Wow. Those pictures are gorgeous, Spirit. I'm homesick for BC now, too, Bluegreen. I'm hoping our next transfer is to the northwest so I can be close to my family out there. I'd move there in a second.

that happened to me i put together s puzzle and I was missing one piece.. then a few weeks later I found the piece as I was vacuuming....

Yes, thanks for the photos, Spirit - so pretty - there is nowhere else quite like here:) My husband always said he didn't think he could handle living in the rain up here, but he was just up for the weekend and it was finally one of those amazing few days where it is sunny and perfect, and he is changing his tune...hurray!! We might not ever do it, but I like knowing it's an option we could both be happy with! Krikit I hope you get that transfer!!

don't you love it when . . . . . . a person who has a great commitment to their profession finally lands a permanent job in their true calling.

(yeah for my sister-in-law Stacey for sticking it out sub-teaching for 4 years and finally nailing it)!

That is fabulous news Cattatude!

My wife and I are thrilled that immigration has gone through. We should be legally living together in the same country by August (or September, by the latest).

Wooooooooooohoooooooooo!!! Congratulations!! I'm thrilled for you as well.

Hear hear! Congrats!!!

....you step on the scale and the number is lower than you thought?

oh yeah, don't you love it when your hubby finally gets a job he actually likes doing and you don't have to drag him out of bed every morning...

Amen sister! My hubby loves his new job too!

It must be bikini season.

...someone sends you a corny, sweet, lovable, video that makes you cry.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/...75&n8pe6c=2

...when you can stick it da man:
(mwahaha)

Free calls to Canada/U.S. and cheap international calls.
For iPhone's now too...or is it coming soon...
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/06/icall-e...hing-on-iphone/
http://icall.com/



Oops, except upon further investigation, it is not ready for MAC computers yet.

My 10-10 line no longer is available in my area...so I can't use the dial around service to call home.

I'd sure love a better way (translate...FREE) to call home.

In keeping with the thread's focus:

I love it when my daughter comes up to me and says "You're the best mommy ever"...for no reason at all!

You must know about Skype, do you not?
Check it out.

Oh for sure, we both do. Thing is...Joel's mom isn't too computer savvy, by her own admission. She would rather talk on the phone. She's not a chat person either.

Vonage isn't free but it is really cheap.. we pay just under 30 dollars including tax... and I think you can set up a number that people from Canada can call you and it would be free for them...

But wouldn't I still have to pay for the landline usage in addition to Vonage? Our internet comes through our landline and I'm just looking for a cheaper way of phoning home (oh I sound like E.T.) than what we currently have.

Sorry to derail your thread SpiritAlight.

hmm, you have DSL?

I know vonage works with DSL just not sure how....

Awwwww. That made me cry too. That's awesome.

Awwww. That reminded me of this....

I was going through some old mail this morning and found this past Mother's Day card from my kids that I had forgotten about. It says:

I can't remember a time when I didn't need your love and support...
And I can't imagine a time when I won't.

They signed it:

Thank you for always being there.
I miss you every day and all the time. Thank you for being the best.

That's a definite "Don't you love it" moment.

Awe Krikit - that's sweet!

awwww - they shouldn't let short people play sports.










j/k!!

...your dog starts howling at the tornado sirens, stops, looks at you, opens his mouth, looks at you, and then starts howling again?

(I'm sorry, I think this was a "you had to be there" moment, but it was seriously hysterical -- you could almost see the thoughts running through his head in between howls
"ohmygoshmyearsIhavetohowlbutisitoktomakenoiseinthehousemyearsokIcan'tstopIMUSTHOWL")

Poor puppy.

Did you get any tornados?

Don't you love it when.....

You receive an unexpected thank you card with Zinnia and Aster flower seeds in it.

Thank you, Marilyn! That was so thoughtful of you. I will take a picture and post it here when they have bloomed.

nope no tornadoes, just a nice thunder and lightning storm. There was a good chance that it could have turned into one a couple of different times, but thankfully none this time!

It was funny, when we first heard the sirens, we went outside on the porch to see what direction the sound was coming from, and you could hear all the dogs in the neighbourhood just howling away!

That would be funny.

Don't you just love it when the very students who have driven you crazy all year long give you, on their last day of high school, a handwritten card thanking you for being a patient (ha!), dedicated, understanding, and INSPIRING teacher!!!

I cried. I got cards from each of my four senior classes today (and a few individual cards too) that were so sweet...one of them was even written in couplets (I teach creative writing).

And this is why I still do this job.... *sigh*

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW. That's the BEST.

that's awesome

I know. Nothing can ruin my mood this weekend.
And people complain that teenagers are selfish and rude. Not all of them!

can't wait to see them

Oh I hear ya sister. Grade 5 girls can be some of the hardest ones to deal with...they're on the cusp of being teenagers yet they're still little girls y'know? I had a few of those sweet cards too, from some of the girls that I tutoured afterschool, hoping to get them to where they will pass the state standardised test. They passed.

