In the Pumpkin Patch

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. children’s art always makes me smile

Today we had the dreaded District Review. I knew that we would probably fare well but I couldn’t help but worry about my 15 minute inspection. I stayed up late to make samples for today’s lesson. I got up early and printed some worksheets, left the house without eating breakfast and worked through my lunch hour to set up the classroom for the lesson.

The 15 minute visit was over in a blink of an eye. We had to pretend that the team wasn’t in the room. The teacher wasn’t spoken to but they did ask questions of a few students while they worked. It was a pretty unsatisfying experience.

At the end of the day the staff was asked to come down to the staffroom for a quick overview of what the teams observed throughout the day. The report was positive and down the road a more detailed report will make it’s way back to the school with suggestions on how to move forward. You could almost hear the sigh of relief that every teacher wanted to release as the superintendent gave her report.

When I went back to the library I started to go through all the artwork that my 110 students have produced in the last 2 months. Their beautiful pictures fill me with a sense of pride. I’ve posted a few of the pumpkin pictures that my grades 2 and 3 students completed.

Enjoy!

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Time to Put the Garden to Bed

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. I think we’ve seen the last of the warm temperatures today

After coming back from my reunion with my high school friends I changed into my gardening clothes and started to prepare the garden for the winter. I planted a few shade loving perennials in the front, raked up 6 bags of leaves and pulled the rotting vegetable plants from their garden beds.

I ended up with one very tiny eggplant but the cool temperatures in the last couple of weeks halted any real growth and it started to rot on the plant. As you can see from the picture it’s not very pretty. I’ll try again next year.

The Brussels sprouts look a little more promising. I’ll be pulling the plant apart tonight to see if I can salvage any of it. Love those Brussels sprouts.

A few more bags of leaves to rake and bag and a couple more perennials to plant (maybe some bulbs but the squirrels usually eat them) and gardening for the season will come to an end.

Cheers!

Things to Celebrate

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. a birthday, a reunion and weight loss

Last weekend my oldest daughter, A, celebrated her 33rd birthday. She invited us over for lunch. It was a small gathering; her father and I, her sister, G and her partner, J were in attendance. It was very intimate and the food was great. Unfortunately a few days later both A and J suffered from food poisoning and we’ve narrowed it down to the buttercream frosting on the birthday cake.

This morning when I weighed myself I lost the weight I had gained after my surgery. So I can now officially announce that I am down 34 pounds. Yahoo!

Today a group of my friends from high school had a mini reunion. One friend, LWC I hadn’t seen since 1978. We spent three hours over lunch reconnecting and catching up. What a great time. Old year books were passed around, photos of our families were shared and funny stories were retold. We’ve already set a date in February to get together again.

Life is good!

Cheers!!!!

A Gift….a Beautiful Day in November

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. November 11th, Remembrance Day

As we prepared to go for our walk this morning we had no idea how beautiful a day it would be. The sun was shining and the temperature was warm. Here are a few of the sites we experienced on our walk.

I know that you may think posting a Tim Horton’s sign is odd but we’ve been waiting for months for this place to open. Being able to pick up a coffee on our early morning walks is a special treat, especially since this location is right in the middle of the college where we walk every day.

“Hurry up and finish that coffee, Carol!”

I pass this tree every day. Today was the first time I noticed what an unusual shape it has.

: A few final blooms.

Gaining Weight After Surgery?

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. sometimes I feel like my body enjoys tormenting me

I was very excited about my progress in the weight loss department. It seemed like I was finally moving in a positive direction again. The morning of my surgery I was down another 2 pounds for a total of 34 pounds. I actually thought I’d be down another pound or two after the surgery. Ha!

Wednesday morning I wasn’t allowed anything to eat or drink before being admitted to the hospital. The first food or drink that I had was about 5:00 that afternoon. I figured that I took in 800 calories for the whole day. Thursday morning I was up 2 pounds. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m the only person I know that gains weight when prepping for a colonoscopy.

I took it easy on Thursday. I had oatmeal and berries for breakfast, 2 slices of pizza and salad for lunch and for dinner I made spaghetti squash and a vegetable stew. The next day I was up another 2 1/2 pounds.

On Friday I picked up my activity level and walked 5k and continued to eat sensibly. Still up 4 1/2 pounds this morning. Oh my! What would any sensible person do? Why shop of course. That’s what I do when I’m feeling somewhat down.

First I went and had my hair cut. Great start. Then I discovered that a new Marshall’s opened up around the corner from my hairdresser’s salon. There’s nothing like retail therapy when you’re down because of your weight. The good thing about it was that trying on clothes wasn’t a chore but was actually fun. Not buying clothes from the Plus section is a huge boost for my ego. I’m actually trying on dresses these days and like how I look in them.

When I got home tonight I finally took 3 garbage bags of my ‘fat’ clothes to the Goodwill. There’s no going back now. I can’t afford it.

I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine with my fitness journey. It looks like tomorrow will be a nice day. Frances, K and I will start the day with a nice long walk and later in the afternoon the huge piles of leaves on my front lawn will be bagged and put on the curb. Today K took a great picture of the fallen leaves on the trail where we walk Frances.

