Thoughtful.

It's no secret I am not a fan of Valentines Day. It's so commercial. You shouldn't let the people you care about know you care about them only because greeting card companies tell you that you should.

However, all sorts of cute and thoughtful things happen on Valentines Day, that I enjoy. Teenagers in particular go all out. It's a mating dance. I got a carnation at school, but the sweetest was from my "Valentine" (my friends four year old). 

He told his mother he had to buy me pink flowers for Valentines Day. And was super excited to pick out a little balloon for my bouquet. We made heart shaped pizzas and played Mario. To me, that's what Valentines Day is all about; spending time with those you love because you enjoy it. 

Newtonmas.

Well, it's Christmas! Or as I sometimes refer to it in certain circles... Newtonmas!

Isaac Newton was born Dec 25, 1642 according to the old Julian calendar. It corresponds to January 4, 1643 of the currently used Gregorian calendar, but as Newton was highly superstitious individual who looked for meaning in all sorts of numbers and learned Hebrew so he could study floor plans of temples in their original form, being born on Christmas would be significant. (Even though, as an unorthodox Christian, he believed celebrating Christ as God was idolatry... Which is neither here nor there. )

I love getting together with family and friends around the holidays. Had a great party last night at the parents with lots of family friends, and am spending tonight with  Dom's family. 

The end of school was so hectic and stressful, it's taken me this long to decompress. But there is still a lot of holiday to come!

 

Ugly Sweaters.

Not quite sure when, but somewhere along the way, ugly sweater parties became a thing. My families been pretty good about purging the genuine ugly sweaters from our lives over the years, which in hindsight is a pain, but at the time seemed like a very good idea.

I just can't seem to bring myself to spend  any reasonable amount of money on what is, underneath it all, just an ugly sweater. So when Dom said she was going to have an ugly sweater theme for her birthday, I decided to make one. 

I saw a picture of a hilarious t-shirt, that would have cost $40+ with shipping, and thought to myself... I can make that. 

The result? About $12 worth of materials and a humorous ugly sweater. 

Tree.

Busy at school. Winding down (or up?) before Chistmas break. One of my extracurricular groups is having a bake sale next week. Went to a conference at the University. Annnnd set up the class Christmas tree. 

Happy with my new tree topper. Beats J Biebs by a long shot. And see that kinda blank-ish spot in the middle? That's where my cane deer used to be. Yah used to be. One of my students ATE MY CANE DEER. It has been three days since I discovered his antlers on the floor. And I am still upset. 

Halloween.

Epic costume win today. Ms Frizzle from the Magic School Bus? Heck yes. 

This costume took a long time to perfect. Started back in August finding the right dress and jump suit to make the outfit. And making the crinoline. That was an ordeal and a half.

Blocked out roughly where I wanted the shapes to go before doing any sewing. 

Had a friends mom help sew the sleeves on. Test run with a crinoline, and we are ready to start adding collar and shapes!

Found an excellent, inexpensive Liz in the form of Pascal!

Shoe decorations and earrings? Check. 

Glued all the shapes down with intense fabric glue, and then stitched the corners down to be sure. Found a bus, and then received an upgrade to a better bus at school. 

Winning.

Costumes.

Well, I've been working hard on the costume. Several, actually. I've got the costume to wear to school for Halloween... the costume to wear to Karen's stagette (it's a theme party)... and I haven't even decided what I will wear to the Halloween party on the weekend yet.

The costume for school is coming along fine and dandy... it involves lots and lots of fabric glue. Which is pretty nasty stuff, actually.

Not only should you not smoke it, it eats through nail polish!

Funny story: my recently acquired Darth Vader mask comes with the warning that the plastic eye pieces "may distort vision". I took off my glasses to put on the mask, and I can actually see better with the mask on than without my glasses. 

Challenge.

I have been neglecting blogging lately. Not for any particular reason... I just haven't felt particularly inspired to write anything recently.

I have decided to challenge myself to post something everyday for the next month. Even if just a photo of something that happened to me that day. 

Today is Thanksgiving, but we did our big dinner yesterday, with tons of food, friends, dancing, and gorgeous fall weather.

