My Students

I love to put pictures in my blogs, but I can't post pictures of students. So whatever. I do have to say though, that tonight I am struck by how awesome my life is, and one of the many reasons is because of my students. Now, I know I complain about teaching all the time. Without a doubt, days and weeks go past when I think about my 97% in Chem 30 and wonder what the hell I am doing teaching high school drama in the first place. When I am getting Botox for example, I watch what Dr. V does for a living, making literally hundreds of dollars an hour, and I get a little wistful about his huge mansion, hottub for 20, endless vacations, etc. I know these details because he tells me. BTW, I haven't had Botox since April. Why? Because I can't afford it. Why? Because I am a TEACHER.

All that is forgotten though during weeks like this one. We had our last rehearsals for The Canterbury Tales this week. I can't explain the total fulfillment of creating a little piece of art with 29 kids, that we are all proud of and are now ready to share with anyone who will listen. It is such a poignant and singular experience, that you have to do it to understand it.

Almost at the other end of the teaching spectrum for me is my cute ESL class. While I work with the best and brightest on the show, and enjoy that experience, I am simultaneously struggling to offer a rewarding program to 19 sweet little ESL kids. This is HARD work. I constantly feel inadequate, boring, and uninspired when trying to come up with activities and lessons that will engage and interest them without intimidating them to death. This semester I think that they sense this. They seem to be rooting for us all to succeed together, come hell or high water. Today I had students who have BARELY SPOKEN all semester, stand up in front of the class and present puppet shows with puppets that they handmade this week. I almost cried - I clapped like a lunatic instead. It adds another flavour of delicious fulfillment to watch the progress of these sweeties.

And not to leave out Drama 30 - they are like my own children, deeply rooted to part of my soul. Even the bad ass ones. And I am not a sugary teacher, so I rarely verbalize these things to my students. I am actually kind of strict and demanding. But I hope and believe that they sense how much I value them and quietly, deperately long for their happiness and success.

Sigh. It's a good job. And I think hot tubs are kind of gross.

THANKS!!

Thank you Gayle and Karly for the food and love, and everyone who sent love or came to the funeral, or just blew me kisses, BTW. It DOES matter and it DOES help.

No more Grandparents

Suddenly we have had a flurry of deaths in our families. Grandma Olson passed on November 1 at 95 years old. Not from old age - from lung fibrosis - even though she never smoked. I am so damn sick and bloody tired of losing people. But I have to say that she knew who was waiting for her. Am I screwing up by never having babies???????????????

Engagement + Shooting Range =

Fun. Okay. It may not be what you first think of when you think of getting engaged. But the day Amber and Joe did, the four of us went shootin'. Yeeha!

If you haven't been to Canmore lately...

...here is what you are missing. This is ACTUALLY from this month.

GAGA

Wow...I am a BAD blogger so far. Can you tell what teaching is like? The minute it was time to go back to work, the blogging CEASED. Trying to get started again. Here are the pics from the Lady Gaga concert Matthew and I went to in Edmonton right at the end of August. It was SOOO much fun and we LOVE the downtown Edmonton Westin. Swanky.

Black Eyed Peas - Fergalicious - Committed

Matt loves the Black Eyed Peas, so off we toddled last night to the concert. We rarely go to concerts, so this was kind of exciting. We had dinner with Ambi and Joe first and then they (blessedly) drove us downtown. We actually had somehow managed to procure decent seats and thank goodness that Matt has been making me listen to the CD's since last fall, because it was fun to know all (or almost all) of the songs.

Not sure if this turned me into an overnight fan, but I did enjoy Fergie a lot. I don't really know enough about rap to appreciate the guys' rap skills, and some of the songs that seem more like they are being shouted than sung make me wonder how on earth these people got so famous (oh, the wonders of marketing). Fergie's got a powerful set of pipes though, and all-in-all it was just good, clean fun. Lots of junior high aged kids with their moms, which I think is so cute. The little girl two seats down from me was crying, for goodness sake. The whole show was surprisingly positive, despite some of their song lyrics which would make you believe otherwise. They instructed the audience to make the world a better place, never give up on their dreams, as long as those dreams contribute to the world rather than destroying it or anyone. I was surprised. No gangsta.

I had a little chat with a security staffer (Saddledome employee). I asked him which crowds are the worst for events and he said by far "metal". He also said that people his age (mid 50's +) are by far the worst behaved at events. To quote, "They are accustomed to smoking whatever they want, wherever they want, and drinking as much as they want wherever they want, from the 70's. They don't like to be told different, either. Younger generations don't think that way at concerts. They do what they are asked." Interesting since everyone always blames teenagers for everything.

