Snowflakes

Memoir Monday- No buses day

2008-12-15T23:04:00.002-06:00

Today it was -31 degrees Celsius and with the wind it felt like -41 degrees Celsius. That means the buses to schools don't run, and that is every kids dream during the winder months of school. The bus kids got a movie day at home and for the town kids that came to school to meant a fun gym and computer day.

Growing up I was a town kid- I lived across the street from the school so my mom always make me walk the 50 steps to school even if the buses weren't running and there were only 30 kids in the whole school.

There was one winter when I was in high school that was exceptionally warm for Saskatchewan. In the -30's but no windchill so the buses were still going. Some students were willing to do anything for a no school day because the buses were not running. So one day a few buses didn't run because someone had unplugged them so they wouldn't start. The rest of the week random buses didn't run because they were mysteriously unplugged. (I had nothing to do with the unplugging--just the story I heard in the gossip train).

Unfortunatly this did not result in a full blown no bus day when there was almost no one in school but it did mess up a lot of class schedules because a lot of students were missing.

As a teacher now I not sure how I feel about the snow days----yes it was fun to just hang out, make crafts and play in the gym today but now the whole week is bumped back another day and the weather does not look like its going to be any warmer tomorrow.....please buses run please!!!

Slice of Life Tuesdays

2008-12-09T14:58:00.002-06:00

It's finally looking like winter, the world outside my window is white.

Unfortunately the snow cannot be left untouched on the sidewalks and it is your job as a homeowner to shovel your sidewalk within 48 hours of snow or you can get fined.

Today it was beautiful out and I decided I would be a good neighbor and I shoveled all the houses on my part of the street. I shoveled mine and 4 other houses. It felt really good to help out my neighbors in this busy time of year! I know my arms are going to be feeling the pain of shoveling tomorrow.

Memoir Monday

2008-12-07T21:02:00.004-06:00

Winter Memories

The past few winters have been cold but there has not been much snow. When I was younger I remember walls and mountains of snow. Some mornings the snow would be drifted up our front door so high I wondered if we were ever going to get out of our house.

In school we would create these HUGE snow forts and houses. The one game I remember that we would play was "star trek". We made this space ship that had a bunch of different rooms and we even had one of those "beam" machines. If the teachers would have let us we would have stayed out and played in the snow all day.

I can't remember why but the one year they piled all the snow from the streets behind the school and they created this huge hill that went the whole length of the football field. It was the perfect hill for a snowball fight war. Of course it was frowned upon to throw snowballs---for good reason, they really hurt. But one day when the snow was not so icy Mr. Proznick joined in our snowball fight.

I have always wanted to write a story about there being a snowstorm at school and everyone gets trapped in the school for a weekend and what chaos would happen!! Maybe I'll still write it.

I grew up in a house with a flat roof which is very unpractical for the winter. The snow would pile and pile and get very heavy and sometimes it would cause our ceiling to dip and leak, so every winter a couple times a year we have to climb on the roof of the house and shovel the snow off of it. A couple winters ago my mom, my brother and I were on the roof shoveling snow and instead of using the ladder Adam and I jumped off the roof into our front lawn of fluff. We sunk right to the grass but it was awesome.

The snow lightly falls tonight and I think about all the good memories of snow and I can't wait to make more!!

Scrap Your Day- November

2008-12-02T16:18:00.004-06:00

A lazy Tuesday- slept in hung out at home sorting photos, shopping and finally getting a suit for my ring bearer. Curling game which we lost really bad but always have fun!!

JYC- December 2

2008-12-02T16:06:00.003-06:00

Winter is my favorite eason and I am obsessed with snowflakes. I love how the snow transfroms the brown dead ground into a magical fairytale world.

I love how silently it falls and it srunches as you walk on it. I love playing in the snow and just dancing as the snow fallas down on me.

It has been unually warm and so far we have had just a bit of snow. I'm praying it comes soon.

Snow gives me hope and makes me smile.

