5 à 7

This time of year makes me emotional and introspective.  Too much time alone and with too much to do. 

So this is what I have come up with:  I gave up my friends for my boyfriend and I gave up fun for my job.  A weekend ALONE with my JOB is not going to help this point of view.

The good news is this: Report Cards go out on November 20 and then I can stop the train wreck my brain seems to be on.  If I get to it, I can be done even sooner.

**********

I'm still sick, but only a mild cold.

**********

My school has MICE!  Eww.  All the women are freaking out and all the men are being mean and torturing and teasing us saying 'What's the big deal?"  They're MICE!

Day#1 - throat closure.  You know what's sick?  Sometimes I hope to get sick.  Yep.  Except that sick hurts, so I regret it. 

Anyway, I would like this whole illness thing to hold off until Wednesday.  I think I can afford to stay at home that day.  I would also like the illness to be serious enough to merit me staying home, while not serious enough to prevent me from working from home.  And then be gone by Thursday. 

You know what else is sick?  A 30 year-old woman trying to do a spiral.  Would you believe that that's NOT what my spiral looks like?  It's not like I've kept up my practice since I was 17 and oh, 17 lbs lighter.  You know, my leg was more flexible and not as heavy to lift into the air.  Though weight may not be a very strong argument as I got new skates and there are at least 3 tonnes lighter than my old skates.  Infact, given that reasoning, my spiral should look professional.  Alas, it's kind of ugly.  Think 75 degree angle. 

One more disgusting thing for the day.  I yelled at a French kid in French.  It was not merited and I never would have done the same to an English kid.  It's like there is still a part of my brain that doesn't think that French is real.  Anyway, I apologized.

My goal for tomorrow is to write English and French Reading and Writing comments and marks.  Ambitious? Yes.  Doable?  If I do it it is!

I saw the most beautiful thing I have ever seen a child so.  Another time.

Where did Post #1 go?  It was too boring for anyone but me. 

This one may go that way as well.

Anyone that has known me for more than 13 months knows that November is a very difficult month for me.  There is a lot of pressure (that I put on myself) to do report cards perfectly.  I have been cramming knowledge into students brains all week with the hope that I can pull something out to evaluate.  It's silly.  But I still do it.

The bottom line is this:  I'm too busy.  Most of the time I can say that I'm really busy.  Right now, it's too busy.  When was the last time I hung out with a friend?  Well, yesterday.  However, generally I either don't have time for friends or I'm too tired. 

I'm worried that by the time I have the time (ie. retirement)  I won't have friends. 

Jason is leaving the province for a week so I think I should take advantage and call people.

Alternate title:  There was a Mouse in my House!

My feelings about animals are so confusing.  I care for them, but I dislike them.  I don't like to think of any living creature suffering.  At the same time, I'm nervous around most animals.  Very few people have pets that don't make me want to run into another room and shut the door.  Then there are the animals that are supposed to stay outside.  If only that poor little mouse had stayed outside.  He would have been much better off.

So Monday morning, I was eating breakfast in my kitchen when I saw a mouse run across my living room floor!  EEK!  I have a half second delay on my scream.  Have you ever heard me scream?  Not yell, but scream?  It is loud.  I couldn't deal with the problem, so I got out of my house as fast as I could.

I told myself pleasant mouse stories all day.  Mickey.  Ratatouille.  The Rats of Nimh.  Yes, I know the last two are rats. Close enough.  I told all sorts of people.  It seems that this is a common thing to have in your house. 

Still, I avoided going home.  But I did.  And I avoided moving away from the door.  Then I heard a noise!  Oh wait, that was just my bag.  Then I heard another noise!  It's the mouse behind the stove!  It really was!  Eeek!   I screamed.  My poor H1N1 bed ridden roommate.  Here I am, screaming and he cannot sleep.  I checked the trap.  There was no trap!  I listened a little more.  The mouse was definitely behind the stove and definitely somehow attached to the trap.  Agh!  So, I was scared of the mouse but also revolted by the fact that it must be in pain, caught in the trap but still alive and moving around. 

I spent some time putting everything in my pantry into plastic mouse-proof containers.  The food is and remains, mouse proof.    I was already to be brave and deal with the mouse when I saw the trap on the other side of the stove - empty!  I screamed again.  For both my sanity and my roommate, I left.  Like he needed me screaming all night!

Long story short, the next morning my parents killed the mouse.  Poor little mouse.  Thank you parents.  I know, it's pathetic that I can't deal with animals or death.  As well, if Jason thinks that he will ever hear this story, he will just have to read it on the blog (which he will not do)  because I will never, ever tell him.  He would be very disgusted with me.  He doesn't understand my fear of animals.  Infact, he thinks that one day I will have a cat.  Ha!  I'd rather have a mouse.

Who knew?  I was so nervous that my last post would sef-destruct that I didn't realize that I only had one photo to go!

Now I can move on to the mosre recent past with this blog.  Such as summer Part II - Wedding Season!  However, half of those photos are not even on my computer. 

