Tales of a Travelholic Teacher

2010-07-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Ready or Not

2010-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

4 Days to go until my due date and who knows when Baby Girl will arrive. Her room is completely finished (well other than putting her name on the wall...which will remain a secret for now). The Husband's last day of work is today and then he will be home for two glorious months.

Next Post: Baby Photos?

Oh Baby!

2010-04-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

My ongoing project of late is this room. How I love decorating with touches of pink! I bought some soft fuzzy fabric and turned it into a change pad cover...

a chair cover (this used to be covered with a bright, furry, red, elmo cover)... and also a little cupcake blanket (seen at the bottom of this post)

The Husband and I also painted this birdy canvas with acrylics.

Go Canada Go!

2010-02-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

Guess what?

2010-02-05T16:00:00.001-08:00

Home Stuff

2009-10-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

We have a long weekend for Canadian thanksgiving and The Husband and I decided to get some stuff done around the house instead of going away. When we purchased our townhouse this past summer our plan was to add pieces and accessories a little at a time, every month. This way we don't break the bank and we can really scour for what we want. Our first priority has been our dining and living area. Still so much I want to do but it's starting to take shape.

Oh, and here is the before.

Eiffel Tower Tonight

2009-08-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Paris By Night

2009-08-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

Paris Today

2009-08-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hanging around at the Tuilleries, next to the Louvre, watching kids sail boats.

Then, spent the afternoon wandering around the Marais district. Lots of great shops and eateries.

If you know who I'm married to, you'll know why I have this obligatory jumping photo

Food

2009-08-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a food day. During the day, we found three very popular patisseries that sell macaroons and decided to sample some at each. We tried Laduree, Dalloyau and Sadaharu Aoki. All amazing...but my two favorites were the matcha green tea ones at Sadaharu Aoki and the chocolate one from Dalloyau below.

Then we had dinner with Paul, Sophie and Helen at a French restuarant near Paul and Sophie's apartment in the city.

Travelholic Shoppaholic Strikes Back

2009-08-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

In Provins today (see last post for more details), we came across a little shop called "Objets de Decoration". Let me tell you, totally up my ally since we're only buying house stuff this trip. All the housewares were very frenchy and I would have loved to have pretty much anything in that shop for our place. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Being a photo lover and scrapbooker, I heart these raw wooden photo boxes. Unfortunately too bulky to bring home so I'm going to re-create them using blank boxes and my Cricut.

Pretty white porcelein plates

Gotta love anything decorative in white...

And this white candle-holder, I couldn't leave without...it's coming home with me!!!

After purchasing the candle holder and walking around the town, we returned back to the store a couple hours later to pick up a little tray that I also couldn't leave behind. Bad Jo!

Aujourd'hui En Noir et Blanc

2009-08-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today we headed one hour outside of Paris to a little, walled, medieval town - Provins. Beautiful countryside scenery and buildings from the 1100's. Provins has been well preserved and is one of UNESCO's world heritage sites.

Treasure Hunting in Paris

2009-08-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to a Paris flea market at Port de Clignancourt. We were hoping to find some vintage finds for our new home since it is the largest market in the world and is known for its antiques. We only covered a fraction of the market and will probably head back in a couple of days to scour for more treasures since I LOVED IT there. Good thing I have a fluent-in-french-husband who bargained on my behalf all morning. Today's vintage treasures included:

-the cutest little white, embroidered apron
-two large square pillow cases to go with the shaggy rug in the my living room
-black and white postcards of Paris from the early 1900's written in beautiful cursive(that I plan on framing)
-vintage colored postcards

Other things we saw today:

cute wooden bird cage

vintage suitcase with the ship tags still on...900 euros

vintage parisian soap labels that I might go back for to frame in my bathroom....loved the colors...

p.s. to all my crafty friends out there, I found the most awesome vintage label-like rubber stamp from the late 1800s that was used on stationary ... totally my kind of thing...but the vendor would not budge on the 30 euros because it's apparently rare and I just couldn't justify it : (

Home of Mickey Francais

2009-08-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Laduree

2009-08-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Laduree is a famous Parisian tea house (est. in the 1860's) with the most amazing pastries, especially macarons. When I'm craving Paris, I'm likely craving the desserts from here. I'm going to buy some of the ingredients while we're here and possibly learn from those who know how to make it and then attempt to create them at home. I'm thinking this will be my fall project.

Paris In Black and White

2009-08-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today = Eiffel Tower, Champs de Mars, Trocadero, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Laduree, Galeries Lafayette

...off to see French Mickey Mouse tomorrow

Paris Wanderings

2009-08-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Fireworks

2009-08-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

Fireworks Finale on Saturday night.
My first attempt at fireworks photography.

Travelholic Strikes Again

2009-08-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

On a major burst of spontaneity, The Husband and I are heading to Paris at the end of the month. Can I hear a Woot! Woot!

Ironically, we had been planning a 12 day road trip to California over the last couple of days. As we were finalizing up our road-trip plans/schedule we got a phone call from our friends in Paris. One thing led to another (including a set of cheap tickets) and we're off to visit them for 11 glorious days just before we head back to work.

