I'm off to Florida!

I have been running errands all day and I'm finally home ready to pack! Today, I bought a book for my travels, picked up last minute needs at the pharmacy, went to see Hairspay with some friends (I actually went to the wrong theater and had to rush to the right one when I found out...the movie is fantastic by the way!), went to the post office and dropped off a cheque at a friends house! I still have so much to do before I leave for Florida tomorrow! I have to book some flights and hotels for my Europe trip, learn how to use a washing machine, wash some clothes, learn how to use a dryer, dry my clothes, pack my suitcases, shave...yada, yada, yada, finally get to the airport for 4:00 in the morning! It is presently 8 in the evening and I'm getting a little stressed!
I'll be gone for a week and I promise to take loads of pictures! Have a wonderful week :)

Missa

Pics

Here are some pics from the past 2 weeks!

Some of them are turned sideways...sorry!

Ashliegh and I at GymRep (before my batteries died!)

My cousins and I at Slovenian Day (Me, Laura and Patricia)

Danielle took me out for my birthday! She also got me a beautiful shirt from Guess!

This pic was taken at my sisters place. She had a dual party for both girls!

Sydney turned 1...

And Rachel turned 2!!!

All the kids had a blast! Here is Mathew, Rachel and Sierra. They are getting so big :)

Update!

The past two weeks have been really busy! I went to work at Gymrep for a week (July 8th -14th). For some reason I really didn't want to go this year...I was even trying to think of excuses to back out! Suprisingly i had a great week. The people there were awesome. One of the coaches was from Bridgewater! I asked him if he knew the "Henley" family, but he didn't. He runs a gymnastic program there and puts on shows. Really cool guy and he also pronounces bAgel in that funny accent! I guess your not the only one Cari! I was coaching on bars the whole time and I didn't know that my body could take so much abuse! I could have checked into a women's shelter with all the marks on my ribs, legs, arms...Apart form the pain, it was pretty funny. I would wake up each morning and look for new bruises! It's too bad that my camera died after 2 pictures, but you should check out their website, it has loads of pictures. www.gymrep.com

Needless to say, I was dead tired when I got back from camp! No time for resting though! I had to perform at my communities country place the very next day. It was part of the Slovenian Day festivities. It rained in the morning, but thankfully it cleared up and the rest of the day was gorgeous!

During the week, I met up with friends, prepared for my trips, and worked at Wimgym of course!

Last night however, I went to see Russell Peters as part of the Just for Laughs festival. If you haven't heard of him, pick up his DVD! He is truly hilarious and best of all Canadian! The tickets were a bit pricy, but well worth it! Just between you and I, I think I peed a little!

Today is my birthday, however, i will be celebrating my nieces birthdays instead. Rachel turned 2 on July 1st and Sydney will be 1 on August 6th. My friends have told me to be ready for 6:30pm on Sunday. That is all I know! It's very exciting since I have never been suprised before! I will celebrate my bday with my family when I get back from Florida. That way I get to see everybody before I leave for Europe!

Hope your all having a great summer. I'll post some pics soon!

Classic!

This is an article from the Sunday Sun by Gary Dunford.

Hey, I'm not a lumberjack or a fur trader.
I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dog sled.
I watch TV too much. I buy what beer ads tell me to even though the microbrews taste better and don't give me gunky headaches.

I am Canadian.

I have a prime minister not a president. And I will vote for him again and again until all my countrymen agree he is as loopy as Trudeau or Mulroney and we have to beat him off us with sticks. We vote for them until we kill them. Yet Yanks still say we are a nice people. Go figure.

I am Canadian.

I believe in peacekeeping, not policing; diversity, not assimilation.I believe ballet dancers should keep dancing until they are 80 years old, since I'm never gonna watch it anyway. But hockey players should probably get off the rink before they're 35. I believe serial killers should go to prison for a while, but smartass kid criminals, maybe not so long.

I am Canadian.

I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.I own two sets of jumper cables.I have a cable modem AND a phone ISDN and neither of them work exactly as advertised and I can't do a damn thing about it. I have never seen HBO or Animal Planet. I know that someday the CRTC will pat me on the head and let Rogers sell them to me. I pay for the CBC but prefer Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, a game I cannot play nor win. I love CNN and A&E.

I am Canadian.

I pronounce it a-bout, not a-boot.I pay higher taxes than any citizen in the civilized world, and recognize everybody but me knows best how they should be spent.I finance a pension system that will not benefit me in my old age. I load up my RSP with maximum foreign content. My broker says we'll make a lot of money in options and high tech. He's 26. I believe him.

I am Canadian.

I believe the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.I would swerve for a squirrel but not a snake. I believe somebody else should shovel up road kill.I believe Mike Harris is evil and Joe Clark is a boob and Preston Manning is a joke and Jean Chretien is past it and Mel Lastman is a clown and the only true heroes are actors in plaid flannel shirts who do TV beer commercials.I hate the GST and carry a lot of cash, especially if we're remodeling the kitchen.

I am Canadian.

