i've got the lurgie, i 'ave

i'm sick. i kinda want to take a picture of myself just so you can see how sick i am. i've been sick for almost a week now and each day i've gotten a little worse. i keep thinking i have to eventually hit bottom and get better...but i don't.

i know exactly how i got my illness. last week, a brat of a children wiped their nose down my cheek and left a slimy snail trail.

movie night

go and see (or rent if it's no longer in the cinema) the last king of scotland as it's fantastic. the movie is a part fact, part fiction story about the once president of uganda idi amin. forest whitaker deserves the oscar, just watch his eye twitch and his nostrils flare. the gore and the horror is mostly implied, which i can deal with...until the end. there are some definite cringe/hide your eyes if you're squeamish moments.

2 thumbs up!

an optical illusion

there's a magic strip of road in scotland, the electric brae, that will pull your car up hill.

you look out your windshield while your car is in neutral and you'll swear that you're facing a slight downward slope but your car will be naturally rolling up hill.

no one can explain what is going on.

i'm most certainly going to take a road trip up to scotland to check this out.

i have an owie

this may look small and blurry and insignificant but let me assure you, the pain is great!



one of my children asked me to open their watercolour paint pot. so i did. and it ripped off my thumb nail. do you know how hard it is not to cry in front of a room of 4 year olds while blood is pouring from your thumb? do you know how had it is to not freak out and keep calm while the top of your thumb nail is hanging off? ouch!

last week i gave myself a blister the size of a nickel from sharpening pencils (and got pencil shavings in the popped blister, might i add). and this week i loose some nail.

i'm not impressed.

i have survived

my first week of school is done. i am so very tired. i forget all the little routines you take for granted at the end of the year that need to be taught at the beginning. like where to put your lunch box and where to hang your jumper and how to flush the toilet and what to do if someone steals your crayon. the answer is not to punch them, by the way.

i had 17 lovely 4 year olds enter my life on monday as well as 2 not so lovely 4 year olds. 2 girls are reading at an age 7 level while 2 others are able to do addition, subtraction and count and write to 100. 1 boy is so useless that i'm not sure if i'm capable of teaching him anything while another has never even picked up a pencil before and cannot recognize his own name. 2 girls haven't stopped crying since monday while 3 children have already told me they love me. this is going to be a fun school year.

another little surprise this year is that i am mentoring someone. i found out on friday that i was getting a student teacher on monday and it has so far proven to be quite fun. i'm teaching someone how to teach! ME! the canadian that isn't even technically qualified to teach in the UK is preparing a man to enter the world of education. it's all a bit bizarre. my deputy head and headteacher choose me for this as well, so i'm feeling quite chuffed with myself. his name is matt and he's with me for the term. during the 4 weeks after half term he basically teaches everything so i get to sit around and play with the kids. sweet! this is definitely going to be a fun school year.

a staff that dances together, stays together.

last night was my school's christmas dinner/dance party. kinda late, but that's how it goes when no one takes the reins and organizes the thing. it suited me well as i would have missed it otherwise. after dinner the dance floor was cleared and the dj brought out his little twinkle, strobe lights and the fun ensued. every staff member from the cooks to the cleaners to the teachers were up dancing at some point or another. my feet, ass, thighs, and abs are all sore from silly dancing the night away. my cheeks are sore from the constant smile across my face. my throat is sore from singing along to abba and steps and madonna. my head is sore from the wine.

my new years resolution? to dance like a fool at least once a month.

happy new year!

new years celebrations in london...what can i say? i'm glad i've finally been in the city over new year.

fire works over the london eye were great! alex and i managed to run out of the tube station and get to the river with 50 seconds to spare before midnight. here's the dodgy camera phone pictures to prove it.









today there was a 3 hour parade that wove it's way from parliament square to berkley square. fun! but there were too many american high school bands and cheerleaders for my liking.

the highlight?



when a large, inflated, fierce lion.....







almost tumbled into the crowd when it couldn't quite make a tight turn.

good time, good times.

i wish you all prosperity, happiness and good health for 2007.

kiss kiss xox