JYC- December 1

2008-12-01T15:47:00.002-06:00

Starting today, December 1st, I will keep a Christmas Journal. In it I will write something everyday to reflect on the holidays of the past, enjoy the holidays of the present and dream about the holidays of the future.

I am taking back my Christmas and making something with me own hands, my own words, my own heart and my own memories.

Journal Your Christmas

2008-11-26T07:38:00.004-06:00

My favorite time of year is just around the corner---Christmas! Every year I have great intentions of capturing and remembering the year in photos to scrapbook, but sadly I end up with a few or no pictures and no documentation. So this year I decided to take Shimelle Journal Your Christmas class (Check it out here http://www.shimelle.com/classes/389/journal-your-christmas. )

This year Christmas is going to be extra busy with the final details of the wedding coming into place so I thought it would be important to

really try and focus on the season of Christmas!

Today I hope to get my album put together and ready for December 1st!

Old Brick School

2008-11-19T15:34:00.001-06:00

The view out the front window of my house in my hometown changed today. For 22 years I looked out the front window and saw this old brick building with an orange door. A large crooked tree stood proudly to the left, its branches reaching way up high and then down to the ground.

My dad went to school there when he was a young boy--it was a one room school house at that time. I went to pre-school there with my friends- some of which I graduated with 14 years later. I took my piano lessons in the basement. My mom took us there to get our shots when we were just babies. I browsed for books in the Wheatland Library that once was in the back room. It held many bridal and baby showers in the seniors room. I also climbed that tree and sat on top of the old brick school many afternoons. It is a part of me, the town. It is a piece of history, today it is gone.

The building was used as the town office it the last years. The seniors were moved out to the restaurant on Main street, piano moved to the school then the new rink complex, the library is now in a much bigger room in the complex and eventually the town office found a new home as well. The building was old, hard to heat in the winter with the old boilers. Its doors were closed for many years now. Condemned---the basement was flooded and the building needed too much work to keep. It was unsafe to have in the elementary school playground, so it was decided that it would be knocked down.

Like anything in the small town things take time to get accomplished. The demo was supposed to happen this past summer but delays occurred and finally here in November the demo started. Today I was not subbing and went out to Aberdeen to do some more wedding stuff with my mom and in front of my house I watched as the walls and the bricks were tore down. It brought a tear to my eye and a sad feeling in my heart. I wish the building could have been saved and developed into a museum or something. Aberdeen is changing so much. The blocks around my house look so different...the church has been moved, the curling rink tore down and houses put in its place.

I left Aberdeen before the demo was complete. I know when I go back there on Sunday it will be gone and the view from the front window will never be the same and I can't say to people that I live in the house across from the old brick school anymore....

Slice of Life Tuesdays

2008-11-18T20:32:00.008-06:00

You take a deep breath

And you walk through the doors

It's the mornin of your very first day

You say hi to your friends

you ain't seen in a while

And try to stay out of everybody's way

It's your freshman year

And you're gonna be here for the next

4 years In this town

Hopin' one of those Senior boys

Will wink at you and say

'I haven't seen you around before'

Cuz when you're fifteen,

somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them And when you're fifteen

Feelin' like there's nothin to figure out

Count to ten Take it in

This is life before you know who you're gonna be

Fifteen

You sit in class next to red-head Abigail

And soon enough you're best friends

Laughi'n at the other girls

Who they think they're so cool

We'll be out of here as soon as we can

And then you're on your very first date

And he's got a car And you're feelin like flyin

And you're momma's waitin up

And you're thinkin he's the one

And you're dancin around the room when the night ends

When the night ends

Cuz when you're fifteen, somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them And when you're fifteen

And your first kiss makes your head spin around

But in your life you'll do things Greater than datin the boy on the football team

But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted Was to be wanted

Wish you could go back And tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday

But I realized some bigger dreams in life

And Abigail gave everything she had

To a boy who changed his mind

And we both cried

Cuz when you're fifteen, somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

And when you're fifteen

Don't forget to look before you fall

I've found time can heal most anything

And you just might who you're supposed to be I

didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la...

