Monthly Archives: April 2013

My 300th Post and A Great Day After All

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…. but not because of the weather

My 2.2k running route

After walking 1k this morning I started to run. I hadn’t planned on running, in fact I haven’t been able to run because of my cold. I’m not sure if it was the rain or what but something spurred me on to start running and I kept running and running. I didn’t stop until I got home. I felt good the whole time and I think I could probably have gone farther but I decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to push myself much more than I already had.

One year ago I could barely run 50 metres and I remember feeling like a bowl of Jello. Today it felt completely natural and I wasn’t the least bit self conscious about how I appeared in public. I’m not fast but I’ll work on my speed after I can run 5k without stopping. I’m almost half way there now. It’s been 8 hours since my run and I still feel good, no sore muscles or aching joints.

After our walk/run my husband and I picked up our daughter and her partner and headed over to The Junction. It was recently renamed The Junction Triangle but I haven’t heard anyone use the new name. We parked the car and checked out the old record store, the art store, Articulations, and then we crossed the street to The Sweet Potato. We picked up some kale, avocado, almond milk and a few other healthy foods.

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There is a new restaurant that’s opened in the Junction and we had heard great things about it so we headed over there to get some lunch. The restaurant is called 3030 which also happens to be address on Dundas St. W.. When we got there they were serving brunch and we each chose different items off the menu. My choice was a spinach, proscutto and bacon rotolo topped with a sweet tomato chutney. It was delicious. It’s basically an omelette that is filled with the ingredients listed above and then rolled,sliced and baked in the oven.
After lunch we continued to head west along Dundas and took in some more of the sights and other little businesses. I’ll post more photographs of our great day tomorrow.
Happiness File:
1. I ran 2.2k without stopping and I feel great.
2. I spent quality time with my family.
3. I treated myself to a new bracelet.
4. I’ve written 300 posts since I started blogging one year ago.
Cheers!

Another Gloomy Day

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…. but at least it’s a little warmer

We always look forward to the first days of Spring but this year Winter keeps reappearing. Just as we start to think that warmer, sunny days are upon us the temperatures plunge back down to freezing and the skies cloud over, not with warm spring rain but icy cold snow and sleet.

I’m sitting here debating whether to get outside and attempt a long walk with the dog or get in the car and get a little bit of shopping done in the Junction. We need some organic vegetables, coconut water and almond milk and there’s a great store up there called the Sweet Potato that sells all that great stuff.

My husband just checked the weather and the rain isn’t coming for a few more hours so we’ve decided to get the dog out. I’ll continue when I get back.

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Well the weatherman was wrong again. As soon as we stepped outside it started to drizzle but we decided to continue with the walk. We didn’t get very far and it started to rain pretty steadily. We were both dressed in our rain gear so we made the decision to keep going. Initially we thought we would do a shorter route because of the rain but our legs kept us moving on our usual path. 

When we got closer to the rugby pitch something came over me and I started to run/jog. I jokingly told my ‘Girls on the Run’ students that I always run faster in the rain and maybe there is something to that because I didn’t stop till I got home. More about this later.

I just called my oldest daughter and after we dry out a little we’re going to pick her up and head over to the Junction to do some shopping. Maybe we’ll catch some lunch in one of the little coffee shops or restaurants that are springing up all over this up and coming area of Toronto.

Well, so far the day isn’t turning into a ‘gloomy’ day, despite the weather. It’s only 11:00 in the morning and already I’ve had a great walk/run, I’ve written a post for the blog and I’m about to go out do some fun shopping with my husband and daughter. Things are looking up!

Cheers!

The Pure Joy of Discovery

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…the expression on his face and the surprise in his voice made it all worthwhile

For the last week, and more I’ve been pulling prints with the grade 4s and 5s. Today all the 3s and 4s in the school were away on field trips and I had the luxury of working with the 12 grade 5 students that were left behind in one of the classes. This class has been particularly challenging just because of the shear size when combined with the grade 4s and because they are very social and chatty.

