Oh MY WORD - this IS Me!

I am a cat lady in the making...

...scary thought!!!

Time to find me more PEOPLE and less KITTIES!

So...yeah.

RHIANNON - it's YOUR Birthday (and mine!)

Rhi, look what they did for our

 (more mine because let's face it, I am the older one by 10 minutes! MOU-hahah!)

 BIG DAY!

Street light.... soooo perrrdy!

In the flowers, just for YOU Mom!

Really? Ummm, yes - really!

Well, at least my eyes weren't closed?

More lights....and even MORE LIGHTS!!!

That is just crazy to me...crazy!

Special Message to my SISTA!

Love you Rhiannon.

Now it's your turn, what would YOU have said to me

on this special day?

Mmmm - still thinking.

Things that Make Me Smile....#1

Will Ferrel.

ENOUGH SAID!

Still smiling even after the 12th time watching this.

What is making YOU smile lately?

Coffee? (oh gave it up)

Weekends? (not here yet and not long enough - sigh*)

Small friendly birds? (they are TOO friendly and never shut up)

Lost forgotten money found in pocket? (except so clean no one will except it)

So as I said, what has been making YOU smile lately?

If you haven't already seen the tight pants song...highly recommending IT!

Clearly, I need to watch the "tight pants" movie-skit again because I still ain't smiling ENOUGH LAUREN!

UGH!!!

Happy smiling day to YOU!

I'm going to bed on this side of the planet.

Roger out.

My theme song of the day...

I just want a small hit...an espresso s'il vous plait?

I can empathize with this man on more than one level - ha!

Another day without my little cup of black stuff.

*sigh

Good Nights = Feeling Lucky

Sometimes you just need to say thank you...

....for good friends and great nights.

(and oatmeal cookies)

How did he KNOW that???

Students surprise me ALL THE TIME!

But I wasn't ready for this one...you can tell from my laugh!

Nuff said!

Have a Bad Day?

This week was full of not just ONE but TWO bad days.

Why?

From the moment you wake up, cramming in work that needs to get done,

 bombarded with question the moment you arrive at school,

lessons PACKED with noise/learning/technical problems, more questions and 

A BIG FAT MESS!

 It gets to the point where you've reached your full capacity, you've gone too far,

 your brain stops working because it's passed the point of thinking.

It's past the point of making rational decisions.
It's over stimulated to the max, running of coffee fumes and still, you are pushing it
to think a mile a minute;

this is called going into seizure
(or at least it feels like that sometimes)

That's when I SNAPPED!

Not just once, 

TWICE!

Of course, this was only in front of myself and another colleague 

and

he just watched as I lost by cool, 

said a load of bad words that should never be said,

 and walked off without a "thank you" or "sorry" or "I'm just crazy!"

Five minutes later, I'm shamefully writing

an e-mail of apology....kicking myself for not being better.

HIS RESPONSE?

I had to share;

"No, you should not be a teacher, because you are a SUPERTEACHER!

Wear the cape tomorrow to remind yourself.

Being a Superteacher does not mean you are good at every bit of paper work that comes your way but it does mean the kids like and/or respect you, they learn things from being around you and they become better people because they met you."

I cried a little...OF COURSE!

HAH!

Have a good week you LOT cause my week is almost DONE!

Crossing Street in Dhaka = Metaphor of Life

I met an amazing woman a few weeks ago, whom I happened to 

"BUMP" into again this past weekend.

Karen is a Nurse practitioner from the U.S. who's looking at the potential set up 

of future project for nurses in Bangladesh. With only six weeks here, Karen has relentlessly been visiting

facilities and talking to women and looking at the opportunities that nurses have

and/or how they are treated and recognized as nurses. 

SO WHAT ARE YOU SAYING LAUREN?

Karen is brilliant, period. 

And this past weekend she hared her metaphor for life

(WITH ME!!!) 

that she came up with while crossing the streets of Bangladesh.

I had to share this with you.

(don't worry, I did ask Karen first - haha!)