You're very first day Take a deep breath girl

And take a deep breath as you walk through the doors

Driving in my car today to and from school I had this song blaring on my car stereo singing along.

It is interesting to be on the other side of the desk now as the teacher--I was in high school just a short 41/2 years ago. I see myself in those girls--awkward, scared, falling in love....

Today and lately I have been feeling like that fifteen year old girl who I thought I left behind. I have been taking lots of deep breaths and walking into something new. The tears fall too much like they did back then, my head is spinning with too many emotions.

But I made it through that fifteen and I know I can make it through this one. It's just hard trying to figure out who you are going to be....

My Stagette

2008-11-16T14:40:00.006-06:00

Last night was my stagette, today I just want to sleep. It was a fun low-key night filled with lots of food, drinks, and girls being girls.

We went salsa dancing in the afternoon and once we figured it out we all had a blast and looked pretty awesome dancing. (I have some blackmail videos lol)

The girls gave me a pretty crown and flower necklace to wear!

We went to my sister in laws and filled ourselfs with pizza and dessert!! So much food, but it was so awesome!!

We then went to this place called Bath Goddess were we spent 2 hours smelling oils to create a new smell to put in a product like body lotion or body mist etc. It was a blast and everyone came away with some awesome new bath stuff.

My friend Chany smelling away!

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out, visiting, playing guitar hero, telling old stories. It was great to have us all together for the night.

Thank you so much girls for EVERYTHING!!! I love you all.

Wedding Planning

2008-11-14T11:24:00.007-06:00

49 more days until Justin and I are married....still a lot to do!!

1. Buy wedding bands

2. Finish making wedding dress

3. Slideshow

4. marriage licence

5. Meet with minister to finalize ceremony

6. Finish writing vows

7. Start writing my secret speech

8. Make 1000 perogies

9. Wait for RSVP's!

10. make chocolates

11. Need caketopper

12. Pick music

13. Mail thank you cards from the shower

14. Scrapbook!!!

and the list goes on. Its a crazy time but lots of fun too.

Tomorrow is my stagette, I'm looking forward to hanging out with the ladies tomorrow day/night. It should be a fun time.

I had my shower a couple of weeks ago in Aberdeen at the Complex. Here are a few pics from the day.

Me in my ribbon and bow hat

The Gifts

The Guest table

The food

I can't thank everyone enough for coming out to my shower. So many ladies from the community and all the beautiful gifts---it was just amazing.
I am not one to be the center of attention so I had butterflies, and I cried when I said my thank you because I was just so overwhelmed and filled with joy and gratitude from everyone.
I have to find a way to put kleenex in my bouquet for the wedding day because there will be tears!!

More posts and photos of the upcoming day....so excited to spend the rest of my life with Justin.

Scrap Your Day- September and October

2008-11-11T13:43:00.005-06:00

I worked my butt off to catch up on my scrapbooking porjects today---I got my Scrap Your Day project caught up.
I really enjoy this project because it allows me to document the everyday, the little things in my life that make me me and its going to be a great keepsake to look at in a few years and see how I lived my life at 22. I would love to do this project again in a few years with a teaching job, married life, a kid or 2 and compare how I live my life.
For now here is my September and October 25ths.

Subbing in Allan- Terry Fox Walk. More wedding planning and Learn Something New Class!

Saturday morning Justin and I hang out in bed. A cleaning day and more wedding planning!!

Slice of Life Tuesdays

2008-11-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

7:30 am - Babysitting day starts- Bradly and Tyler are awake and ready to play.

9:00 am- Bradly helps Justin put up my paintings

10:00 am- I am still in my PJ's--busy watching cartoons and playing legos with the boys.

10:01 am- "Ashley can we go to the movie store and rent a Wii game?" asked the boys

10:02 am- "You bet, I just need to get dressed and comb my hair and we can get going"

10:03 am- Boys upstairs start a pillow fight

10:03 am- Me downstairs getting ready for the days outings

10:05am- I hear a bang- what did those boys knock over....

