End of Term

Yippee it's end of term and the start of the school holidays....to kick it all off I have dyed my hair red which will make me really fiery I hope, tomorrow I'm off to Melbourne to help my son Nick move house, Sunday I'm shopping and Monday to the Zoo with Zoe if the weather is good or movies if it's not. Then back home Tuesday for a rest. Ahhhh nice to have holidays....I need the break. Steph

Think Alike, Teach Alike, Happy Outcomes

I am so grateful for people who think like me, not because they agree with all of my views because there is no way they could all possibly agree with everything I like or the way I think, but because they have similar views on what is right in relation to the benefit of children, not only regarding education but to children's self worth, self esteem and positive educational and life experiences. As a teacher I am responsible and accountable for the educational outcomes and well being of the students in my classroom, scary thought really and a big responsibility when you really think about it. It's not just about teaching them to read and write, it's also about teaching them values, most of all teaching them to be independent, happy, resilient and to become honest, decent members of society. We need to be aware of anything we say that may influence their thinking now or in the future. I know that when I was in high school, teachers that I had then influenced my way of thinking, not always in a positive way. Unfortunately influences from teachers are quite strong and can lead the students into thinking negatively or divert them from what they truly believe in or want from life. As a teacher my aim is to give the students a positive educational experience that will encourage them to go for it, no matter what it is they want from life and to one day as an adult look back and think to themselves 'I remember my primary school teacher, Stephanie, she was the one who made me feel happy at school and encouraged me to have a go'.
Steph

Fast Workers

It's day 30 of our Metung -transformation and the frame is up. OMG, how fast did that go up- in a day. I have to be grateful for that. I am sooooooooo excited. Check out my pics. I did take one of every room but they are a little hard to make heads or tails of if you're not actually on site. It's looking great though.
Steph

This is my new kitchen, to the right is my walk in pantry, how exciting.

Hallway to front door.

Hallway looking into the house from the entrance.

Tweaking the Vegetable & Polenta Pie

Day 29, frame has been delivered (obviously drier day than last Friday). Just maybe by the end of the week we will see a frame happening.

Today for lunch I had a mushroom and polenta pie which Julie at work made with some of the kids that do cooking with her and it was delicious. I did ask for the recipe but haven't got it yet, however when I got home I decided to try it for myself. Of course I changed it to suit with what vegetables I had and I added my own little touches such as using tomato paste, stock and seasoning instead of her bottled pasta sauce, a can of lentils and some nice red wine which gave it a really nice grown up taste. It turned out really delicious and it will be a dish I will be adding to future menus and my future cookbook. I may even cook it as a buffet dish for a dinner party, I'm sure most people (who aren't too fussy of course) will think it is delicious. I have left overs for freezing, so I'll be right for future can't be bothered cooking nights. Yum
Steph

Photos

We went on another adventure today. We headed up towards Nowa Nowa to look at the Stony Creek Trestle Bridge and to Costick Weir. I took lots of photos which included some funny ones (have a look below). I loved taking these, we will need to practice them a little more so as to make them look even better.
Steph

Relaxing Massage

Yesterday my darling husband surprised me and booked me in for a deep tissue upper body massage. It was great, so relaxing and I felt so good after it. The massuer also massaged my feet, it was unbelievably relaxing, I didn't want it to end. Until next time. Steph

My Quiet Time

Lying in bed, sun slowly rising, light slowly seeping through the cracks of the blind. Others are still asleep, it's my quiet time (if you dont count the snoring and heavy breathing). Soon everyone will be awake and the day will officially and noisily start. Ah it's Sunday......what will we be doing today? Steph

Slab down and it's Friday, Yippee

Day 26, concrete slab has been poured. Frame was delivered today but the guy who was driving the truck decided that he wasn't going to leave it because he didn't think he could drive down the drive without being stuck, so he decided to take his load (or should I say our load) back to where it came from until a drier day! Hmmmmm! Anyway I am still grateful that the concrete slab is down (even though we now owe $27000 to GJ Gardner) and that it's Friday. Yippee!
Steph

