It's been a looooong time since I've posted. I felt compelled to write one last post before the year end.

And what a year it has been.

My new favourite number going to be "zero".

Because:

• I have a $10,0000 loan (needed it for school)
• I gained 10 pounds
  
• I turned a new decade
  
• my friend had a baby girl on the 30th

Going "back to zero" doesn't mean going back to nothing. To me it means a fresh new start.

Kind of fitting for a new year, don't ya think?

Have a good one!

I Pity the Fool

Now that I've been off for a while, I can honestly say that I have been a busy bee. I am still balancing work and family life and have now added job hunting and contract work to my list.


At least now I have time to actually "hang out" with my loved ones. We love going to the movies. Recently we went to go see A-TEAM and Karate Kid.


Both:

• offered cheesy 8o's charm from the original but with some new twists
• had a ton of action and laughs
• kept me entertained the entire time...hello Bradley Cooper
  

Of course, Jaden Smith made me cry. I hope his parents keep him in the straight while his fame and acting career flourish.

Clink

My final assignment was submitted today!!!!! Thank goodness for technology and thank goodness for extensions!

We had our formal last week at the Bata Shoe Museum. An awesome time was had by all.

I begin my internship this Monday...eek...but next thing it'll be convocation...where has the time gone?

I think this calls for a celebratory drink. Yum.

In for the home stretch...

Practicum is finished and I only have a week and a half of school left. This is the heaviest of my workload. A ton of big assignments that are worth a large percentage of my overall mark. Eek. Then I spend a month on my Internship and return to school.

Almost there...

Three Months Later...

I thought for sure I'd have tulips growing out of the toilet that was in the front of my house.

I spied on the garbage man today as he looked at the toilet conspicuously and proceeded to pick up the the tank. I was jumping for joy. I almost wanted to run out and kiss him! Well, almost. Actually, not. No offense but that would be g.r.o.s.s.

So for today, that has made me uber happy. My neighbours too for that matter.

Excuse me, Where is room 208?

For the month of November I will be in practicum. That basically means I am doing supervised practice teaching. I have an amazing mentor that is well seasoned and patient. Right now I am supposed to be writing up my lesson plans (detailed description of for an individual lesson) for the next week. I thought I'd take a quick break and have a visit with you all.

So far, things are going very well. Although it will be a busy month with practicum plus the assignment that are due from my teachers when I get back, I'm really excited. This is what it's all about, being with the kids, and engaging them. Most students warmed up to me pretty quickly, but I can see it will take a little while for some of them to come around.

The school I am placed at is quite large, so getting to know the staff and the students will probably take me the whole month. Getting around the building is another story. The school is huge and I've gotten lost a few times. Maybe I should get a GPS. Or a good old fashioned map. Thankfully there is always someone roaming around the halls to help me around. On person thought I was a lost student. They obviously didn't have their morning coffee AND their glasses. Mind you it was kind of dark in the foyer.

What a Relief

Every have one of those morning where you wake up and you are so frazzled by how little time you have to get your butt out the door you just don't know what to do first? That was today. I woke up and realized I had only a half an hour before I leave for work. In those quick minutes I frenzied about the house to get ready and still managed to pack my lunch. I was only 10 minutes late for work. I thought it was going to be the beginning of a really long and bad day. It didn't help that I was dreading seeing a particular client that is neurotic about her hair and make up.

The day ended up being a great one. It was very busy but also very manageable. The neurotic client wasn't in a neurotic mood so everything was pretty easy peasy.

All is good with the Sharon.

Cheerful

Today I am happy. Happy it didn't rain. Happy to have good friends. Happy that I have a great family. Happy that my hair has recouped and feeling much better. Especially happy I don't have to do laundry.

Back on Track

The funk I was in was a little harder to shake than normal. I've got my bounce back. My day will end with a long walk, a bath and a glass of wine. Tomorrow will be a fresh new day! I have some new products I to try out. Can't wait.

Btw, I got accepted to the course I applied for at UofT. So back to school for me in September.

The teeter totter of life should come with a warning card. Lately my days have been either on an upswing or a complete abomination. Some days it's hormonal other times it's work related and sometimes I just don't know why. What I do know is that if I get a combination of hormones, work and who knows what, it really makes me manic.

A new client had a bang obsession that I have ever seen before. There were some warning bells sounding after her 4th call.

