Author Archives: Mama Cormier

Tying up loose ends!

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…… 3 more days, but who’s counting?

Today was an odd day. It started with trying to deliver the prizes from Jump Rope for Heart to the children who raised money. The boxes arrived late on Friday. When I opened the boxes I realized that the spreadsheet with the list of contributors was not there.

I searched high and low for my copy but to no avail. One of my grade 5s suggested that we sort the prizes according to classes because that was one list I did have. Amidst the chaos, we managed to find enough bags to sort all the prizes but then we discovered that we had a lot of prizes left over.

Some of my students thought that meant they could help themselves to the leftovers but I quickly realized that a large sum of money had been donated online and I hadn’t yet received notice as to where the donations came from. Hopefully the spreadsheet comes soon.

Later that morning we practised walking and shaking hands with the grade 5s so that they would know what to do tomorrow for the farewell ceremony. It’s funny how many kids don’t know how to shake hands or make eye contact. Such an important skill in today’s world.

In the afternoon I opened the report card program to run off some last minute reports that needed fixing. I didn’t get very far because one of our students experienced a panic attack and it didn’t subside. I ended up going to hospital with her in the ambulance. I’m happy to report that she’s fine.

When I got back to school I went back to the report cards. Nothing goes as planned. A good friend showed up to help me with some library issues I had so I put the report cards aside and proceeded to the library. We figured out why I wasn’t able to print off a report I needed and with B’s help I finally had a record of all the overdue books. So much easier than writing them out by hand.

I photocopied the report and placed all the overdue notices in teachers’ boxes and then finally printed the report card that was requested. I finally left school at 6:50.

I know that tomorrow there will be more reprints requested. The morning will be spent rehearsing some more for the farewell, stuffing envelopes to be handed out at the farewell, decorating the gym and trying to keep the grade 5s calm and occupied before the “big event”.

I’ve had a good food day but have found no time to exercise. I’m hoping that tomorrow there might be some good news on the scale. I’ve been holding steady at 18 pounds down. Wish me luck!

Cheers!

Crazy Hair Day and a Relaxing Weekend

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…. how one preceded the other

On Friday I wrote how I was getting ready for Crazy Hair Day at school. When I walked into school I felt like I had the day wrong. I don’t normally have my hair up in 3 pony tails with pink, red and black hair ties. For a change it was other teachers who had forgotten the ‘theme day’ and not me.

I didn’t feel out of place for long. When the students arrived there were a number of them who sported unusual hair styles. What surprised me was that most of them were boys.

….heading up north for a relaxing weekend!

Driving to cottage country on a Friday, after work is crazy. A trip that normally takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours took 3 1/2 hours this weekend. There’s a reason why I normally go up north in the middle of the week and that was it.

Anyway Saturday proved to make it all worthwhile. It was the perfect day, warm but not too hot, and sunny. I actually went swimming. I can’t remember the water ever being this warm so early in the season. I guess the mild winter, early spring and recent heat wave all contributed to the warm lake water.

The weekend was definitely relaxing. I had two nights of great sleep and I’m ready to face the remaining four days of school with the kids.

When I got home I made a great salad that I would like to share with my dieting friends. It’s an Italian Mushroom and Celery salad that I found on 5 and Spice. It is on the previous post to this one. Try it. If you like mushrooms I’m sure you’ll like this.

Cheers!

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Emily (Kuross) Vikre's avatarFive And Spice

First, the bad.  My hometown was ravaged by horrible flooding in the last two days.  Just torn apart.  A torrent of rain developed overhead and wouldn’t budge until it had dumped 7 inches, 9 inches, 10 inches of water in some places.  The wall of water rushed down the hill toward the lake taking out huge chunks of roads and sidewalks, dumpsters and bridges with it.

Perhaps you even saw it on the news yesterday.  I know the story about the seal that was swept out of the zoo by a river of water and was found stranded on the highway received a lot of attention.  Many of the other zoo animals – the little barnyard animals in the petting zoo – drowned.  I spent half the day in unremitting tears about this.  Unfair is not nearly a strong enough word.