I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.I'm glad Elian is not my problem.I know Wayne's World was a documentary about Scarborough, not a comedy.I believe doughnuts are good for you. Sometimes I spring for the full dozen. But I watch my weight, like Monica Lewinsky.

I am Canadian.

A tuque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch and it is pronounced Zed, not Zee. ZED!A call centre is a necessary barrier between me and the companies that sell gas, phone, cable that quite rightly don't want to hear from me. My bank pisses me off. I would change banks, except that I have already been a customer of all four other banks and they pissed me off too.
I stand in line to talk to an ATM. I pay fees. I simmer. I sulk.

I am Canadian.

I know the cry of the loon is the sweetest sound on the planet. But since you can't make money in the woods, I do a loon call myself, usually late at night. I believe in high-speed police chases, unless they are chasing me. I support the newest Waterfront Redevelopment Scheme and will like the next one even more. I will drive the two-lane Gardiner Expressway on the hottest day this July and curse a blue streak. I'll get in the right-hand lane when I damn well feel like it.

I am Canadian.

I believe in bass boats, rolling up the rim and Saturdays at Canadian Tire. I say "Eh" and "okey-dokey." I brake for snowbirds and March break. I paid to build a superhighway across the top of Toronto, paid again to drive it and will pay a third time to get my licence plate when it turns out several 407ETR bills were sent to the wrong place. I pay taxes in quarterly installments, so they can spend it as fast as I earn it.

I am Canadian.

Canada is the second-largest land mass, the first nation of hockey and the best part of North America!
My name is Dunf. And I am Canadian.
Thank you.
More beer for everybody, quick.
Let's get really, really loaded.
Gary Dunford.

CANADA DAY

Happy Canada Day!

I love to drown my pancakes in maple syrup, roll up the rim, drink beer and cheer on the Montreal Canadians! I speak English and French...not American.

MY NAME IS MELISSA AND I AM PROUD TO BE CANADIAN!

Where better to spend Canada Day than at the Old Port! There were so many activities going on! The weather wasn't on our side, but we managed to stay dry under our umbrellas. These giant maple leafs were floating in the water!

There was an amazing ski and snowboard show with many Olympic athletes.

Rain...rain go away! Mathew didn't mind the rain...he had a Spiderman balloon!

After the rain came a beautiful rainbow! The night ended with fireworks!

I hope you all had a wonderful Canada Day!

Little retreat!

The day after work was done, my friends and I went away to a cottage in Ste. Adele. It was gorgeous! We drove up in the morning (for some reason I got a little car sick) and went to check the place out. The three levels of the cottage each had 2 bedrooms (with their own bathrooms), a family room and a kitchen. Plenty of room for everybody!

We spent the day shopping in St. Sauveur were I bought 2 bras for 20$!!!! Very happy with my purchase! Before returning to the cottage, we hit the grocery store and got enough junk to last a week and of course the SAQ! Theres nothing better than relaxing and drinking in the afternoon. It really felt like summer had finally begun!

After supper at a great Italian restaurant we went to Bourbon Street North. It was my first time there and I was surprised at how big it was. The place was packed, but unfortunately the crowd was really young and totally french. We had fun regardless until they pulled 8 people up on stage for a dancing contest (should have been named the drunk & scank contest!) The people up there were sooo gross! They were half naked, grinding on each other and practically having dry sex on stage all for a bottle of champagne! That's when we decided to go!

Basically, it was a fun weekend and a much needed break from work! I look forward to the rest of the summer :)

By the way...sorry for the lack of pictures. My batteries died after I took that one pic. I will bring spares next time!

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

YOUPPI!

Work is officially done! Today was our last day and it felt great to close my classroom door and walk out of the building knowing that I did not have to return for another 8 weeks!
Hello summer vacation! I am so looking forward to travelling, tanning (trust me...I need to tan!) and most of all sleeping in!
Tomorrow morning I am off to a friends cottage so I will posting news and pics when I return!
Stay tuned!

Good news!

I was very shocked to have gotten this news today, but I have been rehired at the same school! The principals had a meeting today to place as many non-tenured (non-permanent) teachers as they could. I was only on page 14 of 21 so I though that my chances were slim to none.
Somehow (I think I must have had good karma), I got my first pick! It's a 100% french position. Which basically means I will be replacing the teacher for the entire year! I put down french for my first choice because I knew that I had absolutely o chances of getting an english post. I will have to wait until I have more senority to get one.
I guess it's a good thing that I'm going to France this summer, because I will have to freshen up on my french speaking!
A tantot!

Father's Day weekend

This weekend was a quiet one. After work on Friday I headed to the South Shore because my cousin was paying up on an old bet I had one and taking me out to dinner (Baton Rouge). I sat in traffic for 2 whole hours! Thank god I had some mini wheats in the car with me because I almost fell asleep at the wheel. I really don't know how people do that everyday!
Saturday was spent shopping for a Father's Day gift and washing my car. The best part of Saturday however was chatting with Cari late at night! I was so excited because it had been too long since we last talked...or wrote!
My Sunday was spent at our communities country place in L'epiphanie (close to L'assomption). It rained in the morning but by afternoon turned into a gorgeous day! I unfortunately don't have any pictures, but it was a nice day playing with my nieces and nefew! My god do kids ever have energy!
I suffered for a really stiff neck and shoulder all weekend. I've never had it this bad before! It feels like I pulled a muscle. Every move is torture...especially driving! I've tried everything to make it go away: asprin, magic sac, tiger balm, I even kept a scarf wrapped around my neck all weekend (except when in public!)
Any tips???