I'm thinking this will be a fab opportunity for me to practice my photography (to put on the walls of my new place)...and the crepes...oh the crepes.

Before and After

2009-07-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone likes a good before and after right?

Closet Before

Now

Living room on our first couple nights:

Now

Only a couple frames have made it up on the wall so far.

Craft Space. No Before. Just happy that I somewhere to put my stuff.

Still have much to do with the decorating and accessorizing...but that's the fun part and I intend on taking my time scouring around for awesome finds.

Up to My Eyeballs in Boxes

2009-07-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

Since school ended a number of weeks ago, The Husband and I were busy first packing, then moving, then unpacking. We're still unpacking and setting in even though we've been living in our new place for over a week and have spent pretty much every waking moment working on our house.

My favorite parts so far have been building shelving in the garage, setting up my craft nook, and buying some new furniture. Photos to come.

Our New Townhome

2009-06-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

The Husband and I have had a crazy last week of school with our students because while trying to wrap up the school year, we were also frantically trying to purchase a house. I breathe a very happy sigh of relief now that:
1. I have said goodbye to the kids for the summer.
2. We got the townhouse! (It's official!!!)
3. Our Landlord that we currently rent from managed to find a new tenant only 12 hours after we gave him notice and they want to move in mid July (which means we get to move into our brand new place even before that!)

All the photos except the last one are of the unit we bought. I don't have any good living area photos, so here's the one of the showroom.

Shots From the Weekend

2009-05-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blogging break. I am working on cultivating other areas of life and trying to pull myself from my computer for the next little while. You all know how addictive and time consuming all this blogging can get!

Photography Class

2009-05-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

For our photography class field trip today, we headed downtown to shoot and practice some new techniques. A cool trick we were taught to take macro photos is to take your lens of the camera, turn it around and hand-hold the lens backwards on your camera to magnify the images. The first photo is taken regularly and the rest are my attempts at macro.

Tulips

2009-05-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous tulips all in bloom. I have been pestering The Husband over the last couple of weeks for a drive south of the border to take advantage of amazing photo-opps. I got my wish today.

Classmates

2009-04-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

Recently, a couple of us registered for a photography class at the local high school. Sitting in those wooden top desks connected to un-moveable metal seats, taking notes in a bland classroom while talking under your breath (while the teacher talks) takes me right back to high school. Fun times.

Sweet Saturday

2009-04-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Sweet Saturday: Iced Coffee, Kits Beach, Sun, Loooong Walk

Celebrating Earth Day

2009-04-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today, the kids made Earth Day cards. Many of their illustrations of what they believe the earth looks like were tres cute.

Here is the only drawing that came close to resembling the earth geographically

Inside their cards, they wrote messages to the Creator of it all

And this last one made me proud...written by sweet Lil Boy who has struggled so much with writing and reading. He did this pretty much on his own.

Life

2009-04-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

William Henry Channing

Creative Time

2009-04-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Husband is at the first playoff hockey game of the season and felt a little bad for leaving me at home. However, there is nothing better than quiet creative time at home.

Over the last couple of weeks, some of us at school have been working on a Circle Scrapbook Project. Each of us picked a theme, created some sort of mini book for it, decorated the cover page and then passed it off for the rest of the ladies to scrap in. The idea is that we pass the book around in a circle, each person getting it for one week, and when all is said and done all our unique crafting styles will be displayed.

I am loving being forced to be creative every week whether I feel like it or not.

Spring

2009-04-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Poop Scoop

2009-04-07T20:12:00.001-07:00

I'm currently teaching a unit on the body. Today's Science lesson was on the digestive system. I always brace myself for the comments and questions that come with teaching about digestion. After the children had half a minute to get their giggles out about the ensuing waste that comes with digesting food, we moved on to a "serious" discussion...

Mrs. Lai, why is our poop always brown?

Mrs. Lai, if the food we eat is all sorts of colors, why isn't our poop rainbow?

Mrs. Lai, how come when we pee sometimes its yellow and sometimes it's light yellow and other times it's white?

Oh...I love my job. And...I answered every last one of those questions.

Today

2009-04-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today the sun was shining...imagine that. (If you live in the Pacific Northwest, this is rare...truly rare) So, we took the dog for a walk. We drove downtown and walked English Bay, then we got back into the car, drove to other side of the bay, and walked Spanish Banks. So lovely.

After getting home, I began working on my latest scrapbooking project. (Ange of the North, here is your sneak preview)

Back Home

2009-03-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

Reasons Why New York City is Fantabulous:
(I'm reminiscing now that I'm home and just finished organizing all our photos.)

1. Central Park. You have to see it for yourself. We walked, rode the carousel, people watched...

2. Broadway Shows. We watched three shows (yup, broke the bank on this one): Mary Poppins, Shrek, and the Lion King. The sets are amazing!
3. The MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Totally fantastic museum that left the creative part of me uber inspired.

4. Food. Everywhere you wander, there are deli's, restaurants, cafes, etc. I especially loved the cupcakes (the ones made famous by Sex and the City & The Apprentice).