We came straight home and bought tickets to Lady Gaga in Edmonton on Thursday night. As this is someone I am more prone to listen to than BEP's, I am STOKED. I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas. I just read the Vanity Fair with Gaga on the cover. I can't wait for the outfits and insanity, though I don't suppose her touring show will contain pianos that are part of her outfit, but I can dream...

Lastly, I borrowed Elizabeth Gilbert's newer book from the library. As a huge fan of Eat, Pray, Love (no, I haven't seen the movie) I have been wary of "Committed" as I feared I would not like it as much. I get why it won't be the mega-hit that EPL is, but it is really good. I recommend it to anyone who is married, divorced, thinking about getting married, or thinking about getting divorced, or anyone that ever was married or divorced, or anyone who says that they will never get married or divorced. Basically anyone. It is less inner journey like EPL, and more historical and cultural information that I find absolutely and totally fascinating.

Radium, BC

A couple of weeks ago we loaded up the dog and headed out camping. We did not have a clear idea of where we wanted to go, but we totally scored. I have not been to Radium in years, but it is marvelous. We camped in the National Park at Redstreak Campgound. They charge for fires, but the 8 bucks a day includes ALL THE FIREWOOD YOU CAN BURN. This is significant because hauling firewood is not fun and can be expensive for us urbanites who don't have trees to hew down. Which remindes me of a redonkulously funny quote from Glee to the real estate agent: It's always been my dream to cut down my own Christmas tree. How many Christmas trees will we have in our yard?
Anyhow, our campsite had a gorgeous view of the town, it is close to the hot springs so we went to the hot springs every morning, it had showers (miracle), and was only a 15 minute drive from Invemere. Now apparently if you are disgustingly wealthy and have money to burn, you move to Invemere. There are literally palaces ringing the lake. Several people have private docks with MULTIPLE boats, wave runners, and one that I can only describe as a speedy-looking yacht. I would like to become close personal friends with the people who own the castle that four of the mega-structures around it could have fit into. I would love to go and stay with them each summer. If anyone knows them, please pass on my name to them. I don't eat much and I could easily get lost in that fortress of theirs, so they wouldn't even know I was there.
If you are in Radium and looking for a healthy lunch (because for some reason all the restaurants serve schnitzel exclusively), go to the Prestige Inn. Their restaurant has a "house" salad that is to die for. It is inexpensive, huge and full of delicious ingredients, more like a chef's salad. Also, for breakfast the Melting Pot is delicious AND has gluten-free bread.
Also I plan to go back to that area in the summer to go to Fernie. That place has exploded with small town charm and BC tree-lover lifestyle that I love. There is an organic cafe that is outta sight.

In Search of Summer

I have been looking for summer for weeks now. To my American and Australian and Mexican freidns who live in places where it is warm: attention must be paid. Do you know how hard it is to find summer in Canada sometimes? And I do not understand it because when we were kids it seemed like summer was hot.

The weird thing is that the time we spent on the coast this year was some of the best weather we have seen. Calgary has been rainy or cold almost every day. The mosquitos are out of control.

Now anyone who knows me, knows that there are two things I hate: Cold and Mosquitos.

We tried to go to Moyie with Mom and Ethan. It seems like a nice place, but the day we got there, in rolls a storm and rain.

I swear to you that I am attracting this crap weather wherever I go. It has been happening for years now. I should go to the Kalahari. I'll make it rain in torrents. I have rain karma. Now some people might see this as a good thing, but not me.

If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that you can get to sunshine fast or inexpensively, declare your gratitude today! Personally over the past seven years I have spent...5 digits or so trying to snatch a few weeks of sunshine. I am off to go sun-hunting again. "Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, Please shine down on me!"

Geocaching in the Gulf Islands

We just got back from another fun trip to the coast. While we were there we tried geocaching for the first time. Matthew's family kindly agreed to try it, though I think they were a bit skeptical at first. Peter drove us over to Galiano on the motorboat (this picture is from the beach that was our starting point) and Matthew walked to where he could get a cell phone signal. We discovered a cache just 0.5 mi from us, so went off treasure hunting. The closer we got, the more exciting it got. It gives you that little kid thrill. Anyway, after some searching, we actually found the cache, dating at least as far back as 2003. We left something behind and went on our way, to create our own cache elsewhere on the island. This is a really addicitive little hobby, however I am beginning to think that remote locations are a better bet. Matthew and I tried to go out yesterday afternoon on our bikes to do some urban geocaching, but despite going after three separate caches, we came home empty-handed. I think that urban caches get muggled a lot more frequently because people accidentally happen upon them and don't know what they are. Attention geocachers: Please stop attempting tree caches in the city parks. They get stolen. Anyway, if we manage to find urban caches, I will update...

