Occupied

Well, here are some of the things that have been occupying our time 'lately'...
1) Snow, Snow and more Snow. I'm glad that I've got this handy-dandy old fashioned and yet still very practical snow shovel. It's great for moving large quantities of snow. Pay close attention to the nice slope on those snow banks (which are on both sides of the driveway...). Those slopes are important for a snow shovel like this one because you need to get the snow shovel to slide up and over the snow bank. Now, what I'm thinking is that if things go well this year, maybe I can get those snow banks high enough so that I can make my own half-pipe out of the driveway? Martin and Michael would probably agree that I need help on my snowboarding skills...


2) Last year, Steph made a big stink about how I was a "Scrooge" at Christmas time - especially when it came to setting up the tree. I didn't think I was a scrooge, necessarily, but I remember not wanting to set up the Christmas tree last year. Well, this year I decided that since I didn't have to go to work (today), I would get a head start and show Steph that I'm looking forward to Christmas. The result of two and a half hours of intense labour is pictured below.


3) Also pictured below is our book shelf. What you see is part of the book collection Steph and I have. These are our adult and children's novels, which have also occupied a lot of our time. Presently Steph is reading "Inkdeath" (the third novel in a children's series of which the first novel has been made into a movie "Inkheart" -- coming soon to a theatre near you...). I just finished "The Diamond of Darkhold" - the fourth book in the City of Ember series (which was also made into a movie recently - which Steph and I saw, and hated)(hopefully Hollywood doesn't wreck Inkheart, too!)

4) Last but not least.... No, don't look at the Maclean's magazine... Look at what's on top of the magazine... Yep, that three/four inch long, piece of metal. Shaped into a crescent. It is about 2 mm's thick. Hard, like steel. It is wide on right side (about 3/4 inch), and thinner on the left side (about 1/2 inch). The side that is thinner is also somewhat shiny. Glossy even. Because that side punctured the front passenger side tire on our Oldsmobile, recently. The result? $600 down the tube just for new tires. (yes, we needed new tires anyways... but still...). This just happened to have happened AFTER I had just been to the car shop to figure out why almost the entire warning instrument panel was lit up like Christmas time on the dashboard. More $ still needs to be spent on that car... Thank-you little piece of metal for making it that much worse.

Again the question needs to be asked....

Where have we moved to???

In about a 15 hour time span we have accumulated A LOT of snow! My parents came down for a visit and shortly after they arrived the snow began. We couldn't believe how it just kept snowing and how quickly it built up! We had to shovel out the driveway for the first time this morning. "Welcome to Barrie" is what a lot of people said to us in church this morning! Here are a few pictures:

Trying to throw a snowball at me....

I'm sure this is what dad planned on doing this weekend!

David built two mini-snowmen on top of our car....they're kinda hard to see with white everywhere...

Mom and Dad and Roz in the snow.

The Season Ending (This was memorable)