5. Energy...there's a vibrant energy about the city.

6. MOMA (Musuem of Modern Art). Loved the art here! Have seen Monet's before but the large, three-panelled canvas here of his water-lily garden in Giverny was downright amazing.

7. Brooklyn Tabernacle. We woke up early and took the subway to attend church here this past Sunday. Yes, the choir was fantastic but more than that, you could really feel God's hand on this church.

8. Dinosaur bones at the American Musuem of Natural History. It's incredible to imagine these monstrosities roaming the earth.

9. The Strand Bookstore, which sells new and vintage books. I found a vintage, 1977 Fodor's Italy Travel Guide for $1 which I'm enjoying skimming through.

10. FAO Schwartz. I'm sad they closed the one in Seattle. I was especially intrigued by the muppet workshop. For $130, you too can design a muppet a la Jim Henson.

The Met

2009-03-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

What's not to love about Matisse, Monet, Manet, Degas, Cezanne, O'Keefe, Seurat and the rest of the modern artists? I was in heaven in the modern art section! Can't wait to go to the MOMA. Got lots of new ideas yesterday for art lessons this coming term. Cannot wait to show the kids the photos and tell them all about it. The teacher in me went to the MET Kids store and bought a bunch of children's art books. Couldn't help it.

Empire State Building

2009-03-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went up the Empire State Building. The views were incredible. The wind was freezing though! We purchased a City Pass which allows you to go to 6 of the top attractions and bypass the lines. Awesome. Saved 30 minutes. We also got the audio tour(part of the pass) which is so worthwhile. Always get the audio tour at these types of attractions. Everything makes so much more sense.

Also, we found the best pizza at Grand Central Station. Buffalo Wings pizza. Pieces of chicken on the pizza. Sounds crazy but delicious!

Central Park

2009-03-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

New York New York

2009-03-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

We've been in New York for 3 days now. We've seen Times Square, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, explored Central Park, headed up the Empire State Building, window-shopped 5th Avenue, toured the Met, bought tickets to a Broadway show, and eaten NY bagels and cheesecake.

We were only supposed to spend 6 days here and then head to Boston but we love it here so we've decided to spend all 10 days here.

2 More Days 'til Spring Break!

2009-03-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

I cannot wait. Just can't wait for the bell to ring on Friday afternoon and to stand at my classroom door and say, "Bye Lil SoandSo, have a good Spring Break" (all while thinking in my head, if you could all just move a little faster I can start doing my teacher-jump-for-joy-school-is-out dance).

Let me tell ya, school breaks are scheduled every 3-4 months for a reason. This entire week, my body and brain just feel worn out. It's physically difficult to teach. And...[gasp] I don't even feel like doing anything crafty when I get home.

Starting Saturday, I cannot wait to...

1. Sleep late and sleep in

2. Catch up on creative time

3. Pack for New York

4. Take Leila on walks in the middle of the day

5. Veg out

6. Read (I have some books just waiting to be opened)

7. Begin my PRETTY BOOK (a sketchbook that I want to fill with magazine clippings, postcards, paper, pictures, fabric, photos, ads, colors...really anything that is inspiring and pretty). Will post photos if I get this started.

8. Do my taxes and get money back (I'm only looking forward to the tax refund part)

9. Go thrift store hunting

What are you looking forward to in the coming weeks?

Weekend Adventures

2009-03-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Overnight in Seattle this past weekend. After all these weekend trips to Seattle, we finally made it to the Experience the Music Project. They had the coolest guitar sculpture made of 700 instruments.

The countdown to Spring Break is on: 4 more days!

Today...

2009-03-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

A sweet little girl drew this picture of me:

At first, I laughed when I saw it because she depicted me all in black. Then I thought about it...and it's true...every morning when I wake up, I typically rummage through my little, white, wooden, Ikea wardrobe for at least one piece of black clothing. I heart the color black. It's slimming, never shows dirt, is great for travel and matches with EVERYTHING. But then I got to thinking and the only other teacher I know who is always clothed in black is HER.

Another stand-out-in-my-mind moment today was this poem/letter to God written by a lil boy in my class.

I love it.

Live Specimens

2009-03-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

There's something about having live specimens in the classroom that intrigues the kids unlike any teaching technique. Here they are being today's Salmon Scientists. Everyday during silent reading two kids park themselves on chairs in front of the salmon tank for a good 20 minutes just watching and recording what they see. Our little salmon eggs have been hatching into baby salmon, called alevin, the last couple days and their excitement is contagious.

10 Reasons I'm Waiting for Spring

2009-03-03T22:15:00.000-08:00

1. Longer days and more daylight make this girl happy

2. Spring Break = Trip to New York!

3. Being able to take Leila on more walks

4. Spring Flowers = opportunities for photo taking

5. Possibility of drier weather and beach walks

6. The arrival of spring means summer is on its way (There is nothing better than the summer for teachers)

7. Long weekends to look forward to (Us Canadians have no long weekends/stat holidays from December to April)

8. Birth of my BFF's baby

9. Not having to wear boots, heavy sweaters, and boring winter clothes

10. I love the final term of the school year because by that time the kids know my routines so well and they're so much more capable of working independently

Another Classroom Tale

2009-02-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

Today we were brainstorming our favorite places for a poem we were going to write. Unsurprisingly, one of the kids suggested Disneyland and all the other children jumped onto the mousified bandwagon. It seemed liked every last one of them had been there sometime in their short 7 year existence. Out of pure curiousity, I asked them to put up their hand if they really had visited Disneyland. All but two put up their hands and the two little girls who had never been before started to look slightly sad and left out. Trying to make them feel better...

