My Birthday

*Happy Belated birthday Sappho, I hope you had a wonderful one*

Ok so I wrote this one on my birthday - almost 2 months ago - but it's still true.

Thank you Lord for 26 years!!
I had a great day. My unit sang us Happy Birthday (another student and teacher had their birthday this week) and another teacher made a smashing chocolate cake.
All sorts of people remembered and called or wrote.
And I had a revelation this morning which made the day good.

(*Disclaimer* This revelation is an eyeopener. Do not continue reading if you still believe in Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy or other magical occurrences)

Today I realised that my birthday is just an ordinary day.

I usually think of it as a magical day, full of wonder and pleasant surprises. A day when I have a special glow and am entitled to every special treatment: Breakfast in bed, flowers delivered to my door, a candle light dinner, a huge cake specially marked and at least 3 wonderful renditions of the Birthday song. And most importantly, all my friends and close family must remember to call, and if they don't I have every right to be upset.

Needless to say- I've had a lot of crushingly disappointing birthdays.
But today - after my paradigm shift I realised that it is just an ordinary day. Don't get me wrong: it's still the best day of the year and should be declared a national holiday (obviously). But if you have stuff going on and forgot, or if you haven't highlighted the day on all your calenders, I shouldn't take it personally. I can have a great day pleasant surprises or no.

And a great day was certainly had.

heart, Tulip

Staying Connected - 2007 (hope dreams)

(heehee - so I did have a "staying connected" started - but never felt it really reflected much about last year. anyways - here it is with a few alterations)
started 01/01/08
-
hello folks. started this entry in January - think it's about time to complete it and post it.
thanks Sappho for remembering the tradition!

I'm grateful to be here another year. I'm happy that we've, all of us, made it through 2007.


Best and Worst moments of 2007

Graduating - mainly Best because it was time to move on from U of T. (worse because I want to go back - I miss Gospel choir so!)

Coming home has been one best moment after the next. can we say beach!!?? and family??!! and more beach?! especially after hearing about all the snow in T.O?!

Teaching - my new job - has been a series of better (not best exactly) and worst moments. - dealing with teenagers is one of the most mentally taxing things I've ever done. they try to get under your skin on purpose. They make you feel as though you're going crazy!!

One of the best moments was meeting the other teachers - esp one in particular - who had me on my toes (and on cloud nine) for a whole month (and later NEVER CALLED!!!GGGRRRRR)


One of the worst was realising that we are just a breath.

Reuniting with friends and family was one of the best - hands down. we've all changed - but the love is still there.

tulip

Books, books, lovely books ...

I started this recently - but was overwhelmed by the share volume of books that this list contained - shopgirl had a good idea - and cut it down to the first 100. Here is my list to 159 (at which point my eyes started to blur and my interest and enthusiasm waned)(this was mainly because I couldn't format it properly)(well, since you've probably seen this list at least twice already I've taken out the ones I've never heard of) perhaps one day I'll finish the list.
started 29/03/08


*bold those you've read
*add your own
*italicise those you started but never finished
*double star ones you want to read
*Put a smiley face next to the ones you watched (added by me)
*post to your blog, if desired

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien :)
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen :)
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling :)
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne :)
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis :)
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte :)
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller **
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte **
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger **
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame :)
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott **
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell** :)
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling :)
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling :)
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling :)
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien**
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving **
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck **
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll :)
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl :)
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen**
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen **:) (Have you ever watched Clueless?!)
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery :)
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald :)
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas **
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens :)
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett :)
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck**
53. The Stand, Stephen King :)
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell** :)
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden :)
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens**
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough :)
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl :)
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding**
78. Ulysses, James Joyce **
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
83. Holes, Louis Sachar :)
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo **
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel :)
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot** :)
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker** :)
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo :)
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt**
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett**
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. IT, Stephen King :)
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl :)
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King ** :)
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey**
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling

ps - does reading the list of 500 count as a book?

Out of the draft box

Hello dear readers.
Today as I wandered through my blogs (here, therealdeal and tomtales)I realised that there is a lot that went unfinished and unpublished. That saddened me because I have not shared a lot of good stuff. There are some blogs in my draft box that I've never gotten back to I wish I had - because

1. it was good material
2. I've now forgotten what exactly my key words meant - so now things that were probably great stories will never be remembered.
3. In some cases I may have helped someone by expressing a thought or idea.

now don't get me wrong - it's called a "draft" for a reason - sometimes the entry was not up to scratch or way too: personal/preachy/out of character - to be published.... but barring all of those things - I think, it should have been/should be - published.

So - without further ado - here are a few unpublished blogs for you to browse (on all my blogspots).

happy reading.

ps - spart - I need your help on some of the tom posts - sigh - blush - how could I have forgotten so many things about our boy??