IF YOU WERE HERE FOR TEA.

* We hate the 5 o'clocks. Who invented that hour, anyways? And why on earth would anyone set an alarm to witness those 60 minutes? ICK.

* Now let's discuss the 6 o'clocks. After a 6 day work week, one would expect to enjoy a weekend sleep-in to celebrate their survival. Notta. How can my brain take so long to get over jetlag and get right back into the swing of things during the school year?! BUMMER. Alas, my weekend will feel much longer with these extra morning hours :)

* Phil had his first basketball practice last night and had close to 100% attendance! I went to the gym to say hello and was impressed with how hard the boys were working! I'm pretty sure they are a coach's dream - running with intention, motivating each other, and giving their all. I can't wait for the basketball season! My pom-pom's are ready to go.

* The other night, I came home from work to find Emily and Phil sitting excitedly on the couch. They told me that "something urgent had come up" and then proceeded to sing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", which they'd been rehearsing for 45 minutes. WOWEE. Was that ever a treat!!! I hope for more after-school "specials" this week!!! Practice up, roomies!!!

* Emily says she may be moving out this weekend. I THINK she's lying, although she is doing a good job of convincing us that she's for real: the maintenance man, the cleaning lady, and the internet company are expected at her residence tomorrow morning! At the same time, I KNOW she's lying, because last night she was in tears at the thought of living elsewhere. LILY BEAR - you can stay here as long as you like!!!

* How are all of my hockey fans holding up? Good news has GOT to be on its way soon. It has got to.

* This morning Phil woke up ridiculously early to watch the first football game of the year. Too bad ESPN decided to engage in a frustrating game of hide and seek while the game was on! Yikes. This resulted in a not-so-happy hubby......

* My knee is really starting to feel MUCH better! I haven't tried to run on it yet, but I have been doing some bike/elliptical/walking and my knee has come out on top :) Hopefully a few more weeks of cross-training and icing will leave it feeling ready to go again!

* My Nan and Pop celebrated their 55th Wedding Anniversary yesterday! CONGRATULATIONS, NANNY AND POP!!!! We wish you many more HEALTHY and HAPPY years together! XOXO

* I believe our kitchen can now be referred to as "THE BAKERY". I found myself in a perpetual cycle of baking this week - with banana loaves, mini apple crisps, and cupcakes of all sorts. Good thing we have a few more weeks before another occasion greets us!

* Last night Colleen came over for dinner. It was so nice to see her (because we hadn't all week!) and we really appreciate that she chose to spend time with us, even though she wasn't feeling very well! Hopefully the delicious pizza and tea with honey will cure her sniffles!!!

That's all for now! Be sure to keep us posted on your own adventures this week! Especially our fellow teachers....how did the first week go?!!!

Lesson of the Week:

Happy UN-BIRTHDAY, HUNNIE!

On September 5th, Phil celebrated his 28th "un-birthday". Contrary to me (who has high hopes for my birthday), Phillip is anti-celebration with regards to his special day and asked me not to plan anything in particular for it. Of course, I didn't listen and went ahead with spiderman invites and a teppanyaki reservation. I did abide by his "fine - no more than 10 people" request and besides the entire restaurant singing "happy birthday" loud and obnoxiously, I think he had a great time! The rest of us sure did :)

I hope you had a happy un-birthday my love! Remember....on December 19th I'm hoping for a flash mob (song choice is YOURS) or a REAL puppy. I will take either in lieu of a party ;)

HELLO?!

I know, I know. It's been a few days. I promise to give details of my whereabouts this weekend!

Sending out lots of love! XOXO

Is this CUTE or WHAT?!

Ah - two things that I love: SCHOOL and MATCHING.

Our lunches are all packed for our first day of school tomorrow!

The Last Day of Summer!

Can you believe it?! WOWEE - time flies! Today I celebrated the occasion with some back to school shopping with Emily and Pat! It was lots of fun. I found out that Caribou coffee makes chai lattes (which may even be better than my usual Starbucks version) and I happened to have many successes in terms of new clothes, too!

Ah - now for some TEA, World Track Championships, and RELAXING!!!

IF YOU WERE HERE FOR TEA.

It's tea time in the Parkinson household! Let's catch up:

* Phil has enjoyed many outings to the golf course this week. Tomorrow morning he will dedicate his FINAL day of "summer" to, not surprisingly, GOLF! I'm glad he enjoys the sport so much and he looks really cute in all of his new golf shirts!!!

* Our neighbour Cathy arrived home this morning and she was the best wake-up call a girl could ask for! I was lucky to have some time with JUST HER and I look forward to the adventures we have together this year :) (I LOVE YOU CATHY!!!!!) Oh - and her husband Shahid returns TONIGHT!!!!

* Emily, Ian, Alex and I took a trip to "The Teacher's Cellar" this afternoon. It is a gem of a store - filled with everything that makes a teacher giddy. I purchased some new posters (buy two get one FREE!), an adorable mug (desk-worthy), and some certificates of achievement. I can't wait to get into school on Saturday and add these things to my already-wonderful classroom :)

* Who's still watching Big Brother? The three of us (Phil, Em and I) are confused as to who to root for. I suppose it's the best of the worsts at this point.....

* Tonight I made two chocolate chip banana loaves for "school snacks". Hmmm.....do other people talk about school as much as I do? I mean, why did I have to call it a "school snack". Isn't it just a snack? Haha.

* Sad news about ex-Leaf Wade Belak. I find it rather alarming that he is the third NHL player to pass away within the last few months.

Well, I wish you all a HAPPY AND SAFE September!!! Best of luck as you get ready for "school" (<---- see, I can't stop....).

HELLO SEPTEMBER!!!

Many people have been experiencing the "summer is over" blues this week, but I would like to inform them of the following AWESOME things:

* "Back to school" time is a great excuse to buy new outfits and fancy office supplies.

* Tea party season will really start to take off.......

* All of your favourite tv shows are coming back with NEW EPISODES!

* Brand new shows are starting up too! HELLO "X Factor"!!!

* If you're in Kuwait, the hot weather starts to dwindle and if you're in Canada, the trees start to turn pretty colours!

* We are even CLOSER to Christmas! YAHOO!

See....it's not so bad! Stick together, folks!!!

"Pain is TEMPORARY, Pride is FOREVER!"

This morning I had the house to myself and decided to try Jillian Michael's "Ripped in 30" DVD for the first time. I purchased it this summer - inspired by our current "Biggest Loser" addiction - and have yet to find the space or privacy to actually put it to good use (workout tapes aren't something I can do in public)! Well, thanks to a nearby golf course and a new teacher orientation, the house was MINE ALL MINE and I jumped at the chance to sweat it out with Jill.

HAHA.

I am so glad that no one was home to watch me! The workout was supposed to last for 30 minutes.............which is NOTHING, right?! WRONG. At 14 minutes, I pressed stop and fell on the floor laughing. On the WEEK ONE, BEGINNER workout I felt good for about 4 minutes and lasted for a mere 14. She's tough, I tell ya. So tough that I said farewell to HER and hello to MY TREADMILL :) Ah - that is something that I can do for MORE THAN 30 minutes!!!

All jokes aside, the workout was actually a creative one and I imagine this new found love for "body torture" will motivate me to press "play" again soon.....

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To see the newest addition to the Parkinson family!!! Oh - and don't forget to interact with him :)

(THANK YOU to BUNNYHERO LABS for a night of INCREDIBLE ENTERTAINMENT!)