Me: Don't worry. I was 12 when I first got to visit Disneyland. It's not really the happiest place on earth. There are lots of screaming kids.

Lil Boy in My Class: YEAH! And it's NOT the place where dreams come true! When I went there, I wished for a Nintendo DS and I never got it!

So young. Already jaded.

Potted Plants and Praise

2009-02-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

This lovely, potted hyacinth ended up on my desk this week. There is a little boy in my class who like many others often rushes through his work, the result being sloppy sentences and messy pictures. Over this past week, I noticed that he had been completing his work more neatly. I made a point of oohing and ahhing over his finished work every time he brought it up to me, exclaiming in my best primary teacher's voice, "I am SO proud of you for doing your best this week. You are on a roll! What a good job you've been doing!" Well, one morning this past week, he came into the classroom holding this potted hyacinth. His mom later let me know that on a trip to the grocery store, he asked if he could choose some flowers for me. As he handed it to me, in true little boy fashion, not getting sentimental at all, he warned, "Mrs. Lai, the flowers stink." It actually is really fragrant and I love it. It makes this job so worth it.

Friday Field Trip

2009-02-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

Our Field Trip destination for the day:

The kids got to hold a live salmon egg from the incubator. You can see the two eyes and when held up to the light, the embryo could be seen too.

Intently watching as Salmon Man fed the smolts in the holding pools and the fish were jumping out of the water. The kids kept exclaiming over and over again, "Awesome!" No other adjective. Just that one.

Into the forest...

for a little hike to the dam.

View of the resevoir where our water comes from...upstream of the dam.
Standing on the dam itself and looking downstream

So Much Fun! I actually really do enjoy field trips.

VALENTINE's Day @ School

2009-02-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

Personally, The Husband and I are not big Valentine's Day revelers and have never made a big deal out of this holiday. However, in the classroom, I love making V-Day crafts with the kids and focusing on showing love and kindness to one another.

The festivities started by putting together and painting mailbags for holding Valentine's cards,

creating decorations,

and hanging our mailbags on the back of our chairs yesterday.

Then we spent some time walking around the room with pencils in hand and stopping at each person's desk to write a short message aimed to encourage and put a smile on a friend's face.

Afterwards, we decorated cupcakes (thanks to SuperVolunteer Mom in my class),

brought out the special treats and cards we had made for each other,

And delivered them to each person's mailbag.

Finally, while enjoying the cupcakes of our labour, we dug into our mailbags and quietly read all the little cards and messages we received. I spent some time watching one particular girl intently reading the pink sheet of messages her friends had left her, a smile widening as she made her way down the page.

Love to All!

25 Random Facts About Me

2009-02-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

1. I was born in Singapore.

2. At 16, I actually failed my driver’s road test but sweet talked the tester into passing me anyways (she actually told me not to tell anyone) and I got my license that day.

3. I started dating my husband when I was 19 and we dated for almost 5 years before getting married.

4. One of my students told me I’m scary when I am reprimanding certain children in the class. I think a little fear of authority has never hurt anyone.

5. I secretly thought I could become the next Kristi Yamaguchi in my pre-teens, having never taken a single skating lesson.

6. I truly love my job as a teacher but my secret (or not-so-secret) side-career ambition would be to get paid for scrapbooking and making crafts.

7. When I was 4, I was the proud owner of 2 lovebirds. My mom sprayed them with insecticide accidentally and my dad had to buy me 2 more. The same thing happened again a few days later and my Dad refused to buy me anymore.

8. In university I would look at my friends who blew all their money travelling with disdain, thinking they were wasting all their money. I now know how wrong I was and I have become them.

9. If I did not become a teacher, I would have enjoyed being a graphic designer, interior designer or wedding photographer.

10. I look forward to buying a townhouse in the next year purely so I can make myself the ultimate craft/sewing/scrapbook studio.

11. The Husband and I made a pact when we got married, that we would go away every school break and long weekend that we had, and have kept to that pretty well.

12. I wanted to marry someone who was a teacher (for summers off together), a PK (pastor’s kid who would understand where I was coming from), and musical (who could sing me down the aisle). That all became my reality. Weird huh?!

13. I am a compulsive cleaner who must have everything tidy and clean. The first thing I do when I get home is put everything in its right place.

14. I had never been a dog lover and was secretly scared of dogs until we bought our puppy Leila. (I’m still afraid of big dogs)

15. I’m a teacher at the school I grew up in, teaching with some of my former teachers and in the same classroom where I spent many hours as a student. I have many déjà vu moments while at work.

