SAND + WIND = AWESOME.

Today we woke up to a very dusty day. My immediate thought was "DUST DAY!!!", but Phil told me not to get my hopes up and we continued to get ready for school as usual.

When we showed up to work, there was a note on the front door that said "School is still happening"! That squashed any dreams we had of a surprise day off and so we went ahead and got busy in our classrooms. The kids started to roll in, face masks and all, and the phones were ring-a-ling-linging like you wouldn't believe. Still - nothing.

Well, about 30 minutes later we got "THE" call! The one we were hoping for: SCHOOL IS CANCELLED - GO HOME!!!!!!!!!

YIPPEE-YA-HOO!!!!!!!!

The coffee is back on in this house! After a busy weekend of basketball at the school, it is nice to see Phil relax and watch sports at home :)

Have a happy day everyone!!!

LUCK OF THE IRISH.

How weird is this?

When we were dropped off at the apartment tonight, Phil checked his pockets (a usual OCD routine of his) and discovered that his phone must have fallen out in the taxi.

How weird is this?

BEFORE we got out of the cab, the taxi driver gave us his phone number (like all taxi drivers do) and in this VERY RARE OCCURRENCE, we accepted it!

How weird is this?

I had my phone with me (okay...maybe that's not so weird) and was able to quickly call the driver to come back to our house.

How weird is this?

WE GOT IT BACK!!!! Our new friend "Bassem" broke the rules of one-way traffic to return the mobile to us!!!!

The luck of the Irish is REAL, I tell ya!!!! We may not have had it on the court today, but we sure did have it this evening!!!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS BULLDOGS!!!!

Phil and I just got home from the tournament banquet where Phil's team was awarded the SPORTSMANSHIP TROPHY! This is an especially excellent accomplishment for our school, as we have never won an award of this sort before. In fact, our school has had a poor reputation in the past and Phil has worked hard to reverse this in the last year and a half. Well, MISSION ACHIEVED! WAY TO GO, COACH! Another reason why I admire and adore you. I LOVE YOU! XOXO.

Did I tell you I was looking for a black purse?

Well, today I found one :)

My Rules.....

....for picking teams in this March Madness pool I was signed up for.

1) Ignore the so-called "seeds". Isn't that where the "madness" comes in?! Who doesn't love a good underdog story??

2) Teams with bird mascots are OUT.

3) Teams with blue & white colours are IN. GO LEAFS GO! Yes, I know this is a basketball tournament.

4) Teams that sound like my favourite people are IN. TAYLOR/BAYLOR. Ya with me?

5) Teams that remind me of my favourite movies? ALSO IN. Ah-hem - does Vanderbilt ring a bell? I love Legally Blonde.

With these in mind, my desired FINAL GAME looks like this:

BAYLOR vs. VANDERBILT.

I think.

Right Phil?

Haha.

This house is a MAD HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!

Painting Smiles!

In between basketball games today, Emily, Sophia and I ventured out to an art exhibition at the trendy & posh mall. The exhibit was called "Painting Smiles" and included many pieces of work done by sick children at local hospitals. Much of the work was sold on opening night, but we were still able to admire the paintings that remained! The three of us decided to join the kiddies at the craft table to contribute some work of our own (my artwork is the red, green and black one!) and we made a donation to the children's hospitals in lieu of a painting purchase. Surprisingly, we were given goodie bags upon departure - ones with fun mugs, t-shirts, crayons, and drawing paper inside! YAHOO! Talk about knowing your audience ;) A great outing, indeed.

What a WEEK!

I am finally at home - having a tea and doing NOTHING. It feels nice. So nice that I may just ignore any knocks on the door and continue to enjoy this cozy couch and cup of tea :)

Science fair is ALMOST over. Phewffff. These projects have been months in the making and Sunday is the "big reveal" - where parents and other classes may come and admire the hours of work our students have put in. Some of the teams were selected as finalists this week and will be re-judged by outside individuals in the fight for first, second, and third place. I am so proud of my students that made it to the finals! And even the ones who didn't. We all learned (yes, ME TOO!) so much from this process and I know I will do a much better job as their mentor the next time around.