I decided to work with the chattiest of the bunch and those that were the furthest behind with their printmaking. Not surprising most of the six that I worked with were boys. I set up a printing station in the hallway and while I worked with small groups of 3 the remaining students were working on a drawing activity that required quite a bit of concentration.

This is the activity that kept the other half of the class busy while I worked with the printers.

This is the activity that kept the other half of the class busy while I worked with the printers.

This set up worked fairly well. The students that I worked with in the printing area were very excited about the whole printing process. My only regret is that I didn’t take pictures while they worked but I found I was very involved with the students and needed to keep a close eye on the their progress. The temptation to cover the walls, floor and each other with hand prints was too great. Luckily none of that happened.

My greatest joy came when I heard the oohs and aahs of the students as they pulled the plates away from the paper or their fabric. One boy in particular was especially surprised at how well his print turned out. It was probably the most focused he’s ever been in art class and it paid off. All the students today loved this activity so much that they gladly stayed behind to help me clean up and there is a lot of washing up when it comes to printing.

Sometimes, when an activity is messy and time consuming, teachers are reluctant to attempt it. The finished products, however, and the pride of accomplishment that the students feel make it all worthwhile.

Next week I’ll take some photographs of the finished projects and post them for your enjoyment.

These are similar projects, done by the grade 4s earlier in the week. The grade 5s designed Greek urns for their prints.

These are similar projects, done by the grade 4s earlier in the week. The grade 5s designed Greek urns for their prints.

Trying Something New

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…just signed up for a 10 week pottery class

Four weeks ago one of our teachers went on maternity leave and a new teacher, DH took over her 1/2 class. I liked her immediately and soon discovered that before becoming a teacher she was a potter. She told me she still taught pottery classes from her studio in her home and that a new session was starting mid April. 

Tonight was the first class and despite the forecast for round two of more bad weather I decided to chance the drive and make the commitment to 10 weeks of classes. I loved the easy going atmosphere of the class. There were only two of us there tonight so I got a lot of personal guidance and attention. I don’t have a lot of experience with clay and DH gave me a lot of good advice and hands on experience with this new medium. 

DH’s other student has been taking classes for 5 years and was working on a teapot. It was interesting watching her make and assemble the spout and handle for her pot. I really liked the texture that she had carved into her pot. 

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DH gave me a demonstration on the potter’s wheel. It’s like magic watching the ball of clay transform into a vase.

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Tonight I made two pinch pots and then combined them to create one vessel. Next week I will be cutting a lid from the top of the pot and carving a design into the clay. I know it doesn’t look like much now but I have great hopes for it. I’m also working on a texture plate for future projects.

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I’ve included a couple of photos of DH’s finished teapots. I don’t think I’ll be making teapots in this session but I can see a couple of bowls and some mugs in the near future. Stay tuned.

ImageImageOh, by the way, the next round of freezing rain held off until I got home tonight.

 

 

From Down to Better

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….funny how one person’s mood can affect your own

For the last few days my husband hasn’t been feeling well. I think he’s fighting the same cold that I’m just getting over but he doesn’t have the cough. It seemed like every day he had a new complication and I knew that all his aches and pains were getting him down. After what he’s been through I understand why he’s worried and depressed.

Today K’s worries and discomfort took a toll on my mood. When I got to school I was frustrated that I couldn’t do anything to help him. I had a heart to heart with a colleague at work who is experiencing similar worries about her husband and at the end of the day I poured out my frustrations to my friend L. I felt better just being able to talk about how I was feeling. 

Later in the day when I called home I offered to come home early but my husband said it wasn’t necessary. I wanted to do something so I offered to make dinner. Normally K does 90% of the cooking. He took me up on my offer so I opted not to go to yoga class because I knew that I wouldn’t get home till 7:30 and dinner wouldn’t be on the table till well after 8:00. 