16. I love my life and am terrified that something horrible will happen to shake it all up

17. I get asked all the time when I will have a child. I’m so tired of answering, "I still want to travel and sleep".

18. I dislike eating fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Give me carbs and meat.

19. I got engaged in Paris

20. In high school I was a high jumper and could jump my own height minus 3 inches.

21. This past summer (thanks to my cousin) I got to pose as a travel writer and was comped extraordinary hotel rooms, spa treatments and food.

22. I have put on at least 5 pounds in the last 3 years since I was married.

23. I am a Chinese who does not speak Chinese. I speak only English to my Chinese grandparents.

24. I still sleep with a special blanket that I’ve had for a long time and miss it when we go away. Every so often, my husband threatens to throw it off the balcony.

25. I love paper and pens, and have a huge collection of both. The first time I travelled to Japan, my main goal was to buy awesome pens.

Today's Tale from the Classroom

2009-02-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

My writing lesson today included a review of nouns, verbs and adjectives. Students have been working on publishing a book of poetry. Our poem today involved choosing a topic and listing nouns, verbs and adjectives about that specific topic.

My little darlings were writing silently and I was feeling quite proud of what we had accomplished..

Little Boy: Mrs. Lai, did you know that Rosie is writing a poem about her Mom?

Me: Oh, Okay.

Little Boy: Mrs. Lai, did you know that Rosie wrote bra as her noun?

Me: What did you say?

Little Boy: [huge grin] She's using bra as her noun.

Me: Rosie..???

Rosie: [annoyed] Well, she does wear one!

Their parents are going to loooove the final products.

Another Photoshop Layout

2009-02-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

Spent another couple hours learning photoshop this evening. My latest learned accomplishment - stamping those flourishes on the side of the page one at a time. Going to work on a blog header next.

Playing with Photoshop

2009-02-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

In an effort to further cultivate creativity, I installed Photoshop Elements 7 today, watched a number of tutorial videos here, downloaded some digital elements, and designed my first layout. I have a feeling this is the beginning of yet another creative hobby.

Sweet Saturday

2009-01-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

This sweet Saturday involved the sun, blue skies, a drive to the beach, weekend cuppa joe, photo-taking, and sunglasses.

Happy Weekend!

All Day Field Trip Makes Teacher Tres Tired

2009-01-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

We have been studying salmon and today headed to the Vancouver Aquarium to learn more in a special salmon program they offer plus view all the other exhibits. Fantastically fun but totally tiring!

Playing Who Wants to Be a Salmon Millionaire

Studying salmon pictures

Baby Beluga

Jellyfish

Today in Pictures

2009-01-21T23:06:00.000-08:00

Today in Words

2009-01-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

7:30 Woke up
8:10 Left apartment for work
8:20 Arrived at school (5 minutes late...oops)
8:45 Let children inside classroom
Teach
TEach
TEAch
TEACh
TEACH
3:00 Said goodbye to rugrats
3:05 Chatted with a parent about her child for 25 minutes
3:30 Staff meeting
5:00 Left school
5:25 Made hot and sour soup for dinner
6:00 Ate in front of TV watching inauguration highlights
7:30 Baked scones for breakfast tomorrow
8:00 Watched delusional people on American Idol
9:00 Off to Scrapbook NOW!

I'm feeling productive today.

That was today in words...Tomorrow in PICTURES.

New Blogging Buddy

2009-01-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

Any creative inclinations I have are all completely inherited from my D.A.D and he can now be found here.

Grateful

2009-01-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

There were so many things to be grateful for this past weekend:

1. Sunshine... after so many days of fog, I almost forgot what clear blue skies looks like

2. Health Insurance...a trip to the dentist on Saturday produced a $860 bill, of which I only had to pay $36.

3. A hobby which I love and hours of creative time on Saturday to be productive (since The Husband is currently taking a course and had to spend time writing his paper)

4. Eating out on Saturday night for the first time in two weeks and more importantly, the motivation to cook dinner for that long.

5. Enjoying the first arrival of a subscription to my fave magazine that I received for Christmas.

Perfectly Pink

2009-01-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

One Word

2009-01-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

A la Ali Edwards, I have chosen a word for 2009. My word is CULTIVATE. There are many areas that I would love to cultivate...health, fitness, creativity, relationships(with God, DH, family, friends) and domesticity.

Interestingly enough, the sermon this past Sunday was on living a more purposeful and meaningful life, empowered by God. The three main points of the sermon was that in order for this to happen, PLANNING, PREPARING and PLANTING(sowing) seeds are necessary for growth. I thought it all connected well to my word for the year, especially with the whole agriculture theme.

I talked to my students about how I had chosen a special word for the year and they were eager to do the same, so I whipped up a special sheet on the computer and off they went.

One student chose the word PREPARE saying, "This will remind me that God has everything prepared for me".

A usually completely clued out little boy chose the word KINDNESS and told me, "I chose this word because it's one of the fruits of the spirit".

Another lil guy decided on PEACEFUL. I asked what he meant by that word and he answered, "I'll try not to fight with my brother so much and I want be more quiet."

I was impressed with what a bunch of 7 year olds came up with: JOY, PATIENCE, LOVE, CARE, OBEY, CONTROL, and FOCUS ....just to name the ones I can remember.

