Happy Friday! On Sunday...

Alright folks! So I kind of missed Friday. However, there have been lots of good things this week so I decided to write a happy post for the week anyway. So time to link up with Amanda! Here are some things that made me happy this week:

- Last weekend, I got to explore a new town with someone and meet lots of new people. It was lots of fun. Quite an adventure!

- On Monday, we got little mealworms for one of our projects. They were cute but unfortunately, most of them are in the pupa stage now and not moving around...

The little white bean-shaped things are the pupas. They don't move.
We were going to race these guys but it might not work out so well.

- Monday night, we made clay coil pots in our art class. It was so much fun. I definitely am not a pro but I enjoyed it and the product wasn't horrible.

I may never be a famous artist but it's not too bad for a first... Right?

- On Wednesday, we had a snow day. It was full of beautiful flakes. And I also went grocery shopping with my friend, Ms. A and we got lots of delicious food. We also enjoyed a wonderful homemade supper and chai lattes.

Mmmmm... Strawberry shortcake and homemade chai latte. Delish!

- On Thursday, my new sweater came in. I ordered it online and thought it would only be delivered Monday. Guess I was lucky! I put on said sweater and was so cozy, I didn't want to change for my evening class. So I didn't but was worried people would really notice. Turns out half my team had the same idea. Yay!

This is the warmest, coziest sweater I think I have ever owned.
I dare you to get one and try to not wear it constantly.

- For our P.D. day Friday, we had an interactive science day and one of the things we did was a dredge sample. I did lots of these in my B.Sc. so it was fun to get back to it. One of the groups at our table had some leeches. So cool!

Apparently these aren't blood sucking leeches. They were kinda cute
and swam around the petrie dish in a wave-y pattern.

- Friday, Ms. A came by again. We went to the mall and I bought bookshelves! We then assembled them and now all my DVDs are in one of them (instead of the boxes which are now housing mealworms).

I will need two or three more of these if I bring all of my DVDs back
from Ontario. And then my mom's shelves will be bear.

- Yesterday, I went to see One for the Money with Ms. A. It's based on a book by Janet Evanovich in the Stephanie Plum series. I think it's the first time I have seen my name used for a main character in a book, movie, or song. It was very cute and definitely makes me want to read the series now.

- After the movie, I bought a mixer at Zellers. That means no more painful potato mashing or cream whipping. Hurrah!

So excited to use this. I almost want to back a whole bunch of stuff... And
make two tons of mashed potatoes... And three bowls of whipped cream...

- Last night, I went to a hot tub party at one of my fellow BEd-ers house. It was so much fun! We ate lots of delicious food, went snow rolling, and then watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. by a warm fire. She also has the cutest little Yorkie puppy so I got some cuddles in.

Isn't she just so cute? This picture doesn't even begin to show how
tiny she actually is. And she smells like puppy. Aww... I want one.

- Today, I decided to try a cool braid that I found on Pinterest. My hair isn't quite long enough yet for it to work out but it's getting there. Keep growing, hair. We're almost there!

Not quite enough to get to the other side but almost!

There were lots of highlights this week. I am such a lucky person to have a life filled with so much love, happiness, and fantastic people. What made you happy this week?

Yay!!!

Just saw this on Facebook. Thought I would share. Only one week to go!

Happy Friday!

Yay! It's Friday. My last Friday as a relatively free person. It's back to the cave (a.k.a. my room) once classes start on Monday. But let's link up to Amanda again and talk about the wonderful things we have encountered this past week.

- Playing guitar. My daddy gave me one of his guitars for Christmas so I learned two new songs. It was so much fun to get back into the musical routine. And the guitar means so much more than a new one because it's one that my dad enjoyed for years.

Ain't it purdy? It sounds awesome too! You should see
the back of it too. The pattern on the wood on the back is
pretty much perfectly symmetrical.

- I got to sit at the laundromat with my aunt for a couple hours and just talk and enjoy time together. I'm going to miss her now that I'm not around for a couple months.