Grand Prix weekend

Wow! I love the feeling of summer in the city! Montreal was indeed the place to be this weekend. The streets were packed, the bars were crawling and I was drinking!

My friend Donna's cousin (Tammy) was celebrating her birthday and they invited me along for a great night! It was pretty cool because Tammy and her sister Lisa work for the CJAD/MIX 96/CHOM radio stations and I got to meet a couple of radio personalities. With Lisa's connections I might even be able to meet Enrique Iglesias next Monday (although I don't know if I will be able to attend!)

So back to Saturday night...we started off at Tammy's place drinking sour apple martinis and Smirnoff Ice. We then left to go downtown on St.Laurent. The vibe was amazing! It feels so special when there are thousands of people out on the streets and on terrases all night long! We ended up at Gogo's where they make great martinis! My favourite was the Charlie's Angels. I first tried the Leeche (thinking it would be as good as what we had at Java U), but it was awful! Hare are some pics!

Lisa, Tammy and I

The FIRM...

The weather in Montreal was Hot last night! It went up to a record 31 degrees! What better to do than go out, have drinks, and party with friends!

Even though the Firm was crawling with cougars (hee hee), we still had a good time! I got to meet some nice new people...here are the pics.

Kiki and I (you can tell how hot it was by looking at my face and hair!)

It was a great start to the night...Christine won us a bottle of champagne!

She was the most energetic person there!

Christine's high school buddy Marlon and I We bumped into Donna's cousin! What a small world!

Michelle (Kiki's cousin) and I on Marlon's bike. I was so scared that it would tip over! I don't know how people ride them. I would be terrified!

Last practice

Last Sunday was the last Wimgym practice before the summer training begins. We have a couple of weeks off which is nice because it gives me lots of free time! I spend so much time with these girls that I end up missing them when the season's over!
Here are some fun pics...

Julia, Alexandra and I (these girls have both been with me for 4 years!)

They flipped...

Thet twisted...

and twisted some more...

and flipped again!

I'm getting dizzy watching all this action :)

Recipe for fun!

Today was the last day of the long weekend. I met up with some friends at our favourite lunch spot (Baton Rouge). The combination of drinks and friends was the perfect way to end a great weekend. Here are some pics!

MMM...Berry Marguaritas!

Kiki and Duf (Christine and Caroline)

Cous Cous and Duf (Caroline and I)

Friday was a glorious ped day! I didn't have to see my students who have literally been driving me up the wall! My friends and I jetted after work and went to visit our friend Donna. What started as a little afternoon get-together ended at about midnight after several bottles of wine! We made some plans for the summer and there is a strong possibility that I could be going to Florida the 1st week in July! One of my friends has a condo there and invited us along. Depending on if I get my passport on time and the cost of the flight it looks like I will be basking in the sun sooner than later :)

The weather has been all over the place...cold one day and hot the next. On Saturday morning, I went out to read for not more than 30 minutes and got a huge sunburn! I really didn't expect the sun to be so strong! I guess the sun screen will have to come out from now on!

Today is my last day at Wimgym until the summer training begins. I'm definitely going to take advantage of the break. I'll post some pictures when I get back...Ciao ciao!

Mommy's birthday!

On Saturday night, we celebrated my mom's 52nd birthday. The weather was nice outside and everybody was in a good mood! I went a little camera crazy, trying to take pictures of myself with every family member. Enjoy the pics! Sydney is really starting to grow up! She can already crawl and stand up while holding something. Wont be long before she takes her 1st step!
Kisses for me!

My sister Alice and I...I'm not very good at taking my own picture! Sorry for the scary close-up :)

Me and Mommy

Tanya and I

We get a little creative with our candles. My mom turned 52, so we put a 5 with 2 extra candles! Hee hee...the kids like to help blow them out as well :)

Gatineau

I will be going to Gatineau this weekend for the last gymnastics competition of the year! I would be excited, but I woke up a little under the weather, so hopefully it will pass.

I want to wish Cari a very Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great time! Eat cake...

Danielle's 25th birthday

Last night I went to McKibbons (West Island) for my friend Danielle's 25th birthday party! Apart from being recognised by a 21 year old former gymnast of mine and them being followed by him for about 1 hour...we had a good time! Let the party begin!
I'm not very good at taking my own picture! I always look so serious!

Old friends!

High school reunion!

I got to see a lot of old friends and met some new ones! It was a good night!

Field Trip to the Biodome

I went to the Biodome with my students on Thursday! I love it there...so many animals to see :) The penguins were my favourite.

Gentoo penguin...I want to take him home!

A King penguin

Who knew that watching seagulls could be so entertaining!

Starfish!

Monkeys cleaning each other!

Tropical fish

Aquarium with St. Lawrence marine ecosystem.