Why does everything make me cry????

Seriously people, I should buy stock in kleenex!!!

and…. I know why I am crying….. still a lot of stress, and still overtired.  It seems as one thing is taken care of…3 more pressing issues start to take over.

and….I’m not helping myself either, as I sit at my desk NOT working on report cards…knowing later I will curse myself for not being a busy little bee.

But really… every commercial is making me cry these days.

Now the drunk driving “I lost my mom and dad”, and those poor abused animals are going to affect anyone!

But I still think I’m a step beyond.  These commercials should give you “Eye Crying”, where you get a little tear or two.  But I’ve gone right to “Heart Crying”, where the tears come second after the change in your chest–my breathing catches, and my heart skips a beat, and if I don’t think really hard about calming down, then the next thing I will do will be not a “lady-like” little sigh, but an ugly cry.  (and you know what that ugly cry sounds like)

Worse, all those moments  which are a “Level Down” from hurt kitty commercials– moments in life or on TV which bring a warm smile to your face, or an equally gentle sad feeling– those have been upgraded to “Eye Crying” status.  News that a student of mine is leaving, a kid helping a little JK, or any number of sweet commercials–  kids running in the sunlight sort of thing– brings tears to my eyes.  (Oh those weird/cute little kids in the “Happiness, Newfoundland” commercial– almost push me to real crying)

I can’t even re-read and edit my own blogs without tearing up!!!

Now that I think about it, maybe the universe (or at least the DVD player) knows how I am feeling, and gave me a “Technical Difficulty” yesterday.

I want to show my class The Lion King  because a) its great, b) Disney-hello, c) we are going to sing “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” and they need some context, d) because they were born in 2003 and haven’t seen it. but the DVD player which just worked for another teacher before lunch, wouldn’t read the DVD.  Finally I gave up, after defending my gender’s ability to use a DVD player to an eight-year old!!!  ( Dante: Maybe you should get Mr. Harvey to help.  Me: Do you think he can push PLAY better than I can???)  Night at the Museum  played fine, and while it doesn’t have great songs, it still is funny and Dick Van Dyke is wonderful!  More I think about it– Lion King might have been too much!!!  The scene where Mufasa is laying there dead, and Simba is calling his name and nudging him— Well getting teary just thinking about it!!!

SO, for the foreseeable future there will be no more:

• reading Love You Forever or The Lighthouse  or From Far Away all by Robert Munsch
• Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting (not about geese– about a homeless girl and her father who live in an airport–do not read with out kleenex)
• When I am Old With You by Angela Johnson (this one made me sob just typing the title!!!  A beautiful little girl and her grandfather, and she is making plans of what they will do when they are old together– but of course they will never be old together– he will be gone– and now I’m full out crying!)
• No more Toy Story 2 (because of Jesse’s song “When She Loved Me”
• No more Toy Story 3– because of the last 25 minutes: furnace, and then Andy growing up and choosing to give away his toys.
• Not the beginning of UP, or most of the middle, or the end!  (Actually, I only want to hear the dog say “Hi There”)
• The movie Cars makes me cry on regular days, when Lightning stops and pushes King across the finish line so he can complete his last race.
• Armageddon is sad when Bruce Willis pushes the button and all the flashes of his and his daughter’s life come up.
• No more love song, no sad songs, no no no

That’s enough foolishness for one morning!!  Wipe your eyes, suck it up and face your day…. you stupid baby!

Cinderella….or Spiderella, or Cheetahrella

My students have been writing (FOR A MONTH) a fairy tale story.  We read a number of fairy tales.  (you’d be surprised–if its not a Disney movie–they don’t know it–like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk or Rapunzel)

Now we are writing Cinderella stories.  I have a collection of Cinderella’s –like Dinorella, or Cinderella Penguin.  SO they chose an animal set and they got to it!!  Each day or two, I would lay out the foundation of the next set of details.  (First introduce Cinderella…lovely, beautiful…. had to live with SS and SM.  They make her do all the chores….give details.)  then the next day:  Now do the invitation…what is the prince’s name, what kind of ball (that matches the types of animals there are)  and then the SSisters say “You can’t come to the ball… you are too dirty…etc)  It took them over 2 weeks to write the story.  But they have never written so much!!!!  I have pages and pages from each student.