- Seeing cute pictures with funny little details. For example, this picture of us walking in a park.

Notice how our feet are pretty much exactly in the same position? Awwww!

- Meeting new people: you never know what to expect and sometimes, you're lucky and you get a pleasant surprise!

- I got a card from my friend in Alberta with pictures from her wedding. It made me very happy. So many wonderful memories.

It was such a fantastic night! She was one of the most beautiful
brides I have ever seen. Ever!

- Starbucks with Amanda! Yay! I missed her. And everyone from my program. So moving back to my city of friends was a good thing.

- Goofy moments during "Family Supper/Movie Night": We had one pair of kid's 3D glasses so we wanted to see if I could wear them under my normal glasses because they can't fit on top. This is what resulted:

I think they look super classy! Much  more so than the normal way
of wearing these fabulous 3D glasses.

- Meeting my best friend's girlfriend for the first time. This guy deserves all the best things in the world. And he has definitely found someone who is wonderful for him. So maybe he found the best person in the world. I am so happy for him!

- Went to see the Muppets Movie (with above friend and girlfriend). All my students told me how much they liked it. And they had good reason to. It was so cute! I loved the music in it. I miss the Muppets.

- Bought a new calendar. And it's a Happy Calendar! I am all about trying to see the positive in situations and be the happiest person that I can be. Sometimes it can be hard work, but it's definitely worth it.

I should probably read this book as well... Actually, I should probably
get a start on my copy of The Book of Awesome as well...

- I got to see my posters again. They are the most random pair of posters but I love them and they make me smile. So there!

Adorable elephants and Doctor Who! Who could ask for anything more?
Well, poster-wise, at least.

- I put in a new scent in my Berger Lamp and it smells delicious. I'm happy to have it back in my life.

My mom always used Ocean Breeze which I loved. But I felt like something
fruity when I bought mine so I tried Pear which smelled delicious.
This time I got Cranberry which is absolutely fantastic as well.

Those are just a few of the things that made me happy. Feel free to comment or link up to share what made you happy this week. Hope the next week is filled with wonderful, joyous things!

Such. A. Nerd.

Alright folks. I am going to demonstrate to you the extent of my nerdy-ness. As I may have previously mentioned, I am a huge (majorly huge) fan of Disney movies.

I would much rather read this...

than this!

And one of my favourite parts of many of these Disney movies is the music.

You may be thinking "Sure, sure. Every kid loves Disney music." But when I say that I am obsessed, I really mean obsessed. My cousin and I used to sing the songs all throughout recess in elementary school. I consistently get yelled at by my sisters: "Stop singing along! You're so annoying!" My friend and I were once singing "Just Around the River Bend" from Pocahontas so intently while canoeing that we didn't see a rock in our way and capsized.

So I believe that it can be assumed that I know a great majority of the lyrics to many of the songs from a large amount of Disney movies.

Well tonight, while reading Facebook comments, someone continued the song "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast in this way (and I quote): "Little town, made of little people....waking up.. to... Say......" As you might imagine, I freaked. I was so bothered by the mistake that I could not read it again. Also, I desperately wanted to correct it. But I held back and opted for writing a blog post about it instead. Good plan, right?

So did any of you catch the mistake? If not, here is the video. See if you catch it now...

Hope you all found it pretty easily. Here is a hint. It's in the third line of the song.

Well, I think that is enough of my nerdy side for now!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S. Also, exciting news! Beauty and the Beast is coming out in 3D very, very soon! Yay!

And there is going to be a short based on Tangled afterwards. Could we ask for anything more?

Happy Friday!

Hey all! I'm sorry I kind of dropped off the face of the Earth for a while there. End of internship and holidays had me kind of crazy. But I hope this is the first in a multitude of regular posts. Time to link up with Amanda again to discuss what made us happy. I have a whole list of things, not just from this week. Here are some things that brightened up my life in the last little while.

- Christmas Baking! It's lots of fun and helps to spread Christmas Cheer! :)

Here are the results of my first day of Christmas Baking.