• 1st call: to confirm
• 2nd call: to confirm again (this puzzled me)
• 3rd call: to ask the time (she forgot)
• 4th call or final warning sound: asked if I knew of a particular folk singer. I said no just bring in a picture. On came a long conversation on finding an internet cafe that had a printer and if I had a flat iron or should she bring her own ( I have 4 flat irons at work)
  

After the last call (let me be clear here, she called all on one day and as you know I'm hard to get on the phone. You can do the math on how many times she called). I wondered who the hay is this chick is. Well I'll tell you. A neurotic one. She showed up with a picture of her "folk singer". It's some dude with greasy swept over bangs. She wanted them "exactly like his" but "not this part, this part and this part". This is no longer considered "exact" in my books. As she is pointing to the "parts" of the bangs I'm supposed to be paying attention to I can't help but look somewhere else on the photo. He was completely naked. I was having a difficult time paying attention to what she was saying as my attention was slightly diverted somewhere else. Well she started to come her bangs. She combed and combed her bangs to the point where I thought the comb would either break or her skin would start peeling off. Every time she combed she asked me to snip a little bit here or there. Normally I diffuse these situations rather quickly and professionally but I felt compelled to be patient with her. In the end I did tell her that I've put my scissors away and will not cut anymore. Just like art you need to know when to stop before you mess things up. She clearly wasn't all there so to speak. I haven't had a challenge like that in a long time. For time she was in my chair she truly drove me crazy. On the upswing my next client was T and I really enjoy her visits.

I'd like to give a shout out to all my clients and friends that do not drive me crazy. The good crazy is o.k. but not the bad crazy. Thank you for your loyalty and friendships. If you are reading this you should know you mean something to me as I wouldn't have given you this URL (cause I'd be talkin' about you in the bad crazy way...he he). A special shout out to L who gave me free passes to see Fast & Furious. Thank you, it was a great mid week treat that made a bad day turn to a good day.

YinYang

I felt the need for a little balance in my life. What better way than with warm yummy vanilla chocolate wafers. Of course mine didn't come out exactly like Martha's but they did hit that warm tickley spot in my tummy.

Calling, calling, calling...

What a crazy day. Not crazy in the good way. Not crazy in the bad way. Just confusing crazy. My day finished off completely differently than how it began. I thought it was going to be a bad day for the Sharon. I had to make return calls from 8 clients to schedule their appointments. Between no shows, cancellations and call backs it felt a bit like "GroundHog Day". I called, booked, cancelled, rebooked and rescheduled these clients in about the time span of an hour. Not to mention client R who's appointment somehow got lost in translation. I had him scheduled for tomorrow and he had it scheduled for today. Needless to say, I was a bit puzzled when he showed up with a yummy latte in hand. Because of a no-show it worked out beautifully. He got his haircut and I got Starbucks! Sweet. I managed to get some of my Friday clients to fill in the empty spots but now I'm left with holes in my appointment book for tomorrow. Anyone need a haircut?

Today I discovered how fantastic texting is. I couldn't get a hold of a client so I decided to try texting him. He texted me right back to cancel as his wife is in early labour. Good luck to you and your wife Frank. All the best. I managed to fill your spot rather quickly.

So for those of you who don't have my number make sure we exchange digits the next time you are in! You never know, things can change at the drop of a hat and you could hear from me to bump up your next appointment.

After a much confusing day, all is good with the Sharon

Fine Feathered Friend

Even though it was cold enough to see penguins I had a fantastic day today. The day always goes by so quickly when you are around fantastic people and get to do fun a creative things with them.

Thank you S for letting me brighten your day as well as mine with a little bit pink and blue! You truly inspire me. There is something to be said with the old expression that "birds of a feather stick together".

Zipfy

The weather is not as cold today. The milder temperature has brought on the snow. I love the snow. Providing I don't have to drive in it. I was too busy today to go tobagganing but I will tomorrow. I like going to the park at night. There is something exhilarating about zipping down a hill while hearing the echo of your laughter and screams. I have two tobaggons. I got this luge last year. I haven't quite got the hang of it yet but quite determined to master it. My fave is the Crazy Carpet. Cheap and fast. Especially fun when riding on your belly. It makes me feel like a kid again. This make me happy.

Ice Ice Baby...

Today I am happy I have heat. The End.

Ahh...heat...

