New Year's Eve

I realize that for my kiwi readers, 2009 is already underway.  I was reminded of this at 6:57am when my cell phone rang and rang and rang until I finally woke up, realizing that the ring wasn't in fact part of my dream.... I missed the call.  It was Jude, presumably wishing me a Happy New Year from the other side of the world, as it was 3 minutes until 2009 by the clock on my phone.

In Minnesota, where I currently am (and have been since the 26th) visiting Grace, 2009 will begin in 8 hours, 1 minute and counting. :o)

Photo updates to come!

Hey Santa, can I borrow your coat?

In keeping with the tradition of posting about the weather, here's a tasty tidbit of trivia for you (how's that for alliteration?):

Early yesterday morning, December 22nd, 2008, Saskatchewan was colder than the North Pole.

THE NORTH POLE.

Yep, that sounds about right.

I was going to blog about how the weather is getting nicer....

.... but then I checked www.theweathernetwork.com and discovered quite the opposite:

Feels like -46C?  Welcome to the first official day of Canadian winter.  We're officially on holidays now until January 5th, which is exciting and much-needed.  It has been a very busy 4 months!  Our big Christmas concert was on Wednesday, and fortunately it went very well!  Of the 8 performing music groups we have at our school, I am in charge of 6 of them.  I have 4 bands, a choir, and a jazz choir.... extremely busy but very rewarding.  There are also 2 orchestra groups that another music teacher leads.  I had never organized a concert before, but it went very well and was well-received by the audience.  Now I'm exhausted and looking forward to the holidays to recuperate!

I'm heading to Saskatoon today to do some stocking stuffer shopping, and then before you know it it will be Christmas Eve.  I have big plans for Boxing Day that I can't share on this blog for fear of someone finding it before they should.... but don't worry, there will be a big update after the plan is executed!!!!  Hehehe, I'm so mysterious.....

I will update again with all of the well wishes and reflections on another year gone by.  In the meantime, I hope you friends in New Zealand are enjoying the sun for me.  I'll freeze a finger off for each of you. :op

Hey! New Zealand! How's the weather?

Better than over here, I hope!

If you can't read it, click to enlarge.  Yes, tonight as I write this it feels like -44C outside with the wind chill.

It's the most wonderful time of the year..... la la la la la la la la.......

Photo update

I realized that it has been a while since I did a photo update.  A lot has happened in the past week, and I figure a text update is also warranted.

The biggest news is that on Monday, Dec. 1st my family had to make the extremely difficult decision to have our oldest golden retriever, Sydney, put down.  She was 11 1/2 years old (we got her in the summer of 1997, when I was 12 years old and had just finished grade 6), and she had a very long, happy, and healthy life.  Her last few weeks of life were peaceful, although her body was shutting down on her quickly.  I don't think she was ever in pain though, which is a blessing.  Her last night at home was particularly special, as Karyn had driven in from Saskatoon and our whole family was together.  Syd had a little Christmas celebration where we let her eat dog treats directly out of the box (her face was buried in the box in pure delight.... so cute!), and she was even doing some of her tricks for Karyn because she was so excited that she was home.  After her little burst of energy, she tired out big time and had one last comfy sleep on her dog bed.  We took her to the vet on Monday morning, and then we spent the rest of the day together as a family.  Karyn and I both took the day off, as we really needed to have our time with Syd before she went.  It was a tough day, and a tough week, but we're adjusting to our new normal, and Riley is adjusting well now (although he was a bit out of sorts for a few days).

On a happier note, the video that I posted here on November 10th ended up winning me $500 NZ and a Kiwi Experience prize pack in the Kiwi Experience facebook competition.  I won the overall contest for the month of November (there are individual video, photo, and text winners that each receive a prize pack, and one overall winner who takes $500), so I'm pretty excited about the fact that my sky dive ($494) is all paid for 2010, with enough left over for a drink upon safe landing. :o)

Things are just chugging along at work, and things are busy these days as we're getting ready for our Christmas concert.  My choir has had 2 performances already at various events, and my senior band is playing at "Christmas at City Hall" next week, so things are in full swing around here.  I love my job and my students, but I will be very ready for the Christmas break when it rolls around in only 2 weeks!

And now for the photo update!  (Mostly) in order, here are some snapshots of my life from the past 4-5 weeks:

Playing with my new camera at the lake

Another shot taken using the digital macro feature

My beautiful Sydney enjoying a day at the lake

There's a reason why Saskatchewan license plates read "Land of Living Skies" (sunrise at the lake - November 1st) :o)

Another photo from the weekend at the lake

Catching up with my dear friend Jan Michael at the Saskatchewan Music Conference

My newly organized instrument storage room at school!

Another pretty sky - this time a sunset from my front door at home

Riley, Syd, and Gus on Syd's last night with us (Nov. 30th)

Karyn and I love our little girl!

Riley is a goof who gets too close to the camera (albeit with adorable results!)

Syd hanging out with dad and me just before we went out canoeing at the lake (Nov. 1st)