Now its taken 2 weeks.  I will edit a chunk at a time and tell them when to stop on each page.  Like a picture book, some pages only have one sentence, and some have a lot more.  But, each page will have a coloured picture with it.

The stories are so funny!!!!  Snakearella lost her tiara (and the picture of the snakes dancing is a little rude), Pigerella fell in love with a Chicken Prince, Cheetahs, tigers, dogs and cats are all going to the ball!!!!  Each completed book is between 12-25 pages with illustrations and everything.  I am going to use the spiral binder to make the books last a long time.

I hope mom’s and Dad’s like the stories and will keep them.  I ‘ve had a great time helping them write!!!

Things that I would rather be doing……

Right now, I am trying to get my class to clean up after an explosive art project  (Surrealism!!!!  It’s not just for crazy spanish guys anymore!!!!!)

With  less than a week until March Break, I am thinking of a number of things I would rather do than be here at work….

• Be at the Gulf of Mexico (Tampa Bay area).  I know that there might be beaches that you like better, but I love the Gulf around St. Pete’s Beach. It was our “cottage” for so many years and I just love the sound of the water, and the feel of the breeze on my face.  I love the sand, and will not let the van be vacuumed out during the winter.  Just thinking about sunset on the beach helps my heart-rate to go down.
• I would rather be at my mom’s kitchen table.  Having a cup of tea with her (usually while she is busy getting a yummy dinner ready) is the greatest!!!!  It’s like being a little kid, and having a best friend who knows you so well all at the same time.
• I would rather be sleeping outside. (not today in the mud of course) but on a very warm early summer day.  Sleeping on a blanket, in the park, under a tree is AMAZING!!!  The fresh air, the sounds of the people and birds.  The rustle of the leaves in the trees–all great.  (Camping–not good, naps–great!!!)
• I would rather be in Walt Disney World.  Of course–if you know me, you know that WDW will come up sooner or later.  Today, I would like to be sitting on the TTA –riding around Tomorrowland, or on Soarin’ or sitting across from the bathrooms near Norway (in Epcot) just people watching and waiting (with my schoolbread) for Illuminations to start.
• I would rather be at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.  That place ROCKS!!!!  And last March Break, we only got to see about a third of it.    It is so amazing.  If I lived in Ottawa, I would buy a membership to the museum.
• I would rather be doing anything silly with Megan. She has a laugh that is infectious.  You can’t help but be in a good mood when she wants you too!!!  Perhaps grocery shopping with Megan and JL??????
• I would love to be at Canelli’s with Violaine and Matt.  Good food, great friends!!!!
• I would like to be at the dentist IF, (and only if) they would rock the chair back, turn up the happy gas, and leave me alone for half an hour!!!!

So, there are a couple of ideas I had, which would be better than being at school.  I love my job, and my kids are a really great group, but I would like to be so many other places!!!!!!  Take me away!!!!!!

Jobs I have had!!!

You can tell a lot about a person by the jobs they have done in their life.  (I’m just not sure WHAT my list tells you–let me know what you think)

I worked at Collegiate sports, and Elk’s Menswear in the Bramalea City Centre (I’m not sure if both stores are there anymore.)  As a 15 year old retail clerk, they don’t give you much training, in my opinion.

I worked for a number of summers with the City of Brampton.  One summer I was on the “Sign Crew”.  We drove around in city trucks and fixed the street signs.  In the sign shop, I cut out the letters that make the road signs– with a big die-cut machine, and I built some street signs too.  You had to bake the background plastic on the metal first (in a big Easy-Bake oven), and then place the letters and bake again–If you know where Chrysler Drive is, in Brampton –I made one of those signs–ages ago.  This was interesting, being a 15year old girl and the daughter of the foreman’s boss.  But the old, crusty men were impressed when they sent me to the truck that I not only could identify a wrench, but could read the markings on them and could find the 3/16 or whatever one they sent me for.

