As I sit by the lights of the Christmas tree, I'm taking a little time to reflect on the year that was, 2017.
Ultimately, it was a great year. I finally became a full-time permanent teacher and we finally moved to Cornwall. There have been a lot of firsts this year: we have a yard for the first time which means yard maintenance for the first time...grass to be cut, weeds to be pulled, leaves to be raked, etc.; we needed to worry about covering our central air unit, turning on the furnace and turning off the outside water tap, all for the first time; we've had to make a trip to Ottawa for a Costco run, for the first time; we've spent Christmas Eve in our own home and slept in our own bed on Christmas Eve for the first time; we opened Christmas gift in our own home by our own Christmas tree, for the first time.
Beyond these very personal events, we were fortunate to spend some of our summer at the cottage, attended Bluesfest where we saw P!nk, Toby Keith, Melissa Ethridge, Tom Petty, Alan Doyle, Jake Owens, Tim Hicks, Mydy Rabycad, Molly Hatchet, and Wicked Grin (along with a few others). We attended my cousin Tara-Lee's wedding, where the bride and her parents were flown in to the ceremony which took place on the tarmac at the Canadian Air and Space museum followed by the reception in the museum.
As I already stated, it was a pretty great year. I am blessed to have a husband who loves me and to, now, be living in the same city as my parents, brother and niece.
I'm excited to see what 2018 has in store!
Monday, January 1, 2018
Friday, July 14, 2017
Hurt and Confused
Almost a year ago, a friend of mine (I referred to her as Dundas in a previous post) just up and stopped any and all forms of communication with me after almost 20 years of friendship.
I have tried my best to accept that this is a choice which she has made and to just move on with my life, but it still hurts. She has been my partner in crime for many adventures and even treated me to a wonderful trip for my 40th birthday which was only 4 months previous to her cutting me out of her life. Over the course of the past year, a lot of big things have happened in my life: in the fall of 2016, after almost 11 years, I finally earned a permanent position within my field and it was in my hometown which I have always wanted to return to. In the spring of 2017, said permanent position was confirmed for the fall of 2017 which helped to put the wheels in motion for the impending move to my hometown. I'm super excited to finally be moving back, along with my husband and our dog, and have found a beautiful townhouse which we will call home.
All of this would normally be huge life-changing things that said friend would be happy to celebrate with me, but instead, she remains silent.
At this point, I'm fairly certain that I couldn't really let her back into my life if she asked because I simply can't go through all of this heartache again. That being said, it would be nice if she would at least come forward to tell me why our friendship is over.
I do believe that I am stuck in a strange, frustrating and disappointing situation.
I will try my best to move on.
I WILL focus on all of the good and positive things in my life :)
I have tried my best to accept that this is a choice which she has made and to just move on with my life, but it still hurts. She has been my partner in crime for many adventures and even treated me to a wonderful trip for my 40th birthday which was only 4 months previous to her cutting me out of her life. Over the course of the past year, a lot of big things have happened in my life: in the fall of 2016, after almost 11 years, I finally earned a permanent position within my field and it was in my hometown which I have always wanted to return to. In the spring of 2017, said permanent position was confirmed for the fall of 2017 which helped to put the wheels in motion for the impending move to my hometown. I'm super excited to finally be moving back, along with my husband and our dog, and have found a beautiful townhouse which we will call home.
All of this would normally be huge life-changing things that said friend would be happy to celebrate with me, but instead, she remains silent.
At this point, I'm fairly certain that I couldn't really let her back into my life if she asked because I simply can't go through all of this heartache again. That being said, it would be nice if she would at least come forward to tell me why our friendship is over.
I do believe that I am stuck in a strange, frustrating and disappointing situation.
I will try my best to move on.
I WILL focus on all of the good and positive things in my life :)
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Feeling Heartbroken :(
What does one do when a friend of almost 20 years suddenly decides that they are no longer speaking to you? I wish I knew the answer.
About a month ago, a dear friend, I'll call her Dundas, stopped responding to my messages. I have had a crazy year, living an hour away from my home, albeit with my parents, in order to be super close to work. I know that I haven't been the best friend and acknowledge such when Dundas and I were together to celebrate my 40th birthday. I flat out said that I was looking forward to the summer so that I could be a better wife and friend. You see, I was only spending Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights at home. This meant that I tended to prefer to spend my time with my husband because we really weren't getting a lot of time together. The summer would mean that I would have much more freedom with my time which would mean that I could spend time with some friends too.
However, when I messaged Dundas to try to make some plans, there was no reply. I gave it a couple of days, we all get busy, and messaged again. Still no reply.