"Traffic circles here in Bangladesh are all about near-collision death defying feats. You arrive in the middle, careening with a flourish into the center of traffic. Maybe that’s the way to experience life, dive head in without a moment’s hesitation no looking to the right nor left, trust destiny and fellow humanity that you won’t be mush, bless your lucky stars when you land nimbly unscathed, be alert to better repositioning, smile sweetly with an apology (maybe?) for later. Usually, I squeeze my eyes shut and brace myself. And instead of the thunderous crash of a collision you’d expect, it’s just boisterous calls, tinkering bells, blaring horns with jostling to make more room for others."

You mean just dive?

Don't look and jump feet first?

Wow.

Crossing the street here is simple - you could wait FOREVER or

JUST GO!

Karen nailed it and of course, said it much more eloquently

than I ever could.

Thank you so much Karen!

I am a better person to met you and

I'm pretty sure it will be hard to forget someone so

strong and interesting!

Thanks for all the support and will keep you posted.

lauren

I say hello to Canada everyday...

Found an old-school map of Canada in a cupboard at school.

It's the first thing I see when leaving for work in the morning

and the first thing I see when coming home.

Guess what it's called?

"Canada and the World"

Can you believe that? What happened to Canadians being humble, eh?

I  just love it because it makes me feel like I see or talk to 

people from back home every day.

(insert crazy lady icon)

BAHAHAHAH!!!

And you guys thought I forgot about you, DIDN'T YOU!?!

NOT A CHANCE!

You LOT are stuck with me...

and my terrible-can't-open-my-eyes-selfie-shots!

*UGH*

Miss you ALL very much but saying "hi" every morning & night helps!

Have a good week Monday morning workers!

Luv

Ms.Wells

P.S. Hate bragging but already got a HEAD START on you guys- 

one day closer to the weekend - Mouhahahahhaha! 

P.P.S. Some thing don't change; yes, every things a competition.

Boom.

Who Hates SCHOOL but Loves EDUCATION?

Need HE say anymore?
(not with that Bri-TISH accent!)

Great-great video to watch.

Smiling because it's Thursday!

Makes me smile, every time...

Tina and JL, why didn't we have Alapacas instead of sheep 

on the bio-dynamic farm?

*Sigh

I do miss the ducks

Four Generations - WOW!

That is my Granny, Margaret Peacock....but just call her Granny.

And that is Evelyn Wells...but just call her Evie.

Four generations of family.

You're right, no big deal......(smiling)

Too lucky to have such great people in my life.

Missing'em dearly.

lolo

Holy Crap CEREAL, tis GOOD!

There is a cereal in Canada called "Holy Crap"

that I just discovered....thanks to another Canadian of course!

My reaction caught on tape.

The photographic evidence....ALL DONE!

YUM - EH!

Thanks again Michele, now I know what to bring back to Dhaka

for next school year!

Who Are You?

I'm the screamer....so I've been told...politely.

My personal favourite?

The hunter-gatherer.

Although there should be one for someone who suffers from

ADHD and always has to put away all the weights, organized and facing 

the same way....GULP!

THAT IS ME TOO!

(I know, I got issues...tell me about it)

WHO ARE YOU!?!

Missing The Little Men In My Life

Best help you can ask for at the grocery store!

Sam-O step away from the window....

Blond little BOMB shell...watch out LADIES!

Sam is practising his blue steel - OWNING IT!

(insert an auntie Lolo's smile)
Sigh...!

GREAT SCOTT - I miss these guys!

(not the sticky mess with kids fingers though - hahahah!)

Double sigh....!

*luv*
LOLO

The Last Accident...Hopefully.

UGH!

Just when you think you are an EXPERT biker...you
crash into a RICKSHAW driver head on and well, even though
he is on the wrong side of the road coming straight at you - you
somehow don't see him???

UGH - Don't ask!

I'm not sure how it happened either! But it certainly did happen make no mistake!
My bike is under repair, my body has taken a week to heal and my little soul is still
afraid to get back on the bike...WIMP is right!

I hate to write posts like this, more so because it's plain dumb, embarrassing and well
eating humble pie isn't my pie of choice...

...HOWEVER... 

I NEED TO LEARN FROM THESE DUMB MISTAKES and to
remind myself (and others) to KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO
THIS HEAD post likes this are necessary!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Pretty please, no matter how many years it takes, feel free
to remind me how much of a bird brain I am.....really!You officially have my permission...