The rest of it would be a big long post entitled "How I went from volunteering to help with volley ball to becoming a coach to dedicating a lot of time and energy to learning about volley ball and how to coach to VOLLEY BALL IS MY LIFE!"  I never ever saw this coming.

But back to France.  Ah, France.  The Rhône River.  So relaxing.  So little to worry about.  So much time to think.  So much time to run!  While I was in France, I ran 4 times.  Twice in Paris, twice along the Rhône River, one of those times in a rain shower.  It was awesome!

DSC01946

France Part III

Yes, Thanksgiving was yesterday.  Same old story, I tried to post and it vanished.

Today, we finish up Paris.  This is the Louvre.  Famous art gallery, home to La Jaconde, or as we know it, Mona Lisa.  Originally, it was a castle, or a fortress.  Back in the Middle Ages it protected Paris, which was only a tiny island. Over the years, it was spruced up to become the humungous building it is today. Seriously, gigantic.  This shot does not even show a smidgen of it's grandeur. 

DSC01795

Next we have the models posing in front of Chenonceau.  Yesterday, I had some fantastic internet facts about this place.  Today, well, I will try to remember because I'm not looking for them again.  So, this castle is located in the Loire Valley Region.  It was once the place to be for Royals looking to chill in the country.  What I found to be interesting, was that the castle extends over the Cher River.  In the Second World War, the Cher divided occupied and non-occupied France.  People snuck through the castle to freedom on the other side.  Today, it costs the French mega bucks with the cost of refurbising and up keep. 

DSC01852

In planning our trip, my mom had a dream.  She wanted to eat cheese and bread and drink wine by the Seine.  Well, the Seine is in Paris and that didn't happen for us.  So, we did it by the Cher.  You should have seen us.  Sneaking of the trail we were allowed to be on to find just the right clump of moss in the woods.  This is the view.  Or maybe it's not.  Actually, that's just a good story.  This is the moat surrounding Chenonceau.

DSC01855

This is the view from atop Château Ambroise.  Another lovely castle. 

DSC01867

Moving to the coast where we visited our exchange student and my exchange family in Brittany. I do believe that this is the Granite Rose Coast.  Home of kitchen countertops?  The sidewalks were made of polished granite.  Imagine!

DSC01896

After Brittany, I left my mom and sister, sent them back home and I went south to Lyons and area to see my friend.  This is a view in Lyons itself.  That's the back of a Cathedral.  And that's it for today, I'm not pushing my luck.

DSC01923

I have tried many, many times to post another set of France photos.  Many, many times, there has been nothing but failure.  Silly Vox.  Dashing my hopes, time after time.  Yet I try again.  For the past 30 days, my life has been really busy.  I hit the proverbial wall today at 10:42.  Hello Overwhelmed.  It's been so long since we last met.

What better time to remember a trip to France?

The crazy tourists, this time they had adjusted to the time change.

DSC01722

DSC01749

The Chandelier from the Opéra Garnier.  You know, the Paris Opera House.  Where the Phantom lived?  Anyway, this is where I saw the ballet!  One of the very best experiences of the summer, the year, the decade.

DSC01775

The view from the fifth floor of the Musée d'Orsay.  It has some of the most famous Impressionist paintings in the world.  I realized in how many museums in how many countries I've seen famous Impressionist paintings.  I can't believe how spoiled I've been.   Anyway, we visited this museum on the free museum day.  So did everyone else!  Shocking, I know.  So, I was in a room with amazing Impressionist paintings, which are meant to be viewed from a few metres distance.  Only most people seemed to think that the best view was 5 cm from the painting through the screen of their digital camera.  Don't they know that the gift store sells posters?

DSC01782

Here it is folks - I present, France in Photos 2009:

DSC01689

DSC01694

From the inside...

DSC01703

...out!

DSC01704

Cathédrale Notre Dame from further down the Seine.

I often have problems with posting and photos, so I will quit while I'm ahead.  More photos another time.

And I still haven't blogged about it!

You see, the internet, while I love it dearly, sometimes sucks.  I start writing and uploading photos and then one little click and it all disappears.

Maybe one day I will get it all out, but not today.  You see, the sun is shining in Saskatchewan!  I don't believe in tanning.  Skin cancer and wrinkles and the whole thing.  But even more, I don't believe in tan lines!  Certainly not when I'm going to be wearing a very expensive dress in 3 weeks time!  No, you didn't miss any announcement dear friends, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.  That's not really true, but I am going to be a bridesmaid!  Given this fact, and the fact that I have slight tanlines, despit avid sunscreen protection, I'm going to finish Breaking Dawn in the hot hot sun and I will tell you all about France some other time.  Maybe.

Life is so good that I don't need to blog about it apparently!

So, since my body was diseased, a few things have happened:

• I got better.
• We did some fun things at school.  (big bike trip, swimming, dance lesson, dance club performance, staff parties, etc.)  Each of those things could get it's own post, but it won't.
• Jason moved in for the summer!
• My cousin had a wedding celebration.
• I hung out at the lake.

• Go for a run
• Do laundry
• Return books
• Buy jewelry
• Wash my car
• Wash the floor
• Clean my room
• Pack

• Go to FRANCE!!!!