Most of the leaves are down.

Friday Drabble: Shameless

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Mama Cormier

Hospital gowns aren’t a fashion statement and the wearers often find themselves feeling ill at ease knowing what lies underneath. Today hospitals supply you with two gowns so that your derriere isn’t flapping in the wind.

Sitting in the waiting room I couldn’t help but be drawn to the young man sitting across from me. It wasn’t his appearance or what he said that caused me to stare. Sporting the blue gown, he sat with his legs wide apart.

I was so tempted to say, “Oh for goodness sake, put your knees together. We don’t need to see your junk!”

A drabble is a very short story of exactly 100 words. Feel free to join in and write your own drabbles on Fridays and tag them with “friday drabble” and on Twitter with the hashtag #fridaydrabble.

A Dusting and Cleaning

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. all is well

Today I went to the hospital to have “my procedure” done. People at work knew I was having surgery but many didn’t know why and found it awkward and difficult to ask me if I was okay and why surgery was necessary. In turn I felt uncomfortable sharing that information but I didn’t want people to think that I had a life threatening condition either.

I have no problem talking about the procedure but I don’t want to make people uncomfortable either. That being said, why do we ‘pussy foot’ around what we’re having done, especially if it involves the female reproductive system? Do we whisper about other conditions that we have? No!

Men always ask if “it’s a woman’s thing?” and if the answer is yes they walk away, not wanting to know the details. Not all “women’s things” are equally weighted when it comes to determining one’s health. A hysterectomy is much more serious than a benign cyst on the uterus and cancer of the cervix is a potentially fatal condition compared to a bout of vaginitis, that is uncomfortable and somewhat painful but not life threatening.

I have to admit that we, as women, have allowed this stigma of don’t ask, don’t tell to perpetuate. Somehow, our mothers have ingrained into our consciousness that our ‘private parts’ are not to be mentioned in public company. It’s almost like we should be ashamed of the ovaries that sustain the human population. How bizarre is that?

I’m as guilty as anyone. When people asked I politely told them that I was only having day surgery and there was nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t think twice about saying I’m having a tonsillectomy, appendectomy or having my gall bladder removed. Many people are even insistent on showing off their scars after a surgical procedure. I really don’t get that but to each his own.

I have contemplated long and hard if I should publish this post. I decided that I needed to put my family’s and friends’ concerns at ease. I also didn’t want my blogging family to worry about me. So here goes. Today I had a D&C or as my friend, J, says a ‘dusting and cleaning’. D & C stands for dilation and curettage where the cervix is widened and the lining of the uterus is removed. I also had a lesion removed. It’s been sent away for testing but I haven’t heard the results. Hopefully ‘no news is good news’. My doctor’s not worried.

That’s it. All is well. If I’ve made you uncomfortable, I apologize but we need to question why female reproductive medical conditions make us feel that way. Wishing you all good health.

Cheers!

Back to Normal?

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. not quite yet

The library has been weeded of 1300 damaged and outdated books, hundreds of new books have been processed and added to the newly organized shelves, and the cases from the book fair were picked up today.

The book fair was a huge success. Over $6700. worth of merchandise was sold and 60% comes back into the library in the way of new books. I had a crew of student helpers that drove me crazy at times with their enthusiasm but I couldn’t have survived the week without them. Today I rewarded them with some of the merchandise from the fair (pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners and treats).

I thought the day would be somewhat normal but our caretaker kindly started to assemble my new desk in the middle of the library and a group of students helped me put the books back into one the carousels that had to be emptied last week before we could move it in the first place. I still have a little bit of paperwork to do before I find out exactly how much money I have to spend on books.

Tomorrow I have to assemble over a hundred peace banners designed by the students to string and hang in the gym for our Remembrance Day assembly on Friday. I also have to get lessons ready for a supply teacher who is going to cover my classes for three days while I’m away. I have to undergo minor surgery and hopefully there won’t be any complications. I foolishly thought I could go back to work the next day but my doctor said I could be off for as long as a week. I’ve booked 3 days which takes me into the weekend.

I have a few more report cards I have to proofread before I can go to bed so I’m going to sign off. Hopefully my new desk will be assembled tomorrow and I’m hoping to share some of the peace banners that my students designed. Till tomorrow. Cheers!

Friday Drabble: The Visitor

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Mama Cormier

She just stood there by my bed, completely shrouded in white. I couldn’t make out her features but I knew instinctively who she was.

It was late at night and I had been asleep for hours. Her presence woke me from a deep sleep. She didn’t make a sound but her appearance startled me and I screamed.

My husband rose from his sleep and tried to console me.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s someone next to the bed.”

She was gone but the cold air lingered and caused me to shiver. My mother had come to warn me.

‘Don’t let him go.’

A drabble is a very short story of exactly 100 words. Feel free to join in and write your own drabbles on Fridays and tag them with “friday drabble” and on Twitter with the hashtag #fridaydrabble.