I have nothing better to do.

Alt Ed Project

2012-02-13T20:26:00.002-06:00

I had a lot of fun doing a project for Alternative Education. One of the things we did was an audio historical art tour of the University of Winnipeg. We prepared podcasts that people downloaded and then listened too at the different sites. Lots of fun.

Here is the link to the website I set up for the project.

cheers

World Simulation Game

2012-02-12T23:01:00.001-06:00

Don't let me forget. We played a world trade and conflict simulation game on Wednesday in my War Affected Children class. It as a lot of fun. I want to go over some of the rules and guidelines and stuff.

cheers

My Brother is Funny

2012-02-05T10:46:00.002-06:00

After my post about At-Risk Education my brother told me I reminded him of Mr. Kotter from Welcome Back Kotter. Here is link to a great clip from the show.

I love Mr. Kotter. He's awesome

cheers

I hate my Car

2012-02-03T21:09:00.002-06:00

Ok, I don't hate it that much. I'm just tired of it. In the month of January I spent more than 50 hours in it and drove almost 5000 km. Not fun. That's a lot of study time down the drain. On the bright side I only have 6 weeks left.

Yahoo!!!

cheers

Bud

Where Am I Being Led

2012-01-28T18:16:00.005-06:00

I've mentioned this to a few people but I thought I'd say it here anyway. I've been wondering if God is kind of leading me down a certain path or if these opportunities are presenting themselves because I am open to doing them. Where do I start. About 6 years ago I worked at GVC as an EA. I spent time with students who were considered at risk of dropping out. I really enjoyed this opportunity and really felt a connection to the students there. I got to work with them again the next spring. It was great. Fast forward 5 years later. Last semester I had the opportunity to do some student teaching in an alternative track classroom. Again, with students who either a: had not succeeded in the regular classroom and/or b: were at risk of dropping out. What a great bunch of students. It was chaotic at times but also fun. This semester I had the opportunity to take a class at university called Mentoring At-Risk Youth. Instead of going to class I'm doing mentoring in the Aboriginal Centre at the University of Winnipeg. There are some students who are working towards getting their GED. And I'm being asked to teach Math for one of the GED sections. AND this semester I will be spending time at the Teen Centre as one of the classes I'm teaching for my practicum. So again, is God leading me down a certain path or are these opportunities coming because I am open to doing them? Tina said it's both. God is providing opportunities to places where he knows I can serve and for some reason I'm smart enough to recognize the fact that I can be used in these areas.

I had a friend tell me last week that I have the heart of a great teacher. I also had someone tell me the school needs me. It's all a little overwhelming. I wrote a paper during my first year of university about how I wanted ALL students to know that there was a teacher who cared for them. I was going to be that teacher who cared beyond the classroom and treated my students with respect. I've tried to maintain that credo throughout my years in the education program.

It's time to walk to the talk.

cheers

New Class

2012-01-20T23:16:00.002-06:00

I'm taking a class this semester called War-Affected Children.

Yes, it is as heavy as it sounds.

cheers

Learning Test

2012-01-19T12:38:00.002-06:00

I did a learning inventory test today that is supposed to tell me what kind of learner I am.

It turns out my highest scores were in Concrete Experience and Active Experimentation. This classifies me as an Accommodator.

"Accommodators are polar opposites from Assimilators. Their greatest strengths lie in carrying out plans and experiments and involving themselves in new experiences. They are risk-takers and excel in those situations requiring quick decisions and adaptations. In situations where a theory of plan does not fit the facts, they tend to discard it and try something else They often solved problems in an intuitive trial and error manner, relying heavily on other people for information. Accommodators are at ease with people but may be seen as impatient and pushy. Their educational background is often in practical fields such s business or education. They prefer action-oriented jobs such as nursing, teaching, marketing or sales."

http://casa.colorado.edu/~dduncan/teachingseminar/kolblearningstyleinventoryinfo.pdf

cheers

Gettin' Close

2012-01-18T21:16:00.002-06:00

Wow things are getting crazy. My application for certification is off and interviews have started for a lot of my friends. I have a couple of school division employment opportunity sites bookmarked and my portfolio is slowly coming together. It's a little scary. Being at university is so safe. So not the real world. It's a little depressing thinking that I spent all this time and money at university and now I might not even get a job. But you know it was a risk quitting my job for having found another one, it was a risk quitting my job before getting accepted into the education program and it's a risk you take going back to school with the hope of getting a job when I'm done. I'm trying to relax about it and let God handle the details. He's been very good over the years. If I get a job I get job and if I don't I'll roll with what I get. God's got a plan even if it's not the plan I thought it was. He knows what He's doing better than I do.

cheers

The Push and the Pull

2011-12-28T22:31:00.003-06:00

Getting my education degree has been one of the best decisions I have very made (of course Tina was involved in that decision as well). I have grown so much over the years. Met so many people. Made so many friends. Learned so much. I have experienced stress and pain because of this but I have also found talents that I'm not sure I realized I had. And this is because there have been people who have come into my life that convinced me that I had these talents. Now to hunker down for four more months.

I'm kind of nervous like everyone else about getting a job after I graduate. I know there are lots of people looking. I think if I've learned one thing over the years is to just take life as it comes and don't stress what I can't do anything about.

Ok so Tina and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary last week. Wow!! I'm so blessed to have someone as wonderful as Tina. I'm not sure we love each other more than ever, I just think we're better at showing it in ways the other person needs it shown. That's been the biggest lesson learned I think.

Happy New Year. This year I resolve not to make any resolutions. I just want to be a person who cares.

cheers

AAAACCKKK!!!!

2011-12-21T23:11:00.002-06:00

This is the sound of me under stress. I'm not going to lie. These have been a tough couple of weeks. But I have learned so much about myself that I wouldn't trade it for anything. I think understanding and knowing oneself is important if one is going to improve themselves in the future. Today was especially trying. And not because bad things were happening. Just a lot of stuff was happening. I'm learning how to deal with these things and to understand what I can and cannot control. I'm glad I have a good role model to work with. He cares a lot about his students and has a passion for what he is teaching. What better place to be for a student teacher. Fortunately and hopefully, in three months I'll be able to drop that tag and maybe it will just be......teacher. Wouldn't that be nice.

cheers

SIC's make me Sick

2011-11-12T15:53:00.001-06:00

I'm writing a SIC which is a School Initiated Course. And yes, it is as much fun as it sounds. It's a lot of work. Kind of fun, but a LOT of work.

cheers

Music and Friends

2011-11-06T07:25:00.002-06:00

I had the opportunity to see Steve Bell in concert in Winkler about a month or so back. I've listened to Steve Bell on and off for about 20 years. The first time I saw him was at a chapel service at Providence College. At the time I thought he had a very smooth and worshipful sound. I've been able to follow his career a bit because Steve Bell is a Golden West Radio staple. He's been featured on Made in Manitoba a number of times and because I produced the show I got to listen to the songs a number and keep the cd's afterwards. The cd's don't come out that often, not because I don't like them, but because I've found I need to be in a specific mood to listen to them. Anyway, back to the concert. It was beautiful. There is something about his music that is so simple yet so profound. I can identify with the lyrics. He has become my Sunday morning staple music. I'm listening to him right now actually. Anyway, back to the concert. One of the people playing with Steve Bell was Mike Janzen. I go even further back with him. I worked with Janzen at Red Rock Bible Camp when I was in high school. He is passionate and caring and the most talented musician I know. The thing I like about him is after not seeing someone for 5 to 10 years you can pick up right where you left off as if no time had passed. It was great to be able to talk to him for a few minutes after that show. Well, back to my homework I guess. I think I'll leave Steve Bell playing in the background.

cheers

I Can't Sleep

2011-10-11T00:32:00.002-05:00

I shouldn't write a post after midnight. I'm bound to say something I shouldn't. I guess I just have to be extra careful before I hit "publish post". I am trying to be more positive. For some reason the wiring in my brain is configured in such a way that when things come up that irritate me the synapses that tend towards the cynical part of my brain fire. This part of the brain has many connections to the "that's not fair" section which is cross-wired with the "ooh that makes me so angry" section. Unfortunately these three sections can get control of my mouth and my typing fingers and from there bad things happen. I've tried installing a "sober second thought" device that is supposed to filter out most of this. Unfortunately there must be a bug in the system because it only seems to be partially effective. This has led to more use of the "crap I can't believe I did/said that" recovery system which seems to only work when "man, I'm useless" is already running.

"And here by the water, I'll build an altar to praise Him. Out of these stones that I've found here. I'll set them down here, rough as they are. Knowing You can make them Holy." Steve Bell

Rough as I am God can make me Holy. This is also known as the system reset. Only God knows how many times I've had to use that function. Only He doesn't keep track.

cheers

It's time to Blog

2011-09-21T20:27:00.003-05:00

It's that time again when I go to a blog and blog. I'm halfway through my second week back at university. I'm finding it a little tough to get into the groove but I'll get there in the next day or two. I think we're supposed to develop a teaching philosophy. Is there really anything I need to write beyond the word CARE? I have decided this is my personal philosophy. CARE. CARE about my students as people and not receptacles of knowledge, care about the people I work with and work with them to create a CAREing environment where students feel safe. My friend Josh called me an optimist. I'm ok with that moniker. I want to be the dreamer and not let myself be held back by my own cynicism.

cheers

A Prayer For Baptism

2011-08-30T10:42:00.002-05:00

Here is a prayer I used during the baptism service this past weekend. It was a beautiful morning for a church service on the beach at Winkler Bible Camp. I got this prayer from Christine Sine's blog which is associated with Mustard Seeds Associates.

"We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water. Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation. Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life. We thank you, Father for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit."

Cheers

End of an Era?

2011-08-26T12:02:00.002-05:00

Ok not really an end of an era. This last week I finished my summer stint working for Landville Drywall, my Dad's company. You could say I've been working on and off for him for 35 years. (I didn't have to do stuff till I was 2) The last 3 summers have likely been the most important for me. I don't think I would have been able to get a summer job around Winkler area. And especially not one that paid the same amount that I made working in Winnipeg. There were good and bad things.

Good

-wages

-flexibility of hours and days worked

-get to see my parents

-breakfasts with my dad

-got to hang out with my cousins

Bad

-gone from home more than I would have liked

-dusty, itchy working conditions

-on the road, A LOT

I think one of my favourite things about this job has been going for breakfast with my dad. That is the thing I will treasure most. It has been an opportunity for us to just hang out. sigh. I'm going to miss that. I have also appreciated the opportunity to have a good paying job and being needed. I know Landville is busy and that this is work that needs to be done so they can keep up. They aren't scrounging to find work for me to do. I'm doing my part to help them keep up.

The thing is I don't want to need to work for Landville anymore because that would mean I have a teaching job. The construction thing is fun but it feels temporary. I'm looking forward to some permanence again.

cheers

Movement in Theatre

2011-08-21T20:35:00.002-05:00

"Getting your intention fully integrated with your body is essential to any style of performance. The audience isn't telepathic; it only understands what is happening through what it sees and hears. If the script, or the director/choreographer's vision, is not fully realized in clear physical action , then the audience cannot comprehend what is going on."

Lorna Marshall from The Body Speaks: Performance and Expression.

cheers

Git off my land yer vermint

2011-08-19T22:26:00.002-05:00

So today I caught some kid eating apples from my apple tree in the backyard. Well actually Griffin came running in and said some guy biked on our yard and was eating our apples. I walk out and yelled, "Hey, what are you doing?" and he biked off. I followed his bike track through the grass to where I'm pretty sure he lives. This kid routinely cuts through a bunch of backyards to get to where he needs to go. Kind of annoying. The kids are very concerned about what I'm going to do. I was thinking today. He hasn't stolen anything, he doesn't vandalize my property, and he was eating apples that were probably going to just fall off and rot anyway. I think my big issue is the lack of respect for other peoples property. He's never asked if it's ok to what across. He doesn't care. I'm thinking of going to his house and talking to him and/or his parents. But if I do is he going to get pissed off and take it out on my yard? Is it that big of a deal? That and I hate confrontation. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.

cheers

Stuff

2011-07-15T13:41:00.002-05:00

It's been a good week. I've mentioned how nice it is to just be at home for a while. Today I made bacon, brought the kids to swimming lessons, mowed the lawn and weeded in the garden. It's such a relaxed pace right now. On Wednesday I started my summer Lord of the Rings club. Only one person came but we had fun. Moria Goblins vs Uruk Hai. Goblins win. Next week hopefully some more guys can make it so we can have some more games going. That would be cool. Tina, Griffin and myself are going to go see Harry Potter tonight. Very excited about that. That's it for now.

cheers

Way Too Long Since the last post

2011-07-12T11:32:00.002-05:00

Alright, it's been way to long since my last post. For the 8 or so of you who read this I apologize. I'm home now, for at least a week. It feels glorious. I have no job, no school work and no extended stays away from home and family for a while. This is great.

We pick up a cat today. He is an orange tabby named Sprinkles. Tina and the kids went to pick him out before we went to London. Now that we're back we were ready to pick him up. The kids are with him right now as he explores the house. It's wonderful for them to have a cat to love again. I'm a little way because of the hurt I felt when Mitzy died. I'm scared of feeling that pain again. I'm glad the kids aren't as apprehensive as I am.

In the coming weeks I hope to blog about our future house, a gaming club and anything else that comes up.

cheers

I guess it's time to start getting lunch ready. Did I mention how excited I am to be home.

A House

2011-05-29T12:51:00.002-05:00

So Tina and I are in the midst of planning for a house. We want to build on our property which means demolishing the house and garage we have and starting over. Of course this is all contingent on me getting a teaching job. So much up in the air but we need to decide on stuff and have it planned so when we're ready we can get started. We've been looking at a lot of plans. A LOT of plans. One of the things we're going to need to change on almost any plan is the size of the bathroom and walkin closet off the master bedroom. We're not into needing that much room. At least not for that kind of stuff. We're also looking at what we want in a house compared to what kind of square footage we can afford. So many questions. An we want to have geo thermal and a grey water return system. And I would really like an open ceiling in the living room. ugh. So anyway, I'm going to try and blog throughout the process. We're going to go to an architect soon. And talk to our builder. And hope I get a job. And hope I graduate. Good Times

cheers

A lot to catch up on.

2011-05-21T11:46:00.002-05:00

Well, I've been putting this off for a long while now. So much has changed. My hands hurt right now from drywalling. I'm so not used to this.

We had ACT fest last weekend. flatlands theatre company hosted the Association of Community Theatres in Manitoba's annual festival. I had the privilege of being the emcee. It was wonderful. I had so much fun. Theatre people are an awesome group to hang out with. People like Jeanette and Darren and Tina put a lot of work into making this festival happen. They did great. It made being an emcee that much easier.

The downside of the weekend was the death of our cat Mitzy. She was hit by a car late Saturday afternoon. We were devastated. There were a lot of tears from all of us. I'm not totally shocked it happened though. Mitzy came to us as a stray and was too used to a life of roaming wherever she wanted to. She was constantly running back and forth over the road. I loved that cat. She was perfect.

Our house is driving me nuts. We've had water seeping into our basement for over a week now. And no it's raining so it's seeping in even more. So frustrating. At least there are no flood waters running in.

I'm working in Winnipeg again. I'm home one night a week. I wish I could be at home more. Thank goodness this is only a temporary thing. I'd go into depression if this was to be the rest of my life.

anyway, happy rainy day every one.

cheers

It's not just Superstore

2011-05-01T13:00:00.002-05:00

Our grocery shopping can be quite the adventure. We don't go to just one place to get everything. In fact, there is a lot of driving involved. The following is a list of the places we go to, what we get, and the rationale.

Meat

Spenst Bros.

It's owned by some local cattle farmers. The started up the store during the BSE crisis because they couldn't send anything to the states. So the beef is locally grown, they don't use steroids in their animals and they're pasture fed as much as possible. And the owners are really nice. And they make great frozen pizzas.

Fruits and Vegetables

Giesbrechts

This started off as a large shed where they sold watermelons whenever a trucker came back with a load from Texas. It has turned into a little fruit and vegetable store. We go there because it's locally owned and the stuff is a bit fresher. Being a trucker, he is the middle man, so we're removing one step from the field or orchard to our plate.

Bread

Valley Bakery

Again, owned locally. Their bread is way better than the stuff from Co-op or Superstore.

Cinnamon Bread and Bagels

Funk's Bakery

Owned locally (sense a them here?). The kids love the cinnamon bread for breakfast and Tina likes the bagels.

Milk

Organic Meadows/Kroekers

We pick up our milk at Kroeker's but it is from the Organic Milk co-operative of Manitoba. There is a farm close to Winkler that is a part of it. So it's not only local but organic as well.

Potatoes, Onions and Carrots

Heartland Fresh Pak

Ok we don't actually buy from here. They are a producer south of Winkler. We won a years worth of vegetables from Genesis House last year so every month we head over there for some goods.

Eggs

Tina's Cousin

How could I forget. Tina's cousin has free range chickens (in the summer at least, NO CAGES) and they are not fed the gross steroid infested feed of other chickens. Whenever we need eggs we place a call and they are delivered the next morning. YAY!!