I had noticed that some of Dundas' Facebook posts have been sort of dark and I messaged her again to tell her that I was concerned about her. Again, no reply. At this point, I reached out to a couple of mutual friends, one of which was kind enough to tell me that Dundas was angry with me for various reasons, most of which were long past and somewhat petty, in my opinion anyway.
I have since sent her one last message basically stating that I believe that after almost 20 years, I believe that I deserve an explanation of why she isn't speaking to me, but that too did not receive a reply.
I am heartbroken, pissed off and frustrated. I don't know what to do. I do not want to lose Dundas as a friend. We always have a great time together and I miss her terribly. My hands are tied and now all I can do is wait for her to decide to talk to me again....maybe.
One would think that at 40 years old all of this crazy crap would be over and done with but I feel like I'm back in high school and my friends are trying to choose sides between me and my ex-boyfriend...ugh!
About a month ago, a dear friend, I'll call her Dundas, stopped responding to my messages. I have had a crazy year, living an hour away from my home, albeit with my parents, in order to be super close to work. I know that I haven't been the best friend and acknowledge such when Dundas and I were together to celebrate my 40th birthday. I flat out said that I was looking forward to the summer so that I could be a better wife and friend. You see, I was only spending Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights at home. This meant that I tended to prefer to spend my time with my husband because we really weren't getting a lot of time together. The summer would mean that I would have much more freedom with my time which would mean that I could spend time with some friends too.
However, when I messaged Dundas to try to make some plans, there was no reply. I gave it a couple of days, we all get busy, and messaged again. Still no reply.
I had noticed that some of Dundas' Facebook posts have been sort of dark and I messaged her again to tell her that I was concerned about her. Again, no reply. At this point, I reached out to a couple of mutual friends, one of which was kind enough to tell me that Dundas was angry with me for various reasons, most of which were long past and somewhat petty, in my opinion anyway.
I have since sent her one last message basically stating that I believe that after almost 20 years, I believe that I deserve an explanation of why she isn't speaking to me, but that too did not receive a reply.
I am heartbroken, pissed off and frustrated. I don't know what to do. I do not want to lose Dundas as a friend. We always have a great time together and I miss her terribly. My hands are tied and now all I can do is wait for her to decide to talk to me again....maybe.
One would think that at 40 years old all of this crazy crap would be over and done with but I feel like I'm back in high school and my friends are trying to choose sides between me and my ex-boyfriend...ugh!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Getting Ready to Move
It's been a long time since I've written anything, but the spirit has moved me so here I go.
For the past 13 years, I have lived in the same apartment with my amazing husband. It's a VERY small one bedroom with way too many belongings! Although it has been stressful at times (there's nowhere to go if you are angry with the other person) I truly believe that part of what has kept us so close and connected all of these years, is the itty bitty space in which we live.
I have often complained about the space and how much I have wanted to move but I've come to realize that our relationship wouldn't be as strong as it is, nor would we enjoy each others company nearly as much as we do.
All of that being said, WE'RE MOVING!!! I am unimaginably excited! We are finally moving on to bigger and better things. I feel like our lives are finally moving on. Onto bigger and better things. Our lives are finally moving forward after being stagnant for so very, very long. We will finally, after 8 years, be able to use all of the wonderful gifts that were given to us as wedding gifts by friends and loved ones. In a way we will be able to relive the love that we felt when we received those gifts so many years ago. I can not even begin to write about how thrilled I am to know that in less than a month, my home will be home to my great-grandmother's dining room table and chairs and china cabinet. We will have an organized, clean and tidy apartment that we can be proud of!
This is such an exciting time for us and I know that hubby is just as excited as I am! Stay tuned for updates!
For the past 13 years, I have lived in the same apartment with my amazing husband. It's a VERY small one bedroom with way too many belongings! Although it has been stressful at times (there's nowhere to go if you are angry with the other person) I truly believe that part of what has kept us so close and connected all of these years, is the itty bitty space in which we live.
I have often complained about the space and how much I have wanted to move but I've come to realize that our relationship wouldn't be as strong as it is, nor would we enjoy each others company nearly as much as we do.
All of that being said, WE'RE MOVING!!! I am unimaginably excited! We are finally moving on to bigger and better things. I feel like our lives are finally moving on. Onto bigger and better things. Our lives are finally moving forward after being stagnant for so very, very long. We will finally, after 8 years, be able to use all of the wonderful gifts that were given to us as wedding gifts by friends and loved ones. In a way we will be able to relive the love that we felt when we received those gifts so many years ago. I can not even begin to write about how thrilled I am to know that in less than a month, my home will be home to my great-grandmother's dining room table and chairs and china cabinet. We will have an organized, clean and tidy apartment that we can be proud of!
This is such an exciting time for us and I know that hubby is just as excited as I am! Stay tuned for updates!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
When will it be my turn?