 I made nice lightly breaded pork medallions, baked spaghetti squash and stir fried mushrooms, spinach and kale. K enjoyed the meal and I could see his spirits were lifted. Amazingly, I started to feel better as well. 

For my happiness file:

I’m happy about having good friends who are willing to listen and comfort me when I’m down.

I’m happy that my husband finally made an appointment with the doctor.

I’m happy that I was able to make a nice meal for my husband so that he had one less thing to worry about.

I know that all of this will eventually pass but what are we going to do about this weather? Temperatures are suppose to hover around freezing tomorrow and there is a possibility of 5 to 10 cm of snow, slush, sleet or hail. Double yuck!!!!!!!

Buying Things for Others Makes Me Happy

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…..especially when it’s not my money

Every year in the library we host a book fair and all the profits go to buying more books for the library and to support the curriculum across different grades and subjects. I had a nice sum of money from the last two book fairs to spend. Routinely the company that runs the fairs sends me catalogues and flyers of all the products that they sell. When I see something that I think would benefit a class or a specialty teacher I pass it on to see if there is any interest.

Today I actually found the time to order everything that a number of teachers expressed an interest in and the best part is that I still have more than half of my credits left. I’m looking forward to approaching more staff to help me spend the rest of the money. I love children’s books and I know it will feel like my birthday when this order comes in. So far half the order will stay in the library and the rest will go into different classrooms.

I have students that are library helpers and they love helping me unpack new books. Next week when this order comes in I’ll have a group of very happy children.

Yesterday I went to a meeting for girls’ soccer and track and field. The good news is that extra-curricular sports are back in the TDSB and I’ve volunteered to coach soccer again. So on days when I’m not coaching Girls on the Run, I’ll be out with the soccer team. Luckily I have some parents that are eager to help me coach the girls and their expertise and dedication are greatly appreciated.

The third reason to be happy today is that the temperatures went into the double digits today and I was able to wear my spring jacket. We had our best day so far for Girls on the Run until the rain started but we were able to get in most of the run before we had to head back inside. It looks like the rain is going to stay with us for a few days and unfortunately we’re being threatened wit a winter storm warning. Really???????

Anyway, new books, warmer temperatures (even if only for a day) and bringing  back extra-curricular sports are in my Happiness File today.

Cheers!

A TV Star I’m Not

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….not even a quick cameo

Two weeks ago I went  to see the Steven and Chris show with my friend D. We got quite the workout applauding, cheering and raising our True and False paddles on cue. The entire time cameras were scanning the audience. We never let the smiles leave our faces.

The audience prompter kept telling everyone what a great looking audience we were. Everyone wore their ‘jewel colours’ and were dressed to impressed. After two and half hours we were sent off with some weird telephone gizmo that I’m not sure will ever be used in my home and we were encouraged to watch the show on April 5th when the segment that we participated in would be aired.

Well I was working on the 5th but I was able to catch the show the next day. Did I see myself on TV? No! For that matter there were very few shots of the audience and when there were the cameras seemed to zoom in on the same 5 audience members. Of course they were all young and beautiful women. The overviews of the audience were far away, always on the side opposite to where I was sitting and they were over in a blink of an eye.

After viewing the show via my television I could see immediately that it was not one of the better shows. Maybe, we as an audience weren’t animated enough but the gadget section was a complete bust and the segment with the experts on parenting was pretty serious and somewhat depressing for anyone with adolescent children. Normally the show is very light hearted, informative and funny.

I won’t lie, I was disappointed not seeing D or myself on TV but in the big picture of life it’s pretty insignificant. What matters is that D and I had a good time, had a great lunch together afterwards and experienced something new and different that we can check off our bucket lists.

All the photos are courtesy of the Steven and Chris show.

Cheers!

Coming up on my One Year Anniversary

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…. I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for a whole year

When I started on this new journey I didn’t know exactly where I was going with this blog. It’s taken me in many directions. It’s been a weight loss journey,

My official 'before' picture taken in March 2012 just before I started my weight loss journey.