Honey

Burwalde Woods

There is a family out by Winkler Bible Camp that produces their own honey. Their store is a sign on their yard with two shelves that has three different sizes of containers for honey and a box with a slot to put your money. No kidding. And during the winter this is the same place we go skiing.

That's about all i can think of.

cheers

Not Much

2011-04-10T21:16:00.002-05:00

Griff and I headed off to Games Workshop in Winnipeg on Saturday. We had a pretty good time. We were playing a Lord of the Rings Scenario that took place in Ithilien. I was on the good side playing Rohan and Griffin was on the evil side playing with Isengard. There were four people on each team. On my team were 2 elf armies, 1 army with elves and army of the dead and myself and on the evil side there was Hardad, Mordor and easterlings along with Griff's Isengard. It was a tonne of fun and now Griffin is totally pumped about LOTR. Yay. I also picked up a little goody with some birthday money.

It's the model on the left. A Balrog!! I included the other model just so you could see how big the model is. Yes!!! I can't wait to paint it. Anyway, I'll post a picture or too from my birthday. For some reason I can't upload them right now.

cheers

Not A Choice for Lent

2011-03-16T17:24:00.002-05:00

Oh Sweet delectable elixir of the morning. I am writing to say that this affair must end. You can't be good for me. When I'm not around you make me hurt. (literally) Why do you need to cause me pain just because we don't get together one morning. I think you have issues you need to work out. So until you can handle brief moments of separation without making my head feel like it's going to explode we're going to have to call it quits for now. Sure you're going to make me feel miserable for the next few days. But then you'll realize your life doesn't need to revolve around me. So until then. Farewell Coffee.

cheers

My Ipod

2011-03-10T14:42:00.002-06:00

I did my top 5 podcasts which seemed to go over well so I thought I'd do top 5 songs on my ipod. Or at least the ones I listen to the most.

5. When the Soldiers Sing Red Army Chorus

I used to have a Red Army Chorus two cd set when Tina and I first got married and I don't remember if this song was on it. But I heard it in the movie The Trotzky and realized I had to have it. I love Russian music.

4. Viva la Vida Coldplay

This could almost be considered an oldy. Love the strings.

3. Double Vision 3Oh!3

I'm a sucker for songs with a beat.

2. Marry You Glee Cast Version

This is a happy song for me. I wish I was in a choir and that this was one of the songs we sang.

1. Club Can't Handle Me Flo Rida

This song has a "no counter clockwise movement of the volume dial" policy. I nearly drove off the road once I was rockin' so hard. And yes Tina. My musical tastes have not matured since I was 12.

cheers.

Lent

2011-03-09T13:51:00.003-06:00

Ok so this picture has nothing to do with Lent but it is a cool picture and I hand't posted any from the Grade 7 camping trip yet.

So it is now Lent. There seems to be a lot of talk, at least in some of my social networks, about what to give up for Lent. I gave up coffee one year and last year I only had meat on Sundays. This year I was looking for something a little more intentional towards my spiritual well being. I have decided to give up complaining. This is going to be hard because I'm pretty good at it. If something is bugging me I'm willing to let everyone know about it. Except of course the people who may be behind the reason for my malcontent. I don't think this is healthy and I'm not afraid to admit this shortcoming of mine.

I could look for a Bible verse to back up my decision to give up complaining but I don't think I need it. This view isn't unique to Christianity so I'll take the advice of all faiths on this one.

cheers

Perfect Morning

2011-02-25T10:00:00.003-06:00

This has been a pretty good morning so far. It's a day off for the kids so we're all at home together. These days sometimes run into gong shows and I just get angry and frustrated. Which is why I now get a job during the summer break instead of just staying at home. So, I know Tina has often told me to plan out the day to make things easier but I'm a bit of a dunce and have never done that. So this morning after being asked about xbox and playing board games I finally grabbed a pad of paper and went upstairs to talk with the kids. Together we have planned out the whole day together. This plan is posted on the wall in between their rooms. They are very excited because they know exactly what is happening when. They are now upstairs enjoying free time before xbox at 11am. The extra special thing is they are both in Griffin's room playing chess. Griffin has taught her how to play. I went in there before and they were lying on the floor on a blanket playing. It was so cute. They do have some arguments because Emi does not want her queen captured. She just popped her head out and told me they came up with a compromise. They took the queens out of the game.

they are so awesome. I love them to pieces

cheers

A Children's Book

2011-02-24T14:09:00.002-06:00

Wow, another post.

I can't believe how many times I've posted this week while still getting homework done.

So anyway, I've read at two schools this week for I love to read month. Well actually I read and I tell stories. I have two stories I've made up that I use along with the books I read and kids from Kindergarten up to Grade 7 (That's the seventh grade for you Americans reading) all love them. I've been thinking for a while that maybe it's time to try and get these stories published as books. The big question that comes to mind is will these stories translate to books. How much is going to depend on the illustrations. How much of the enjoyability (is that a word?) of these stories is in how I tell them. The other question is how the heck does one go about getting a children's book published. Anyway, just some thoughts. I would be cool being an author.

Would mean I'd have to wear a scarf and get a house with a studio overlooking water?

cheers

Another Day

2011-02-22T21:12:00.003-06:00

So I figured I could either whine and complain more about my classes or I could comment on my plans for the next 18 or so months. Let's see...(fade into dream sequence)

March

-Finish classes

-Do 3 days of practicum before starting Spring Break (how useless is that)

-Spend Spring Break with the kids at my mom and dads (not the whole time)

-Should maybe do lesson plans too

April

-Celebrate my birthday. Yay!!!!

-Practicum, Yay, A month that will actually help me be a better teacher!

-End practicum(sigh)

May

-Begin work for my Dad (Allow him to buy many breakfasts for me)

-ACTfest. YAY!!

-Go to PA to see my new nephew.

-Get arrested at the airport because they misunderstood when I said I have lip balm in my pocket.

-More work (more money more motivation, more motivation more money)

-plant garden

-Coach Flag Football

June

- More work

-More Flag Football

- watch garden grow

- watch weeds grow

- realize I have to pull weeds so garden will continue to grow

- grumble about pulling weeds.

July

- Go to Mennonite Church Canada Assembly (Cause I'm so Mennonite)

- Go camping (Cause I'm so Canadian)

- Pull weeds (Cause I'm so under Tina's thumb)

- Work for my Dad (Cause I'm so poor)

August

- Start harvesting the fruits (and vegetables) are my hard work in the garden.

- Realize I was going to start exercising this spring and now it's August.

- Work out for one week and then stop.

- Panic because I haven't registered for school yet.

- Get kicked out of the education program (I'm assuming these last two won't happen but I did forget to put them in June so I may be in trouble. They may kick me out anyway because of my last post)

- Lament the start of school

September

- write an apology card to my family for not being able to see them on Sundays because of the start of the NFL season.

- start getting excited to see my University buds.

-get first assignments and remember why I hate education classes.

-realize I only have 6 months of classes left and 2 months of practicum till I graduate.

October

- start getting ready for halloween.

- Write a blog post about how much I hate education classes.

- Hit the ditch during a freak freezing rain storm. (Could happen)

November

- Walk out my door and scream to the sky in frustration over the useless papers I am being forced to write for my stupid education classes.

- Celebrate American thanksgiving. (my brother lives in the U.S)

- Go to a Chiefs game and achieve World Peace (both are as likely to happen.)

December

-Do practicum (those high school kids won't know what hit them. But if they do I could be in big trouble)

-Get arrested for assault. (It wasn't me, it was the one-armed man)

-Get out of Jail Free. (Dang I love Monopoly)

-Buy my Christmas gifts (Literally, I ask for money so I can get what I want)

-Return gifts (I didn't like what I got for Christmas)

-Celebrate Anniversary

-Buy flowers and an apology card for Tina for forgetting to by her flowers and a card.

-Stay up till midnight with the kids.

January 2012

-HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

-Begin last semester of useless education courses

-Laugh at fifth year students panicking about trying to get a job.

- get first assignments and remember why I hate education classes.

- watch Chiefs lose in the first round of the playoffs again.

February

-Write a blog post about how much I hate education classes.

-Write a letter of apology to Faculty of Education and beg to not be kicked out of the faculty.

- Celebrate Valentines Day

-Buy flowers and an apology card for Tina for forgetting to by her flowers and a card.

- Do a killer job of interviews during reading week. (joy buzzer handshakes goes over really well)

March

- Finish useless education courses.

- Celebrate end of classes with fellow students

- Apologize to Tina for pictures of me celebrating with other students that ended up on the internet.

- Pay reputation defender company to remove pictures of me celebrating with other students that ended up on the internet.

April

-Celebrate Birthday. Am I really 38!?!?!?!?!

-Do practicum (Remember not to hit students)

-Finish Practicum.

-Graduate

-Give Valedictory Address

- Send letter of apology to university after comments made in speech made it into the globe and mail and youtube video of address goes viral

May

-Appear on Ellen

-Turn down offers from Garden Valley, Western and Border Land School Divisions because I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be cast on Glee.

-Get Letter saying I didn't get part in Glee because of pictures of me celebrating with other students on the internet.

- Get money back from reputation defender company

-Begin work for my Dad.

Ok so that was only 15 months but you get the picture.

You get the picture.

cheers

Podcasts

2011-02-10T16:05:00.002-06:00

I spend a lot of time in the car. On an average week I am on the road for 16-18 hours. I get bored. Lately I've been listening to podcasts and have just delved into audio books. I thought I might take a moment to fill you in on some of the podcasts I subscribe to.

1. Pardon the Interruption.

This is the best show on TSN and I never get to watch it because it is on when the kids are watching tv or we're having supper. The podcast is great because I get the entire show also because it's a podcast I don't get the visuals. These guys are smart, witty, funny and they know a thing or two about sports. Fabulous.

2. Age of Persuasion

This show only started being available on podcast in January. This is one of our favourite radio shows on CBC and is hosted by Terry O'Reilly (not the hockey player). The show is about the advertising industry, the history of it, and why certain ad campaigns have worked really well or have bombed. One of my favourite shows on radio.

3. Church Matters

This show is put out by Mennonite Church Canada. It offers a 15 minute discussion or interview about issues pertinent to the everyday life of the Mennonite Church. It helps me keep in touch with programs and projects going on in Canada and around the world.

4. Ideas

I started downloading this podcast for Tina but have started listening to it as well. I call it thinkers radio because the topics and discussions can be quite heavy. It's from the show on CBC Radio and is hosted by Paul Kennedy.

There you go. I've got sports, pop culture, church and philosophy all covered.

I'm so well balanced.

cheers

Our Education System and the Challenges for Me

2011-02-01T14:09:00.003-06:00

I think it has been a good week so far but I've had to do a lot of thinking lately. I did a paper on Sunday about how I've experienced schools being just or effective or how they have fallen short. For the most part I think schools are doing pretty good with the move towards inclusion and differentiated learning and the multiple intelligences. But I think we're still missing the mark, especially when it comes to the arts. Take for example the school Griffin goes to. I think it's a pretty good school and the staff I know are really good. But when I look at his timetable only 11% of his time is dedicated to the arts. Thats 5 classes in a 6 day cycle and of those 5 classes only 3 are music and his teacher does not even have training in music. There is no extracurricular arts such as choir or a school drama because he's in grade 6. Sir Ken Robinson says we have developed a hierarchy of subjects where math and the languages are given most importance followed by the humanities. If there is any time left arts and phys ed can have it. We have all these kids in our schools who are aching to express themselves but our system has said, "No, you have to sit at a desk by yourself and quietly do whatever it it we think is best for you." And so we have these incredibly talented kids who think they're dumb because they can't add fractions. That their interests aren't important to the school system so they shouldn't pursue them. I am including a link to Sir Ken Robinson's talk he gave to a group of educators. It's very powerful.

So how am I going to encourage those in my class who don't fit the school mold and are obviously artistic and kinsthetic. I guess that's the million dollar question.

cheers

Amon Sul

2011-01-25T20:24:00.000-06:00

I thought with all the stuff some of us have done with Lord of the Rings I would show you a little project I did over the Christmas break. SThis model that I built is of a ruined watchtower some of the characters spend the night at called Weathertop or Amon Sul. There is only a short reference to the ruined tower. For those of you reading or have read Fellowship of the Ring, the description is close to the end of the chapter with the title "A Knife in the Dark". I got the idea for the model from one of my gaming books. It actually has instructions on how to make the model.

This is the model after having done a lot of cutting out of styrofoam and foamboard. The tall pieces are just pieces of styrofoam that have been cut to look like rocks.

I've just begun painting at this point. You can see I've added some more ruined pillars in between the main walls. You may also notice some bumpy spots on the ground. This will be the dirt later on.

I'm a little further along with the painting here. It took a while to do because I didn't have a very good brush. (Can you see the spot of paint I got on the table? I did clean it up)

This is the model completely painted and the dirt areas done in brown as well. The model is actually painted with different shades of grey. After the initial coat I added some white to make a lighter grey and dry brushed it on. After that I added more white and did some more drybrushing. I did the same thing with the brown areas.

This is the model pretty much completed. You can see I've added grass to a few areas.

This is a close up of one of the areas. I forgot to mention that a smeared a putty like foam all over the model. That is also why there are a few bumps and ridges.

The statue blends in very nicely. I did not make it. It was part of another Lord of the Rings set I have.

And finally, what's a model without some models on it.

Thanks for reading this.

My Anniversary

2010-12-30T21:52:00.003-06:00

So today is our anniversary. We've been married 16 years today. I didn't realize how long of a time that was until I saw some pieces of our wedding video. Everyone is so young!!! I can't really watch it. I just feel embarrassed. Emi watched the whole thing today. She's so cute. I think Emi and Griffin have been the two best things about these past 16 years. I don't know what our family would be without them. Anyway, today hasn't been that special. I woke up with the flu. ugh. not fun. So my day has been spent crafting in the living room and being sick in the bathroom. I've actually got a pretty good start on my ruined tower of Amon Sul. It's for my Lord of the Rings game. I got started on it at Mom and Dad's when we were there earlier this week. I've been able to do some work at home.I think it's looking pretty good. It's about 18 inches in diameter. Emi helped with the glueing of the steps. Just so you don't think I'm a crafty genius I did have templates and instructions to make this. It's been fun. Now the question is can I see the project through to fruition. Maybe it should be a New Years Resolution.

cheers

Christmas Holidays

2010-12-24T11:40:00.002-06:00

A couple of things. Christmas break started yesterday with a trip to Winnipeg for a Landville Drywall Christmas lunch. I got to sit with some of the guys and see just how much Dad's company has grown. I remember back when there was 10 of us around a table and Dad and Wilmer (business partner) were still doing grunt work. Yesterday there must have been 50 people in that room. I'm very proud of my Dad. He said there weren't a lot of new faces which meant Landville must be doing something right to get them to stick around. There are some days where I wish I had stayed with Landville because now would be the time I'd be taking over. But at the same time I don't think I was wired for that industry. I'm pretty happy at where I am in my life and where it is heading. I'm having a lot of fun being with kids and trying to be a good influence on them while trying to teach them something. And I don't think my Dad ever wanted me to take over. It's a tough job. I've very thankful/lucky to have this job to fall back on when we needed money because I've been in school or in between jobs. And I think Dad appreciates the fact that I want to be involved in the company. We certainly see each other more often then. And that, I would have to say is the best part.

cheers

Christmas Time's A'comin'

2010-12-19T09:43:00.002-06:00

Well we're 6 days away from Christmas. I'm looking forward to the break. One of the reasons is that starting Thursday we're all going to be home for two weeks. That's because the kids and I are done school and Tina is taking holidays. It's been good getting ready for Christmas. We've been doing advent readings just about every night at supper with the kids. Part of the ritual is lighting candles before the meal and then turning off the lights. At the end of the meal we sing a Christmas song and do a reading that ends with the snuffing of the candles. This is the third year we've done this. It's become special. A way to slow down during the Christmas season.

We're going to need that slowing down now because it's going to be busy. We've got three gatherings an anniversary and New Years Eve to celebrate during that time. And hopefully get that darn skating rink done. I finally got the hoses out and started packing down some snow yesterday. Between my nephew and I we got about 1/4 of the rink done. I might get more done today but we'll see.