It’s horrifying to be reminded how powerless we are…

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….. getting away…see you Sunday night!

I remembered Crazy Hair Day. I’m sitting here with my hair up in 3 pony tails.

It’s going to be warm again today but not as bad as the last 3 days. Looking forward to the beach this weekend.

Cheers!

Ahhhhhh…………Relief!

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………. the rain came and the heat finally broke.

The heat has been unbearable. It makes you want to do nothing but sit quietly. So much for exercising.

The heat makes me retain water and I’ve shown a gain on the scale. It’s also partly due to the stress I’ve been under which also has a negative impact on my weight loss.

After today no more excuses. The heat wave has lifted, the report cards are done, and the activities for next week have been organized and are pretty much ready to go.

I went to see my aunt tonight. She’s still in the hospital but her spirits are good. Tomorrow is her 86th birthday and unfortunately she’ll be spending it in the hospital. I’m away for the weekend but K will probably pay her another visit and I’ll pop in Sunday evening when I get home. It looks like it’ll be Tuesday at the earliest before they release her. The problem is they don’t know what is causing the congestive heart failure in the first place and her lungs aren’t completely cleared.

It’s crazy hair day at school tomorrow. I’ve been pretty bad at remembering some of these spirit days. I’m hoping that writing it down here will help me remember. If I do I’ll post a picture.

Cheers for now!

 

That Feeling of Dread has Passed

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….. my reports are finally done!

I can’t explain how I feel except that it’s a lot better than how I felt on Tuesday.

After the race on Sunday I really wasn’t myself. I felt weird. Even my family noticed I was out of sorts. The comments didn’t help, even though I know they were out of concern for my well being. Saying things like ‘running at my age probably wasn’t a good idea’ or ‘pushing myself was bad for my health’ made me feel insecure and somewhat foolish.

Tuesday was probably my lowest point. I wanted to find a doctor to check me out. I literally had this feeling of doom come over me. I cried at the drop of a pin and I couldn’t think straight. Finishing my report cards seemed like an impossible task even though I’ve been doing them for over 30 years.

My principal and good friend, M, calmed my fears and told me that after everything I’ve experienced this past year I was probably experiencing anxiety attacks or a form of PTS. Word spread that I was having a difficult time and a number of my colleagues and friends started to take some of the stresses off my back by offering to help me with my report cards, go to a meeting for me and just be there for me. I started to feel better immediately.

I also have a few leads on finding a family doctor. I really feel the need to get the go ahead from a physician to continue with my running. I’ll keep on walking and now that the ‘hot’ weather is here I’ll start swimming again as well.

On Tuesday night I went to L’s house and we sat at the computer for 4 hours and finished most of learning skills comments for my students. Today I finished the remaining few comments after school.

That feeling of dread really has passed and I never want to feel it again. 

We’re Having a Heat Wave!

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…. and no AC in our classrooms.

The second day of record breaking temperatures in Toronto and summer hasn’t even officially begun.

This time last year it didn’t even feel like June because the temperatures were so cool. It was great in our rooms but when the last day of school arrived it almost came as a shock because it still felt like spring.

The media is talking about keeping children inside because of the humidity. It’s going to feel like 40 degrees celsius. The only cool place in the school is the computer lab. I’m pretty sure we can’t fit 380 children in there.

Any suggestions out there for keeping this many children cool???

Holding Steady at 18 and the Potato Salad Wars

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…. if I write about it, it usually changes the next day.

After the race yesterday my friend L thought I would drop 3 more pounds, based on the effort I put out during the run. Today my thighs were actually a little bit sore. I notice it mostly when I walk down stairs.

Unfortunately a drop in weight did not happen and certainly not 3 pounds worth. The one side effect of the race is that I am extremely tired and find myself drifting off in the middle of doing something (like checking my email and scanning things on the computer). It looks like it’s going to be another early night.

