Canada is reading again!!

I love to read, I will read just about anything in print.  One of my most favourite time of the year is when the short list for "Canada Reads" is published.  In the past I have tried my best to read all of the (five) novels before the debate starts on CBC.  This year with my school reading taking up so much of my time, I don't think that I will be able to make the time to read them all but I will be listening at the end of March when the discussions take place and will at some point over the coming months read all of the books. 

Canada Reads has had Canadians reading Canadian books for 16 years now and I think it is an excellent opportunity to explore local authors and topics many of which are important to us as Canadians.  Each of the five books short-listed for the prize is "championed" by a celebrity.  They get together for a week at the end of March and every day after a heated discussion one of the books is voted off - until there is only one left standing.  

It is fun to listen to the opinions about the writing and cheer for your favorite book.  

I encourage everyone to check out the short list and challenge you to read even just one of the titles:

Canada Reads 2018 book list

If you like what you see, check out the past lists - I am sure that if you are a reader you will have already enjoyed many of these titles, if not, perhaps a few new favorites await you!

I am off to the library!!

Quick share for a grey Friday morning.

This morning I participated in an activity during one of my classes.  The task seemed so simple "teach your student about place value."  Such a simple concept, the ones - the tens - the hundreds.  It should have been a snap.  It was not.

What I learned today is that because you understand a concept and have been using it for many decades doesn't always mean that you have the vocabulary to explain it to another human being.

Wow - what a moment for me when I realized that I had no idea how to say it out loud.  I wasn't lacking in respect for people who can explain simple concepts before, but my admiration for these people has been taking up a notch or two (or three).  

I am so glad that I attended class today - I have a lot to think about and many skills still to acquire before this program is over.  

Humility +1

IP - You can make Limoncello!!!! (This might be the best thing that ever happened to me)

First let me say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to stop by and read.  I am doing my best not to be freaked out about the number of visits to this blog and just keep my wits and try to write from the heart and keep it authentic. 

Second, to the anonymous person who commented on my Instant Pot post you inspired me to do some web searching.  Unfortunately I could not find a way to make wine in the IP <*cry> however I found this lovely post about how to make Limoncello and will definitely be giving it a try.  In all reality I don't plan to do this until the weather gets a little better, somehow it doesn't feel right to have a beautiful lemon martini while the rain is coming down and winds are howling BUT, spring is on the horizon here on the west coast I expect the cherry trees will be in full bloom within an other 4-6 weeks and a sunny day will feel like the right time to get this happening. So, if you are local and you see Meyer Lemons a the market please let me know so I can stock up!

IP Limoncello

Mitts!!!! OMG I love mitts!!!

OK, so I have learned that blogging on the weekend is OUT.  There just isn't time to be alone with my thoughts and make sentences that make sense. There is just too much soccer and chores and spending time with the family.  So, going forward, I wont even try to think about this place on the weekend.

Moving right along ...

I love to sew.  Making quilts is a meditation for me.  My husband describes it as taking a piece of fabric, making it smaller, sewing it with other fabric to make it big again, cutting it small again and repeat.  I would sew every day if I could but the truth is that it really takes time to set up and get organized and get going.  Also, because I do most of my work on the sewing machine I can't really take it with me when I go.  With school taking up a huge percentage of my time I just can't fit it in.  This is why I have taken up knitting!!  I can pack yarn in a bag and take it and work while I watch my kids play soccer, while they swim, while they are in piano lessons, the list goes on and on.

I am still very much a beginner, trying to add skills as I go and build on what I have done perfecting and improving what I know and expanding to different and more interesting projects.  Right now I am hooked on Mittens!

So far I have made 7.  They are all different.  I have been using up all my odds and ends and have intentionally made them in complementary colours so any two can be worn together as a "pair".  

They are kind of addictive to make - I can now knit one up in two evenings (or one evening and a coffee morning with the lovely school moms).  

If you ask - I will give you a pair but my kids keep claiming them so you may have to be patient!!

Alright, it is time to get back to the books.  This afternoon I will be reading about Communication and Identity and then moving on to preparation for my class tomorrow which is Managing Student Behaviour in Educational Settings both of which are full of thought provoking material. 

Blogging - is this a test of character or just an opportunity to brag about your life?

We all should know by now that the internet, especially social media is an unreal slice of someone's life.  If you don't we should talk and I will explain it all to you over coffee - but you have to buy.

Facebook, Twitter, Blog posts ... all of it is only what people want you to know about what is happening with them.  It is much less likely that we are going to sit and write all of our sadness and failure rather we are going to brag about the cool stuff that we have been doing or share something interesting that we have learned. 

I was thinking about "what to write next" because, honestly, this blog is still very daunting.  I wanted to be able to share something fun or funny or thought provoking and it occurred to me that trying to write this page is forcing me to try and be a more interesting person or maybe just highlight the more interesting parts of my personality and my day.  The truth is I spend up to 5 hours a day attending classes, reading and pouring over assignments for upcoming due dates.  When I take a break from school work I do dishes, run laundry and clean the house in preparation for the next thing that my children are doing or gather their uniforms, or basketball shoes or swimming goggles and put them in a bag.  A lot of my day is pretty mundane and not blog worthy.  

So there is my truth, any time I do something that might be slightly interesting or shareable - I snap a quick photo with my phone thinking to myself, maybe this will be something that I can write about.  I am sure that you don't want to hear about how many times I have edited a forum post for a class I am taking or how many hours I have spent searching for cool math games on line for an upcoming assignment ...it's just not worth your time to read about it.