Day 25

it's day 25 of our house build- "Metung transformation" as I call it. Concrete slab is being poured tomorrow. Wow, exciting! Steph

Early Nights

Hmmff, that is how I feel at the moment. Can't wait for the school holidays! Today was another good day, I did laugh today, not sure what about as lately I have been laughing at just about anything, which is good I suppose but it's a little scary. Now while I sit at home I am feeling a little tired, and not in a laughing mood, just exhausted and a little too exhausted to be blogging. I think may be an early night might do me some good.
Steph

Hot Showers

Tonight when I got home from work, the house was cold as Dave had just lit the fire and it hadn't warmed up  yet. After dinner I was still cold as the fire was still not very warm, probably due to the wood that was in it. I just couldn't get warm and my back was hurting, so I went and had a hot shower. WOW, how good did that feel, my only hope was that the water didn't run out. It made my back feel a little better and it definitely warmed me up. I was just thinking to myself while writing this post, how convenient it was for me to just pop into the shower and run the hot water and just enjoy really, while there are homeless people out there in the streets, in this cold weather who don't have a bed to sleep in, let alone a shower to warm up. So I am truly grateful for my hot shower, the warm bed and the roof over our heads.
Steph

Lights, Camera, Action

Just letting the people who actually read my post that I absolutely love reading your comments, so please comment. Today I am grateful for extra curricular activities in the form of performing arts. Tonight we went to a meeting in regards to establishing a type of drama/performing arts club for young kids in Metung. We thought Zoe would love it as she is always singing and doing her own little role plays, so we went along to find out all about it and registered her for next term. It sounds exciting and we the parents get to help of course with the production and preparation by helping out with painting and making props and whatever you do for shows/plays. I think it will turn into a real community program where everyone will chip in and hopefully we will get to know more people with the same interests. Sounds really exciting. I just hope Zoe loves it, I think she will.
Steph

Happy, Happy, Happy Day

Happy, Happy, Happy day. I'm scaring myself! Steph

We're Going To New Zealand

We're going to New Zealand! I am now even more excited because today I booked our flights for our holiday. September 23 we are off to Auckland, where we'll hire a camper van and travel around the North Island. We will also visit my Aunty whom I have never met, my cousins and my friend Sharon whom I haven't seen for twelve years. Unfortunately I won't see my Uncle Pius as he passed away recently. We will have a great time travelling around and looking around the countryside. Fun, fun, fun. Steph

Excited Once Again

I am getting excited about Xmas In July for 2013. Dave mentioned it to me earlier and I said that we wouldn't be having one this year as we are not in our new house yet, and the kitchen here is inadequate, and the house too small to seat roughly 25 people for a four to five course dinner. I am however planning way ahead for next year's. I am now going to be planning the menu, the guest list etc. I am mad, as my friend Megan will tell you, but I absolutely love it. The only difference for our next Xmas In July is that our guests will have to travel 4-5 hours and stay the night, hopefully some will bring tents or even campers with them.
Steph

Finding Out Stuff I Already Knew

It's Saturday morning and by 5.30am I am wide awake and can't get to sleep, so what do I do?.....I get the iPad and start researching about being over forty and how it effects your weight....stupid thing to do really at such an early hour, when I should be sleeping in! Any way I found out stuff I already knew, such as I am slightly overweight for my build (my belt has already told me that one), that when you're over forty your metabolism slows down, you are more stessed (especially women and especially me in 2011), harmonal (definitely me again), and less active (especially now since it is Winter, and too cold and too dark to go and walk the dog). So what should I do? I know I need to cut down the food intake at dinner time (I'm extremely good at breakfast and lunch time during work days) and cut down on any snacking after dinner and cut down even more on the wine (weekends are harder to be good for me as I am so much more relaxed (maybe a little too relaxed), but I'm good the rest of the week, usually), and I need to move my body more.....but it's so dark outside when I am not at work. That leaves the weekends at the moment to do the physical stuff. We have been going on our little walks and adventures so that's a start. Well there you go, we have already started on our journey to healthier bodies, on weekends anyway! We just need to be a little more active during the week. I am so grateful that I woke up soooooooo early just to find out stuff I already knew. And when I lie in bed thinking that I should just get up and go for a walk or jog, I should actually get up out of bed and go for that walk or jog and not get the ipad , and not research anything I already know and not snuggle up to Dave and fall back to sleep. Well I am only human, and we can't all be perfect! Steph