My practicum is almost done. I've really enjoyed spending these 5 weeks at Emerado. It's gone by so quickly though. I think I've learned a lot. I just need to sit down and figure out what. That's not a joke. I think there are lots of things I've learned and am probably incorporating without even knowing. All I can say is I can't wait till March.

cheers

Integers Game

2010-12-09T20:19:00.003-06:00

I played a great game today with the kids in my class to introduce them to integers. I did it at the beginning of class and didn't even tell them the topic was integers. The basis of the play is taken from the old board game stock ticker. The basic play is using three dice to move stock up and down. For my game I used a 4 sided dice, a dice with with arrows, a 6 sided dice, a 10 sided dice and a 20 sided dice. On the board I had a graph style layout with the team names at the top (I let them choose) and then along the y-axis I had the board numbered from -10 at the bottom to 10 at the top. Everyone starts at zero. I put the kids into four teams and started the game. For the first few rounds I used the 4d, arrow dice and 6d. The 4d would tell me the team, the arrow would tell me up or down (pointing towards me was down, away from me was up) and the 6d was how far up or down they went. I started off rolling and then went around to groups to let them each member of the team roll. It got pretty loud but fortunately I had a headset microphone to use. I told them the first team that got to 10 would win some candy. Fortunately no one won right off the start. We went a number of round with no winner so I told them we were raising the stakes. I switched the d10 in for the d6. After a few more turns we were getting close to the end of class so I switched out the d20 for the d10 and had each group roll one more time regardless if a group reached 10. At this point I had the d20 rolled first, then the arrow then the group to build suspense. It was a lot of fun. The best part was when the kids were calling out the numbers they moved up or down to because I was too "slow". The team that won really enjoyed the candy too.

cheers

Another Day

2010-12-08T07:48:00.003-06:00

I'm just about ready to head out for the day. I feel kind of crappy because I've got a cold and my head is all stuffed up. But I'm still looking forward to going. I'm having so much fun at Emerado. I feel like I'm a part of the community. The saddest thing is in January I'm back to once a week. That will be hard. And even more sad is that at the end of April I'm no longer a part of Emerado. I gotta go now. I have an evaluation today. I'll do more later maybe.

cheers

Practicum Block

2010-12-01T17:09:00.002-06:00

So I've finished the first full week of my practicum block. (+1) day. It's been good/tiring/stressful/fun. A lot of times I feel like I'm one day ahead of the classes I'm teaching. I'm working one class at a time rather than looking at the big picture. Apparently real teaching can be like this too. I've taught about 10 classes? Give or Take? Some have been struggles some have gone really well. None have bombed yet. So that's good. I'm having fun for the most part. Everyone once in a while the angry eyebrows take over and I start getting a little cranky. Yes I do get cranky. I get so tired. I come home and I'm wiped. Lately I've been taking a nap right after supper. On Monday I actually fell asleep at the table.

Well two more math classes to get ready for tomorrow.

cheers

It's been one of those weeks

2010-11-17T13:11:00.003-06:00

So it's been one of those weeks. I've kind of lost my care for doing school work this week. Thank goodness it's the last week of classes and the I can start teaching. What I am looking forward to.

1. Not Driving

2. Useless assignments

3. Useless classes

4. More time at home

What I will miss

1. My friends at school

2. My Tim Horton's coffee

All in all not a bad trade. Thank goodness for my friends at school though. I think they're half the reason I go. And the fact that I want to graduate. I'm having more fun this year. I think one of the big reasons is we have a great cohort of students. It's like I'm in theatre again. We're developing a pretty close group of people. It's too bad I won't see them on a regular basis until January again. I think I'll have to try and make it into Winnipeg at least once in December.

Back to studying.....ugh

cheers

Bud

Thursday

2010-11-11T17:34:00.003-06:00

So I'm avoiding doing a paper again. Well actually I only have a page or two left, so I'm taking a little break. I have to hand it in Monday so you may be asking, "Why are you working on it now". I'm actually being a little proactive because I have another paper to do, an assignment and two tests coming up. And I'm speaking at an event tomorrow night and I need to plan my speech. And yet I'm feeling pretty darn relaxed. That's because Mousetrap is done and I got three assignments out of the way on Monday night. So today I've been puttering around a little, getting some stuff done and just enjoying being at home with everyone around. It's been tough two weeks though.

Last week we found out a girl from my church who is in grade 8 was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Katie has been in my sunday school class for two years. (I'm not teaching this year) On top of all the stress last week of the show and assignments this hit pretty hard. There is a long road ahead for her. She's already had 2 or 3 chemo treatments. Not fun. Then yesterday, Tina and I found out a friend of ours was killed in a car accident. Tina was on a board with Marj and I worked with her when I was at Golden West. She was a vibrant person with a quick wit and wasn't afraid to ask the tough questions. Tina is going to the funeral on Saturday.

Tina is a little more worried for me now. Marj spent a lot of time on the road. I spend a lot of time on the road.

Life goes on.

I'm speaking at the Steinbach Resthaven Auxiliary Fundraiser tomorrow. I'm doing a short 10 minute presentation on the Great Trek of Mennonites in central Asia and the issues surrounding my great-great grandfather's flight from Oklahoma to Canada in 1918. Yesterday was the 92nd anniversary of their departure. I'm looking forward to it but I hope they don't think I'm some Mennonite scholar. It would be fun to be. But I don't feel like going through all the work :-)

back to work I guess

cheers

Bud

This is How I avoid Homework

2010-09-25T17:17:00.002-05:00

Hi there,

My name is Bud Kehler and I am avoiding homework. I have 3 assignments due next week but would rather be watching College Football. As a compromise I'm doing this instead. Not completely useless but not what I should be doing either. University is going well and practicum is going even better. I love being at Emerado School. The class I'm in is fabulous. Mon-Thurs is kind of intense because I'm driving back and forth to Winnipeg everyday so Friday is like a break being able to walk or bike to school (unless I'm running late) and then spending time with the students helping out as often as I can. I can't wait until my 5 week block. I know it's going to be a lot of work getting lessons together but it's also going to be fun to be there everyday. I feel like I'm getting to know the students now but I think that will increase 10 fold during the block.

Well my tea is done (another avoidance measure) so I better get back to that assignment. ugh

Is it really 2 years till I'm done??

cheers

A week with Griff

2010-09-02T16:59:00.002-05:00

So this has been a pretty good week. Tina and Emilia flew off to London, ON to visit Leanne and David and Ella and Rosie. Ella and Rosie are close to Emi's age so we thought it made sense to have Emi go along. They've had a good time. It's been great spending time with Griff. On Sunday after we dropped off the girls at the airport we picked up some pop and chips and then headed home. On the way we found two geocaches. Very cool. When we got home I had a bit of a map and then we got ready for my big warhammer battle with my cousin Craig that evening. After much setting up, dice rolling, Pepsi drinking, and pizza eating we counted up the points and I ended up the winner. yay. The next day we were going to go geocaching in Morden but it was raining so we watched 2 mythbusters episodes, played computer and ended the evening watching Furry Vengeance. On Tuesday, in spite of the wind, we headed to Morden. In all we found 14 geocaches and did not find at 6 locations. We spent 3 hours biking around Morden. I was very tired afterwards. That evening I had a rehearsal (our first one). It was just a read through and I had to take Griffin along. He read his book for a while and then came and listened to the second half. He had forgotten who the murderer was and wanted to find out. Very cool. After the rehearsal we drove to my parents for night. He fell asleep in the car 20 minutes before we got there. He spent the next day with grandma while I was at the university. That evening I watched part of Alice in Wonderland with him while having a set design meeting with my mom. We got a lot of work done. We stayed a second night and then this morning drove home. This afternoon involved some computer and cribbage and backgammon. I love the fact that Griffin is old enough to do more things with but young enough that he still shows his affection with hugs and holding hands. He's growing up so fast and I can't wait to see the man he will become but for now I am really enjoying the things we can do together.

cheers

A little Perspective

2010-08-09T10:04:00.002-05:00

It's time to put life into a little perspective. The other week I was slightly disappointed with how much money I had made. I get paid piece work and there weren't as many pieces as I thought there might be. I still made $20 an hour. I talked to someone the next day. He was excited because he's moving to a different job that would pay $13.50. He has a kid on the way too. I should just be happy I have a job. I shake my head sometimes because I am sooooo lucky with the opportunity I have to work in Winnipeg, and have the flexibility in hours and days to work. I'm also lucky because we have family who look after our kids the days Tina and I are both working. It's been one of the biggest reasons we're still in Winkler. It's hard to leave that kind of support.

Food for Thought

cheers

So It's Been A Month

2010-08-01T20:30:00.005-05:00

Okay, so it's been a month since I've posted anything. Anyway. I thought I'd do an update on the garden, since that seems to be my favourite topic. So here we go.

This is sort of a general view of the garden from the NW corner. If you look hard (or view full screen) you'll see a lot of weeds. I hate weeds. Give them an inch and they'll take your yard. (that was bad I know)

These are the tomatoes. I'm very excited about the tomatoes because the last time we tried to grow some they didn't turn out very well. This year they are doing great. We'll even get tomatoes from those seeds I started in April. YAY!!!!

These are the peas. They don't look that great now but we got a lot of peas from these plants. I absolutely love fresh peas. So do the kids. I think we got 15 pales. Oh yeah, sweet fresh pea goodness. mmmmmmmmm

I think these are the pumpkins. This is kind of an obnoxious plant because it's trying to take over the tomatoes. Hard to tell how they will be but the plant is huge already.

Cucumbers. Tina loves cucumbers. But not so much that she will eat them all. Anyone want some cucumbers.?

cheers

On Holidays

2010-07-05T10:10:00.004-05:00

So i'm on holidays now. We're out in Alberta until the end of the week. I'm typing on a bad keyboard so my "shift" key may not be used that much. Last week we left and spent the first night in Regina at my aunt's. It was nice to see her and we had a wonderful supper. The next day we took off for Calgary. It was pretty uneventful other than the fact we got under 6litres/100km on one tank of gas. That was awesome. That evening we arrived at the Mennonite Church Canada Assembly, Tina and I were delegates for our church. Assembly lasted until Friday. It was a very powerful time of reflection and discernment on issues of the church and spiritual formation in my own life. There are so many great stories about what Mennonite Chuch Canada is doing. It's sad to me that churches who are a part don't seem to care about the work o the wider church. That's one of the reasons I decided to be part of the Church Engagement Council. There will be more to the Council and I hope to have a better grasp of that over the coming months. I also bought a bunch of books.
The Naked Anabaptist
Under Construction: Reframing Men's Spirituality
God's People Now: Face to Face with Mennonite Church Canada
I'm hoping to read them this summer. We'll see. I may have to miss a few days of work ;-) So we're in Edmonton now visiting Tina's sister and family. I've already been golfing and to an Eskimos game. We'll see what happens the rest of the week. We're back on Sunday.
cheers

What's New Again

2010-06-10T09:29:00.003-05:00

So I figured it was time to update this blog again because it's been a while. I can't believe we're into the month of June already. Half way almost!!! I'm spending some time at home today so I'm finally able to post some pictures and let you know what's going on. Adam and Rhea and Lucas we're out last week. It was really good to see them again. Especially Lucas. He's very cute and is talking more and running around and very funny. I like little kids. In small doses at least. On the Wednesday Dad and Adam came out and we went golfing at Minnewasta in Morden. It was a gorgeous day and the course is in great shape. I was beating Dad by 1 stroke going into the last hole. He ended up beating me by 3 strokes. Maybe next time.
The garden is doing ok although I don't think the potatoes liked all the rain. There are a bunch that haven't come up yet. But the beans are doing great as per normal and we've actually managed to get cucumber plants to come up. The tomotoes have some blight but I'm dealing with that. Probably the most exciting thing is that we set up the garden right this year so that I can use the tiller in between the rows. That will definitely help keeping the weeds down and give me an excuse to use a piece of garden equipment that has a motor. It's more fun using things that make noise. Some how making an engine sound with my mouth while using a hoe or a rake just isn't the same.

Cheers

Griffin's Piano Recital

2010-05-27T20:31:00.002-05:00

Griffin had his piano recital today. It is his third year playing. Tina and I were very proud of our little artistic performer with his hair flowing over the keys.

I was very impressed with the way he ended his songs, especially the first one. I think he likes being on stage. That's the impression I got anyway. I just hope we can keep him at it until he makes enough money to support us ;-)

cheers

The Garden

2010-05-21T10:50:00.004-05:00

Most of my ancestors were farmers so I guess there is something in my blood that makes me want to work the land. So this last weekend I finally got out into the garden to do some work. As we can see below we have a fair sized garden. It took a while to get this all tilled. BTW I look really hot tilling without my shirt on. At least that's what she said. OH!!!!!!! Anyway, it was a hot day so it was nice to be outside. That green weedy area in the bottom lefthand corner is where the strawberries are. After I finished tilling I pulled weeds from there for an hour and a half.

Later that afternoon we started putting seeds into the ground. Emilia was a big help for Tina and I. She is so excited to plant a garden each year and loves helping. Especially watering. The first thing to do was get the rake out and smooth out the dirt. The measure the rows dig some grooves and start planting.

We got about half of the garden done. We'll maybe do more on Saturday. It's hard to see but there is some chicken wire fence on two rows. That's so the peas can grow up the fence which makes them much easier to pick. In all we planted 3 rows of potatoes a 1/4 row of garlic, 1/4 row of radishes, 4 rows of peas (we like peas) and 3 rows of beans (some pintos some green). We still have tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers and pumpkins to do.

These are some tomatoes and peppers I started. The tomatoes in the foreground don't look so good. The peppers in the background look waaayyyy better but probably won't be ready in time.

Oh Well

At least I tried.

cheers

What's Up Now

2010-04-28T09:21:00.003-05:00

So I started my new job this week. I'm only working 3 days a week which allows for some balance of being at home and still making money. Almost all of the work is in Winnipeg so I think I would go crazy if I had to do that much driving. All I can say is I have never slept so well as I have this week. I working for my Dad mainly insulating houses. The above picture shows the entrance way of a house with a vaulted ceiling. It's not bad doing something like this because there is nice scaffolding. I get a little more nervous standing on a 2x8 over a staircase.

This is one of the bedrooms. Much easier.

Here's what I like about this job.

1. I get to see my Dad on a regular basis. (He often brings me coffee or takes me out for breakfast.

2. The pay is pretty good. (Good enough that I'm willing to drive to Winnipeg to do it.)

3. The hours are flexible. (It doesn't matter if I show up at 7am or 8:30am, or leave at 3pm or 5pm. I just need to get the work done)

4. Physical labour. (A nice switch from the cerebral work of school)

5. The radio. (I love listening to the radio. Now I get to listen 8-10 hours a day)

6. I get to see Kenton on occasions. (What could be better than that?)

7. Staying in Winnipeg means maybe I'll get to see some UofW friends.

Here's what I don't like about this job.

1. Insulation (Sometimes it makes my eyes water and if my dust mask isn't on properly it feels like I'm chewing on sand. And my clothes are covered with insulation dust when I'm done.)

2. My knees and hip are sore after work. (I'm old)

3. 9 ft ceilings (insulation is in 4ft lengths. You do the math)

4. Bad framing. (Bad framing means extra work for me)

5. Spray Foam for the windows. (It gets on everything and doesn't wash off)

6. 2x8 planks over staircases

cheers

What's New

2010-04-24T09:31:00.003-05:00

Just enjoying a Saturday morning at home with the whole family. It's nice because it has been a very busy week. We've had the first two performances for flatlands theatre company's production of Steel Magnolias. Very cool. I'm not surprised but I find it kind of funny that 90% of the audience is female. And I am not looking forward to tomorrow because that's when we clean up. ugh.

I've got tonnes stuff done on the yard this week. I used a power rake (a mower blade with spokes) on half the yard and then bagged what was kicked up. I got 18 bags of grass/apples. I also moved 6 wheelbarrow loads of compost from our pile to the flower beds. We have two compost piles and it's nice to be able to get some dirt from one of them. Tina was surprised/shocked I had cleaned up that pile. I also buried the cable for the satellite dish. That was enjoyable because it meant I could buy a new tool. YAY!! I bought a lawn edger which is basically a spade with a flat blade.

So today I've got some sets to move so I can fit other sets into my garage. It's a never ending cycle. Oh well.

Anyway. If you get a chance come to the show tonight. The actors have worked very hard and do a great job. What's been cool is some of the actors haven't been in a show for years. They have come a long way since the first rehearsal.

cheers

Prop Builder???

2010-04-14T14:41:00.004-05:00

So we've got a show coming up next week and we need 24 tomatoes and real tomatoes are bloody expensive and fake tomatoes are bloody hard to find so I'm giving building them a shot. I bought some styrofoam balls today and cut them down to a tomatoish shape. I then coated them with a foam putty to make them a little more smooth. They're not as smooth as I would like, but I'm just testing it right now. The colour I bought is crap (too purple) so it's back to the paint store. ugh.

Here's the crappy coloured tomato.

It's pretty crappy. Anyway, not that I've cleaned the paint off the keyboard I'm off to get more paint.

LATER.

btw here's the link for details on the show.

flatlands theatre company

cheers

The End of Another Era

2010-04-06T10:49:00.004-05:00

My latest adventure in theatre is over and I have to say it was one of my favourite. I was in Winnipeg A LOT but I think it was totally worth it. It was hard on the family and myself being gone so much. I think Griffin generally misses me the most. I miss him too. We have a lot of catch up to do over the next few months. I intend to do just that. With Emi and Tina too. I'm looking forward the most to our trip to Alberta in July. We'll be spending two weeks together as a family. That will be great. Anyway, back to Anne Frank. There are a few reasons why I enjoyed being a part of this show.