Enough about that.

Many of you who know me already know that I love to work with my hands.  I sew and knit a lot.  I like to pull weeds in the garden (though you wouldn't know that from looking at my yard) what I also really enjoy is jigsaw puzzles.  They drive me crazy and I get pretty manic about getting them done, I am working on that, there is a quiet joy about a puzzle that I have a tough time explaining.

I am just getting started on this one and am very excited to see it develop over the coming weeks.  I got this for my birthday and have been looking forward to getting it started for a long time.  I don't have nearly enough time to spend on puzzles I am lucky to get 1-2 hours per week so don't expect to see a completed picture any time soon!

I just wanted to share my starting point with you.


and with that - I will sign off.

Instant Pot Revolution

Chicken!!!!

Ok - I will admit I was skeptical at first but I am a full card holding member of the Instant Pot fanclub!  (IP for those of us "in the know")

It feels strange to admit it out loud but this appliance has changed my life.

I find myself searching the web, lurking in Facebook groups and talking with my friends at school pick up about what they are doing with their IP.  The whole thing feels a little cult-like - have you got one? Do you use it?  Have you tried yogurt? Have you quit pre-soaking beans before you cook them?  Do you use the presets or are you all about manual settings?  I could chat all day long.

The truth is this thing is GREAT.  It has saved me countless hours and enabled me to produce things in my kitchen that I have never before even wanted to attempt. 

Three things I cook in my IP every week:
1.  Chicken (from frozen as a last minute dinner because I spent too many hours working on class work and neglected to think ahead to dinner and now it is 4:00 and I need to change gears and feed my kids ASAP)
2.  Root Veggies especially as soup - I fill the IP to the top with squash, potatoes, yams, onion, carrot lots of herbs and spices, throw in about 3 cups of chicken stock fire up on manual for about 15 minutes, quick release, blend and enjoy!
3.  Yogurt.  This is more of a commitment than most other Instant Pot endeavors.  Because you are working with bacteria you kind of need to do some reading and make sure that you know what you are doing.  It is also essential to own a really good thermometer.  Once you have done your reading and understand the process the results are AMAZING!  We eat yogurt every day and love the variety and options that I can get out of an easy 2 liters of plain yogurt fresh each week.

Just like crock pots and batch cooking, IP is a lifestyle choice either you are into it or it collects dust.  I am a busy person and have really enjoyed the time saving factor as well as the results I get from pressure cooking ... as a matter of fact I think I am going to post this and get some garbanzo beans in my IP ASAP so I can roast them up and send them in lunches tomorrow!

Here is a link to how I do beans in the IP:  IP Garbanzo Beans


Leave me a link to your favourite IP recipe in the comments!

We all have to begin somewhere

So here I am at the beginning of January, in the middle of a school year (a school year for me as well as for the kids).  Starting a new chapter in my life or perhaps this chapter started in September when I became a full time student but who I counting?  Right?  I have been at home with the kids "working" as a full time home-maker for several years.  Last year was one of the best years of my life - my baby started Kindergarten and I was free!!  I had lunch with friends, drank coffee all day, spent a load of time reading, sewing, walking - I even went to the gym once in a while. It was a life of leisure.

Then I had a stark realization - there had to be something more.  It simply wasn't enough.

Lots and lots of soul searching, and thinking, and praying until one day it dawned on me - the thing that I love more than anything else is being with children.  Not just my children but all children.  It became painfully obvious to me that I needed to be in the classroom, however going back to university and spending an other 4 years in school is not an option for me.  I need this to happen ASAP!  AH-HA - I can become an Educational Assistant!! 

The search for an institution to train was not an easy one.  Because I am still a full time parent and taking care of my family is my number one commitment I did not want to do this through a traditional setting where I had to go to prescribed classes at a college, I didn't want to deal with parking, I wanted the flexibility to work late at night, early in the morning, while the girls are at school.  Distance education really started to feel like the right fit for me. 

After an unsuccessful attempt to attend school here in BC through College of the Rockies (nothing wrong with the school just that the wait list was WAY too long).  I found myself applying for and being accepted at Northern Lakes College in Alberta.  

The journey so far has been amazing.  I can't say enough good things about the College, the staff, the course content the entire experience has been a dream come true.  I could go on at length about my learning and everything that I am going through with these classes and maybe I will an other day, but for today you are spared the details. 

So here I sit - writing this blog.  This is an assignment for a class that I am taking for a course called Introduction to Educational Computer Applications.  My intention is to use this time to tell my story, or at least chapter of the story that I am living right now.  My fear is that I don't have anything to say or that perhaps I have too much to say.  My next fear is that I will share this and someone will read it, I am also terrified that nobody will.  I am required to write for a week - maybe if I enjoy this I will continue.  

I promise nothing - so you wont be disappointed.  I will write and see where the words take me.  An advantage to me is that I am a busy and creative person.  Maybe I will share a recipe however this is NOT a food blog.  Maybe I will share a knitting project but this is NOT a DIY/Crafting blog.  It's just a place for me to share.  So that's that.

One housekeeping item:  the T key on my laptop sticks so sometimes that creates strange typos that I don't notice.  Please be understanding and if in doubt try to add a T to the sentence somewhere.

I would love it if you would comment, contribute and help me make this a worthwhile assignment.  When I get brave I will share this with my social media network as well as my classmates.