Ahhhh the thigh....still hurts!

Stupid knee always getting in the way of the wipe outs...baaaah!

Thank goodness only onetof my tworings got crushed and cut off circulation to my hand. 

All I could think of at the time was... they better  replace the ring they're cutting off with those

 pliers? 

Two stitches inside, five on top...and I thought I didn't need stitches in the first place!

Thank goodness for tall friends with good

heads on their shoulders!

Shesssssh - when did I become such a rookie? 

Just another bruise that "magical" appeared out of no where...ugh!

No idea what that is suppose to be....swollen K-ankle?

And this picture Lauren? Please, your ankle is BARELY swollen - pffft!
What A BABY!
Forget it! Put away your violins because this so called "crash" got ain't worth the
pity party!
(next time show more blood, guts and SWELLING then maybe a song will be played for you)

Lesson learnt.
Case closed.
Nighty - night.

It Happened Again...Co-TEACHING!

I love co-teaching...especially when it means I get to LEARN with the kids

(so really, its not co-teaching but shhhhh! Don't

tell me CO-TEACHER that - hahahha!)

One of the newest staff members of the Humanities Department - MARK!

What is he doing other than VANDALIZING a school table?

Teaching the students about SCALE and why it's important we use it.

(Can that table fit on the piece of paper? NOPE, so we need to use a scale

to show things IN REAL LIFE on paper - Ohhhh!)

I promise we WERE co-teaching...I was just getting distracted with the

idea of TAKING PHOTOS of the students....

...and of course, MYSELF!

Who is that handsome devil  - Oh wait!

IT'S ME!

Boom!

8 Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) .

I know, impossible right?

HOW CAN I WORKOUT for less time and STILL GET IN SHAPE?

I don't get it either but it WORKS!

What is the definition?

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) describes any workout that alternates between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less-intense activity or even complete rest.

1. Efficient

2. Burn More Fat

3. Healthier Heart

4.  No Equipment Necessary

5. Lose Weight, Not Muscle

6. Increase Metabolism

7.  Do It Anywhere

8. Challenging

If you want more information about this way of training

(because frankly, I didn't believe it 

myself go READ the explanations at this LINK;

http://www.dailyhiit.com/hiit-blog/hiit-workout/8-benefits-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit/

And of course, let me be the GUINEA PIG!

Month of  JAN I will be doing FAST and INTENSE but shorter workouts in 

the morning before and after school.

KEEP YOU POSTED on how it works out for me!

Ugh!

I hate New Years Resolutions...

Ann Marie Crabbe - it's Your BIRTHDAY in Dhaka!

So BECAUSE it's my MOM's birthday I went 

searching for the best 

POINSETTIA I could find.

WHAT LAUREN!?! 

Yup, that's right. 

My mom is BIG into flowers and well, she was always

the one to buy POINSETTIAS for Christmas

(even though my dad hated it)

and HERE they GROW WILD AND FREE and 

ALL YEAR LONG!

Boom.

So let the adventure BEGIN!

Starts by the side of the street nursery.

Errr, those don't look like poinsettia...

Red or pink...I forget?

BOOM - spot ONE!

Ohhh - ahhhh!

MOM check it out, this one is HUGE!
This puts the ones we bought at Loblaws in CANADA to shame

Opps, wrong plant...thought I was taking a picture with the
red poinsettias...brilliant Lauren!

And well, this is just PRETTY!

And these guys are read but errr, not what I think.
Right mom?

BINGO!

The BIGGEST poinsettia I have ever seen in my LIFE!

Need a pot? Or four?

Again, these things are everywhere at EVERY outdoor nursery!

No, I did not look weird taking a photo of myself with a flower.
The man who owned the nursery thought I was nuts...clearly!

This is how much I love you mom, I bought a soy cappuccino
and thought of you.

CHEERS TO ANN MARIE CRABBE 

(a.k.a. mom)

who is turning...

(how old are you turning anyways?)

...50 YEARS OLD TODAY!!!

(and if older, then heck - you don't look a DAY over fifty!)

Love you lots and hope you have a good day!

(and yes, that was me who called at 1a.m. in the morning, forgetting

 about the time difference - OPPSIE!)

Luv
Lo