What WORD would you choose?

Random San Fran Shots

2009-01-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

San Fran's Notre Dame

2009-01-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

Alcatraz

2009-01-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

Alcatraz turned out to be quite a fascinating tour...although just a bit creepy. The whole concept of a maximum security prison on an island in plain sight of a bustling city must have driven the many infamous prisoners crazy.

Approaching The ROCK

Prison water tower overlooking awesome view of the Bay

View from recreation yard

Three levels of cells

Rogue Inmate

View of San Fran skyline from island

Golden Gate Bridge

2008-12-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge and walked partway across with the scores of other camera toting tourists. We are loving San Fran and have another two days here before heading home. Today we headed to Alcatraz and took a jillion photos which I hope to sort through and put up tomorrow. Another very interesting place!

San Fran Chinatown

2008-12-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

Guess Where We Are?

2008-12-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

December Snapshots

2008-12-23T16:38:00.000-08:00

Last Two Weeks: SNOW, Cookies & Crafts, Christmas Parties, Family

Playing Hooky

2008-12-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

Conversations I had with two lil boys as soon as they entered the classroom this morning.

Lil Jonny: Mrs. Lai, here's a note from my Mom. She's coming to pick me up at lunch.

Me: [slightly alarmed] Oh, is everything alright? Do you have a doctor's appointment?

Lil Jonny: [excited] No, we're going to buy our Christmas Tree.

Me: [incredulous] You're going to buy a Christmas Tree?!?

2 fine minutes later

Lil Marky: Mrs. Lai, remember... I have to leave at 2:30 today.

Me: Oh right. Do YOU have a doctor's appointment?

Lil Marky: Oh No...I have to get my hair cut.

Imagine the ensuing gossip and complaining by parents if I announced that I had to leave class early to buy my Christmas tree and get my haircut! That latter of which I really do need.

FELT Like Sewing

2008-12-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

While The Husband naps on the couch, I've been in a felt frenzy, creating silly little pouches, purses and pockets.

From scraps of felt...

to a button adorned case for our new GPS (I love buttons and I love our new GPS which I have affectionately named Kelly...she just sounds like a Kelly.)...

a coin purse to keep in the glove compartment of our car for parking money (especially when we head downtown)...

a sunglasses pouch...

a set of homemade ornaments for my tree

...and same flower...another little pouch to put in a small treat and give away this Christmas.

I HEART felt.

Domesticity

2008-12-05T23:37:00.000-08:00

Once in a blue moon, I get the overwhelming urge to bake. Since these spurts of domesticity are far and few between, thought it best to document these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies here. After all, it is that season.

CHRISTmas or christmas

2008-12-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

Have been doing lots of thinking about Christmas as we begun our advent celebrations this past Sunday. Love the premise of this clip! It's so easy to get caught up...especially for a shopper like me. This shall be my challenge this Advent season. How 'bout you?

Saturday Night Lights Seattle

2008-12-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

Shopping in Seattle on Thanksgiving (US) weekend.

Went to my new fave store Anthropologie
and found the cutest duvet cover on sale.

Report Cards

2008-11-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

Three times a year, we teachers hunker down, furiously marking and assessing to have something worthwhile to tell parents about how well (or not so well) their lovely cherubs are fairing at school. The comment section of the report cards are the most time consuming, where for each child I average about 300 words...a small essay. It's amazing how many ways a teacher can disguise negative behaviours into a more positive comment. The language is just rolling of my tongue this week...

For aggressive fighter child: Name has been working on displaying increasing amounts of self control when interacting with peers and solving problems with words only.

For child who is always centre of attention: Name is learning to listen more actively and respectfully when others are speaking. He is learning to raise his hand when he has something to share.

For child who is completely clueless: Name is encouraged to be more aware of the world around her and to increase her general knowledge.

Sometimes what I really want to say is...

Name is an active child who just cannot keep his fingers out of his nose. He is unable to sit still for even a minute and I am not sure that he is physically able to raise his hand when he would like to speak. He cannot read to save his dear life and his penmanship is absolutely atrocious. What is the point of lined paper I ask?

On that note...back to my reports. Thanks for the vent.

Operation Shoebox

2008-11-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

Over the past two weeks, we (my students and I) planned, purchased and packed Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to send to children in less fortunate countries. It's always awesome to see how much the kids get into it and many used their own allowance, birthday money or did chores around the house to earn some change.

One group of girls brought seeds (for the children to grow their own food) and a water bottle, so they can water the seeds.

Toys, treats, and trinkets were packed and re-packed into their boxes.

Cutting the appropriate labels for our boxes. Gift for a GIRL or BOY?

Field Trip Day

2008-11-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

Took the kids to gymnastics today and got to take loads of photos of them...

walking the line,

balancing and...

bouncing.

My biggest complaint/nightmare of the trip: these BOOSTER SEATS!
[Which each child needed in order to ride in a car and had to be collected this morning as their parents dropped them off]

Saturday in Seattle to Scrapbook and See Starfield

2008-11-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning, The Husband and I threw out the idea of heading to Seattle that afternoon as we knew that there was a scrapbook convention (yes, I am a craft geek.. you should have seen the look the border/customs officer gave us) and Christian Musicians Summit (for him) happening this weekend.