My Affair with Cauliflower

Cauliflower is the next B.I.G. thing! So, a few years ago I read a recipe for people who didn't want to eat sugary starches like potatoes, which basically suggested using cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes. So I boiled one up and tried to mash it and serve it for Thanksgiving or Christmas (don't remember) to Matt's mom. She tried so hard to be nice about it, but we all knew deep down inside that it wasn't the same. I abandoned the cauliflower until about a month ago.

I don't eat dairy or wheat, which makes life a little challenging when it comes to new and exciting foods. I have been getting into juicing and raw foods though, thanks to mom, which has opened up a new world of avacado smoothies with wasabi and such creations. Anyway, I decided to try cauliflower again, now that I have been armed with a new knowledge of how to puree veg.

I boiled a cauliflower and tried to "mash" it for dinner for Matt and I in the blender. I left the blender on a little too long though, and was sad to see that I had turned the "mashed" idea into more like "puree". Matt ate it anyway, as good husbands will try to do for experimental cookers, and near the end of the experience suggested that the goop might make good soup base. I almost leapt off my chair! A few days later, I made this recipe, and was thrilled with myself. It is delicious, it tastes just like a really thick, rich chowder, but it has almost no calories, no wheat, and no dairy. Woo hoo! I can use the same principle now to make corn chowder, cream of mushroom soup, etc. Hallelujah, creamy soups are back in my life.

Karie's Seafood Chowder

Boil 1/2 cauliflower until very tender. Blend until pureed. You may want to add a little water or almond milk, but you don't need to...

Sautee fresh veggies, such as carrots, onions, celery, whatever you like to have in chowder...

In a soup pot, bring 2 cups of broth (I used chicken broth) to a boil. Add the vegetables and let them simmer for a few minutes. Add seasoning or spices that you like. Then throw in about 1/2 a bag of frozen seafood mix, or freshly cooked fish, or whatever. I have used frozen mussels, calamari, clams, octopus, lightly cooked white fish, shrimp, etc. It all works. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, but not too long because you don't want your seafood tough. Remove from heat and stir in pureed cauliflower. Serve. This serve two HUGE bowls full of chowder, or four appetizer-sized bowls.

YUM YUM YUM YUM!!

P.S. KRAFT has launched a new KD that is made from...you guessed it...

http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/Products/J-L/KraftDinnerBrandPage.aspx

http://www.muttleycrue.ca/

What is this all about? It is a new dog groomer that my fabulous gorgeous sister told me about. This is a picture of me with my little black dog, Scoop, my fantastic sister, her cute honey, and Chica (the corgi chihuahua princess). Why is Muttley Crue on my blog today? Because my dog is bloody difficult and the lady who owns this grooming salon in Bridgeland is totally kind, generous, and talented. She is one of the B.I.G. items from yesterday. She is also gorgeous. I have never seen a more gorgeous pet groomer in all my life.

The other B.I.G. things that happened yesterday are: 1. An old man came up to me and started a conversation with me. How he managed this I will never know because I am SHY about strangers and insecure about making conversation. Most people would not know this about me. I know this because upon watching the video of my last birthday party I realized that I come off as aloof, snotty, and uncaring, when really I am just dying inside to have something funny to say. Anyway, back to the old man, I was re-reading Harry Potter on a bench waiting for my dog to be groomed and this guy will not stop trying to talk to me so I finally look up. Kindest, bluest eyes I have seen on a 70-ish face since my Grandpa died. Best spontaneous chat with a stranger EVER. I hope his surgery goes well and I wish I had asked his name so I could send him flowers or find out if he is ok. That is a lesson. Ask their name when someone changes your life; 2. Mom gave me the B.I.G. idea; 3. I decided to abandon road rage and I did it in rush-hour traffic, with my dog whining, on a drive that should have taken 20 minutes but took over an hour. I was really zen. You have to understand what this means for me. The day before I illegally passed a Lexus on my residential street so that I could get to the dog food store 5 seconds faster. I have not admitted this atrocity to anyone; 4. Because I am now zen in my car, I narrowly avoided killing a man just 2 hours later when I was on my way to try to rent a funny movie at Blockbuster. He was going into the liquor store, looking down at his iPhone. I would have squashed his iPhone, smeared his guts all over his $250 dress shirt, and been on the cover of The Herald, had it not been for the fact that I was practising my new art of courteous driving. Seriously, it is now a game to me to see how NICE I can be while operating a motor vehicle in the Road Rage Capital of Canada; 5. I found the nicest Starbucks barista ever at Bridgeland Starbucks. I know how significant this is, because I have worked at Starbucks and most of the time I just wanted to throw steaming hot cappuccinos into the faces of the customers. Lots of foam is more noticeable when you throw a beverage at someone.