Cup Cakes

Today at school we made cup cakes. One of my students was so excited about it all, it was as if she'd never made them before as if it was some magical experience. It's amazing how little some kids have been exposed to that we take for granted. I have made cup cakes at home with Zoe heaps of times. Take going to the zoo for example, the majority of the kids in my class have never been, I couldn't even remember how many times I have been with my own kids, they have been spoilt in comparison. Any way today we made cup cakes and the kids loved making them and they loved decorating them. It just made their day. So of course today I have to be grateful for cup cakes, because they were the highlight of the kids' day which in turn made my day.
Steph

The Kids' ones weren't quite as elaborate as these but they tasted good.

I Love You So Much

Do you know that today I had an almost perfect day, the reason why I say almost is because I had a flu shot and a Heppatitis B shot, so by the afternoon I was aching, had a slight cough and felt like I was getting a cold. However the reason I say perfect is because today was just that, I felt sooooo happy and sooooo excited, I'm not sure exactly why but I was and to top it all off, at the end of the school day, one of my students ran over to me to say goodbye and he gave me a big hug and said "I love you so much". Oh my God, how sweet, I felt a little overwhelmed, but happy and even more excited!

Excited About Life

While I was in the bathroom getting ready for work I thought to myself, how exciting it will be when I will be getting ready in my own and new bathroom, then I started to think of the rest of the house, and I got even more excited. I know that last year I was a complete mess and it has taken me quite some time to get to this point in my life, but this morning I am feeling so excited and happy about life it's scary.
Steph

My Challenging Role

On the way to work this morning I was thinking about what I should be grateful for today. For me, it takes a while to think of something truly worthwhile to be grateful for, and unlike yesterday's blog where I was grateful for of all things, cup-a-soup, today I would like to be grateful for something a little better. This morning I was mainly thinking about work, and how I have managed to finish writing my reports in what I thought was less time than I expected, so I am glad that they are done, and then I was thinking about the stuff  I would really like to be doing with the kids at school, different ways I could teach them, in a fun and hopefully more engaging way. As I am new to teaching in a classroom and because it doesn't all come naturally, I really have to work hard in thinking of ideas and ways to teach them. There are loads of books out there and lots of help for mainstream level kids, but the kids in my class are below that, I would have to moderate every lesson to their level of thinking, this is where it gets hard. Even though it is hard work, I came to a conclusion this morning as I was driving, that I truly love being a teacher, and probably more so in this classroom I am in at the moment because it is such a challenge. Don't get me wrong, the kids are gorgeous and only today a new student came in to visit who is starting in my class next term, and she is sooooooooooooo cute. So the challenging part is not the kids themselves, as they are too cute and lovable. The challenging part is how to teach these kids who learn just one very small step at a time, and changing my mainstream way of thinking to a specialist school way of thinking. It's also about what I want to teach.  I want to teach interesting stuff, that not only makes sense to their level of thinking but is fun and engages them. This is what I am going to find hard but very interesting, and I am (I think) going to enjoy my journey of discovery.
Steph

Cup-A-Soup

I know this is rather a lame post, but I just couldn't think of anything else to blog about, other than the obvious, like blue skies, air, water, good health etc etc. So I'm just going to go for it, that is, today I am grateful for cup-a-soups. Purely because sometimes I just can't be bothered taking or can't be bothered making something up in the morning for lunch to take to work, so I always have some cup-a-soups in my drawer at work just in case, and today was one of those days.
Steph

Yummy Scrummy Cheese

Yummy, Scrummy Cheese. I love it! With a glass of wine........a nice sunny day.......sitting on a deck......Perfect!