Also, this happened last week in anticipation of D&K's wedding next year. ... Exciting!!

Doom.

It's done. I made a crinoline. I thought it would be a good idea for my Halloween costume, and I had some time, so why not give it a whirl? Save some money, since those things are expensive.

Well, I've since come to learn why they are so expensive. They are a lot of effing work! I spent pretty much 8 hours on this, and that's with a nicely detailed tutorial from this patient person. 

It's a good thing it works. I am never making one of these again. Yes, 10$ for materials seems like a bargain. The backache and endless seams that went into it? Not so much.

                    

Crafty.

Well, it's that time of year again.

Back to school. 

Since I am not going back to school in any formal capacity right now (subbing again, le sigh) I have some time right now. 

As I am a (typically) optimistic person, I hope to be busier once things get into full swing, it seemed like a good idea to start in on this years Halloween costume. Last year worked out so well making this in advance. 

While this years (secretive) costume doesn't involve any painting, it is requiring a bit of sewing, so it's probably good I started now. Crinolines aren't hard... But a bit time consuming.

East Coast.

For whatever reason, I haven't been inspired to blog lately. Summer is a very laid-back time for me, and it the drive just hasn't been there.

I spent a few weeks on the east coast with my family for a wedding. It was lovely! I was a bit surprised at how much Nova Scotia looked like British Columbia without the mountains, but the scenery was stunning. Got to see a lot of Nova Scotia, and attended a fabulous wedding for two lovely people in Prince Edward Island on the long weekend.

Here is a selection of my favorite photos and highlights from the trip...

 The iconic Peggy's Cove in fog and sunlight.

 

 It's not a trip unless I go to some botanical gardens... (both in Halifax and Annapolis Royal)

Love all the history... living in a province that is only a century old just doesn't compare.

 

Shipbuilding and fishing is also something novel and different to this prairie girl.

    

A beautiful, ocean themed wedding... featuring this epic candy bar D and I set up...

 And most of all, gorgeous scenery! South shore, Bay of Fundy, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton Island!

Eggs.

Dominique and I decorated eggs for our group Easter dinner at the lake tonight.

How does that song go..?
"One of these things is not like the other ones.."

Green and White.

Yesterday was St Patty's Day. And I had a lovely day celebrating! Started off with a visit to Telus World of Science to see the Star Wars: Identities exhibit (which was epic), and ended with a fabulous green and white dinner at the parents with a load of friends. So much fun.

Gotta visit my man, Chris Hadfield

Valentines.

I think by this point it's a pretty well established fact that I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day. Well, except for maybe the cinnamon hearts. I REALLY like those.

Valentine's Day in high school is usually pretty funny, in an awkwardly sweet kind of way. This year they sold roses that were delivered during class, and there was lots of candy to be had.

But the sweetest thing was the group of girls who went around and stuck post-it notes on all the lockers in the school with the message "You are loved". That's a lot of lockers.

Gives me the warm fuzzies inside.

Happy Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all!

My Christmas turned out amazingly relaxing. Christmas Eve was the big party with lots of family friends, and then Christmas Day was pretty low key- presents with the family and an amazing turkey dinner.

Trying to avoid Boxing Day shopping by doing some cleaning. Not that I want to go shopping, but I need to pick up a few things, and do not want to brave the crowds. Ah well. I guess that means I can relax a little more...

Giant flock of waxwings swarms over the house.

Tromping through the snow to raid the woodpile.

Centerpiece.

Adorable little earrings from Dom.

New TV for my kitchen! I now have DVD capabilities!

Bonding.

Decorated gingerbread men today with my father.

I have all the artistic talent of an 8 year old.

Christmas Goodies.

Last weekend, I did some Christmas baking with my friend Michelle, and last night I did a bunch more. (truffles, check. Candied popcorn, check. Candy wreaths, check) Goal of today is to attempt to recreate my grandmother's ginger creme cookie recipe.

My grandmother rarely ever used recipes that were written down. She would change a recipe subtly, but never recorded the changes in her recipe box. The result is that I have all of her old recipes... but most turn out NOTHING like they did when she made them. I've managed to reverse engineer a cookie she called Honey Fruit Snaps, but so far no luck with the ginger cremes.