Also for the City of Brampton, I worked 2 or 3 years (summers -full time) in the parking lots.  You know those losers you pay the money to as you leave, well that was me!!!  I worked day shift 8-4 and an evening shift 3 -11.  But both city jobs were good money for little effort.  The hardest was the parking lot, being bored and doing the same thing over and over.  I found it very soul-sucking.  I tease and complain about my job now–but really I love it!!

I was part of the “Student Security” team at York University.  We would walk on patrol with our giant red plastic reflective coats.  We had to check in with base and write a little log of the buildings we went through.  It was late 6pm to 2 am.  But again, money.  Sometimes you got to be in one of the three “Escort Vans” .  Students could call the “escort service” –(get your mind out of the gutter) and you would be walked or driven to your res building or your car.  (Sometimes when it was slow–we took the vans “off road”~ but that was wrong  and we shouldn’t have done it –Sorry York.)  It was at this job that the “Chocolate Milk” rule was instated in my marriage.  (the rule is: NO Chocolate Milk after midnight)  Apparently, I was a little crazy when I’d get home at 2am after drinking Chocolate milk to try to stay awake.  Phillip and baby Jeremy were already asleep, but sometimes I’d want to talk or play.  No chocolate milk late at night anymore.

I also worked at the Disney Store at Yorkdale (which I was informed this week–no longer exists!!!)  I liked working retail– talking to people and putting out new merchandise.  Its just they pay horrible and you have to work nights and weekends.  Another blog could be stories from working at the Disney Store–I met some WEIRD people!!!

I have been a cashier at Price Chopper.  I come from a family tradition of being cashiers at grocery stores–both my mom and nan worked for years as a cashier. 

I was the Assistant manager of the “Northern Getaway” kids clothing store at the Pickering Town Centre for a few months.  I had keys!  Cool!

I have taught as a supply teacher for 2 months, then in Holy Family in Beaverton, St. James in Ajax, and finally Brother Andre in Ajax.  I really love teaching.  Its predictable in many ways, and “out of control” in others.  Kinda like me!!!

My summer, so far

Two weeks without a post–I know I am sorry.  I have already been put in my place by my #1 Fan. So to her, and to you all–I apologize.

What have I been doing???  I will tell you some highlights.  I have gone to a BlueJays game,  Note that this is #19 –the Shortstop–MarcoScutaro    Jeremy went to driving school and I helped Megan buy a new camera before her 3 week trip to Ireland.   On Canada Day we went to mom and dad’s–’cause its what we do.  Phillip and I took Nan to the hospital.  Phillip files his EI claim, we went to the Beaches for a day and had pie in this cut little cafe, cute until we realized that all the pies have a layer of almonds (phillip is allergic), but all was well.  We did gardening outside. Since EQAO marking was out by the airport, I stayed with mom and dad for almost a week.  Meals were cooked for me and we watched “SPACE”.  My aunt was featured in the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, so we went to Nathan Phillips Square to see her.  We wanted to steal two tiny Shi-tzu puppies in the stor, but we didn’t.  The next nan visit I was at, was the fastest EVER!!  Our lawn mower broke and the only place that will fix black and decker is in Toronto,  at this tiny, little repair shop like you’d see in the movies or in a Stephen King novel–so cool.  We visited the CN Tower with my cousin Gabe and his girlfriend Katie–both visiting from Florida.  I love my cousin of course, but Katie was great–and we share common interests like photographing  graffiti, and checking out the fixtures in all bathrooms.   Phillip and I spend hours talking to a NEW DISNEY CONVERT, a former co-worker who will be a current co-worker soon, just came back from a disney trip with her daughter and LOVED it.  She said to me “I get it, I know why you go back”.  Woo hoo, got another one.

That is all the photos to share (although there are more), and there have been many wonderful things not mentioned–dinners at the Tin Mill, and the Keg, visits with friends from St James, from high school, watching movies outside with best friends, baseball games in the park (just watching, not playing).  Visiting friends, adn seeing where they will be getting married (and where I am taking photos)

Now I have to get ready for a busy few days before our trip to Florida.  I promise to share more with you.