Nine and a half years. That's how long is been since I received my Bachelor of Science in Education. I have had my Ontario College of Teacher's certification for the past 9 years and my French as a Second Language Parts I and II for the past three years or so. I have had approximately 8 Long Term Occasional contracts between the Upper Canada School Board and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario, not to mention years and years of daily supply teaching. All of this, and I STILL don't have a permanent teaching position. I don't really mean to complain, but when I constantly encounter teachers who are much younger than I am and who have only had their Bachelor of Education for a couple of years but who have successfully been placed in a permanent position within one of the schools in the Board I just can't help but be pissed off!!! I mean, come on! I have YEARS of experience; I have attended just about every workshop that the Board offers; I have completed every possible step of the New Teacher Induction Program that I am able to complete without having a permanent position; I have successfully completed 2 of the 3 part of the FSL specialist qualification; I have written report cards at every level from Kindergarten to grade 7; I have taught every grade from Kindergarten to grade 8 in both English and French;
Somehow, I still don't have a permanent job.
This week saw me drive to Alexandria to Cornwall to Rockland for interviews for 6 different LTO positions that I had applied to not to mention that I applied to another 4 postings this week. I have been interviewed so many times over the past 4 years that I almost don't need the interviewers to ask the questions.
Oh well, I guess it truly is in God's hands now. I have done my best with the interviews and now I just have to wait for the decisions. Even after all of these years I truly do believe that the good Lord put me on this planet to be a teacher and I WILL NOT give up until I have reached my intended destination!
I guess ultimately, I simply want to know when it will be my turn to begin my life and get on with my career and family as intended.
Somehow, I still don't have a permanent job.
This week saw me drive to Alexandria to Cornwall to Rockland for interviews for 6 different LTO positions that I had applied to not to mention that I applied to another 4 postings this week. I have been interviewed so many times over the past 4 years that I almost don't need the interviewers to ask the questions.
Oh well, I guess it truly is in God's hands now. I have done my best with the interviews and now I just have to wait for the decisions. Even after all of these years I truly do believe that the good Lord put me on this planet to be a teacher and I WILL NOT give up until I have reached my intended destination!
I guess ultimately, I simply want to know when it will be my turn to begin my life and get on with my career and family as intended.
Friday, June 7, 2013
I'll be loving "them" forever
On Wednesday June 5th 2013, my best friend and I headed out to ScotiaBank Place for a GREAT girls night out. For the second time in two years (and the third time in my life) we went to see the New Kids on the Block!
I will admit that, yes, they are no longer "Kids", with most of them being fathers and all of them being in their 40s, however, they definitely have the energy of a bunch of kids! But I digress.
We arrived a SBP around 7pm for a 7:30 showtime. The tickets that we had purchased were for section 223, row E. Pretty great seats and we were super excited since we would be a full deck closer then 2 years ago. Upon our arrival on the concourse, one of the ushers asked us where we were sitting. We told her and then inquired why she had asked. She informed us that they were moving people down to the 200s from the 300s. She then informed us, that if we walked down a little further to the blond lady in the red shirt she had tickets for the 100s. With absolutely no conversation we headed over to the other usher and told her that the other usher had told us that she had tickets for the 100s. She asked, rather unnecessarily, if we wanted to move down to the 100s to which we both VERY quickly said yes. We ended up in section 114 row E...only 5 rows up from the floor :) We were beyond excited and couldn't believe our luck! The stages were so close I hardly needed to use the zoom function on my camera!
First up was Boyz II Men. They sounded great and we both agreed that we enjoyed them more than we had anticipated.
Second, 98 Degrees! We were both super excited to see 98 Degrees as we had bonded over them many years ago when we were in university and had spent New Year's Eve 1999 freezing our asses off on Parliament Hill with our friend Jaimie to see them in concert. I have to say, although they sounded great, we were both a little disappointed. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but we didn't get it. Oh well, you truly don't always get what you want and since we had been so fortunate to have our seats moved down a level we surely weren't going to complain!
At this point of the evening, we had to endure a 10-15 minute intermission before NKOTB took to the stage. At about 9pm the lights went down, the stage filled with smoke and the screams were reminiscent of years gone by when we were all teenage girls! The "Boys" took to the stage and began their set with "We Own Tonight", the first track off their newest album "10". It was a perfect choice because it truly felt like we did own that night! I certainly felt like a teenager again (on some levels anyway) but I also certainly had some VERY adult thoughts running through my mind on more than one occasion, lol.
New Kids performed for almost 2 hours straight, stopping only for a few costume changes and to chat with the crowd!
Donnie, of course, ended up without a shirt and one point, much to the delight of the crowd and me! I have always been a Donnie fan and that hasn't changed over the years. I have noticed that the DW fan base seems to grow with each passing year :)
When the show ended, I was on cloud 9! I actually felt as though I was intoxicated and my BFF and I talked and squealed about the show like a couple of teens all the way home!