10:06 am- Upstairs Bradly is holding his hand up to his mouth- half of his tooth is on the ground, his lip is bleeding

"What happened? Are you ok? Let me see Bradly!" I speak frantically

"Tyler pushed me and I hit my tooth on the floor"

I go grab a wet cloth to clean up the bit of blood on his lip and take a closer look at the tooth- It's half gone, a diagonal chip. A permanent tooth, half gone.

I grab the phone- "Hi Patti, it's Ashley here, we have had a little accident here, Bradly has chipped his tooth, who is your dentist?"

Patti calls to her dentist and then calls me back to say meet her there asap.

The chipped tooth goes in a container with some milk---I hope it can be saved. Two little boys are dressed in their winter coats, boots and hats and stuffed in the car--- off to the dentist.

why did this happen to me? Patti is going to think I'm a terrible babysitter, I...don't know if it can be fixed, I hope it can be fixed, I hope it doesn't cost much....oh crap.

Bradly's lip starts to swell as we wait at the dentist for him to get in.....He is brave, not a tear, not a complaint. Bradly stayed at the dentist with his mom and I took Tyler back to my place to wait---

1:00 doorbell rings- Bradly is back.

His tooth looks as good as new. They somehow reattached the chipped part and put a wire behind it...No chewing on the front tooth for a while and hopefully in a week things look good and the tooth doesn't die on him.

I'm glad he is okay....this is practice for when I have my own children. I know we will be taking them to emergency doctors and dentist appointments, somehow it seems easier when they are your own...I hope I'm not scared as a babysitter....

Scrapbooking

2008-11-10T21:58:00.005-06:00

Today I started another scrapbooking project- Stories In Hand.

I put together the skeleton of the book today and I'm hoping it helps me in finding those stories of my life because I'm having a really hard time writing...

Tomorrow I hope to catch up on my "Scrap your Day" project---I'm 2 months behind and if I don't catch up I'll be 4 months behind and it will be the new year.....

I'm also creating a scrapbook of the dress shopping adventures from wedding planning. I have the bridesmaids dress shopping pages almost done. I still have all my dresses to scrapbook and the process of the making of my dress--7 weeks to go and I'm still waiting on half on the lace. I hope it comes this weekend!! *fingers crossed*

Wish me luck in my scrapbooking adventures ----I feel a mess of paper, stickers and glue dots coming on!!

Memoir Monday- Loosing teeth

2008-11-10T17:09:00.002-06:00

Babysitting my little cousins today and we had a tooth accident(will share tomorrow in slice of life) and it got me thinking about teeth, the tooth fairy and the dentist. When I was younger and I had my first loose tooth I was very scared to actually pull it out of my mouth. I'm not sure if I thought there would be gushing blood, or if I would have a hole in my mouth that food would get stuck in but all i knew was that I did not want to pull it out. Not even the inticment of money from the tooth fairy would make me pull it out. (Who is this crazy lady who collects teeth anyways?) The tooth dangled by threads for a few days, I didn't even wiggle it with my tounge but I knew it was getting looser. One night while eating supper the tooth came loose and I swallowed it with my suppper. No blood was gushing out, my mouth didn't have a ginormous hole in it--I was fine and I did not even notice it was gone. When I finally noticed it was gone when I was done eating supper I was very upset. Now I did not have anything to give the tooth fairy...So I wrote a note to the tooth fairy instead about how I had swallowed my tooth and I was sorry I could not put it under my pillow for her. I awoke the next morning to a loonie under my pillow---I guess the tooth fairy understood my story and felt I deserved a loonie anyways even if I didn't leave her a tooth.