My official ‘before’ picture taken in March 2012 just before I started my weight loss journey.

In February, 2013, 33 pounds lighter.

In February, 2013, 33 pounds lighter.

a site for reflecting on my past, an experiment with writing stories and prose, a place to share my new hobby of photography, a gallery for my art work and the work of my students, a cookbook of recipes and a journal to experience and share what makes me happy.

Blogging has kept me on track with my new fitness and eating journey. I’ve never felt better (not counting this cold I’m battling) and I think I look better. I’ve never been happier with myself than I am now. I feel that life has so much more to offer and for me to experience. I look forward to each new day and can’t wait to see where it takes me.

I’ve met the nicest people from all over the world. Thank you to all of you who have liked and commented on my posts. You have no idea how much joy I get from hearing from you. You lift me up when I’m not feeling well or when I’m down in the dumps and you honour me with your compliments and awards. I hope some day to be able to meet some of you when I start to travel more after I retire and I hope if you come to Toronto you’ll look me up and we can meet for coffee or share a meal.

Before the end of the month I hope to reach 10 000 views. The month has started off slowly but that is my own fault. I haven’t had much energy or interesting things to blog about because of my cold but starting today I’m going to try to publish every day. There are 23 days left so that means I need about 30 views a day to reach my goal. Last month I averaged 42 views a day so 30 I think is very doable.

I’m delighted with how many people are following me on mamacormier. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that so many people would want to read what I have to say. Just before the New Year I put out a plea to reach 200 followers and a few kind people made that dream come true. Since then I’ve been steadily getting new followers and am currently sitting at 281. Before the end of the month I’d love to reach 300. Any takers?

So where do I go from here? Well, I’m definitely going to continue with my weight loss and fitness journey. One thing that I’ve learned is that this journey is and will be a life long commitment. I want to live a long and healthy life. I don’t want to live my last 10 years as a statistic and be a burden on society. I have too much I want to do and accomplish in life.

I love the challenges that wordpress and other bloggers put out there so I know that I will continue to participate in some of them, especially the photography ones. I’ll also continue to share the art that my students create and hopefully I’ll find more time to create more of my own art. Who knows, maybe something new will cross my path and I’ll share that with you as well. I can’t seem to focus on any one thing so I tend to do it all. That’s just the way I am. I wouldn’t be happy any other way.

Cheers!

On the Mend

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…. 11 days later and I’m starting to feel better

I’m hardly ever sick. People at work often say “Carol you’re never sick.” This year has certainly been the exception. Prior to this year I never worried about having to take time off to recuperate because over 25 years I had saved up more sick days then I would ever use. This year the government took all our saved sick days away and our sick days for the year were cut from 20 to 11 days. I’ve already used up 7 of those days this year. 

Another downside of being sick is that I haven’t been walking or exercising. I was sure that I had put weight back on but when I finally stood on the scale on Monday I was pleasantly surprised to see that my total weight loss was holding steady at 32 1/2 pounds. Of course that means that all the weight I lost during the 3 day detox was back on but I’m not surprised. Today I was down another pound. 

Yesterday we started Girls on the Run at our school again. I’m one of the coaches and have 15 girls on my team. The weather was very cold. I led the girls in some of the warm-up activities and then we walked/ran for 15 minutes. I have to admit that I only walked yesterday because of my cough. I can go without coughing for hours at a time but speaking too much or laughing or sudden changes in temperature brings on extended coughing spells.  Hopefully tomorrow, on day 2 of this 10 week (twice a week) program, I’ll be able to run a little bit. 

Things are starting to look up. My eating is back on track and I’m looking forward to running again. A year ago I couldn’t imagine saying those words. For most of my life I hated running. I tried running numerous times but I always gave up after a couple of days. I don’t expect to be running a marathon any time soon, if ever, but I certainly am planning on doing another 5K. 

Time to take my evening cold medicine. Wish me a speedy recovery. 

Cheers!