Wednesday June 5th 2013 will forever be etched in my memory as one of the best nights of my life! Now, they just need to come back again in a couple of years so that we can relive our youth once again! I couldn't be happier that NKOTB chose to tour again, and I can only hope that they will continue to do so in the years to come :) Thanks for coming to Ottawa "Boys" and we hope to see you again soon! I know that we will be talking about you and your fantastic show for a long, long time!
I will admit that, yes, they are no longer "Kids", with most of them being fathers and all of them being in their 40s, however, they definitely have the energy of a bunch of kids! But I digress.
We arrived a SBP around 7pm for a 7:30 showtime. The tickets that we had purchased were for section 223, row E. Pretty great seats and we were super excited since we would be a full deck closer then 2 years ago. Upon our arrival on the concourse, one of the ushers asked us where we were sitting. We told her and then inquired why she had asked. She informed us that they were moving people down to the 200s from the 300s. She then informed us, that if we walked down a little further to the blond lady in the red shirt she had tickets for the 100s. With absolutely no conversation we headed over to the other usher and told her that the other usher had told us that she had tickets for the 100s. She asked, rather unnecessarily, if we wanted to move down to the 100s to which we both VERY quickly said yes. We ended up in section 114 row E...only 5 rows up from the floor :) We were beyond excited and couldn't believe our luck! The stages were so close I hardly needed to use the zoom function on my camera!
First up was Boyz II Men. They sounded great and we both agreed that we enjoyed them more than we had anticipated.
Second, 98 Degrees! We were both super excited to see 98 Degrees as we had bonded over them many years ago when we were in university and had spent New Year's Eve 1999 freezing our asses off on Parliament Hill with our friend Jaimie to see them in concert. I have to say, although they sounded great, we were both a little disappointed. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but we didn't get it. Oh well, you truly don't always get what you want and since we had been so fortunate to have our seats moved down a level we surely weren't going to complain!
At this point of the evening, we had to endure a 10-15 minute intermission before NKOTB took to the stage. At about 9pm the lights went down, the stage filled with smoke and the screams were reminiscent of years gone by when we were all teenage girls! The "Boys" took to the stage and began their set with "We Own Tonight", the first track off their newest album "10". It was a perfect choice because it truly felt like we did own that night! I certainly felt like a teenager again (on some levels anyway) but I also certainly had some VERY adult thoughts running through my mind on more than one occasion, lol.
New Kids performed for almost 2 hours straight, stopping only for a few costume changes and to chat with the crowd!
Donnie, of course, ended up without a shirt and one point, much to the delight of the crowd and me! I have always been a Donnie fan and that hasn't changed over the years. I have noticed that the DW fan base seems to grow with each passing year :)
When the show ended, I was on cloud 9! I actually felt as though I was intoxicated and my BFF and I talked and squealed about the show like a couple of teens all the way home!
Wednesday June 5th 2013 will forever be etched in my memory as one of the best nights of my life! Now, they just need to come back again in a couple of years so that we can relive our youth once again! I couldn't be happier that NKOTB chose to tour again, and I can only hope that they will continue to do so in the years to come :) Thanks for coming to Ottawa "Boys" and we hope to see you again soon! I know that we will be talking about you and your fantastic show for a long, long time!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Who would have thought?!
Here I sit on a Sunday night, with my wonderful hubby beside me, watching Wrestlemania 29! If someone had told me that this would be something that I look forward to each year, I would have told them that they were crazy! The fact of the matter is, WWE wrestling is my guilty pleasure :) I love the insane storylines and the drama...not to mention the hard bodies and sexy men. I also love how involved the WWE has become in various organizations such as Make a Wish, National Guard, Armed Forces, and the Susan G. Koman Foundation just to name a few! The philanthropy is amazing and heartwarming!
I also love watching because it's one more thing that Hugh and I get to share. Our compatibility is one of the things I love the most about our relationship! We can simply sit and watch and discuss the outcomes or predict what we think is going to happen. Strange how something that I watched as a kid simply because it was on TV and I would have lost my life to my brother if I had tried to change it, has become something for me to bond with my husband over!
Well, it's time for one of the biggest matches of the night so I'm off to watch the phenom that is The Undertaker!!!!!
I also love watching because it's one more thing that Hugh and I get to share. Our compatibility is one of the things I love the most about our relationship! We can simply sit and watch and discuss the outcomes or predict what we think is going to happen. Strange how something that I watched as a kid simply because it was on TV and I would have lost my life to my brother if I had tried to change it, has become something for me to bond with my husband over!
Well, it's time for one of the biggest matches of the night so I'm off to watch the phenom that is The Undertaker!!!!!
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