1. I love the people in the cast. Most of them I know from being in classes with and the rest I knew because of other people. We were like a family. The main parts were for the 9 students in Fourth Year Honours and four minor roles were opened up for non-honours students. I played Mr. Kraler, who is a business partner of Mr. Frank and is one of their main go-betweens the annex and the outside world. The class has so many talented actors. It was a joy just to watch them rehearse and prepare and be a part of that. This show also gave me a chance to spend time with them one last time. Most of them are graduating this year and moving on to Life After U of W. I'm going to miss them.

2. It was nice being in a show where I didn't have to worry about anything except showing up and acting. Our Director was great. Her name is Ann Hodges. You may recognize her as director of "Strike" the Musical and MTC's Jitters. She was so much fun to work with and I learned a lot from her. The set was fantastic, the costumes were great and the lighting was amazing. The show was all set in the annex and yet lighting was an integral part of the story.

While I really enjoyed the show it was hard being gone so much. I really am enjoying being at home and having to drive only 5 minutes to the rehearsals I'm working on now for our next show in Winkler. I'm stage managing which is certainly providing a new perspective on things.

So to the fourth year honours class thank you for your hard work in making this show brilliant, your support, for allowing into your circle and for most of all your friendship. I will treasure this opportunity I had to perform with you.
cheers

A little Bit of History

2010-03-11T18:50:00.002-06:00

So I'm taking Mennonite History this semester. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I absolutetly LOVE it!!!!! I've know some of the stories of my ancestors but I am so excited to be able to put these stories into context. I went to my grandparents yesterday for an hour and just asked questions about their family history (it's mine as well I guesss). Did you know my great-great grandpa Michael Klaassen was part of a delegation that went to Mexico in 1920? Many Mennonites ended up moving there but my great-great grandfather decided not to. Did you know that my great-great grandma and grandpa Rempel were Sommerfelders but my great-grandpa Rempel and his family broke off and joined the EMMC church. There was a lot of friction in the family because of that. Did you know a sketch my great-great-great grandfather Martin Klaassen drew is said to have been hung in the Tsar's palace? I guess that's where my mom gets it from.

I can't wait to find out more.

cheers

Oh Gosh, We Bought a Car

2010-03-09T19:25:00.002-06:00

Alright, so we've known the Saturn has been on it's last legs for a while. But it's finally come to a head and we made the plunge and bought a car. A 2007 Honda Fit to be exact. The kids are so excited. When we got into the car the first thing they wanted to do was climb over the backseat into the hatch area. So we let them. They took a picture at the dealership. I'm not going to show you a picture of the rest of the car because if you really want to know what a Fit looks like you'll do some research. (shiver) It sure was nice driving to Winnipeg on Monday, I mean it has cruise!!!! I've been without cruise control for over 10 years. My right leg is huge! Anyway, I hope this car treats us as well as Dennis (the Saturn) did. We had 345000 kms on that car. Anyway, I'm a little more paranoid now when I drive and I don't leave Tim's cups lying on the floor.

cheers

Bud

Remembering

2010-03-01T21:42:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure why I thought of this today. But it's been 2 years and 1 month since my Grandma Kehler passed away. Almost 10 years after my Grandpa Kehler. They lived on a farm very close to us so Adam and I used to spend a lot of time there. I miss them. My Grandpa passed away in 1998 but it was like he left earlier because of Alzheimer's. It scares me that it's in my family. I don't want to have to put Tina or the kids (or future grandkids) through that. My Grandma had a long drawn out battle with cancer. She was bedridden for most of her final months. We used to go to the hospital to sing hymns to her. The Christmas ones were her favourite. I think it was one of the last times we saw her my dad said we would sing two more songs before we had to go. During the second last one it looked like she fell asleep. But when the song ended she opened her eyes and grabbed my Dad's hand and said, "You promised me one more". That made me smile. She was very special to me. It's hard sometimes not having them around. But I think each was ready to go. It would have been selfish for me to keep them around just for me. (like I have that kind of power) My Grandma and Grandpa Sawatzky are still around. My Grandpa keeps joking that he's on borrowed time. He's turning 86 this year. They have certainly slowed down a lot. I can remember going to their house for a couple of days with Adam and my three cousins during the summer. How Grandma kept up with the 5 of us I'll never know. I've always had a special relationship with them because I'm the first grandchild. I also spent a lot of time there as a newborn because my parents spent the first few years of their marriage in a house trailer on their yard. I try to see them when I can and I've started asking more about their history, what they remember. I think that's important. It hurts to think of my Grandma and Grandpa Sawatzky dying. I don't want it to happen. It sucks even more that I know it is and can't make it hurt any less. I hate it that we get older. Cherish what you have, remember each moment is a gift. That's all I have. Thanks

cheers

Bud

I'm Avoiding Homework

2010-02-25T14:55:00.002-06:00

I'm pretty good at avoiding homework. Honest. You see right now I could be writing a two page summary on an article that I'm supposed to read (I've read it twice already) but instead I'm on the internet making smartalec comments on Facebook, checking out the tonight's Olympic schedule and blogging. Yikes. I even made tea!! Roibus to be exact. So what's new. Umm. Well I got some good news and bad news yesterday. The bad news was I didn't get a part in Strike! the Musical which is being performed this summer. I had an audition 1.5 weeks ago. It went really good (I think) and I had a lot of fun. The good news is I'll be at home for the month of July which the kids and Tina are happy about. If I would have got a part in this show it would have meant a lot of rehearsals in Winnipeg. I'm really happy I auditioned because as I mentioned it was a really great experience. I think I gained some confidence because of it. Never a bad thing. I wasn't totally shut out in the theatre world. 2 weeks ago yesterday I auditioned for a show at the University of Winnipeg. This was a good opportunity that opened up. Normally the shows are only done by those in the Honours program. The Fourth year class is doing Diary of Anne Frank and the director has decided to cast 4 of the parts with students outside of the class. I was cast as Mr. Kraler (that's awfully close to Kehler) and will be in 3 scenes!! It's especially exciting because I am good friends with a number of the students in the class. I'd say most of them. I am so looking forward to being in a show with them. They're a very talented class and I hope to learn lots from them. I felt very special when one of them called me the Friday after my audition all excited to tell me I got the part. But it means I'll be in Winnipeg a lot during the month of March for rehearsals. But I'm in Winnipeg a lot anyway so it's not a big deal I guess. The show the week of Easter. Oh yeah. They have performances Good Friday and the Saturday of Easter. weird. I'm definitely going back to Winkler Thursday night so I can be in church Good Friday. I guess in some ways I'm not totally churchy but for me, Good Friday is one of the most important Christian holidays on the calendar (Easter being first). And I'm not going to be too much fun at the cast party because I need to be back in Winkler for Easter Sunday. Ok, I'm going to qualify my previous point. According to church people I'm not totally churchy but to my University friends I am. Ok I'm going to qualify that too. I worship lead, do children's story, teach sunday school and attend church conferences. I guess I am churchy but don't feel it sometimes. weird. Anyway, I'm going to get the kleenex ready because I likely am going to bawl my eyes out when Jonie Rochette skates tonight. And I have to get that assignment done.

cheers

Bud

I Don't Know How They Do It

2010-02-19T10:17:00.002-06:00

So I'm on Reading Week right now. It's really nice just relaxing, getting a little bit of homework done, reading (finished the Twilight Series) and watching Olympics. At first I was excited about reading week because I'd get to see the kids a little more but it really hasn't happened that way. I keep forgetting they have school even though I'm on a break. And I've been busy three nights this week with meetings or rehearsals and now Saturday I'm off to a conference. The end of March will be tough because I'm in a show in Winnipeg and production week is during spring break. How do people do jobs where they don't see their kids for a week or two at a time? I don't know. Just had a thought. My dad used to go up north to work for weeks at a time. I know why he did it. It wasn't a choice. He had too so we could eat. hmmm I guess I'm thinking more about having a choice.Am I just over sensitive about it? I could be involved in more. There's lots I would like to be involved in. But I think my family would go crazy. The kids at least. Anyway. I was just thinking about it and I hadn't blogged in a while so....anyway. There you go.

cheers.

Another Battle Report

2010-02-10T21:37:00.005-06:00

Alright this Battle Report is going to be shorter because

A. I threw away the Army Lists

and

B. We only played a 500pt battle.

The Armies

Griffin's Undead Horde

Vampire Hero

Extra level

Spells

Invocation of Nehek, Raise Dead and Winds of Undeath

10 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf

12 Grave Guard with command

2 Bat Swarms

Bud's Fanatical Night Goblins

Night Goblin Big Boss riding Giant Squig

Iron Gnashas

Night Goblin Shaman

Spell Gaze of Gork

20 Night Goblins with command and 2 Fanatics

Squig Herd 6 squigs 4 Herders

Griffin won the roll off and went first.

VC Turn 1

Everything moves forward.

He tries to cast Winds of Death but that fails and Invocation is dispelled by my Shaman

Goblins Turn 1

Night Goblins on edge have animosity and roll go get'em. Move forward 2 inches. Then they move their march move and release fanatics. YAY!! Only 1 makes it and destroys 1 Dire Wolf. Everyth

ing else moves forward. Gaze of Gork Dispelled.

VC Turn 2

Dire Wolves Charge middle Night Goblin Unit. Not a great idea. Both fanatics are released and destroy a total of 7 Dire Wolves!! That leaves 2 for the combat to come. His Bat Swarms charge my Squig Herd. He tries to cast Invocation but miscasts and rolls the one where I get to cast a spell. I cast Gaze on the Dire Wolves and kill another one. The final one gets killed in combat.

His bat swarms get eaten up by my squig herd. Yay!!!!

OC Turn 2

1 fanatic dies because he runs into the rocks. The other three just zoom around having a great ole time. The night goblin unit with the shaman suffers from animosity so he can't cast a spell. everyone else just kind of moves around. I move the squig herd in place so that the grave guard unit with the Vampire will attack them.

VC Turn 3

Vampire Unit charges the Squig herd. YES!!! The unit kills two squigs but the remaining two, obviously liking the vampire who is the only fleshy thing to be found, target it with all their attacks and bring the Vampire down!!! The Herd still loses combat but rolls double 1's to stick around. (They don't auto break from fear because they're immune to psychology) The leadership test at the end of the turn b/c the Leader perished means four more Grave Guard fall to dust.

OC Turn 3

Pretty much all that happened was that 1 fanatic flew off the board

Vampire Turn 4

Nothing (there was some really boring combat

OC Turn 4

Fanatic kills a Night Goblin. That was fun. I was hoping it would do more damage. My Night Goblin big Boss on a Giant Squig charges the Grave Guard from Behind and wipes them out. There were only 3 left. And so ends the game with a very unexpected win for the Night Goblins.

Final Note.

Does this mean Night Goblins are better than Dwarfs? I think I'm about to get hit by lightning.

cheers

A few Quick Hits

2010-02-05T17:40:00.002-06:00

1. Haiti didn't make the first 6 minutes of the CBC radio national news at 4pm. It's fading from the headlines. Please don't forget the thousands affected.

2. I really have issues with British Colonialism. They really have tried to screw up every culture they've come in contact with.

3. Read the Graphic Novel Series "Bone" this week. Very enjoyable.

4. I hate icy roads.

5. I have a lot of work to do this weekend.

6. The Super Bowl is this weekend.

7. I never get stuff done Super Bowl weekend.

8. I'm screwed.

cheers

A Response to Herb Franz...sort of.

2010-02-03T20:45:00.005-06:00

OK this is hard because normally I don't like picking a fight with a pastor of another church but I sort of had to with this. He kind of got me a little angry. This is a portion of Herb Franz's sermon on exclusivity which he preached at Grace Mennonite Church in Winkler on Sunday. The Mennonite community is small so that's how I found out about this. He posts the sermon on his blog. Here is an excerpt...

Let me tell you about an exclusive church that I experienced last fall. When we were at Hans and Irene’s four of us decided that we would like to go to an Old Colony Church worship service. So we asked around about where we could find such a church. We were told that there was an Old Colony Church in the village of Steinreich just a couple of miles from where we were staying. We asked what time it would start. We were told that Old Colony churches never start at the same time. They start one hour after sunrise. Some of our group, not me, were awake early in the morning and knew that the sun rose at 6:30 AM. We assumed that we should be at the church by 7:30. Actually we were told, the service starts at 7:15 or so.

We arrived at the church and Daryl was driving and Daryl did what Daryl always does when Daryl goes to church, he drove into the parking spot. We didn’t know that no one drives into the parking spots; they back in so they can get away quickly when the service is over.

We had been told to make sure that we entered the church by the correct door. We would have to enter by the men’s door. We were told to just watch which door the men were using and follow them in. We got there and I watched and I saw a couple of men walk in one of the doors. But then I became confused because I also saw a couple of women enter the same door. What was going on? Then I remembered being told that there are a couple of doors on the church where the song leaders and the ministers, and their wives can enter. That must be the door. Eventually we saw what seemed to be a steady stream of men heading toward several different doors and we got out of our incorrectly parked van and followed the group.

As we were walking across the parking lot we encountered another man came and I greeted him with my best Low German greeting. He looked surprised and muttered something in return that made it obvious the conversation was over. We managed to walk in the correct door. We noticed there were no children under the age of about 13 in the church.

Before the service started seven men walked in and sat to the right of the pulpit. These were the song leaders. They led the singing in the most nasal singing I have ever heard. We found that no one brought their Bibles to church, except for our own Bill Zacharias, but everyone brought their hymn books which are carried in cardboard slip covers. When the singing started there was a general clatter as the books were unsheathed and the covers were set beside the people on the bench.

When the minister began to speak there came a time when everyone in the building stood up, turned around and knelt facing the back of the bench. I had been on my knees all week tiling at Hans and Irene’s and my knees were in no mood for kneeling without kneepads on a cement floor. I thought it would be awkward to stay sitting and stare at the man in front of me kneeling to pray looking at me so I stood, turned, knelt and leaned heavily on my arms during the prayer time.

As a preacher I’m always looking to learn from another preacher. When this preacher began to speak he did not speak in his normal tone of voice. He spoke sort of in a singing voice that flowed along like this and only occasionally dropped at end of a sentence. Despite that there were entire sections of the message where he spoke in his normal voice before beginning to once again use what I later learned is called the “Holy Voice”. When church was over I expected visiting to happen but everyone stood silently and left without saying anything to anyone. It was clearly a case of beat the traffic in Steinreich that day. In about five minutes our van was the only vehicle left in the parking lot because Daryl had driven in instead of backing in. We had to wait till everyone else had gone before we could go.

We left the church that day relatively secure in the knowledge that we were going to be the topic of many dinner conversations among the people of the Steinreich Old Colony Church. I have never felt so out of place among a group of 250 white people in all my life.

I went to an Old Colony church service as well when I was in Mexico. And I can only describe Mr. Franz's description as culturally insensitive. Could he have sounded more superior in his description of the Old Colony church service? Maybe next time he should approach the service with humility and a true desire for learning and check his modern evangelical goggles at the door. What did he expect? To be greeted as the wonderful preacher from the far off wonderful place of Canada? If he had tried to learn anything about church before hand maybe the service wouldn't have been so awkward for him. One of his comments was "the most nasal singing I have ever heard". Does he go to Pow Wows and complain about the drumming or watch Riverdance and then complain about how loud it is when they wear those shoes? His comment about "beating the traffic" was also troublesome to me. He really has absolutely NO idea about the culture of the Old Colony people. Instead he invokes his own biases to prove a point. I'm going to fill you in on a little secret. The Old Colony church is exclusive. They are not an evangelical church out to attract new members. They have members, they are the people of the colony. By the way. I did not feel "excluded" when I attended that church service in December. Excluded is when you are left out. Did I feel different? Yes, but I was given as much opportunity to worship as anyone else. On a final note Mr. Franz assumes they were the talk of many dinner discussions. Really??

Cheers

A Warhammer Morning

2010-01-25T16:04:00.008-06:00

So nobody went anywhere from our house today (great grammar there) and Griffin has a Vampire Counts Army he hasn't used yet, so we decided to have ourselves a little game. It was a 1300pt battle. Here are the army lists.

Vampire Counts

Heroes

Vampire Hero

Blood Drinker, Forbidden Lore, Summon Creatures of the Night

Necromancer

Hand of Dust, Extra Spell

Units

20 Zombies w/command

20 Skeletons w/command Banner of the Dead legion

20 Grave Guard w/command Screaming Banner

10 Dire Wolves

4 Bat Swarms

1 Banshee with 2 Cairn Wraiths

Dwarfs

Heroes

Thane

Master Rune of Alaric the Mad, Master Rune of Gromril

Runesmith

Master Rune of Spellbinding

Rune of Spellbreaking

Units

20 Warriors w/command

20 Warriors w/ command

20 Ironbreakers w/command Rune of Courage

10 Thunderers

1 Grudge Thrower w/Engineer Rune of Penetrating

Table

We played on the Kitchen table which is 5ft wide but only 3 ft deep. So we made our deployment zones 6 inches. (btw, that's my new imac in the background)

It's hard to see but the Dwarfs are on the near side of the table. From L-R GrudgeThrower on the Hill, Thunderers, Ironbreakers with Runesmith, Warriors with Thane and Warriors. On the Vampire side from L-R its the Direwolves, Bat Swarms, Grave Guard with Vampire, Zombies, Necromancer, Skeletons and Wraiths.