The Husband, Pricelined a Bellevue hotel on a whim (unbeknownst to me) and we ended up at the swanky Hyatt Regency for $77 that evening!!!

I spent my afternoon taking scrappy classes and wandering through the many displays and booths selling all things crafty. A craft-geek's dream come true!

Selecting mini chipboard albums to create as Christmas gifts. (For you crafty people, these 7Gypsies supplies were $1-$2.)

After my crafty afternoon, we headed to see Starfield and a number of amazing worship composers/leaders perform. By the time we started making the 2.5 hour return trip home, it was well past midnight. But, oh so worth it!

Thankful Thursday

2008-11-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling especially thankful today.

I'm grateful for...

1. The one of a kind appearance made by the usually elusive sun.

2. Especially cooperative and easy to love students all week.

3. The opportunity to plan and fill some Operation Christmas Child boxes with my Grade Two's.

4. The Husband - who willingly takes an equal share of the cooking and cleaning.

5. Receiving good news from good friends - Congrats BFF and DH on the impending arrival! I'm so excited!!!

FaLaLaLaLaLaLaLaLaaa

2008-11-11T00:50:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. I couldn't wait! Guess what went up today?

Lest We Forget

2008-11-10T23:58:00.000-08:00

Today at school we honoured the many men and women who died fighting for freedom and peace. We read, discussed, wrote and drew about what peace means and how we can each make the world more peaceful. At one point today, I asked the kids what they thought peace meant.

Their answers:

"Peace is..."
-calm and quiet
-relaxing
-freedom
-no wars
-no fighting
-taking care of one another
-the little, round, green vegetable
...I kid you not!

"Why Won't It Float?"

2008-11-05T23:32:00.000-08:00

Buoyancy Lesson = Boat Building

Each child got a big blob of plasticine and had to shape it in such a way that allowed it to float.

Hard at work prodding, poking and patching up holes.

Testing out creations in a tub of water...

Best part: Sweet but Naive Lil girl who ignores my constant hints and warnings, and spends the entire time flattening out a pink piece of the squishy stuff and making cute lil flowers all over it...She finally puts her flat as a pancake but exceptionally pretty "boat" into the water and is floored that her creation sinks like a stone.

Small Town Saturday

2008-11-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

Small Town Wanderings + Mexican Food + Stumbling onto Farmer's Market = Sweet Saturday

Happy Friday!

2008-10-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

The weekend is here and I'm eagerly awaiting:

1. Sleeping in
2. Spending some time photo-taking
3. No whines, complaints, and tattling by 7 year olds
4. Using our newly acquired Nexus passes to bypass the border line-up and visit my fave scrapbook store and Target
5. Starting on all those handmade Christmas gifts I intend to make
6. Setting up my Christmas tree
I love Christmas and Halloween is officially over...so when is it too early to set up the tree?

Ooooh for Oobleck

2008-10-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate in Messy Science Experiment:

1 Part Water
2 Parts Corn Starch
Green Food Colouring

'
Mix and Stir

Poke

Scoop

Play

Ask: "Is it a solid or a liquid?"

Then...spend the next week finding and cleaning never ending traces of corn starch all over classroom.

Autumn In and Out of the Classroom

2008-10-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Tree Hugging

Leaf Mosaic Artwork

Leaf Art of a more natural sort...created by my lil girls

Craft Day

2008-10-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Treats + Paper + Glue + Photos + Girl Talk = Sweet Saturday!

Ma Chanteuse Favorite...

2008-10-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

... est Celine Dion!

Unexpected tickets to see Celine live in concert tonight.
She is just downright fabulous.
Loved the many costume changes and the high tech, ever changing stage.
Had the absolute best time singing to her famous ballads from circa late 1990's.

Sweet suite seats with The Family

Unexpected Treasure

2008-10-20T20:35:00.001-07:00

There is something about cutting and pasting that is therapeutic.
Friday ART Class: Collage making...all is calm....music playing in the background.

Clean Up Time: Never calm...just pure chaos...scraps everywhere.

Found this purple scrap on my desk...tried hard to suppress the yell that was rising out of me... "Who put this here?!?"

As I walked to the trash can, it unfolded this message:

...deer misis lay yoo ar u g techr

Translation: Dear Mrs. Lai, you are a good teacher.

If Only The Husband and I Had Their Domesticality...

2008-10-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

They prepare food feverishly,
(hospitality gracing their table as they serve meal after meal)

Clean and cook with delight,

And get this...
fight over who will do the ironing.

Ah...to be eight again!

Portland

2008-10-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

Weekend Getaway= Rest + Shop + Photo-taking

For shopping, there is no better place than tax-free Oregon.
This weekend in between our shopaholic tendencies, we walked around with the dog and just snapped away.

Happy Tuesday!

Seattle Afternoon

2008-10-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

The blogging has been far and few between this past week for a number of reasons:
1. Late nights out - hockey game and concert
2. The annual Teacher's Conference
3. Weekend getaway to our fave cities... Seattle and Portland

Snapshots of Pike Place Market
by Me and The Husband
I heart this place...