Yeah, I agree...those are the moments that remind one why they chose to become an educator. *sigh*

Karen, you know what I do? I keep all these cards, letters, etc from the kids and put them in a file. When I'm feeling really low and overwhelmed and in the "why the heck do I stay here" mood, I read them and it reminds me.

Oh, you have to do those standardized state tests? I'm so so glad I don't have to do that.

OOoh and I want to see pictures of flowers!

You find out that the trees growing near the patio are flowering trees!

When fresh peaches are on sale at the grocery store!!

.... your daughter conspires with one of her aunts and a cousin to throw a bridal shower for you

Those look like crape myrtles - one of my favourites! They are in bloom from June to November in a riot of beautiful colours!

Aww, how sweet!!! Congrats!

Awwwwww, bless.



That's what I was just going to say! That's why it's called Myrtle Beach too. But, Trailmix, just wait until you see all the flowering that's going on right now. Trees and bushes that you had absolutely no idea (like above) could do anything are producing the most awesome colours and blooms. It's spectacular.

I do love flowers - the picture quality isn't good, can't take good pics through a screen. I had gone out earlier to take a picture from the front but the lens fogged up from being brought out from the lovely air conditioning

This is so wonder-full.
Such great news.
I love that your students showed you gratitude Junp.

And BH45 that is so sweet...and loving. Mmmm....

Flowers, mmmm...lovely... more more more...

Puppies scared of storms...my partner's golden retriever is about 10 years old and trembles like a leaf when there is thunder and/or lightning. even heavy rain sets him off. If he howled I would howl along with him. Hahaha.

Maeve, I know exactly what you mean!

Thank you all for playing along in this thread.

I've got one, although it is quite specific to what I do:

...when your sailboat racing team has some huge screw-ups (not always the crews' fault) and then the recovery is quick enough to win the race. You look back and see that other boats have had worse screw-ups than you! Must be divine intervention.

Don't you love it when...

...after sending all these checks to pay for taxes and making so many transactions for stuff in a few days, you call IRS to ask about that 800$ check that they haven't cashed yet and that you have been holding 800$ for the last 2 months for it....

And get told it's been cashed way back in April and then when you verify in your bank account, it WAS cashed

How the hell did I miss 800$ ?????????????? no clue

But my hubby loves me now for being 800$ richer

When travel arrangements fall into place, especially after you thought they had fallen through!

We had looked at tickets to visit family in Canada 2 weeks ago, selected reasonable dates and then had to confirm Joe's time off of work and my Dad and brother's availability. We planned to fly into Rochester then rent a car and drive to Kingston as that was $400 cheaper for each of us than flying into Toronto (!!) especially as we had to rent a car anyway. So, after confirming everyone's availability and Joe getting the time off of work, last week I went to book the tickets - and they had doubled in price! Rats! We were kicking ourselves for not getting the tickets the previous week, and then trying to get all the other confirmations in place afterwards, but it was too late. I tried all sorts of other combinations of airports and flights and travel times and dates around then and all tickets were still virtually doubled what they were the week before, so we just decided to wait. This week I received a travelocity email notification that the Toronto ticket price had come down - it was now only $100 more than the new updated price to Rochester - so I went to look at Rochester again - and got a shock! The ticket prices had dropped back down - now they were even $16 cheaper than when I had first looked at them! So, we quickly booked our 2 roundtrip tickets - and the total price is less than one ticket was for the exact same flights and itineraries one week ago. I guess no one was buying tickets last week! There were lots of seat choices as well on the flight, so everything is falling into place quite nicely, thank you!

Next step - rent a car. I noticed at one of the car rental agencies their cheapest vehicle to rent was an SUV and their economy cars were more expensive, hehehehehe!

Congratulations Kathryn! When are you and Joe flying out? We're leaving in about three weeks...can't wait!! Joel's mom was able to get us a direct flight from ATL to YHZ (Halifax) with Delta. I think Delta is doing that now, on Saturdays. I love it...it means way less traveling time, the direct flight is about 2.5 hours.

Enjoy your trip, Karen and Joel! As if there was any doubt! (VBG).

We're not leaving until the end of July and have 5 days in Canada. The first day we are there will be my brother and sister-in-law's 20th wedding anniversary - I was their Maid of Honour - so we are all going to go out for dinner together where the wedding reception was held. It will be a nice and poignant time as I know we will all miss my Mom who made all of the arrangements (my sister in law is Chinese and it is the groom's family who takes care of the wedding!). I am pleased. I just confirmed with my cat sitter that she is available, so that is good.

Kathryn, have you ever used priceline for rental cars? I do it all the time and end up getting them for next to nothing...if you're the type that needs everything to be done well in advance, I wouldn't recommend it, but I usually book my cars a couple days before the trip and you can get them for half the price they list...

Thanks for the suggestion. I had looked at Priceline for tickets but there were too many variables that wouldn't work into our schedule. I hadn't thought of it for a car rental. Hmm, will have to discuss it with Joe - he is one who likes to have things firmly in place but that is certainly something to consider.