Griffin won the roll off and so the Vampires went first.

VC Turn 1

Every unit except the Wraiths were within 12 inches of the Vampire and so marched 8 inches ahead except for the wolves who marched 18 inches. The wraiths floated 6 inches forward. (they're ethereal after all) G tried to cast Gaze of Nagash on my Ironbreakers but i dispelled it. he then managed to get Vanhel's Danse Macabre on the Wraiths and so they floated 8 inches ahead into the ruins on my right side of the board.

Dwarf Turn 1

I had my three blocks of units move forward and left my Thunderers and Grudge Thrower in place to shoot. FYI I don't move either of those units during the whole battle.

In the shooting phase I opened fire on the Dire Wolves and took out 6. The Grudge Thrower scored a direct hit on the Zombies and took out 11 of the 20. Griffin was not impressed.

VC Turn 2

Well Vampires really like Dwarf blood so this particular Vampire was not going to be discouraged.The Dire Wolves charged the Thunderers while everything formed up into a new battle line. The Necromancer failed to cast Invocation of Nehec. The Vampire cast it successfully and the dispel failed so up sprang 6 new Zombies to replace the ones that had been crushed by the Grudge Thrower. In combat the Dire Wolves killed one Thunderer while the 4 Dire Wolves were hacked up in return.

Dwarfs Turn 2

The Ironbreakers moved up a little to form up with the Warriors. The Thunderers fired on the Bat Swarms and did 2 wounds. The Grudge Thrower must have been affected by the wind because this shot sailed off course and landed harmlessly between the two armies.

VC Turn 3

The Bat Swarms moved in front of the Thunderers, the wraiths moved beside the warriors on my right while everything moves up carefully. In magic both his attempts at Invocation were dispelled. His Banshee did her howl at the Warriors and one fell to his death.

Dwarfs Turn 3

The three blocks of units move back 1 inch to try and stay out of charge range. The Thunderers do 6 wounds on the Bat Swarms while the Grudge Thrower's artillery veers off course again.

VC Turn 4

Wraiths and Skeletons charge the Warriors on my right flank. Warriors have to take a terror test and fail so they flee. The skeletons fail their charge but the wraiths catch the warriors and they are destroyed. The Banshee then howls and destroys three more warriors from the other unit. The Bat Swarms charge the Thunderers who fail their fear check and flee off the board. (I needed to roll a 9 or less on both and rolled 11 twice!!!) Grave Guard and Vampire charge into the Iron Breakers who don't have to take a test because they have the Rune of Courage on their banner. The Zombies charge the Warriors who pass their fear test. The necromancer moves forward. Invocation of Nehek by the Necromancer fails while the Vampire (who must have hated his necromancer) cast Vanhels on the Necro and charged him into the warriors as well. The Necro has a bound spell but that is dispelled. In combat the Zombies whiff while the Warriors dispatch of 5. With combat resolution the Zombies unit had 3 left and the necromancer crumbled to dust. In the other combat the Grave Guard do no wounds while the Iron Breakers do 1 wound so the Grave Guard lose by 2 and 2 Grave Guard fall to the ground.

Dwarf Turn 4

Nobody moves cause everyone's in combat except the Grudge Thrower, and who'd wanna move that thing anyway. In Close Combat the remaining Zombies are destroyed. The Ironbreakers destroy one Grave Guard and one Iron Breaker falls in return. The Grave Guard lose one more to combat resolution.

VC Turn 5

The Bat Swarms move in behind the Iron Breakers and the Wraiths move behind the Warriors. The Banshee Howl fails this turn and Invocation of Nehek is dispelled. In Close Combat the Grave Guard destroy the Runesmith and combat ends up as a draw.

Dwarf Turn 5

The Warriors charge into the flank of the Grave Guard unit. The Grudge Thrower shoots at the unit of skeletons but misses AGAIN!! In combat the Grave Guard kill two warriors on the front and side but still lose combat by 6. They only have 9 left.

VC Turn 6

This was not a good turn for the Dwarfs. The Bat Swarms charge the rear of the Iron Breakers, the Wraiths charge their flank and the skeletons charge the rear of the Warriors.

In combat the Vampire Counts won by about a million and outnumbered the dwarfs so they automatically run and are subsequently are caught. All that's left is the grudge thrower and they decide discretion is the better part of valour and take off. (I conceded).

It was a lot of fun to be able to play. Griffin gets older all the time. I'm glad he's old enough now that we can do these things together.

cheers

Something Quick

2010-01-14T22:25:00.000-06:00

I find it funny how schools reword things now. When Griffin got back to school after the break he hadn't finished all his homework. So he went to "Homework Club" during recess until it was finished. Back when I was a kid it was called "detention".
cheers

My Lineage

2010-01-13T19:30:00.001-06:00

Just for Kicks.

Budilian Kehler

Parents
Peter T. Kehler
Lenora (Sawatzky)

Grandparents
George Kehler
Mary (Toews)
Ferdinand Sawatzky
Martha (Rempel)

Great Grandparents
Jacob L. Kehler
Helena (Loeppky)
Peter H. Toews
Susan (Hiebert)
Jacob Sawatzky
Anna (Klassen)
Erdman Rempel
Anna (Dueck)

I'll do more in the future. I actually could list one of my great-great and one of my great-great-great grandfathers. I'll hold off for now. I've been interested in my history for a while. But I'm still not sure whether I want to spend the money on ancestry.ca. That's expensive. What I know for sure is most of my family came from the cool Dutch-North German Mennonites and not those pansy Swiss-Southern Germany ones.
Cheers
Bud

Back to the Grind

2010-01-08T10:40:00.002-06:00

So things are back to normal I guess. It's bloody cold, I'm at school and it's cold. My car sounds like it's going to fall apart. It shakes so bad I feel like I'm back in Mexico driving on bad gravel roads. It's been too cold to work on the rink too. I'm really disappointed by that. Oh!!! maybe I'll stay home with Griffin on Saturday morning and Tina can go skiing with Griffin, I'll work on the rink and make sure G can make it to an 11am birthday party. NICE!! I'm glad with things work out like that. Over the break I read four books. In order
1. Cross Bones Kathy Reichs
2. Twilight Stephanie Meyers
3. New Moon Stephanie Meyers
4. Eclipse Stephanie Meyers

I really like the Twilight series although I'm getting a little tired of teenage angst. (And I want to be a High School teacher??) I think it's easier to deal with because I like vampires so much.
Ummm
Disappointing news today. Found out Zumba got changed to Tuesdays. ACK!!! I really enjoyed Zumba. Now I have to do regular exercising. Kind of Suck.
Anyway
I'm in Teaching K-8 (Full year course) Math Prior to 1640 and Mennonite Studies post 1786. I think it will be a really good semester. I'm looking forward to everything.
Anyway. Gotta go.
Cheers

We're Back!!

2009-12-24T11:20:00.016-06:00

Alright, so we're back from Mexico so I thought it prudent to give a little report. It's not going to be too long because I have to prep for Christmas but as you can see it will include some pictures. So we left early on December 8th. It was -28 that morning. We traveled from Winkler to the U.S. border in Emerson and then on to Grand Forks. It took a little longer than expected to get there because a warning light went on in the car so I had to slow down. That was a little scary. All I could think was, "just get us to the airport". We made it to the airport obviously. When we got there I dropped off Tina, took her jacket and mitts and went and parked the car. I left my jacket and toque there and ran to the terminal. I parked in economy so it was a bit of a hike. When I got to the terminal Tina told me she forgot to give me her boots. She was not lugging them around Mexico. So back to the car I ran and then back to the terminal. That was cold!!!! Finally we got on the plane and were off. In Minneapolis we were worried about the storm coming up from the Midwest throwing a wrench in our plans. Fortunately it only hit in the afternoon. The flight to Cancun felt a little long but landing and getting out into +28 was kind of nice. We spent the first 5 days at the Xcaret Grand Flamenco Resort near Playa del Carmen. It was really nice but a little confusing at first because it's sooooo big and the maps aren't that great. It's really easy to have lots to drink there. It's an all inclusive resort so all the drinks and food are included. Margaritas taste very good when the temp is pushing 30 degrees. It was a very relaxing time for Tina and I. It had been hectic with work for Tina and school for me so it was great to unwind before we headed off to the colonies. For those of you who don't know the real reason for the trip was for research. Royden Loewen, who chairs Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg is writing a book on the history of horse and buggy Mennonites in North and South America. He has about 8 researchers heading off to different areas to gather stories. Some of you might remember Tina heading to Mexico in January to do this. At that time she made it to most of the colonies on the Yucatan Peninsula but still had two to go to. That was the reason for the trip. We just included a little vacation time as well. We didn't do much at the resort other than sit at the beach and do a bit of dancing. There were tours going out to different areas. But we only had 3 full days at the resort so decided to rest and enjoy the outdoors rather than push ourselves. We got a lot of reading done. I read Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs and Tina read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. We both enjoyed them a lot. So on Saturday, Dec 12 we headed off to Hopelchen. We took a bus from Playa del Carmen to Merida. From there we had to walk to a secondary terminal to catch a bus for Hopelchen. We caught the last one for the day 5 minutes before it left!! Thank you God for your traveling mercies. So we rolled into town at about 7pm. It was dark already and there was lots going on in the main square. Fireworks and shops and people walking around. It was a major festival on the Catholic calendar. I haven't quite figured it out yet but I think it was Guadalupe or something. I'll look it up some time. There are some Amish in Hopelchen helping out the Mennonite Colonies in that area so we headed off to their place. Tina had been there in January. We actually ran into Jonas in the main square. He was heading off to a restaurant where his family was, so we joined him. It was outdoors (it's so nice) and we enjoyed Ponochos, Tacos and Orange Fanta. Ponochos are a small torilla that is a little thicker and has chicken and peppers on it. I made sure to add a little Habanero sauce to give it a little kick. We spent the night at a neighbor lady's spare room. The next day we were off to Neuvo Durango colony, which is about 1 hour southeast of Hopelchen. When we arrived we walked into a room with 10 preachers from the surrounding colonies. That was a little freaky. But Tina was her charming self and by the end had set up some interviews and made a contact with the other colony that we wanted to go to. We spent 4 nights in the colony with the Deacon and his family. I went to some of the interviews, read my book and played one afternoon with the three granddaughters. I even got to go to an Old Colony school one afternoon. Children only go to school until they are 12 years old. I find that a little sad because I met some children who were very sharp. But on the other hand for the lifestyle they live they don't need much higher. When I walked into the school I thought I had walked into Anne of Green Gables. Kids were on benches with long desks using slate boards and chalk. (Chalk pencils that is) They sang the catechism and did the multiplication table by rote chanting it in unison. When we walked in with the teacher all the children stood up and the teacher said Gaun Dag (Good Day) and the children replied with the same in unison. A very different experience. On Thursday we got up very early and we had a buggy ride to the nearest village which was about 1 hour away. From there we took a taxi to another town to catch a bus. The taxi was interesting. We pulled up at this house that had a truck with Ontario plates and a van with no plates. Then a Mayan kid comes out who looks about 12 years old and gets into the drivers seat. I think he was 15. He drove well. So we went to the town and took the bus back to Hopelchen. That afternoon we took a taxi to the Mayan ruins at Xtampac. It was kind of funny. We booked the taxi and he drove around a bit and ended up picking up a girl. From our limited understanding of Spanish he wanted to find someone to help him pass the time while we were at the ruins. She certainly did that in a kanoodling sort of way. Anyway, after the ruins he drove us to Santa Rosa Colony. It's a Sommerfelder colony (they have trucks). We stopped at a house at random and asked the people if they would drive us to Chavi Colony. No problem. So off we went to another colony. It was a little different there. We were a different people's places almost every night. That Sunday we went to an Old Colony church service. THAT was different. It's hard to explain because I didn't understand it but the singing was very different because there was no harmony and was more like a drawn out nasal high pitched Gregorian Chant. Weird, I know. One song took about 10 minutes. The preacher then preached for almost an hour. He needed to go toastmasters. Tina said she's heard better Old Colony preachers and not to base my views of Old Colony preachers on him. OH, NO KIDS. A person was not allowed to go to a church service until they were near baptism age. (About 17 or 18). That afternoon I put on a mini-show for the people we were staying at. I juggled oranges. They loved it. HONEST. That evening we stayed in Jolnon Colony at a house right beside where the bus picks everyone up. We were on the bus till Merida and from there to Cancun, we were on our way home!! That night we stayed at a hotel right across the street from the bus depot. Very handy. We had a nice meal at the hotel and I had my first cold beer in over a week. It tasted very good. The next morning it was off to the airport. We got there early and made it through security so we could do some Duty Free shopping. That was fun. Then on to the plane for a flight to Minneapolis. When went through U.S. Customs it turned out the border guy spent 20 years on the North Dakota/Manitoba border. He was very well acquainted with the Winkler area. What were the chances? So, after a short layover were on our way to Grand Forks. It was -10C when we arrived. Much warmer than the -29C we left behind. The highlight in Grand Forks was that the car started. YAY!!! The trip home was less than 2 hours but felt longer. We really wanted to see the kids. So we pulled into our garage went to the door and were greeted by the two most important people in our lives. We missed them soooo much. It was good to feel their arms squeezing our necks. The made us this great sign too. That night Emi and Tina slept in the bed, I slept on the couch and Griffin slept beside me on the floor. We just all wanted to be together. So, that's my story of Mexico. I'm sure there's lots I've missed but we can talk about that some other time.

To Mexico We Go

2009-12-07T21:23:00.004-06:00

Tina and I are off to Mexico tomorrow morning. You can see on the map the two main places we'll be. We're a little nervous. We're flying out of Grand Forks so that means crossing the border. It generally goes smooth but what if it doesn't? Then we fly to Minneapolis. They have a winter storm warning in effect but the snow isn't supposed to really hit until the afternoon. Our plane should be gone by 11am. Here's hoping. We're very excited. The reason we're going down is Tina needs to do some research on some Mennonite Colonies near Hopelchen. (see map) She went in January by herself. This time I get to go and it's our 15th wedding anniversary this month so it's sort of a celebration for us. We'll be in Playa del Carmen the first four or five days and then it's off to the colonies for a week and a bit. We'll be back on the 22nd. Just in time for Christmas. We are so lucky to be able to do this. Our parents are awesome. They will be splitting time taking care of the kids. We'll miss them muchly our sweet little munchkins. So please pray for us for safe travels and that Tina can get her work done and that our kids will be safe and won't miss us too much. If it works I'll blog a bit from Mexico. Don't count on it though.
cheers.

It's been a while

2009-12-03T20:20:00.004-06:00

I just really liked this picture which is why I've included it. Griff and Ems are so much fun. I've had a chance to realize that this last day or two. So semester is pretty much done now. I have one take home exam to do by for Tuesday and then I can put the past 3 months behind me. It hasn't been easy. There have been a lot of issues that have come up. I'm just happy to let our a great big sigh and look ahead. I would like to talk about a few things I learned at school this last semester though. It's good to reflect in order to reinforce those ideas that have been formed. I'm never going to be able to fully express (or properly express) some of the things I've learned/felt but I'll try.
Teaching K-8
The lessons learned were hard to put my finger on. I think one of the big things is the importance of being grounded in your teaching philosophy so you know where you plan on going. It also keeps you focused and consistent which will make it easier on the students because they'll learn to know what to expect. My practicum is also a part of this class. I've really enjoyed being in the classroom. I continually try to hone my classroom management techniques. I taught a double period math class this last week. It was fun/chaotic and I'm not sure they fully comprehended squares and square roots. I hope they retained at least a bit of it. *note* I wonder how many teachers ask the same question everyday. I can't wait to get back into the classroom in January.
Aboriginal Education
This class actually ended two weeks ago. It was the kind of class I needed because we got to share and actually be a little bit of a community. Not like a theatre class (best community ever) but still good. I learned a lot about the residential school system. It was horrible. The effects are horrible. Two, three, maybe even four generations have had their culture stripped away. The purpose of the schools was to eliminate the "Indian" culture and make them contributing members to the Canadian society. I can't even explain how sick I feel. I'm glad Aboriginal people are gaining a voice again. My favourite part was the sharing circle at the end of semester. For an hour and a half we sat in a circle passing around a rock. When you had the rock you were the only one who could talk and you could share whatever you want. There was some heavy stuff that came out in that circle. But it reinforced to me how a safe environment will allow a student to make themself vulnerable to express feelings. I hope I can gain a smidgen of that feeling when I teach.
Educational Settings and the Sociology of Learning
I often came out of this class wondering why I'm wanting to teach at all. The system is so skewed towards the upper class. We may say there is equal opportunity to succeed but that is not the case. Our prof was great. We had a lot of readings to do but they all had application to the course material and made sense. Except for the Bourdieu article. That was just painful. I learned a lot in this class and appreciated the dialogue that went on in regards to a number of issues. This course was one of three options for 3rd year Integrated Ed students but I think everyone should have to take it. It's a real eye-opener.
Closing
So Tina and I are off to Mexico in a few (4) days. We'll spend the first 5 days in Cancun and then it's off to Hopelchen for a week and a bit on a Mennonite Colony. We're a little stressed out making plans for the kids while we're gone but also looking forward to this time together. At the end of the month we'll have been married for 15 years. I think I love Tina more now than I did when we got married. Or at least I know how to love her better. Gosh, I can't believe how long it takes to adjust to someone. Well, it was worth it. Well I gotta go exercise so my body is beach ready by Tuesday. It's possible right?
cheers

He's 10

2009-11-14T20:13:00.003-06:00

So, my little boy turned 10 years old today. I can hear him in the background laughing with his cousins. This is him about 4 years ago. He was 5 at the time. He's grown a lot. I'm not sure what I can all say about him. He's growing into a man. His shoulders are getting wider and his voice is getting lower. He asks harder questions and understands harder concepts. (I taught him exponents this past spring) He's started his own Vampire Counts Army (yay!!!! I love vampires) He's still very sensitive. I love that about him. He cares so much. For animals and people and his baby sister. He loves Emi sooo much. My favourite is when she gets hurt and he runs upstairs to get her a stuffy and then brings it down for her. He reads her stories and sometimes they play together. He bugs her a lot too and gets into fights. But I think that's ok. It's part of the growing up process. He doesn't play hockey but he does play soccer and flag football. He really likes theatre and playing piano and no he wants to start tap dancing. How awesome is that!!! I can't wait to see what the future holds for him but also want him to stay the way he is now. He still gives and hugs and kisses and wants to sit on my lap sometimes and to snuggle before he goes to sleep. I love him muchly. Happy Birthday Griff. You're the best.

