize.

Things I do well:

Watch TV.

Take care of my kids.

Find great deals online.

Make cookies.

Vacuum.

Shop.

Laundry.

Pray.

Paint (walls, not pictures).

It's not a fancy, topical, perfect world. It's just me.

That about sums it up.

TOC.. ya, you know me.

I am a TOC. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a politically correct term that means "substitute teacher." I'm sure the mere mention of the words "substitute teacher" conjurs up memories of switching names, moving desks, spitball wads and passing notes. Gotta say, not much has changed.

Except for me.

I am now the one who is intercepting the notes and cleaning up the spit wads. I answer the phone at 5:45 and listen to the recorded voice that tells me where to go and when to be there. I'm the one who can teach at a moment's notice.

I'm like a fireman, but with books. I'm like supernanny, but with school kids. I'm here to spend the day with the kids and not get killed in the process.

A few high/ low lights of this job:

-I was sent to a grade 9 Drama class. There were 20 boys and 2 girls. That many pubescent, behaviour kids should not be allowed in the same room. I almost quit that day.

-Grade 1--it's PJ day in an inner-city school. Little boy at the back is being defiant and won't sit in his seat. Changes from a little boy to a turtle, using his housecoat as a shell and poking his head out at regular intervals. Heh.

-No report cards. This is a highlight.

-I can leave 10 minutes after the bell rings and don't have to take any marking home. Another highlight.

-Student to me: Wow, you're tall.

Me: Yes, I know!

Student: How old are you?

Me: How old do you think I am?

Student: 18.

Me: You're right.

Student #2: My mom's older than you, but you're still taller.

(Apparently how tall you are determines your age... not that I'm complaining! Gotta love the mind of a 6 year old!)

-5:45 phone call. I am not a morning person. I hate this part of the job. Today, I was called at 10 AM-- "can you come right now??" "Sure."

See.

Just like a fireman-- ready in 5 minutes.

things that stink.

Smells bother me.

Mike says I have spidey senses.

Here's my (not) complete list of things that stink...

* lady behind me marking tests today with bad B.O.

* garlic breath

*coffee breath

* the unwashed dog

* dirty diapers

* the front-loading washing machine if you don't leave the door open a crack

* garbage

*wet boots

* fishy dishes

* bananas

* manure

*compost

* rotten anything

*Honey Nut cheerios breath

*skunks

*pre-teens

*sour milk

*cigarette smoke

*burning rubber

*burnt dinner (not like this happened today or anything...)

*feet

I have a very sensitive nose.

Steamed Pork Buns. WHAAAT?

I'm having an identity crisis.

I am Canadian...

....with Dutch roots.

*I love hagel and cheese and droppies and pickled stuff.

*I think that sarcasm is normal.

*I understand why the Dutch think they are better than anyone else.

*I appreciate the value of a clean house.

*I know all the Dutch jokes.

*I recognize a Dutch accent (and then proceed to ask someone where they're from, which turns into an awkward conversation with me pulling out all the dumb words I know from childhood-- some of them bad-- and I digress...)

*I'm good at Dutch Blitz (ok, that's Mennonite, but I'm still better at it than you-- please refer to point #3 above)

And here is where the conflict comes in.

I love Chinatown and Chinese food and Chinese people.

Chinatown is where you walk into a crazy, junk-filled, Buddha-laden, incense-smelling, screen-and-pottery store that sells life- sized replicas of a terra cotta warriors, and Chairman Mao t-shirts. And you feel like you need it all. Plus, you can bargain. It's a shopper's paradise.

So many treasures. For so little money. And they only take cash.

I walked away from the made in China goodness and across the street--to the "New Town."

Here's the deal. When you enter a Chinese restaurant and you can't understand anything anyone is saying to you because you're the only white person in the place, it's probably a good place to eat. Now, this was not my first time there. My Chinese friends took us a few months ago and tried to humiliate me by ordering weird things in a language I cannot understand. I'm on to his tricks. I just point at the pictures now.

And at the "New Town" they have THE. BEST. STEAMED. PORK. BUNS. EVER. I'm serious about this, folks. For $1.30 you can enjoy the most delicious treat. If you are adventurous, try the "Bola- Bola" variety. I won't tell you what it is, you'll just have to point at the picture.

These buns are filled with bbq flavored minced pork wrapped with a soft, sweet dough and steamed in giant oven-like steamers. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Oh, and they have this perfectly cheeky waitress who thinks that dumb Dutch folks know nothing about Chinese food, so she gives you the best smirky "you know nothing, dummy" looks as she deposits the hot tea in plastic cups on your table.

But, this little Dutch girl TOWERED over everyone in the restaurant. You should have seen the looks my 6'4" husband got! Hilarious! I think they thought he was a circus act. But, I couldn't understand what they were talking about, so they could have been saying wonderful things like-- "look at that nice family out with their children" or "did they take a wrong turn" or "back away from the pork buns, kids. "

I think that they knew I was coming today and tempted me with the butter cream pastry horns dusted with icing sugar. Do you see those swirly butter cookies in the photo above? Don't they look Dutch to you? Sense the conflict??

You know what's ridiculous? I only had $8 on me. That meant I could only get 5 pork buns today. If I had bought 6, no tax. DOH! Conflicted Dutch girl doesn't like to spend more money than she has to.

So, we left with 5 beautiful steamed pork buns wrapped in a tidy box. I'm not sure why we even bothered with the packaging. We knew the scarfing would begin at the door to the car. My kids know that steamed pork buns are delicious, and I tried to distract them with a granola bar. No such luck. They're on to me.

We sat in the car with 1 minute left on the meter and enjoyed the sweet, soft, bbq flavour of the pork buns. And I couldn't help but think... what if they stuffed them with droppies?

Conflict averted.