Steph

Fairy Dell

Fairy Dell.......What can I say, it's just beautiful and so close.
Steph

Markets

We had to go into Lakes Entrance today so Dave could get his prescription from the Doc, we hadn't realised that due to a Hot Rod car show that was on today the market was on as well. Of course we went and had a look, didn't buy anything except some hot chips and wedges but Zoe did have a go on those large blown up balls that you get inside of and roll around in. She had a ball in it (ha ha)...although we did have to wait almost half an hour for her turn and it only lasted five minutes....5 minutes for $5. Maybe we should invest in a couple of balls and do the markets, imagine we could earn before outgoing costs.....$120 per hour just by having 2 balls. The food van was also for sale a long with a catering outdoor kitchen and a marquee.....had us thinking about new ventures for a while. So today I am going to be grateful for markets, just cause I love going to them.
Steph

Zoe had a ball.

Non Eventful Days

Do you know that my husband didn't think I would blog for this long. Well I have and I  am quite proud that I have actually stuck with it. Today I have been home due to the Teacher's Strike/Stop Work. Didn't do a lot, relaxed and watched some cooking shows that I had recorded, I had Zoe home with me as she was sick, and Alex was home as he had no school due to the strike, but didn't see much of him anyway. I also went to check out the house Dave has been working on and the village at Metung to see how much water there was and who and what was flooded. Not sure what I am going to be grateful for really..... it's one of those days....a normal, non eventful day. I suppose I should be grateful for a non eventful day, one that I can just relax without any pressures to complete or do anything.
Steph

All Because Of The Floods

It was only the other day that I posted the photos of the Tambo River, and today have a look at it.....it's is slightly higher than it was yesterday, if you look close you can see that it has completely covered the road and is half way up the street sign........this is my usual way to work, so obviously I wouldn't have been able to get through this way. I didn't get to go to work today as my boss told me to stay home due to the flooding and closure of the bridge at Bairnsdale. So, I stayed home and finished my report writing. I know I shouldn't be grateful at all for floods and I really am not, but due to them today I got to stay home and finish my reports and now my long weekend is free to spend time with my family. I just hope that others out there are not suffering too much because of the floods, and that it doesn't get any worse than this.
Steph

The river is beyond the sign, this water is over the road

This is the intersection I use to get home, it is under water

This is the road, the river is on the left on the other side of the trees.

No Harm In Venting

I've just in this last ten minutes figured out that my husband Dave is the only one that I can truly trust to tell how I am feeling without criticism, feedback or anything else, just to be able to vent to him in regards to work and anything else that is bothering me. Tonight I vented to him of course and he said to me 'don't you start getting stressed about it' which made me quite upset.  His statement is why I have come to realise that he is the only one that I trusted ...and I expected from him no criticism, no feedback, no answers to all of my problems, just to listen......that is all I expected. When he did answer that way I got upset because the last person I would have expected that from was him. I did express to him how I felt and he understood, so I don't think that next time I vent he will be too fast in telling me not to stress...............as I am not after an answer from him, I just want someone to listen, and I'm not necessarily stressing about it.
Steph

Power To The People Means Less Candles Used

It is amazing how we rely on certain things and take them for granted, like electricity. Today when I got home from work, the house was in darkness, Dave's and Alex's cars were in the driveway so I figured they were home but wondered why they hadn't turned any lights on. When I got inside I was informed that we have had a power cut and therefore in darkness. It is only at these times you think to yourself why is it that we do not have any torches or decent candles in the house in case of a power cut? Go figure! Anyway the power was out for quite some time and we wondered how we were going to cook and eat dinner and decided that for the time being we would have a snack of a piece of pizza each that was left over from yesterday's dinner, we heated it on a tray inside our wood heater, we figured it would be similar to a wood fired pizza oven only the heat was much more intense and burnt the bottom and crust of our pizzas. By the time it was Alex's turn to heat his, the power had come back on. Thank goodness, now we can cook real food (which was chicken curry and prawn and tofu curry) and I can work on one of my student's report...........great! It was sort of exciting and a little adventurous when the power was out.....thinking of ways to do things without power. Oh well, maybe next time we will get to do the things we had planned to do in the dark and hopefully we will be a little more prepared!

Dave was being a pain and taking my photo when I didn't want to. 

Steph

Prawn and Tofu Curry

Let there be light via electricity.

Power we take for granted.