Halloween!!!!

2009-11-01T08:26:00.002-06:00

So yesterday was Halloween. We like this day. I think it's the chance to dress up and be goofy and get lots of candy. (at least for the kids.....I mean the candy part. I love dressing up and being goofy, sometimes I don't even need to dress up to be goofy. Ok, most of the time I'm goofy without dressing up, not to say that I'm not wearing anything (gross). Just that I'm not wearing a costume.) Are you allowed to brackets in brackets like that? I know you can do that with Math equations but I'm not sure how the English community views that. I digress (big time). Halloween kind of snuck up on us this year. With work and school and show it felt like we didn't have a lot of time to prepare. We only picked up the pumpkins on Friday for goodness sake. Saturday we didn't have a lot of time to get them ready because we had rehearsal all day. But we managed to get them deguckified, carved and put out for all the world to see. (note: deguckified did not get a red underline for being mispelled. How weird is that?) Then it was on to costumes. Griff and Ems both wanted to be Vampires so I was more than happy to oblige. Although I did wear garlic for the rest of the evening. Griffin wore black pants and shirt and has a fabulous cape my mom made for him a few years ago. Tina found a great dress and cape for Emi at MCC on Thursday. I love MCC!!!! My mom, who is fabulous bought us a higher end face paint kit for the kids so I went to work transforming our kids into Bela Lagosi. (look it up if you don't know who that is).
Griffin's friend Corey came over to go trick or treating with Griffin. He had a great costume. He's the headless guy holding his head. He got hit by a car and that's why his head fell off. Tina went a little retro with her costume. She looks great. For me? How can you go wrong with a lab coat and an axe in the head? My parents always come by for Halloween so while Tina and the kids went trick or treating (it was her turn this year) I handed out candy and chatted with my mom while my dad fell asleep watching the Leafs and Habs. Then Emi came back and her and mom went to Superstore and me and Dad played cribbage. Did I mention I almost never beat him? I almost never beat him. Last night he beat me three times in a row. The first two games were really close and then the third game he smoked me. I'm not sure why I even play him. ugh I SUCK!!!!!! Oh, did I mention we had DJ's pizza for supper? And the best part of last night. We got an extra hour of sleep and because the kids got to bed late they actually slept in as well. I love Halloween!!!!!!!!!

A Cat!?!?!

2009-10-27T14:12:00.001-05:00

I have a little story to tell. So on Thursday night while Tina and I were at rehearsal the kids (along with the babysitter) decided to put some milk out for a stray cat that had wandered by the yard. No big deal. The next day the kids and I went to Winnipeg. (kids to my Mom and Dad's, I went to SAG). So on the way home I called Tina to see how she was doing. She says the cat came back, that she let it in the house and that it was inside right now. OH TINA!!! She is so weak when it comes to animals. We got home late and went to bed. The next day was fun. The kids are absolutely in love with this animal. Emi carries her around everywhere and we have to tell her to put it down once in a while and leave it be. It's a very nice cat. It loves being around people, uses the litter and doesn't ruin the house when we leave. I've never thought of myself as a cat person but I must admit it is comforting to have around. We've named it Mittzy btw. Anyway, we're also thinking this is likely someone's cat that has run away. So If you recognize this cat you have the owners contact us. We'd all be a little devastated (ok, Emi and Griffin would die) but we also don't want to keep the cat if it belongs to someone else. The only issue has been the cat's keen interest in the bird. Not a friendly infatuation either methinks.
cheers

16 days

2009-10-18T11:18:00.003-05:00

Wow, it's been 16 days since I last posted. Nobody read it anyway which begs the question. If you no one sees your post does it actually exist? That made me laugh. Yesterday was a good day. I worked my tail off in the morning cleaning up the garden and shoveling out one of the composts. That was tough. the nearby siberian elms have their roots winding their way through the compost. ugh. Had rehearsal in the afternoon. I was actually acting but I got to teach some dance and do some as well. That as fun. Afterwards I loaded some stuff on to a truck and brought it off to the dump. Stuff I've been wanting to get rid of for years. One was a 1000 gallon oil tank. I loaded it myself. I'm huuuuuge. And I got to use a sabre saw to cut it down a bit. I neeeeeeed one. They're awesome. In the evening I watched Flushed Away with the kids. That was fun. What wasn't fun was that Griffin had a fever. Poor kid. Anyway, stayed up late reading and talking to Tina. I love my family. This was short but the Chiefs game is about to start.

Meh

2009-10-02T08:57:00.002-05:00

Ok, so here's the update now that it's October. I feel like school has just started even though this semester is already 1/3 over. Intro to Aboriginal Education is definitely the heaviest class. Not because of the course work though. We've been discussing the residential school system. I cry but at the same time I feel uplifted that things are changing. Even though it's very slowly. In Educational Settings and the Sociology of Learning I get frustrated because of a schooling system that's been created to benefit those of a higher socio-economic status. But I am challenged to make a difference. In Teaching K-8 I am challenged to actually live out my beliefs about teaching. I've set some pretty high ideals there.

Hey! What's Going On.

2009-09-18T16:53:00.002-05:00

So, it's been a while but I'm back again to fill all three of you in on what's going on. School started last week. It's been an adjustment for me. I'm only in education classes this semester. No theatre.......it's a little depressing because I now rarely see all the incredible friends I've made over the last 2 years. bummer. The first couple of days I went to the theatre lounge to see if there were people there. Every once in a while there was. I came to the realization the other day that it was time to start hanging out in the Ed lounge since that's where I'll see the people I'm actually in class with. And they have more couches. And cleaner ones too. Griffin and Emi have both started school. Emi loves it, she comes home happy every day. Griffin is needing more of an adjustment. He handles change about as well as I do. If it were up to him he would have the same teacher and same classmates every year. The one complaint he does have is that he's not learning anything in math. It's too easy and he wants it to be harder! That's kind of funny. We busy into rehearsals for Pink Panther. I'm still trying to settle into my character. It's tough partly because the scenes are so short. I think some good "moments" have developed already though. And I'm teaching the tango. It will be my first choreo credit. That's just weird. That's about it. I finished two projects this week so I'm very happy about that. It will be nice to get that 10 foot ladder/plank off of the steps. Time to get supper ready. Weiner roast tonight.
cheers
Bud

School Starts Tomorrow

2009-09-08T18:32:00.002-05:00

So school starts tomorrow for all of us. (except Tina of course) I've been praying a lot (for me) lately for a number of things.

1. For Griffin and Emi who are both attending new schools.
2. For Griffin who is nervous about being a small fish in the big pond of middle years school.
3. For Me that I will not be frustrated with only straight lecture classes.
4. For Me that my practicum will be an uplifting and growing experience.
4. For safe travels for all of us.
5. For Tina as she gets the kids ready for school each morning. (Emi can be a handful)

I hate change. And the first day of school means the beginning of a new routine for all of us. Maybe by the end of the month I'll be happy again.

cheers
Bud

End of Summer Report

2009-09-02T11:32:00.002-05:00

Well seeing as Summer is over I thought I would do an end of summer report on the goals I had for this summer.
Comments are in red.

1. Go Fishing at least twice (maybe we'll even catch something)
Didn't happen. I suck at planning things
2. Find 10 geocaches
Found 5. Looked for four more at St. Vital Park but no dice.
3. Make many trips to the pool. (I need to make back what we paid for the season pass)
I'm pretty sure we made back what we paid but the summer was so crappy we didn't head out very often.
4. Have a golf game below 100. (Which means I actually have to golf)
I shot a 94 at Steinbach. I was very excited about that.
5. Memorize my lines. (I actually don't have much choice in this one since off book is July 6th)
Yeah I memorized my lines. Is it creepy to be checking out a nun as she walks away? (that was a reference to my character btw)
6. Finish 2 books.
I read Toll the Hounds. That was a 1200 page beast. I also just finished a book on CD. Does that count?
7. Host 2 or 3 parties.
I hosted one. Or at least tried to. It didn't work out as well as I had hoped. Not for lack of planning though.
8. Not play more than 1 hour of computer a day. (wishful thinking)
Yeah, didn't happen. I went through a rough time in early August.
9. Continue exercising. (wishful thinking)
Had I started?
10. Finish painting my dwarf army. (I doubt it)
Nope
11. Stain the shelves.
Almost done. Final coat of varathane goes on today.
12. Put the door jams on the bedroom.
yeah, not really
13. Build some more terrain for my warhammer table.
My mom gave me a package of trees to put together. That was fun.
14. Play 3 games of warhammer with someone other than Griffin.
Not even 1. Griffin and I have been playing some Lord of the Rings though. That was fun.
15. Go Fly a kite.
No
16. Play Settlers.
No. I think you actually need friends for that. Ok Friends you get together with.
17. Go to 2 Bomber games. (I think I'd need a job then)
I'm actually glad I haven't. If they get better maybe I'll go in October. Yes I'm a fairweather fan.
18. Get a job. (After July 25th)
Pleasant surprise of the summer. I worked one or two days a week with my dad insulating or drywalling houses. I made enough to pay off the fridge that died, the dehumidifier that died, car repairs plus more. Ugh, On monday I worked for 7 hours and then went for an oil change and had some other stuff done. Figured out that between the oil change and driving to Winnipeg I made about 7 dollars. That was a little depressing.

How do you tell a 9 year old his teacher died.

2009-08-15T10:22:00.002-05:00

It's going to be a hard day for Griffin. Yesterday we found out the teacher he had for the past year in school, Miss Jackeline Lawson, was killed in a car accident. I hurt for the family of this young woman who had just finished her first year of teaching. I also hurt for my little boy and the pain he will go through because of this. Griffin is a very sweet, caring, and emotional person. This will hit hard. I wish I could take all his pain upon me but I can't. There's nothing I can do but hold him tight. And there will need to be a lot of that I think. I feel for all those kids. They really liked her. I talked to her on a number of occasions during the year. She was one of those teachers who understood Griffin. That sometimes (like any boy) he just needed to move around. She challenged him in things like Math so Griffin wouldn't get bored. She challenged him in English because she knew he could do better. And she would joke around with them. I think one of Griffin's favourite things was coming to school after having figured out some exponent like 5^4 and asking his teacher. She told me she had to sneak out a calculator to see if Griffin was right. My favourite story was when Griffin was getting into some trouble and Griffin looked at her and said, "Your hair looks really nice today." That caught her off guard. She told me that story at a parent-teacher interview. I'm not sure how long the initial pain will last but there will always be a little part of his heart where Griffin keeps the memories of Miss Lawson and the pain of her leaving. She cried on the last day of school as her students departed. And now we cry as she does. Goodbye Miss Lawson. Thank you for being my son's teacher and the fabulous job you did. You left far too soon.

A Few Quick Hit Thoughts

2009-08-03T21:06:00.004-05:00

I'm not in the mood to do a long spiel about what's been going on so I'll do it in quick hits ala Don Banks. (SI writer)

-Went to the Pioneer Days parade in Steinbach on Friday. My mom built a float for it and made costumes for the kids. Griffin and Emilia were a part of it. I think the float is incredible. My mom is awesome. And the float won for best theme.

-Steinbach puts on a really good parade. I hate the Winkler parade. The difference. Steinbach had actual floats. Winkler has tractors, rv's and semi's. ugh

-Spent part of the day with my grandparents. That was special. I remember when my grandma used to set up a booth a Pioneer Days. It brought back good memories.

-Some people I know joke about the Mennonite Heritage Museum being for old people. Well I can understand why they go. For many it's a reminder of what they went through. A peak back at their childhood. It made me relfective.

-One man told me Steinbach is throwing away it's Mennonite heritage as fast as it can. To a certain extent I can understand why having lived in Landmark. I'm not impressed that things like dancing were so repressed. I'm 35 now and wish I could have been dancing my whole life. It's the legalistic things like that that have turned off so many people my age. That's why new churches coming up don't have the word mennonite. Or they change the name of the church to take it out. I think there were some things the older generations of mennonites got right though. I don't have the time to get into that.

-Worked for my dad again today. I made more insulating a house than I would doing a 3 evening shifts at a job that pays $9.50. I really should be doing this all summer. But then there's childcare, and all that driving.

-Bad things come in threes. And just when we're trying to save money. The fridge died, the car needed repairs and now the dehumidifier is on the fritz. AAAACK!!!!!!

Well that's it. I'm off to Winnipeg tomorrow to drywall a house. Good times

cheers
Bud

The Dog Days of Summer

2009-07-29T15:01:00.003-05:00

Well July is almost over and I must say it was pretty busy. The biggest thing was being in "Playing Doctor" with Poor Theatre Company. What a great time that was. There were a lot of talented actors who were a joy to hang out with and get to know. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting together with some of them in the coming months/years. (Josh you know I'm talking to you). It's too bad we were in the Kenmore Theatre. I'm never going to complain about the P.W. Enns again. Part of what made being a part of this production so good was that I got to see a different approach to doing some things such as programs and advertising. It also created a bridge that may see more Winkler people going to Morden or Morden people going to Winkler to do theatre. See, theatre can bring the world together. So that was a lot of evenings. I think I needed that. It's hard to spend the whole day with the kids and then the whole evening. I don't know how parents do this all the time. Let's just say I'm looking forward to school. Ummm, we also went to the Fringe Festival and saw 3 excellent shows. Two of them had a number of friends from the University of Winnipeg in them. They were so good and I'm sooooo proud of the work they put into the shows. They were both best of fest for their venues. Three people from flatlands also performed at the Fringe and good pretty good reviews. I was so excited to hear that they even sold out a few shows. So much pride for my friends. Well, now that the last show is over I'm already memorizing for the next one. Tina and I are performing for a Leisure Travel Van rally. It's a play we did for ACT Manitoba a few years ago. It will be fun to act with Tina again. We also have rehearsals for Pink Panther starting in August. It really does never stop. Oh Well.
Anyway, that's what's going on for now.
cheers
Viva Forever
Bud

An informal class reunion

2009-07-17T20:24:00.003-05:00

Last Friday was interesting. I met with three people I haven't seen in about 14 years. I had lunch with Jenn Wiebe, Kim Coulter and Bonnie Goertzen. I'm using maiden names. I was in K-12 with Kim and Bonnie and K-2 and gr.5-12 with Jenn. It's amazing how you can just sit down with people and continue as if we'd just got together the week before. There weren't anyway akward ummmmms or soooooooooo, yah huh? moments. It was great. It's been too long. I can't believe it's been 17 years since I graduated. That's a long time. I'm rambling. Bonnie had to go back to work after lunch but the rest of us went for a walk. I probably could have gone on all afternoon. It was really nice and I think we should have a 20 year reunion. Or just try and get together with old classmates a little more often.

