It’s been so long

Oh my!  It’s been such a long time since I’ve blogged.  Has life ever gotten away from you?  Mine did, which explains my hiatus from blog land.  And life doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.  Therefore my posts are going to be very sporadic from here on out.  I'd love to have time every day to blog something new, but it doesn’t look like that will be on my agenda any time soon. 

So what have I done in the last 2 months?  Here's a recap:

• Back to work.  I have a class of 28 grade 4’s this year.  I love my kids.  It’s a great group of kids, more girls than boys, but an active class.  I have a couple of challenging kids in the class too, but nothing that this teacher of 8 years can’t handle.  Lots of planning and marking has been happening this year.  Once again I’ve taken on the Salmon Hatching program.  We just went to our local hatchery to collect salmon eggs (coho), then we fertilized them and put them in our school’s aquarium.  They should be at the eyed age in about one month, and we should see alevins in about 2 months.  In the spring we will release them into one of our local streams. 

 

• I started my graduate studies program in Education.  This will take 2 years to complete.  I haven’t quite decided my concentration yet, but we have our first project to complete by December 2nd.  My cohort meets about once per month for a Friday evening and all day Saturday.  Friday’s are tough, especially after a long day of work, followed by a 1 1/2 hour drive to get to my class.  Luckily, I can stay with someone that lives close by, so I don’t have to drive home Friday night. 

 

• Juicing heaven!  I decided in August that I would finally buy myself a juicer.  Yes, I already have a Vitamix which I enjoy using often, but I still want to be able to make fresh vegetable and fruit juices that are full of nutrients and vitamins.  After doing a lot of research, I finally decided on the Jay Kordich Powergrind Pro Juicer.  The reviews were good and the price was desirable.  The pros?  It was an easy cleanup, the machine was quiet and the juice yield was pretty good.  As for the bad news?  I was disappointed with how wet the carrot pulp was.  I could still squeeze alot of juice out of the carrot pulp.  After about a week, I returned it and started researching other juicers.  I did find a very good one, but the price was twice as much.  I will post more about my juicing experiences later. 

 

• October 7th I left for Germany with my family for my grandfather’s 100th Birthday celebration.  It was a quick trip, as I returned on the 16th.  How amazing is it to be able to say that my grandfather is 100 years young?  It was awesome to be able to spend time with my family.  I realised I have a large one too.  There are 42 of us, including all of my aunts, uncles, 1st and 2nd cousins.  Wow!  The party was held at my cousin’s house and everyone was able to make it.  I believe it was the first time that everyone came together in the same room.  Memories were made to last a lifetime.  Then one week ago, I received the unfortunate news that my grandmother passed away.  I am so grateful that I was able to see her one last time before she passed.  I know she held on just long enough for the family reunion and celebration.  RIP Oma! 

Well, since being back from Germany, things picked up right where they were left off.  I’m back to working full time and really enjoying my class this year.  The craziness of Halloween is over (thank goodness).  I’m back to bootcamp as well and just made a fresh batch of juice today. 

As for coming up with fresh, new, healthy concoctions in the kitchen?  It hasn’t been happening much.  I’ve been eating lots of oatmeal, sandwiches and quick dinners like spaghetti, stir-fries and salads.  I’m hoping to have a new creation for you very soon.  Something yummy is baking in the oven as I write this and if it comes out tasty, I will share it with everyone. 

Back soon I hope.

Beaglebea.

xoxo