In other news, the varsity basketball tournament is ON! Phil has been at school for most of yesterday and today (he's still not home!) and will head back for another full day tomorrow. His varsity team is playing their hearts out but the competition is tough! You should see the teams at this tournament! WOWZERS! The experience will be great for the junior varsity boys that he called up.

Other than too many hours at the school this week, things are well and we are looking forward to our trip to London in two weeks! January, February and March have been jam-packed with events and we look forward to slower times in the months to come :)

Off to make decaf tea with honey #2 (<------ how do cheerleaders deal?!).....

XOXO

P.S. Do you like my new mug? It's from a charity art exhibition we attended today! More details on that later :)

IF YOU WERE HERE FOR TEA.

* Today we found out that we don't have to host a fellow basketball coach this weekend. Although we are more than willing to do so, it is a nice relief when you don't have to worry about picking up more groceries, baking some snacks, prepping the spare room, and cleaning the house.

* Speaking of cleaning, I felt so guilty about my dishes-piled-up-and-maid-called-in-sick incident last week that I did ALL OF THE DISHES before Shani arrived today. I also folded the laundry in an attempt to de-spoil myself a few notches.

* Science fair judging took place yesterday and today in class. To make things fair, all of the science teachers were assigned to judge another grade level. I have been working with the grade five classes, which means I haven't seen my kiddo's since BEFORE the long weekend! Weird, but true - the whole swap has left me feeling quite anxious and I think the students feel similarly. I peaked at them walking into class without me - nervous to present their science fair projects to someone who is NOT ME. Tomorrow we reunite and I am eager to hear how they did over the last two days :) (Side note: Who needs to have kids when you already have 83 of them?!)

* Today marks TWO YEARS since Phillip proposed to me at the bottom of Mount Kilimanjaro. He has the best memory and has actually re-proposed to me both last year and this year. I told him this morning that while I love his annual proposal, it's not the same without the "JUMBO!!!!" interruption. Accordingly, we've decided that from this year forward, the first person to say "JUMBO" on March 13th gets a prize! Little does Phil know, I've become a huge believer in Google calendar :)

* Porter Airlines had a sale on this week. You know what that means? We're headed to Thunder Bay again this summer! Can you see my smile from there?! Haha. At least we are flying instead of driving. And this time we get to meet Zan's baby girl!!! Phil called Grandma to inform her of our visit and she was overjoyed! Phil was too. Ultimately, both of these things make me VERY HAPPY :)

* Rumour is the Parkinson family has signed me up for some sort of March Madness pool. Until Phil gets home from basketball today, I will be looking up team colours, mascots, and touching personal stories about individual players. These are the three criteria I will use to make my selections. If you would like to help me out, I welcome any fashion reviews and heartwarming biographies. Ohhhh - I suppose I could extend my criteria to include good team cheers as well. WATCH OUT PARKINSON'S!!!!

* I am boycotting Facebook and People.com until I can secure a copy of the Bachelor finale. Right now, the odds seem to be against me! It could have to do with this sandstorm outside....

* Today it was 30 degrees! YAHOO! Finally - warm weather!!!!

That about covers it. There's really not too much room for excitement when you fall asleep at 7:37 p.m. That was on DAY TWO of this work week. Today is DAY THREE. I might as well hop into bed now ;)

Reasons I'm terrified of our social circle....

1) Alex had pink eye last week.

2) Emily currently has some cold/flu thing going on.

3) Cathy found out she has bronchitis this morning.

4) Ian has been diagnosed with ALL of the following illnesses: bronchitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, and colonitis. Accordingly, I will only refer to him as "itis" from this point forward.

Until these sickies get better, our new BFF's are vitamin C and Dettol!

Oh - and SLEEP! GOOD NIGHT!!!!

The Cave-Man Chronicles.

This morning, after several weeks with his new "Blackberry"......

Phil: Oh, hun! I know why I was missing your calls all week!

Me: Why?

Phil: Because my phone has been on silent the whole time!

Me: PHIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Somebody PUH-LEASE help this man learn to use technology.