Another Openin' Another Show

2009-07-08T22:30:00.002-05:00

If you recognize the title of the show I'm impressed. It's from the Cole Porter musical Kiss Me Kate. An old Broadway hit. There is one particular verse that is a part of me today. "Four weeks you rehearse and rehearse, three weeks and it couldn't be worse. One week will it ever be right. Then out of the hat, it's that big first night." I think we had our "three weeks and it couldn't be worse" this evening. In case you didn't know I'm doing a show in Morden at the end of the month called Playing Doctor. It's with Poor Theatre Company. It's a group that started off as university students but now they've all gotten older (or most) and have opened up to old people like me. It's a really fun group and I'm having a great time. Well this evening was the rehearsal where things seem to go really slow and scenes are getting repeated and my lines aren't memorized and others aren't either and cues are missed and you think this show will never be ready. I'm not worried though. We went through the same thing with Little Women. In fact I remember one cast member saying "this show is going to be crap" they were so frustrated. That was a whole week and a half before opening. It's amazing how much shows come together in that time. So I'm not going to stress. In the words or my dear friend Bernie I'm going to sit back and enjoy a batch of doughy cookies.
cheers

Some Recipes

2009-06-30T22:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I said, "maybe I'll post some recipes" so here we go. On Friday I was in a crazy mood. We have these 6lbs chickens that we bought from this hutterite. We haven't really felt like cooking them in the oven so I decided I was going to cut it up and grill it on the bbq. I found a website that showed how to divide up the bird. Note - give yourself more than 6 hours to defrost the chicken. It'll make it a lot easier. I think I did a pretty good job. It at least looked like it does in the store. No I needed to make the rub. Aye there's the rub. I have this book of French recipes. There is one for when you roast a chicken. I modified it a little bit to make it more grill friendly. Here it is.
1tsb of dried rosemary, or 1tbsp if fresh
3 gloves of garlic minced
1/4 of fresh lemon juice (Realemon works too)
4 tbsp of margarine at room temp. (I melted it)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of paprika (how much is a pinch anyway)
salt and pepper

Mix it all together. If you don't melt the margarine it's more of a rub. If you melt it you can baste the chicken with it as you're bbq'ing. It turned out really good.
Tips:
With a big bird (not the big bird, a big bird) like I had butterfly cutting the breast helps a lot. That's basically when you cut the breast in half, it folds open to look like butterfly wings. Also, anything with bones in it will take longer to cook all the way through. (Tina told me that one)

The other recipe I have is one of my kids favourites. It's for strawberry/banana shakes. I don't have amounts because Emi just tells me when I've added enough. Anyway, in a blender put in frozen strawberries and cut up frozen bananas. Every summer we freeze a whole shwack of strawberries in freezer bags. They get used for shakes, porridge and other things. The bananas are just the ones that get overripe during the year. We peel them and through them in a bag in the freezer. How handy is that!?! So put that stuff in. Then add a bit of milk. (or soy or rice milk) Blend it up a bit. Add some mix and blend it more. Do this till everything is chopped up and you have the consistency your want. Then add some sugar till it's as sweet as you want it and WALA! You have tasty shakes for a hot day. Yummy.
that's it for now
cheers

Busy Report

2009-06-29T17:19:00.003-05:00

I have a tonne of things to talk about so let's get started. The first is that Emi had her Kindergarten graduation on Friday. Verrrry cool. She was so excited as were Tina and I about this day. Here is a picture of Emilia and her kindergarten teacher Mimosa Koop.Our little girl is growing up. -sigh- So Friday night after rehearsal I drove out to Landmark. I listened to the entire Dance Mix 95 cd. Oh the memories. My dad and I were supposed to go golfing at Falcon Lake the next morning. It rained a LOT so we didn't go. I kind of thought we wouldn't be golfing but I needed to pick up some stuff anyway. (and my Dad always makes me bacon and eggs) They got about 4 inches of rain. Ouch. I've included some pictures of their yard. The one with the walkway is their front yard. The one with the stone wall is the backyard. Don't worry about the lot beside them. It's green space. Well, blue space as of the weekend. So on Sunday we had our church picnic. It was pretty good. The kids played some games after lunch. Ok I don't have much to say. Whatever. When we got back I had a two hour nap. That was great because it meant I was very much awake for going to the park. We flew kites. Actually Tina, Emi and Griffin flew kites while I untangled string, helped get kites in the air and climbed a tree to get a kite down. After that Griffin and I went geocaching. We were 4 of 6 on our searches. Not too shabby. Although now there are only 3 left in Winkler for us to find. We're going to have to bring our bikes to Morden and spend an afternoon there. They have tonnes. My hammies are actually a little sore. Then last night Darren came over and we had a fire. It was great because Phil and Holly weren't there. (ok I'm just bitter they didn't come) But we had a good time around the fire. Especially those few times when sparks flew at Darren. Another week has started. Tomorrow I'll post some recipes that I've found that are simple and tast great.
cheers

Summer Holidays

2009-06-25T11:13:00.003-05:00

So the kids begin their summer holidays next week. Here's a list of things I'd like to do/get done this summer.

1. Go Fishing at least twice (maybe we'll even catch something)
2. Find 10 geocaches
3. Make many trips to the pool. (I need to make back what we paid for the season pass)
4. Have a golf game below 100. (Which means I actually have to golf)
5. Memorize my lines. (I actually don't have much choice in this one since off book is July 6th)
6. Finish 2 books.
7. Host 2 or 3 parties.
8. Not play more than 1 hour of computer a day. (wishful thinking)
9. Continue exercising. (wishful thinking)

10. Finish painting my dwarf army. (I doubt it)This is one unit of Dwarf Longbeards. These are almost done.
After that I have ironbreakers, characters, miners, cannon,
organ gun and crews to do.

11. Stain the shelves.
12. Put the door jams on the bedroom.
13. Build some more terrain for my warhammer table.
14. Play 3 games of warhammer with someone other than Griffin.
15. Go Fly a kite.
16. Play Settlers.
17. Go to 2 Bomber games. (I think I'd need a job then)
18. Get a job. (After July 25th)

That's it for now. Wow, a short post. Maybe next week I'll blog about my trip to Falcon Lake. (I'm going golfing)

Cheers

Emi's Birthday

2009-06-19T15:08:00.004-05:00

This one will be shorter than the last one. So Emilia had her 6th birthday on Monday. We decided to have a big party for this year because she has friends from school that she could invite. So at 11:30am that day we picked up 9 very excited boys and girls. It was a dress up party and everyone brought a costume. We also had some hung up so the kids could use those if they wanted. We had a wiener roast in the backyard and played some croquet and bocci ball. The highlight I think was the improv plays we did. We set up a little stage and then divided the kids into two groups. Tina took one and I took the other. We planned a little play and then performed for each other. They enjoyed it so much we did it again. They enjoyed it so much we did it again. (yes I meant to repeat that last line.) only this time they were all in one group. It was just going to be me watching but then parents started to arrive. By the time they did the play we had 5 parents and 4 siblings watching. One girl got nervous because, "now there were people watching." What a fun day. I can't believe Emilia is 6 years old. It seems like yesterday I was holding her the night she was born. We were on the steps of our house (did a home birth) and watching the lightening from a passing thunderstorm. It was a special weekend followed by a special Monday. Could this week get any better?

Weekend at Hecla

2009-06-17T22:56:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted so I figured it was time to take a break from Rome:Total War (my new favourite computer game) and write about what's been going on. This past weekend we headed out to Hecla Island Provincial Park for some camping. There was actually more to it than that but more on that later. After a hectic Thursday and Friday of packing, borrowing a truck, getting food together and more camping we were off. We're not big campers and up until now we've always just jammed our car full which meant only the necessities came with. This time we borrowed a truck. WOW!!! We fit all our bikes, a bbq and all the gear we needed for the weekend. It was great!!! I'm spoiled. And driving an extended cab half tonne is soooo cool! The only thing that wasn't cool was the $130 in gas it used to go there and back. Our probably would have used about $60. ouch. So we left Friday at 5:45pm and got there around 9:15pm. In case you don't know Hecla Island is part of the Lake Winnipeg Narrows about 1.5 hours straight north of Winnipeg. There is a campground, a resort, a golf course, a historic Icelandic village and a marina, that commercial fisherman use and pleasure yaughters.(is that spelt wright?) So we got camp set up, had some hotdogs and huddled around the fire. We all got to sleep around midnight. It was a very cold night and the morning was chilly too. It was overcast (even though the freakin' forecast said sunny all weekend. That morning we had breakfast and then biked over to the marina. We picked up some minnows and then Griffin and I fished for about 45 min while Tina and Emi played. (no we didn't catch anything). Just before lunch we headed over to the resort. My mom and dad were staying there for the weekend. It was sort of a 60th birthday celebration for my dad. But he didn't know we were camping there (my mom did) So got to the resort and I texted my mom letting her know we were there. She called back and said she was at the campground in the bathroom. She had convinced my dad to drive around the campground for some reason and when we weren't there said she had to go to the bathroom so she could call my me. We hurried back while she somehow convinced him to drive around some more. I think she said something about seeing a bear. So we got back and the kids watched for their car while Tina and I started getting lunch ready. So my parents drive around again and my Dad says "That looks like Griffin?" It was, so they stopped and got out. He was very surprised. He saw my golf clubs in the truck and was even more excited. (he likes golf). So we're chatting when I hear a diesel truck coming. The next surprise. It's my Dad's work truck. He looks at it confused and says, "What's my truck doing here". And how pops my brother Adam who flew up from Kansas the night before. Yay Second surprise. The look on my Dad's face was priceless. So we had lunch and went our seperate ways for the afternoon. At 4pm Adam, my dad and I met at the golf course. We had a tee time for 5pm. When we got there I ran into two people I knew who were part of the tournament that was going on that afternoon. Adam just shook his head because I generally run into someone I know no matter where we are. It was a great round of golf. It's been a long time since the three of us have golfed together. After supper we headed back to the site for a fire and sunflower seeds. That night was colder than the night before. Tina had something like 800 layers on and was still cold. Of course Griffin wakes up at 6:00am and complains that he's sweating. He went back to sleep and we all got up around 8am. AFter getting ready we went to the resort to have breakfast with mom and dad and Adam. My Dad was sitting and the end and shortly after we got our food my mom takes out her camera and says "I want to get a picture with ALL you guys." Somebody puts their hands on my Dad's shoulders and he looks back to see three guys he golfs with quite often but had no idea they were coming. Another great moment. So while they were golfing the rest of us spent some time in the pool at the resort. The kids had a lot of fun. My parents used to take Adam and I to the resort way back when we were kids. It's changed a LOT. Very posh now. Hoity Toity if you will. Ummmmm after swimming we had supper and then fished some more. (still nothing) After that it was time to head home. It was sooo much fun. I was so tired when we got back but it was worth it for a weekend like that. I think my favourite part was that my Dad had a weekend he'll never forget. The look of joy on his face was priceless. I'll treasure this for a looooong time.

My 22 hour trip.

2009-06-07T11:22:00.002-05:00

It's not really the way I'd like to do a trip but yesterday I flew to Edmonton with my cousin Craig to pick up a Chevy Equinox that he bought. I got up at 4am to get ready and we got back at about 2am the next day. What follows is an hour by hour account. (near as I can remember) There's time changes from here to Edmonton but I'll stick with CDT.

4am

Got up at my parents after a crappy nights sleep. I went to bed at 11:30pm and of course lay there for an hour thinking, "I have to get to sleep. I gave myself plenty of time to get ready and by 4:30am was anxious to get going. My aunt picked me up 5 minutes later and we were off to Winnipeg.

5am

We got to the airport at about 5:20am. My second time there this week and I'm going again tomorrow. Ugh. On a side note I think the new terminal is going to look great. When we went through security they gave my backpack the once over. They didn't find my container of burts bees lip balm I forget to mention during the "Creams liquids or Gels" interogation. Suckers. While we were waiting to board there was a couple across from us. He was wearing a turban and they both looked Indian. He had a small book he was looking at while murmurming what I'm guessing was morning prayers. I think he was Muslim. I liked the fact he was doing that. It says a lot about his faith. I know people who would sit there and think, "He's so wrong, it's too bad he's muslim. I think I along with a lot of people could learn a lot from him on how to actually care about our faith.

6am

We were flying Westjet. I love Westjet and here is one example. At the boarding desk the lady at the counter stood in front of it and said the PA wasn't working, and then went on to do her announcements. If it was Air Canada they probably would have delayed the flight until the PA was fixed so they could do the announcements properly. It was a very emtpy flight. Pretty much everyone got a window seat.

7am

Flying. Didn't sleep

8am

We got to Edmonton. The airport literally looks like it was built in the middle of know where. We were picked up by the guy that Craig was buying the vehicle from and drove to the guy's house so he could get his truck. He lives 2 or 3 miles east of Sherwood Park if you care.

9am

Went to Staples so Craig could fax in his stuff to get a temporary permit from MPI. A bit of a hassle since it involved faxing some documents to MPI, they fax back a form, Craig signs it and faxes it back, then they fax back the permit. A little time consuming.

10am

Had coffee and a muffin at Second Cup next to the Staples. Muffin was ok, coffee was terrible, yuck gross. We both dumped most of ours out.

11am

We were finally on our way after filling up and picking up a meat pie and some Pepsi at 7-11. Now you'd think that we'd have music playing the whole time. Nope. We brought audio books. We listening to a couple of Hercule Poirot short stories. I don't remember much. I finally fell asleep.

12pm

more sleep

1pm

woke up. The next story we listened to was The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin. He is one of my favourite fantasy writers. This is a short story that takes place about 50 years before his Fire and Ice series. Very cool.

2pm

still listening still driving.

3pm

see last entry

4pm

We arrived in Saskatoon. We were both hungy by then and Craig suggested we go to McDonalds. I was fine with that so we went in. The line-up wasn't that long when we got in but seriously? The service was sloooooooow. How long does it take to make a Big Mac? I had a little fun with the counter person. She slapped the tray down and put the paper thing on to it. It was two sided with advertising on one side and health info on the other. She initially put it down with the health info up but the flipped it around. When she turned around to get the drinks I flipped it back. When she came back she looked at it and then flipped it back again. While she was wandering around looking for my food (it was terrible) I flipped it back. She came back with the fries and put them one without flipping the sheet. VICTORY!!!!!

5pm

Dropped in at Angie and Trevor's place in Saskatoon. She's pregnant and the baby is due in a week and a half. I kenw were just driving through so I didn't call ahead or warn them that I might drop in. Craig was actually kind of excited that we were going to surprise someone. Well they were home and very surprised. We probably could have spent a few hours there but only spent 20 minutes. It was worth it. Craig loved their dog. His name is Malthazaar and he is a 150 lbs mastif. The sweetest gentlest 150 lbs dog you'll ever meet. With that we were on our way again.

6pm

I'm getting tired a driving. We actually listened to the radio a bit during this time.

7pm

Still driving. And no I didn't give Craig advice on being a dad. His wife Rochelle is due in August. I didn't want to scare the poor guy.

8pm

Arrived in Regina. We stopped to stretch our legs and pick up some coffee and then Craig let me drive. YAY!!!

Started another story, The Hades Project by Rober Ludlum abridged. We had brought along Angels and Demons by Dan Brown but it's 19 hours. Who wants to start a story you can't finish.

9pm

Wow, I love driving through Saskatchewan. (note the sarcasm)

10pm

After a coffe, pepsi and half a bottle of water I had to stop in Virden to pee.

11pm

A short while later we stopped in Brandon to fill up and grab some food. We went to Subway. Thank goodness we got there when we did. The guy had one speed. It was "I don't want to be here" slow. Just after we got there about 10 kids walked in. I think they're still waiting for their subs.

12am

Driving and listening. Started getting a little tired too. I can tell I'm getting really tired when I start seeing things in my periphery.

1am
Pulled into my parents Driveway at 1:50am. Of this was just when the climatic "He did it!!" moment happened in the story we were listening too. I still need to listen to the epilogue of the story. Maybe next trip.

2am
Checked emails, updated status on facebook and went to sleep. mmmmm sleep.

I'm Tired

2009-06-03T12:20:00.002-05:00

I'm a little out of it which could make for a very weird post. I got to be late last night (again) and had to get up at 6:15am to bring Tina to the airport. She's off to Aylmer, Ont. for some MCC meetings. At least I got 5.5 hours of sleep. Tina woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. She was not happy about that. It was a little nerve wracking on our trip to Wpg when we hit construction on Highway 3. WHAT!! They're actually trying to fix roads in Manitoba? How inconvenient. So we were stopped for 10-15 minutes waiting for the pilot vehicle. We actually made good time after that and traffic on Route 90 wasn't bad. We pulled into the airport at about 8:45am. I wanted to hit a bookstore on the way home so I took Route 90 to Bishop Grandin and then off to St. Vital Mall. I picked up Steven Erickson's latest book Toll the Hounds at Chapters. It's a 1300 page beast and I can't wait to start. Erickson is my favourite non-Tolkien writer right now. Anyway. I was going to stop at the Tim's in the mall for breakfast and some coffee for the road but the line-up was too long so I decided to go to the one a little further south on St. Mary's. I've been avoiding drive throughs lately because I prefer face to face communication (as I write a blog, how ironic) so I walk inside and there's my dad! You know you live in a province with a small population when........ He was a little shocked so while he was still off balance I convinced him to pay for my stuff. SCORE! Actually he offered. He was with a co-worker so we all chatted for a bit and then I came home. Emi and I will both need a nap this afternoon. Emi woke up at 4am with Tina. ugh. Then it's off to a community BBQ tonight at J.R. Walkof. Yay!!
I'd post a recent picture of something but Tina took the camera. Maybe next time.