- Kids saying the darndest things. One of the famous last quotes in my classroom: "I know what epiphany means... I watched the Simpsons Movie!"Really?! That is where you learned the definition of the word epiphany?!

"Spider Pig, Spider Pig. Does whatever a Spider Pig does!" That is the
only part of the movie I am aware of - I've never actually seen it myself.

- Ten minute hugs from students who keep telling you how much they will miss you. I'm going to miss them too!

- Having the most amazing supervising teacher who helps the most amazing students plan the most amazing surprise party. Look at all the decorations they put up! I felt so special. And spoiled!

They also wrote lots of fun things on the boards.

- Christmas Spirit! This is what my youngest cousin ask for on her Christmas list (well she had more but these were very important): a baby jesus cross (e.g. a wooden cross on a necklace - which she wore around the house and out everywhere) and christmas decorations. This is a 5-year-old's list. How sweet and thoughtful is that list? So Christmas appropriate! This same child came to visit my elderly grandmother (who is not her elderly grandma) and cheered her up on Christmas day.

Here she is - after she helped me with  my makeup Christmas Eve.

- Funky aprons! They are so much fun and help you cover your fancy clothes (see below for an example with my cousins).

The one in the middle is wearing my apron. Love Anthro!

- Cheesy puppy Christmas things. Like antlers, for example.

Christmas Guinny!

- Impromptu visits to my mommy. She got me a ticket right before Christmas so that I could drive back home with her and then fly back home. It was so nice; relaxing and fun! We got to use the hot tub in the snow!

Ta-Da! I love his hands... "No! Snow! Please don't attack me!"

- New books. They are so exciting and I just can't wait to read them; like many things in life, anticipation just makes it better. I went shopping with my mom and got two new books.

Same person who wrote some books I read recently.
Heard this one was great!

This book came highly recommended by a good friend.

- Fun and cheesy Christmas movies. For example, I watched both Santa Baby movies. Santa Baby 2 didn't have the same male actors in it which decreased it's quality greatly.

Starring Jim Carey's ex-wife whom I have dubbed
The Queen of Cheesy Chick Flicks.

- My wonderful, wonderful grandma taking on big challenges to help people and animals. She recently adopted a miniature poodle from a puppy mill who hadn't been socialized by humans. Ever. At all. We looked up the best way to person train her and she is slowly getting used to having humans around her. That means we had four dogs at my grandparents' house this Christmas. That's practically a zoo!

All the puppies in the kitchen, throw your paws up at me!
(Sing this to the Beyonce song and it sounds much cooler...) 

Number four eventually came in...

All the little things combine to create such a beautiful life. What made you happy lately?

Happy Friday!

Thank goodness it is Friday! It is time to link up with Amanda to talk about the things that made us happy this week. So here goes!

- I got much better at my exercise routine. I went from being able to do about two walking push-ups to doing all seven in both sets. Woohoo!

- One of my students at school asked me if I would come visit when my internship is done. It just about broke my heart but it was nice to know she would miss me as much as I will miss them.

- I listened to lots of wonderful music, appreciated it, and talked about it. It even turned one of my blog posts into a guessing game. And also getting virtually yelled at by my cousin because she thought I didn't recognize the theme from Beauty and the Beast. I also found it that this movie is coming out in 3D after Christmas! :) Thanks Chrissy!

- I got to eat so delicious soup with biscuits. This might seem kind of boring but I love biscuits. A lot. I ate five of them with my bowl. It was wonderful!

- We did a science experiment in my class and the kids loved it. We are making salt crystals and it was been working wonderfully so far. It's actually helping the kids understand the structure of crystals. Yay!

This is what they should end up looking like. Yay!

- My voice is back! I'm excited about it but my students might be a little bit less so.

- I'm taking over all of the classes next week. That's right folks. I'll be taking over a full classroom. Should be fun. I've decided I'm going to do a reading circle-type activity. I'm excited.

