Picnik mania (and a HUGE congratulations!)

Ok, so first things first.  CONGRATULATIONS to Fishie and Sam who just had their brand new baby girl yesterday at about 12:45am New Zealand time.  SO EXCITING!!!!!  (Why the heck is this writing as though it's a big huge link?  Anyway....)  I can't wait to see pictures of the new baby, Miss C.A. Hall (Kirsten told me the name last night, SO perfect!).  And of course I'm glad that everyone is happy and healthy and doing just fine. :o)

And in other news (oh, there goes the link!), I am hopelessly addicted to the website Picnik.  Seriously.  Check it out here if you have a hankering for some easy photo editing.  My cousin got me into it and I've been pretty much unstoppable for the past 2 weeks.  I'm teaching the students in my Grade 10 (Year 11 in NZ) computer class how to use it, and they are just loving it as well.  So, since I'm long overdue for another update, here are a few pictures.  You've probably already seen most of them on Facebook, but here they are anyway.  Cheers!

On the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond

.... (a line from Loch Lomond, one of the pieces we're playing in Senior Band).

SOOOOO it has been forever and a day since I updated this thing.  I still check your blogs regularly, darling blogger friends, but I know I really haven't kept up here..... life is CRAZY.  Crazy crazy crazy.  If I can try to describe my life as of late (aka first year teaching, all day every day) in a few words or phrases, it would look something like this:

- busy

- exhausting

- exciting

- HUGE learning curve

- musically frustrating

- musically rewarding

- musically challenging ("Miss Campbell, how do I play high B on the clarinet again?"  "Miss Campbell, my trumpet valves are sticking."  "Miss Campbell, I don't know how to read music.")

- enlightening

- overwhelming

- stressful

- gigantic adjustment in every possible way

- fun

- empowering

- humbling

- etc. etc. etc.

So there you have it.  Life is dramatically different now that I have entered the life of a beginning teacher.  I teach students from grades 7-12 (or forms 2-7, for my New Zealand friends), in multiple subject areas (Science, Computers, Information Processing, Band, Choir, Vocal Jazz), and I have a grade 7 homeroom (form) class.  For the most part I have wonderful students who make me happy, make me laugh, make me think, and occasionally make me pull my hair out.  They're great.  The job is great.  My staff is AMAZING.  Life is good.

And I'm SO TIRED.  Haha.

There's the update.  I'll try to keep up with the blog as much as possible, but for my teacher friends out there, I'm sure you can appreciate the overwhelming schedule that your first year of teaching brings.... so, while I have good intentions of keeping up, my posts may still be few and far between.

In other news, I miss you NZ guys tons.  I made some phone calls the other day to some of my kiwi friends (Jude, Julia, Aidyn, Tommy, etc.), and hearing their accents again made me SO happy and warm and fuzzy on the inside.  When I get a spare moment (and when I have more than $11 to my name..... hurry up, pay day! haha) I will try to give some of you a call.  It'd be great to catch up, and I could really use a distractor in the midst of my lesson planning. :o)

Speaking of which, off I go!  I'm actually just going to chill for a while and then I'll get to planning.... and then to bed by 10 tonight, for sure!  I need SLEEEEEEP!!!!!

Love love love you guys!!!!  Arohanui!!!