It's Thursday (or Holly made me do it)

2009-05-28T23:28:00.003-05:00

So it's Thursday and I'm winding down, just about ready to go to sleep. True story. Yesterday I was in Tim Hortons with Holly and Darren complaining that I had to go to Shoppers to buy eye makeup remover because Tina doesn't have any and I've learned in the last few days that mascara is a bitch to take off. So Holly says, "You should use a Norwex cloth, Heather sells them. Do you want to call her?" And I said no but that she could so she did and the next thing I know I'm at Heather and Dave's giving her a cheque for 3 Norwex cloths. Weird. She said you don't even need soap. So I used it today after the show and it really did clean everything off and now my skin is softer and smoother than it's ever been before. Ok I lied about the last part but it did clean everything off. Thanks Heather, you're the best mom of twins I know.
Anyway
Emilia was very funny today. When we got home after I picked her up from kindergarten she asked if Tina and Griffin were coming home for lunch. I said yes. She then had a meltdown because she didn't want them to come home and wanted it to be just us. So Tina and Griffin come home and she's all happy to see them and runs to Tina to give her a big hug. When Tina wanted to go back to work Emilia was upset because she didn't want her to go. I give up trying to figure her out already.
And
Opening night was tonight for Pith!. I really do love this show. It's a wonderful story and the dialogue is witty and even has its touching moments. We have a great cast and crew for this show. I love theatre. There's something exciting about going on stage and peforming before other people. And it's even more fun when the other people on stage with you have put in a lot a work and everyone wants to do their best. We've come a long way from that first read through. I hope some of you can make it out to one of the shows this weekend.

It's Wednesday

2009-05-27T15:40:00.002-05:00

So I thought maybe I should post again. It's gotta be quick because I gotta shower and then make supper before heading off to the concert hall for our dress rehearsal. I'm having fun being a stay-at-home dad. It took me about a month to settle into a routine. After school was done I sat around the house thinking, "What do I do now?". Of course there was lots, I just couldn't see it. No I'm actually doing stuff around the house but also finding time to do stuff for myself as well. Like painting dwarf models, playing warhammer, practicing for my voice exam or reading or doing devotions. The other day I figured out I could fit in a rejoice devotional during the commercial breaks on ESPN radio. Kind of sad actually. I've tried to make those times a little more....personal....meaningful too. On a completely different note I bottled my first batch of wine today. It's a red Merlot and we did 26 bottles plus 2 pints. I didn't have enough bottles. The wine isn't bad. Very dry, but of an after taste but not bad for my first try. I'm scared to let guests try it right now. Maybe after a few days of aging it will be a little better. So tonight is dress rehearsal night for Pith! We were about half way through rehearsal last night and I was behind the chairs doing one of my costume changes and thinking, "This is a really good play, people should see this!" Here's hoping. Anyway, I have to go look for Emilia's little stuffy dog Purplie and then shower and make supper. (not at the same time) Oh yeah. I've started dieting and exercising (again) I'm hoping to lose 15 lbs by the end of summer. Here's hoping. (again)

I Love Tina

2009-05-25T16:55:00.002-05:00

It was date night on Saturday for Tina and myself. We had tickets to go see Boys in the Photograph at Manitoba Theatre Centre. This is the second year in a row we've had season tickets (thanks to insanely low ticket prices for university students) and it's been very good for us. Reason number 1 is that it's meant we've essentially had 6 date nights planned for the next eight months. We know well in advance of the dates so we can get babysitters. And because it's planned well in advance our schedule can't get filled up as much. We had tickets for Saturday 8:30pm shows so we can go for supper before as well. You might think this is should be prime one on one time. The fact is we like getting together with people before hand. One of our problems (mine) is not having people over at our house. I don't know what my problem is but I haven't been great at encouraging Tina to invite people over. (I hate calling people, wierd, I know) We have friends in Winnipeg we don't get to see a lot so it works out good. BTW if you're going to an MTC show there is a great Mexican restaurant just down the street on Market. We'll be going there next year. Anyway, we get a lot of time to talk on the drive into and out of Winnipeg. These evenings are a lot of fun for us. Tina and I are so different in a lot of ways but watching theatre is something that we can enjoy together. Sometimes we even hold hands during the show. I've wondered sometimes why Tina ever went out with me, or married me, or stayed married to me. I'm glad that she has though. I think we both wanted something different in our ideal mate but I'm also pretty sure God knew what we needed. I needed someone who had their feet on the ground and was slighty organized. I'm like the comic relief guy in the action movie. Although he usually ends up dying. hmm. Anyway, this has been a pretty crappy blog. I can hear you English majors screaming, "Is this about dates or Tina or MTC or what!!! Pick a topic." In conclusion, I love our MTC nights, I love Tina, I can't live without her, or want to try, and I'm not an English major

p.s.
That picture was taken on Saturday night before we left for Winnipeg. I think we look pretty good.

Kansas

2009-05-20T10:02:00.010-05:00

We headed out to Kansas this past weekend to visit my brother Adam his wife Rhea and their son Lukas. It was a long drive and I think we spent almost as much time in the car as we did at their house but it was totally worth it. We left on Thursday after school and drove to Fargo to spend the night. The hotel had a pirate ship pool which the kids were very excited about. We spent about an hour in there but I found the water to be a little cold. I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold water. The highlight of the evening may have been the pizza and breadsticks we ordered from Papa Johns. That food was our supper, part of breakfast and lunch the next day. After a fairly good nights sleep and an early morning of breakfast and Scooby Doo we hit the road. It was a pretty nice drive except that we were against wind most of the way and we hit some thunderstorms in northern Missouri. So just under 11 hours later we pulled into Lawrence, KS. I don't remember if we actually did anything that evening. We were pretty wiped. The kids absolutely loved being with Lukas. They were excited about being able to see him and took every opportunity they had to entertain him. Saturday was a busy day. After a wonderful breakfast of sausage and eggs we walked downtown to a farmers market where we picked up some Raspberry/Jalapeno jelly which upon reflection, I'm not sure made it home with us. Anyway, it's very tasty and we used as a glaze on the chicken breasts we grilled that evening. They we watched a parade put on by the local arts group. It was very cool. Lots of decorated cars and bikes. It wasn't a long parade but it was still a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it. I love downtown Lawrence. If you've never been there it's a college town. (home to Kansas University) There are lots of little shops and tonnes of pedestrians and lots of organic food. (Ok that was more for Tina). That afternoon we played Settlers of Catan, Traders and Barbarians. We gave Adam the game for his birthday last year and played the barbarian scenario for the first time. It was a lot of fun. Tina ended up winning. DARN!! I was close. Griffin definitely captured the most barbarians. After picking up some much needed Warhammer supplies. (Grave Guard for Griffin and The Empire army book for me) We got ready for supper. Adam and Rhea's friends CJ and Miriam came down. It was a nice evening. After everyone went to bed Tina and I watched the first half of Saturday Night Live. It was verrrry funny. I love Will Ferrel. Amy Poehler is really good too. The next morning Adam, Griffin, Emilia and I got up at 6:30am to go fishing. This was very special because it was the first time that Griffin had ever gone fishing. We had to stop at Walmart to get our fishing lisences first. I think the guy was in shock that a Canadian would come down to fish in Kansas. We drove out to this man made lake called Lone Star Lake. (there are no natural lakes in Kansas) and set out to catch some fish. It was a gorgeous morning and we had an enjoyable time. Adam caught a fish about 10 seconds after he threw his line in the water. It was a little perch. That was the only fish any of us caught. Griffin had a nibble but reeled in so fast the poor fish didn't have a chance to grab the hook. Griffin knows better now. We got back to Adam's house and quickly got ready for church. Adam and Rhea go to a Mennonite Church USA church called Peace Mennonite. I was the featured story teller. The sermon was on depression and hope. I had a lot of trouble coming up with a story. I figured out the body of the story while we were fishing and worked out the details when we got back. Tina is my theological advisor for my stories. She makes sure I don't screw up the kids too much. The story went good, and the kids enjoyed it. (parents too) The sermon was really good. I'll have to talk about it more some other time but he was a Psychology professor at KU. After lunch we had a nap and played another game of Settlers. Adam won this time. ACK!!! After that we headed to Community America Field to watch the Goldeyes and the T-Bones. It's a really nice ball park and we had great seats. Third Row right by first base. I think everyone had fun except for Emilia, who's not a baseball (or any sport) kind of watching person. That night we got the kids ready for bed and did some packing. Monday was the looooong trip back. We left at about 8:45am and got back home at 11:15pm. 15.5 hours. yuck. The drive was uneventful except that it did get progressively colder as we headed north. (go figure) Everyone was pretty tired by the time we got home. But we're happy to be back.

A Little Bit of Whatever

2009-05-12T20:38:00.002-05:00

I haven't done one of these in a few days so I thought it was time. Sunday was an interesting day. I led worship that day. For those of you unfamiliar with the term it's basically MC'ing a Church Service. I think I'm pretty good at it. I'm kind of Catholic in my approach meaning that most of what I say during the service is written down ummmmmmm liturgical ummmmmmm it's not off the cuff, more like a performance. I hope that makes sense. Anyway. It was mothers day so I started off with a "nice" mother's day reading. It wasn't theologically sound at all but nice none the less. The sharing time is always my least favourite time. I feel uncomfortable praying out loud for other people in front of a large audience. I feel like I don't know what to say and that anything I do say will be completely inadequate. I use a reading from "Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book". It's a prayer book with a morning and evening reading which takes your through a Call to Praise, Call to Discipleship, Call to Intercession and lots of other stuff in between. We picked it up last summer at the Canadian Mennonite University bookstore and it was great to read it on the hammock on a sunny summer morning. The reading (and the hammock) didn't happen during the winter so I guess it's time to start again. So anyway, back to the service. Tina and I sang a duet. It was great, we hadn't done that in church since before Griffin was born. Funny thing is we didn't sing a church song or song that even mentioned God. We sang "Our Children" which is from the musical Ragtime. It was beautiful. I ended the service with this.
May the God of steadfastness
and encouragement
grant us to live in harmony with one another,
in accordance with Christ Jesus,
so together we may with one voice
glorify the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen

School Curriculum Stuff

2009-05-07T08:47:00.003-05:00

Generally when a parent writes a blog with the title "School Curriculum" it's going to be a complaint about what is wrong with the school system today. That is not my intent. Monday was International Music Day or something like that and Griffin's school (J.R. Walkof) has an outdoor concert. The school's music teacher is Cecilia Gil. She is fabulous. At the Christmas concert Griffin had a solo, when he got to the mic and started singing we couldn't hear him because the mic wasn't on. She literally stopped the song, looked to the back and asked what's going on. When they got the mic working they started the song over again and I got to hear my son. I think most conductors would have just gone with it but she knew it was important and so did what she did. Griffin didn't even want to do a solo at first but she told him God gave him a talent and he should use it. I'm so thankful she did. Now on to the spring concert. Each grade level did a choir piece and then a movement piece. A MOVEMENT PIECE!! OK it was dance. I grew up in a Mennonite community and there was NO dancing. To see these students singing and moving around warmed my heart. They were so great. Another thing that warmed my heart was the way Ms. Gil works with the deaf students in the classes. I think there are 4 but I'm probably wrong. Anyway, she works with them doing rhythm with drums and shakers and bells. And they have their part in the concert. I think I heard she even went to the deaf centre in Winnipeg to learn more on how to help deaf students. Fabulous. Ok this hasn't been that focused on curriculum but I wanted to highlight the great work that this teacher is doing. I think she'd be great to a practicum with. Too bad Emi will be in J.R. next year. But at least she'll have a fabulous music teacher.

Bernie's Birthday Bash

2009-05-04T10:18:00.004-05:00

So I headed off the my friend Bernie's birthday party on Saturday night in Winnipeg. Bernie was in my musical theatre class at the University of Winnipeg and a person I would totally drive to Winnipeg for to help celebrate his birthday. I was actually at his girlfriend Robyn's birthday party in January but I have to admit that was only because Bernie invited me and I was in that part of Winnipeg anyway. Sorry Robyn (Next year would totally be for a different reason). Bernie is awesome. He is happy and caring and gives the best hugs ever. (family not included) He's pretty funny too and has a great laugh. The party was fun because I got to see people from school I hadn't seen in a few weeks. By August I am going to miss them a lot!!
It's sad that Musical Theatre is over. What I love about theatre classes is that you have to take risks to succeed and when you take risks you make yourself vulnerable and when you make yourself vulnerable you open up and when you open up you make friends. Between Acting Theory, Musical Theatre and Drama in Ed I can name every person in the class. Between Linear Algebra, Stats and Calculus I can name 2. That is why people love taking theatre more than regular lecture classes. It's the community that you build. I'm not taking any theatre next year (probably) and that makes me sad because I will lose that connection. I can still go hang out in the theatre lounge but it will be different. There won't be as much time for that. But life is all about moving on. You spend sooooo much time together as a group and then you move on realizing you will never meet in that way again or have the same connections.
examples

1. Leaving Camp after working there for two months.
2. Playing our last game of softball with a group of guys who had been together for 5 years. (That was hard)
3. The end to any show/tour I've been involved in.
4. The last day of class (or presentation day)

In my old age I've learned to recognize these "last moments" and treasure them. And then hold them in my memories rather than trying in vain to hang on to what isn't there anymore. There are those moments of regret or sadness. But there are even more smiles. I'm much more richer as a person because of the people I've met and the experiences we've had. So I'll choose to linger on those.

Winnipeg

2009-04-30T09:03:00.004-05:00

So yesterday Griffin and I headed off to Winnipeg. Emilia (and Tina) would like to get a cat and we're pretty sure Griff is allergic so we got him checked out. It was a fun day of Dad and son. We talked about Warhammer almost the whole way to Winnipeg. If you don't know what I'm talking about I'll post a battle report sometime in the near future. I have the pictures all ready. So anyway he's definitely allergic to cats. Looks like there will be no kitty in this house anytime soon. After that we headed over to the school to check out my calculus mark. It's always funny bringing Griffin or Emi to the university because they loooooove the escalators. Well, actually we both do. I like them because I don't have to walk and they like them because they are sooooooo cool. So we made it up to the 6th floor and ......I gotta B! Holy Crap that was totally unexpected. That was before the Senate committee does their stuff so it could go up or down. Who cares, I don't have to take it next year. YAY!!!!!
This is me on the way home saying "look I passed Calculus".
Well the fun didn't stop there. I took Griffin to go see Raymond at Riverview Health Centre. Raymond was the pianist for my Musical Theatre Class. He had a stroke few weeks ago and is now in rehab. Those of you who know him are saying, "You took Griffin!!!". It was a lot of fun. The first thing Raymond asked Griffin was if he was a con artist like his dad. Griffin didn't know what a con artist was. I said he was because he is.

So from there we headed off to St. Vital mall for a little Monsters vs. Aliens 3D. It was very very very cool. I'm so glad we spent the cash to see it at Silver City. And there were only 4 other people in the theatre at the time. It was some good Dad/Griffin time.

After that (yes there is more) Griffin and I went to Games Workshop (the store that carries Warhammer). And Griffin decided he wanted to start his Vampire Counts army so he bought some skeletons. He can't wait to start putting them together when he gets back from school. Ugh, more models. I'll do a post of my Warhammer/LOTR inventory sometime. It's not pretty. So after that we headed home and now life is back to normal. It was a lot of fun. Griffin is growing up so much and I need to cherish these times we can spend together. All too soon he'll be on his own and probably not want anything to do with me.

Ugh

2009-04-28T16:01:00.000-05:00

I'm expecting this to be read by at most 3 people. (I think maybe that is ambitious). I don't have a job, I'm not volunteering right now but I am in a show and I do hang out with my daughter Emilia most afternoons. I've read some other blogs and they have actual substance and the people tend to pour out their feelings and such. I will likely end up doing that at some point. For now I spend my mornings memorizing my script and listening to ESPN radio. (def not at same time). In the afternoons I nap or play at the park with Emilia (def not at the same time) or play on the computer or paint models. By evening I make supper (I'm not a bad cook actually) and lament that 98% of my friends don't live in Winkler. Pretty much I'm in a bit of a "It sucks to be me" mode. Trying to look at the positives.

Things I can't wait for.
1. Flag Football season.
I love coaching Griffin's flag football team. Last year was sooooo much fun. It's one of those times I feel like the best Dad in the world. Griffin would say that's all the time but he doesn't know any better yet.
2. Tomorrow
So I can find out if I passed Calculus. please please please let me have passed.
3. Softball Season
I really want to coach a team next year so this year I'll content myself with watching.

Things on the go.
1. Pith! A show I'm in at the end of May
2. Grade 4 Voice Exam beginning of June
3. Painting my Dwarf Army. Hopefully I'll finish that by the end of summer.

Thanks for reading
(All 3 of you that is)