I am now nice and toasty in my home with thanks to our new furnace. We converted to gas with a mid/high efficiency system from Lennox. After doing some research I discovered that high efficiency systems are not necessary when you don't have forced air. It still was a unexpected expense of almost $6000. We also had to dish out for a new hot water tank as the old one was not compatible with the new furnace. I'm just thankful that we have heat again and the old one didn't burn the house down. (I had many sleepless nights worrying about it)

The crew came today after two missed appointments to remove the old oil tank. They had to cut the cast iron clunker in half in order to get it out. I was fuming when they didn't show up the second time. The scrappers are subcontractors so I'm not sure how far my complaint will go. I hate complaining but I felt it was important to let the furnace company know what kind of people they are hiring. I also hate being stood up. I feel this experience is bitter sweet but in the long run, all is good with the Sharon.

Btw, when I asked you "what is on your wish list" on my poll. The results? Most of my greedy little readers asked for money. I wished I had wished for money. It would have paid for my furnace.

Shopping mayhem

Like the good little bargain hunter that I am, I decided to head out on Boxing Day to shop for some goodies for my new notebook. I usually use a Mac but it didn't fit in with the budget this year.  So I set off to the Future Shop to buy this and that and the other. I wanted  to MacDaddy (pardon the pun) my laptop as I didn't want a problem with it in the future. It was bedlam in there.  I found this task to be a tad daunting. I'm not cultured in the computer world, so I had to rely on the sales staff to help me out. I must say that Future Shop was very prepared for the big Boxing Day Sale.  There were a ton of staff to help out and every cash was open. I had a nice young guy with a very nice haircut helped me out. He seemed to be pretty knowledgeable and was took a lot of time and most of all, a lot of patience with me. I tend to ask a lot of questions when I'm not sure about something. This can sometimes annoy sales associates. 

Once I set up my new baby and install my goodies I start blogging with it.  Can't wait!  I also did manage to get to Brown's and Banana Republic, where I bought a fantastic classic wool dress and a lovely blouse.  The shoe shopping did not go as anticipated but they did order  the boots and the shoes I wanted so I'll get them sometime next week.  Yeahhhhh for shoes....

I hoped everyone had a nice holiday.  I spent most of my time cooking, baking, eating, more eating, drinking, more drinking, hanging out with my family and squeezed in that little bit of shopping.  Oh yes, I must mention Guitar Hero.  I must have played it for over 2 hours with my daughter.  It's so much fun!

All is good with the Sharon

A Sunshine Day, everyone's smiling...

This was a fantastic week.  We went to a new restaurant in the up and coming Ossington St/Dundas St area called Foxley Bistro.  mmm....  It's a small restaurant that doesn't take reservations so you literally have to stand outside until they open their doors at 6p.m. We got in right away so there were tables available but within 15 minutes the place was getting filled. Within a half an hour it was packed.  

The tapas style menu has many tasty dishes to choose from. They suggested 2-3 dishes per person. There were five of us and we ordered about 12 or so dishes with some steamed rice on the side. It was more than enough.  A few of my favourites were the lamb and duck prosciutto dumplings, spicy crispy shrimp with jalapeno and garlic, and the wahoo ceviche.  After a delicious meal we then headed off to NovaEra for dessert.  They have amazing European pastries there.  I always try to bring these lovely treats when I go to someone home if I can't bake something myself. They are always a hit. Not to say my baking isn't.

The weather has been so beautiful this week and will be warming up even more for the rest of the week .  This makes for great scootering weather!  It also puts people in a good mood.  All my clients were exceptionally perky today.  It's gotta be the weather.  Or are they just that happy to see me?

Mother's Day

Mother's day is the day when people pay a little more attention to dear ol' Ma. It's nice to be treated a little more special than usual. Kinda like when it's your birthday.

This is how my day went:

• woke up early to search for presents hubby and daughter have hidden around the house
• went out for dim sum , followed by some very exciting shopping with T and C
• took a nap
• had a lovely dinner
• took a long bubble bath

No complaints here.  I love spending time with my family and good friends.  Life is good.

I did manage to remove the glue off my eyelids Saturday night. It was pretty easy. With such an eventful day I didn't have time to try the lashes yet. But I will!

Pinot Grigio and blogging don't mix

I just came back from my Pilates class and I feel fantastic. Tormorrow might be another story.
Cecilia reallly worked my back.

I had a glass (or two) of Pinot Grigio whin I got home and it's impeding my typing. I also think it erases my workout. All I know is I'm feelin' fine. Mighty fine.

Note to oneself: Drink mor wine so I build a better tolerance

Another note to oneself: Don't drink and vlog

Holy! All these red lines keep comimg up from spellcheck. I think it's the wine!

I'm a cheap drunk! But once again, all is good with the Sharon.