What I cannot change- Leann Rimes

2008-11-10T09:24:00.001-06:00

I know what makes me comfortable
And I know what makes me tick
And I when I need to get my way
I know how to pour it on thick

Cream and sugar in my coffee
Right away when I awake I face the day,
and pray to God I won’t make the same mistakes
All the rest is out of my hands
I will learn to let go what I cannot change
I will learn to forgive what I cannot change
I will learn to love what I cannot change
But I will change, yeah I will change
Whatever I, whenever I can Yeah

I don’t know my father Or my mother well enough
It seems like every time we talk
We can’t get passed the little stuff
The pain is self-inflicted
I know it’s not good for my health
But it’s easier to please the world
Then it is to please myself
All the rest is out of my hands

I will learn to let go what I cannot change
I will learn to forgive what I cannot change
I will learn to love what I cannot change
But I will change, yeah I will change
Whatever I, whenever I can

Well I know I can’t care about how everyone else really feels
I have enough hurt of my own to heal

I will learn to let go what I cannot change
I will learn to forgive what I cannot change
I will learn to let go what I cannot change
I will learn to forgive what I cannot change
I will learn to love what I cannot change
But I will change, yeah I will change
Whatever I,
whenever
I can

Sirens

2008-11-05T21:43:00.000-06:00

Laying in bed tonight me writing Justin reading the room is quiet except for pen scratches the turning of pages and the odd house sound. I enjoy the silence but it is broken tonight and past nights this week by the sounds of sirens- that sound always makes my heart skip a beat.
We hear them over and over tonight I hope everything is okay.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Slice of Life Tuesdays

2008-11-04T21:25:00.001-06:00

"Ticket number 57602"
We had that ticket on our table in front of us, Justin ripped it off and went up to the stage to collect our prize.
A few tickets later "57605"
We also had that ticket on our table and Justin went to collect our second raffle prize.
"Number 576508"
Again we had that number and Justin went up to get our third prize.

"Wow that table must have some horseshoes" the announcer for the prizes said.

We were pretty lucky tonight---maybe we should buy a lottery ticket?

Memoir Monday- Being a writer

2008-11-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

I have memories stored away in photographs, in the back of my mind and in the box of notebooks in a box in the closet, some of those memories haunt me, some make me laugh and others make me cry or smile. The one thing I'm positive about is that I am glad I took so many pictures and wrote down the moments in my life that mattered.

I remember my first notebook/journal. It was a blue doutang with loose leaf paper in it. I hid it in between the mattress on my bed. I wrote about the boys I had crushes on and the teachers who I liked and the teachers who I hated. I wrote about the fights I had with my parents and my friends. It documented my life in a time when NOTHING made any sense. I tried to make sense of my world by writing it down, asking questions. Not until now that I re read that faded, tattered doutang do I understand why that world was so hard.

10 years later I still keep a journal/notebook with pretty covers, and I continue to write about my relationships, family, friends. I document my life now as an adult, as a teacher, and soon to be wife. They will go into that box when I am finished and will be a place I can go to and look back at this part of my life.

I've been thinking a lot about being a writer. I have always had this calling to be a writer, but thinking back I remember more of the hurt and the criticism that comes with being a writer then the good. A poem of mine ripped apart by someone I loved, my personal thoughts read and used against me were just a couple of the hard times I went through as a writer. It is still hard to always be honest and truthful and to share my life, my stories, my words with everyone/anyone.
Writing has also helped me to say this things that wouldn't come out of my mouth, to help me express my thoughts and feelings and to help me become the person I am today.

I lost my words for a while, they are coming back to me in strange ways, I welcome them back into my life and hope to be sharing more with you soon. Writing is a part of my past, present and future.

Learn Something New Everyday- September 30

2008-10-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

Follow your heart

Learn Something New Everyday- September 29

2008-09-30T21:24:00.001-06:00

You will be fortunate in the opportuines presented to you

Learn Something New Everyday- September 28

2008-09-29T21:23:00.000-06:00

Be Spontaneous

Learn Something New Everyday- September 27

2008-09-28T21:22:00.000-06:00

Pay it forward

Learn Something New Everyday- September 26

2008-09-27T21:21:00.000-06:00

Live in the moment- Sing, Dance, Smile

Learn Something New Everyday- September 25

2008-09-26T21:20:00.000-06:00

I love ice cream too much