the pain, the agony!

Who would've thought that 1 little bottle of nasal spray could cause so much pain, energy, and $? Before I left this weekend to visit my dear friend Stephanie in Seattle for a girls weekend of wedding dress shopping, I clumsily bumped a bottle of nasal spray into the toilet as it was flushing (stupid! stupid!). 

I left without leaving a note. Bjørn thought I had plugged the toilet and spent part of the evening and the next morning unsuccessfully trying to unplug the toilet. 

Finally, today I was able to get a plumber to come and fix the problem. He had to undo the toilet and turn it upside down to figure out that the bottle was stuck right in the track. I am awaiting him to give me the bill right now, but needless to say, this little bottle, worth $5.99 has been a lot of trouble. Oh, and the pain factor of the whole situation was most felt when we had to take trips to Safeway the last 4 days to go #2. NOT fun.

A forgotten love.

Bjørn and I got back late (as in 11.15 pm) monday night from a family vacation to Big White Mountain, outside of Kelowna, BC. I forgot how much I love snowboarding. Hopefully I can get up to Baker a couple of times before the season ends. 

Big White hosted a contest "Cruz the Blues" in which boarders can get "passports" that have a list of all the blue (aka intermediate) runs on the mountain. Each run has a sometimes hidden stamping post, which boarders find and stamp their passports. I got 27 stamps and Bjørn got 30. We definitely cruzed those blues!

Wildlife like you've never seen

You HAVE got to check out Planet Earth by BBC. This movie has footage of animals in the wild that has never been seen before (and I am NOT usually into the national geographic/wildlife thing at all). It is a 5 disc set: I recommend the first disc because it is an overview of shots filmed all over the world. The most impressive shot visually is the shark catching a seal (which apparently took 18 months to catch on film)....and is INCREDIBLE.

The most interesting shot is an ariel view of a pack of wild dogs in south Africa hunting an impala. Also amazing. If you can check out the HD dvd version and watch it on a big screen, go for it. If not, call Jeff and Whit, and go to their apartment to watch it! ;)

Bjorn and I got the chance to watch it last night when we went Bjorn's uncles' latest completed buliding project, a $2 million + house in Semiahmoo. The house features a theatre room, complete with 2 rows of theater seats, as well as theater lighting that automatically dims as you turn the projector system on. It was THEE best designed, state of the art, way over the top, deluxe design we have seen. Bjorn and I were proud to be related to the Eides of Eide Homes construction company.

From Field to Table!

When I was first hired at Sumas Elementary, part of the understanding was that I would shadow an E.L.L. (English Language Learners) after school program at Everson Elementary, with the intention of running the same program at Sumas after Christmas. Welp, this Monday I start my own ELL after school class. Of the 13 kids invited, all 13 accepted (which apparently NEVER happens, according to my principal). Right now, I will be in charge of all 13 children, ages 5-7, with no extra help! 

The curriculum will be exciting, because we get to learn all about how food travels from the field to the table, and will do so by talking about corn! Yes, Corn. We will eat corn, make cornbread, corn pancakes, and maybe even tamales. We will read stories about corn, color cobs, learn about a tortilla factory and act out our own popcorn ball factory! Art projects, movies, and more. I hope it will be a great time! (and not too stressful...)

In case you didn't see...

Jeff & Whitney posted some wedding shots from my dad's wedding. I have yet to see the rest, but these are pretty dang good.