- I suggested Holes to a few students who didn't like reading. It has now gone viral in my classroom. Students are calling dibs on the two copies we have. It really is a great book, by the way. Check it out!

- Wednesday was a snow day! We all went to school in the morning, disappointed that it hadn't snowed and school wasn't cancelled. Then, briefly after recess, it started coming down fast and everyone was sent home at lunch. Surprise!

- We made oatmeal cookies and made ice cream sandwiches out of them and I completely forgot to write about it. They were delicious! Post to follow...

- My mom, stepdad and sister have gone to New York. You might think that it is weird for me to be happy to have been left behind from a trip but I'm happy cause I'll get to hear lots of wonderful stories when they get back. Last time they had a picture of Lucy Liu. Without them in it of course... Silly gooses!

It looked something like this. You couldn't tell it
apart from any other picture of her.

I realize that most of my happy things happened in my classroom. Well, I guess that might be because that is where I spend most of my time. But I'm hoping it has more to do with having picked the right career.

I hope all of you had a wonderful week as well. Feel free to share! :)

More Classical...

So today, I was sitting in class marking math tests and lesson planning while waiting to go home. Of course, I was listening to classical music again. Suddenly, a piece came on and it sounded, really, really familiar. Not just "I've heard it before" familiar but like, "This was kind of a big deal and it was part of something" familiar. Then I remembered where I had heard it!

It was the whale song from Fantasia 2000!

This piece was kind of a big deal because I love whales. A lot!

While I was searching for this video, I also found a re-scored version which was pretty good. Although I like the original better.

Anyways, after listening to this clip, I realized that it wasn't the same at all. I had heard it somewhere before, though.

What I was looking for was Dvorak's 9th Symphony! More specifically, the first movement, an adagio in E minor. (P.S. Sorry for the lack of accents on his name.) But then it hit me! I totally know where I heard this song before. It was in Barbie as Rapunzel which my youngest sister used to love (almost as much as I love the whale video). That's right folks, I have watched Barbie as Rapunzel often enough to recognize a piece of classical music from it.

You hear part of it in the intro during the narration of the story and other parts of the intro when the movie's theme isn't playing.

And you also hear it when she first goes to the village, which I heard it is supposed to represent (you know, since it is also called From the New World, according to Wikipedia). You can hear it if you go to about the five minute mark in this next video.

As a matter of fact, bits and pieces of the piece play pretty much throughout the whole movie. It is kind of sad that I know this movie well enough to pinpoint specific parts where the song is noticeable. Oh well! That's me. 

Either way, the piece is absolutely beautiful. So here is a more complete, not Barbie-full version of it! Enjoy!

Ahhhh!

Olo! Watching Megamind in 3D; that's a whole extra dimension of awesome!

Woohoo!

I've Been There!

So I am watching Leap Year again and thought again about how the castle ruins at the train station looked familiar. It looked like a castle my Gramps and I visited when driving through Ireland, Scotland, and England this summer, even the little church at the bottom of the hill. But there was no tower at ours... 

Castle in the movie...

Well, guess what?! I googled it and part of it was computer generated. But the bulk of it is Dunamase Rock Castle. And I went there! It was the first thing my grandpa and I visited! How cool is that?

Look familiar? I guess I've seen it from pretty much every angle so I see the resemblance more.
I was even climbing all over the walls.

I'm pretty spoiled! It still baffles me to think of the fact that I've been to such ancient, beautiful, magical places. Thanks for the wonderful trip Gramps! I will never forget it.

Gramps and I in the "courtyard"...

More Georgie!

My mom and I had this book series that we always read when I was a teenager. The series is absolutely hilarious. I mean, funny to the point that I had to stop reading because I was crying from laughing so hard. The series was Confessions of Georgia Nicolson written by Louise Rennison.

The series is written as the diary of a 14-year-old British girl. It is kind of like a PG-13 Bridget Jones. Georgia is a super drama queen with a knack for the quirky. The first instalment in the series is called Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. So you can just imagine what the stories are like.