Snapshots from The Classroom

2008-10-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

School has been in session for just a little over a month.
A peek into the classroom.

Screaming Science

2008-10-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Remember the good ole baking soda and vinegar experiments?
Well, that's just what we did today. Two experiments to be exact.
1. The Classic Volcano Eruption
and my favorite...
2.Baking Soda Balloon

You fill a balloon with baking soda, attached it to the top of a vinegar filled bottle, pour the baking soda into the bottle and voila...the balloon inflates on its own.

The kids literally screamed and shrieked when the balloon started to get bigger and were holding onto the bottles so tightly as if it were going to rocket off their desks.

Who said Science has to be boring?

Lil Pyro

2008-10-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today the sun was shining brightly and for Science we were using magnifying glasses to examine tiny solids.

Me: Yes, Lil Boy.

Lil Boy: [excitedly] Mrs. Lai, I have an idea.

Me: Oh Ok... What's you're idea?

Lil Boy: When we're done with Science can we go outside to b----- [mumbling] stuff?

Me: What did you say?

Lil Boy: [comes closer and slightly louder] When we're done, can we go outside to B-r-n stuff?

Me: [totally ignorant] to bring stuff? what stuff?

Lil Boy: No....to BURN stuff.

Me: OOHHH. No. Go sit down.

Seriously...

Concoctions

2008-09-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Science experiment of the day:
Step 1: Mix three types of liquids together (corn syrup, cooking oil and colored water)
Step 2: Drop in various objects such as a pin, grape, rock and scrap of paper

Step 3: Record what you observe

Ramblings of a future mad scientist?

Sweet Saturday

2008-09-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

Quiet farm roads
Camera ready to go
Most cooperative driver
Sunshine

= SWEET SATURDAY

Oh, What a Day!

2008-09-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

One word to sum up my day at school.
DRAMA

- Lil boys grumbling about one another.
Typical complaint: Mrs. Lai, ____ (fill in the blank with any name popular 7 years ago...Ben, Ethan, Alex) said he doesn't like me.

-Clever but impulsive lil boy tackles and holds his friend down face first, by the neck, into the dirt. Weary teacher must come up with appropriate and serious consequence plus contact Lil boy's parents.

-Screaming from the boys bathroom. Find kindergarten child in hysterics wanting to go home.

To make up for a crazy day:

My evening = smelly candles, easy reads found at the thrift store tonight for a couple dollars, and fave magazines...
a restful weekend to all...

Lil Evangelist

2008-09-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to the love/hate t-charts brainstormed two days ago, my kids each picked a topic to write on today.

This sweet girl chose to write about God. I tell ya... writing on subjects we are passionate about (no matter how young we are) makes for a more interesting read.

It reads:

The God story. We love God. God did a lot of miracles. He made all the things like Leila and dogs and fish and people. Good people should read the Holy Bible!

Shoppaholic Teacher

2008-09-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

Having just finished shopping at an online teacher store, I thought I'd share some of my funky finds.

These spacemen are for children to use between words when introducing finger spacing. Love it!

Martian reading fingers for tracking.

Arm yourself with band-aids, stickers, and kleenex.

This is my favorite. It would be the answer to this problem and could probably end the Boy Who Cried Wolf symptoms.
The ad reads like this:
Turn Invisible Physical Complaints Into Learning Opportunities With This Clever Pouch Of Writing Supplies.
When students come to you with one of those minor, but common, physical issues, hand them the Ouch Pouch and let them write about their injuries.

Can you guess which one I bought?

Looking to purchase any of these items? Go here.

Brainstorming

2008-09-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

Good writing begins with good ideas and good ideas are inspired by things we feel passionate about. That was the theme of today's brainstorm. We made a t-chart of things we love and hate (dislike was a more appropriate term for lil minds).

I just now noticed the three circled words... funny.

I can't wait to read the stories that are inspired by these lists... You know, the one about the sinful pink Barbie who ate eggs and Pooh Bear.

Red + Blue = ?

2008-09-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

I adore teaching and I especially adore teaching ART. As messy as it can be, the creativity of the kids and final products are always worth it. Today was no different. I wanted them to explore the world of primary and secondary colours so I gave them cups of blue, red and yellow water to play with. A 5 minute activity evolved into 50 minutes of pure delight and discovery as they...

experimented, dropped...

mixed...

recorded... and yelped with delight with every color concocted,
"Mrs. Lai, look I made ______ (fill in blank with any random color)!"

and in the end...like it always inevitably does...it becomes brown.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

2008-09-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

One night, two weeks ago when I didn't have much to do, on a whim I submitted an appication to Delightful Blogs for this lil ole blog to be listed in their directory. I don't even remember finishing my application but today they emailed me telling me:

We're pleased to report that after spending
time checking out
***Tales of A Travelholic Teacher***
it's now live in the directory.

I've been listed in the Personal Journals
section.

Whoopee...Does that make me more legit now?

So, go on people, rate and vote for me here.

( I went on to check the voting system earlier and accidentally voted...giving myself a 1/10. NICE!)