Yesterday I had a few challenges with eating because of Father’s Day. I’m happy to report that I passed on the KFC, the wine, the apple pie, the bread and the tarts. I did have a small sample of my homemade potato salad. My baby sister and I are having a bit of a disagreement as to whose potato salad is closest to our mom’s original recipe. I’m sharing my version with you.

German Potato Salad With Bacon

5 lb of new white potatoes, skins on

1/2 lb sliced and diced bacon

2 ribs of celery

small bunch of green onions

3 large radishes

3 small dill pickles

pickle juice

mayonnaise

salt and pepper

1. Boil the potatoes with the skin on. If they’re not new potatoes you may want to peel them after cooking.

2. When a knife pierces the potato easily, remove from the heat and drain. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

3. In a frying pan cook the diced bacon until the bacon is crisp. Let it drain on a paper towel. Save the fat.

4. Finely dice the celery, radishes, green onion and pickles.

5. Slice or cube the cooked potatoes and add to a large bow. Add the diced vegetables and bacon.

6. In separate small bowl mix together about 1/4 cup of pickle juice, 1/4 of bacon grease and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like your dressing tart add more pickle juice or reduce the amount of bacon grease. To be honest I never measure the ingredients for the dressing. I go by how it looks and tastes.

7. Add the dressing to the potato mixture and gently toss. Start with half the dressing and if you like it more moist add more as needed.

Best Served Warm

Serves 10 to 12 people

My version of Mom’s German Potato Salad

My Sister’s Version

Potatoes

Bacon

Mayonnaise

Pickle juice

Salt and Pepper

The steps are identical to my recipe but she omits the pickles, celery, radishes, onions and uses way less mayonnaise.

You be the judge!

P.S. This is definitely not a recipe for people trying to lose weight!

I Did It!

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…. couldn’t believe how emotional the experience was.

I actually walked/ran 5 km today. We started at the back of the pack and finished probably in the bottom third. I didn’t come in last and I ran at the start line and I crossed the finish line running.

What surprised me today was how much running I did in between. I can’t say for sure but I think I ran at least 1/3 the distance. At the finish line I could feel myself become very emotional and when I met up with my family I cried like a baby. It was partially exhaustion but also the realization that anything is possible regardless of age, weight or fitness level.

I started off disliking running and now want to continue. I’m already investigating future races later in the summer. I am more motivated than ever to lose more weight.

My brother-in-law took over 600 pictures of the runners coming across the finish line. The ones of L and I are hilarious and somewhat frightening at the same time. The look of determination and exhaustion would make anyone wonder if running at our ages was a good idea and those pictures of me crying….. oh boy! I doubt that I will ever post those pictures unless I decide to use them as my ‘before’ pictures.

I do have to admit that for the rest of the day I felt somewhat disoriented and not myself. I need a good night’s sleep and some time to reflect on the whole experience. I’ve included some photos from before the race and a group family photo with the ‘three sisters’. This last picture was taken about 5 hours after the run.

Cheers!

Coach C and Coach L at the beginning of the race. Coach C came in long before us.

Coach L and me. Looking refreshed and ready to go.

On Father’s Day with the ‘three sisters’, Dad, partner G, hubby K and nephew P.

Race Day!

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…. the day has finally arrived.

I’ve been up since 5:30 and I can’t believe how nervous I am. I know I can walk the 5 km and I don’t have any illusions about running the total distance. I do, however, want to start running and end running.

It looks like it’s going to be a nice day but the weatherman has forecast rain later in the day. After the race it’s off to my dad’s place to celebrate Father’s Day and then back to Toronto to have a Father’s Day celebration for K with our children. My baby sister, CS and her husband leave for Calgary tonight.

Somewhere in between all of this I have to find some time to put the finishing touches on my report cards.

Wish me luck (for the run). Send me some positive thoughts over the airways.

Cheers