Well the point is that today, I found a Georgia Nicolson movie! That's right! I watched it and it was actually pretty cool. I mean, the acting wasn't the best and it was a little cheesy but I loved it because I loved the books.

Anyways, I might not super recommend the movie but girls who read this blog. If ever you want a quick, easy, hilarious read, check this series out!

A Little Princess

I think that every girl dreams of being a princess at one time or another; whether to have all the beautiful dresses you want or have a handsome prince rescue you from all your troubles. Heck! I still find myself wishing for a Prince Charming today. We all want to be swept off our feet, told we're beautiful every day, and be loved unconditionally. (Oh yeah, and live in big castles with lots of beautiful children and delicious food. Tough luck!)

But really, this quote and the story are completely heartwarming and uplifting. The little girl, Sara, is inspired by her father and an Indian woman named Maya who tells her "All women are princesses, it is our right." This knowledge allows her to overcome all of her challenges when her father disappears in the war and the school Headmistress moves her to the attic and treats her like a slave. Her belief in every day magic and her positive attitude is something I can only aspire to have.

I read this book when I was a young girl and I have watched the movie at least twice in the past month or so. I should definitely read the book again. 

For those of you who have not heard of it before, check it out. It is definitely worth it. It will make any day better. 

Le Émotifs Anonymes...And a Little Bit of Star Trek...

I was so excited when I found out my dad found this movie for me.

It is a Bridget Jones-y rom-com from France. I enjoyed it so very, very much. Angélique is a member of a kind of a "dramatics anonymous" group where people with confidence issues and who seem to create drama go to talk. Angélique dreams of being a chocolatier and gets hired by a man who has his own emotional issues. But things simply don't work out as planned.

The characters are so loveable and completely human. To get her confidence up, Angélique constantly sings the confidence song from The Sound of Music. It makes me so happy because this is the song that my dance teacher chose as my "theme" during my dance years.

The actors are fabulous, with their quirks and their awkwardness. Isabelle Carré reminds me of a French Amy Adams. Benoît Poelvoorde, who plays the chocolate factory owner, gives such an honest and endearing performance. I can't get enough of it. I'm going to try to convince my dad and René to watch it today! After all the Star Trek. I think this might be the beginning of a French movie kick!

P.S. They totally quoted Peter Pan in Star Trek's Undiscovered Country. Captain Kirk just said: "Second star to the right and straight on till morning."

Alice!

I love Alice in Wonderland! The imagination in Alice's story is amazing and everyone knows I am a huge fan of imagination. For weeks, I have had the song from the introduction of the original Disney version stuck in my head. You know the one? All the flowers...

Anyways, I finally got my copy of the movie from my mommy and I was so excited to finally be able to watch it. And then I went to my dad's house and he had the 3D version of the new Disney one. You know, the Tim Burton movie.

This version does lack the musicality of the first and is a tad bit scarier. Okay... Well quite a bit scarier. But I still love it. It has the typical darkness and creepiness we love so much in Tim Burton movies and his fellow workers. Even people who move out on their own after having worked with Burton seem to adopt his style (a.k.a. Coraline).

The point is, I tried to read the book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll when I was younger but didn't get very far in. Everyone talks about how the author was using every drug in the book while writing it. But recently, I heard a story about how the stories were initially told to Carroll's niece and that when you go to England, you can take a tour of all the places and things that inspired Carroll's stories. Since Amanda and I are going to teach in the UK next year (at least we hope we will... Hopefully our positive attitudes will secure us a job), I hope to be able to take said tour. However, before I do so, I Must read both Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland.

However, I am very busy and also have a huge list of books I want to read. So I make this vow on my blog; it's way more official and the pressure is much higher when written on my blog - kind of like the "Facebook-effect". I, Stephanie, shall read both of these magical stories before the end of Christmas Break and keep blogs about my progress or you, the few readers or fellow bloggers who read my randomness, shall give me a consequence. Not sure of what that is yet. Maybe you all can think of something? It is time. Read away!