Well, I invested a lot of time and effort (and lost wages) into the girls basketball team at Unity. Finally, it all boiled down to one game - a 'championship match' - between our school and the only other team in our two-team league - Heritage. So far, we had not one a single game. So I decided (with only two practices left) to change our offence to 'Overload' - an offence where players set up in the offensive end with more players on one side of the court than the other (the idea being - to overload the opponents' defence by having a lot of players on the same side as the ball.
Game day came around last night and I was nervous. (This being the first basketball team I'd ever coached and they had not won a single game yet).
We started off on a promising note. The other team fouled one of our players and we scored the first basket on a free throw. (1-0 for Unity).
Then it went downhill. After a series of unanswered baskets, Heritage took a handsome lead and the score soon became 15-1 for Heritage. Ouch. ANY time that you are down by 14 points in a junior girls basketball game -- you've pretty much written off the game. That's a fact.
Being the coach. I felt clueless. I'd thrown my players everything I could think of. All my advice, all my instructions, all my encouragement. Nothing seemed to be working.
But I said we'd stick with our offence and we'd just play harder defence.
Very slowly, things started to turn around. But it was already the second half, and when you're down by double-digits, its a long climb back up.
But things did turn around and we had scored a three pointer (miraculously). And then we scored from the top of the key. And suddenly we had 6 points. And then we got a rebound and put that in. (8 points now!).
Something happened. And I don't know what it was. And it happened incredibly slowly. But by the time the fourth quarter came around, the score was somewhere around 22-18 and my girls were in it to win it.
We had momentum and the other team was panicking. Accidentally, to start the fourth quarter, I had sent all three of my post players were on the court (a miscommunication), and I had only two guards (Normally you have three guards and two post players...). I wasn't paying enough attention to who I had sent onto the court.
Fortunately, we scored another basket and Heritage started panicking. Their girls started playing as individuals and my team had finally connected as a team (FINALLY!). Heritage called a time out. The ref told me I still had all five of my time-outs remaining (that I even had five timeouts was something I had completely overlooked).
I left all my post players on the court and told them to simply set up a triangle under the nets on either end and just... get... the... rebound! I told my guards to "just keep passing the ball to the post players, and don't forget to drive to the net yourself on occasion."
Then one of my post players made her fourth foul (any more and she'd be out of the game!). I let her stay in.
There were only a few minutes left in the game (about two minutes actually). We were still down by a basket. Somewhere in there I had called my first timeout to tell my girls, actually I don't remember what I told them, but it was probably good. That's just the kindof coach I am - naturally always saying the right thing, except when its wrong. In this case it was probably right.
The girls went back out onto the court (under two minutes were left).
Somehow we scored a basket.
There were 30 seconds left. The score was tied at 25-25. My girls were going nuts on the bench. I was trying to figure out what happens in the event of a tie game in a championship match?
The problem was that after we scored a basket, Heritage had possession of the ball.
Heritage started up the court with the ball. My girls were setting up on defence.
Then it was something straight out of a movie -- the kind where one of my guards stole the ball in our own end. There were ten seconds left. She started sprint-dribbling down the court. Two Heritage girls were trying to keep up. My guard kept sprinting -- kept dribbling. People were counting down the clock -- 6--- 5 --- 4.
My guard tried to make a lay-up. The ball bounced around.... (Yes, just like it does in the movies...)
Time itself had come to a halt.
The ball fell through the hoop!
My bench went crazy! (like only girls can...) My assistant coach (Ms. Bootsma) was crying. I was (a little) choked up.
I think there was still 3 seconds left on the clock, but I don't think the ref bothered anymore because my bench had completely emptied onto the court.
My girls had finally won a game! And it just happened to be the 'championship' title match of the season!
Unity gets to put their name on the plaque for the second season in a row.
And I've learned a TON about coaching basketball. I hope I get to do it again next year!

Fall/Winter Update

After a long sabbatical, I've started to pick up my guitar more often again. Recently, I've been enjoying the music of artists like Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot), and Derrick Webb (from Caedmon's Call), David Gray, and as always Jonny Lang. These musical artists employ that raw feeling that isn't all studio sound, but just them and their instruments. Which I like, and try to emulate, but really can't come close to immitating. I'll always recommend listening to these artists if you get the chance (even if it is just once, and you turn it off halfway through).

With not much else going on (I'm busy trying to prep the garage for painting, and Steph is getting her marks together for report cards), I thought I'd put up these two pictures of Steph and I in Sunnidale Park from this fall. The 'door' in the background of the picture below always reminds me of the book "The Secret Garden" for some reason. Even if I don't remember anything about the book but the 'feel' of it in my head... (That's a literacy plug for those of you who are interested in a good book - Steph and I have become such literacy dweebs lately, it's not funny)(and my grammar stinks.)

Strange, strange world

Looking back at our blogs lately, I can't help but feel that Steph and I have found ourselves in a bit of a routine, and the routine makes for fairly boring blog entries. At least in our own eyes. So, I guess we'll just keep on writing until something interesting finds its way into our lives...
Like this.
Today, I recieved a call dark and early in the morning to supply teach for Barrie Central, but the classroom was.... in the Georgian Mall. So, long story short. I've discovered a secret classroom in the center of the mall. You have to take secret passageways (service hallways between the stores) in order to get to this locked room. Once inside the classroom. Well, it's a classroom. There's a whiteboard, and computers and desks for students to work at. There's even an old tv and vcr/dvd player.
So next time you need to use the washroom in a mall - try going through the forbidding looking double-doors at the end of the hallway. You never know what you'll "learn".
So I 'worked' for three hours (9am-12) (I read a book in the comfortable teachers chair) - (and later discovered that they are paying me a full day's salary for it!)(that's when you love being a teacher...) and then I walked out of the classroom, through the service corridor, out the double doors, past the washrooms, and saw someone I knew I should recognize and yet couldn't put a name to. She said "Hi". I said Hi back, and kept walking because I didn't really know who exactly she was or why I should recognize her. I looked back, and she asked "Are you have a successful shopping day?" And I thought (NO.... I was WORKING... I have a job...)(if you can call it that). So I explained what I was doing in the mall -- teaching a class. (yes - teaching in a corridor that goes to the washrooms -- what kind of class is that? I bet she wondered). It turns out she goes to our church, and sends her kids to Timothy Christian School, and one of her children is in Steph's class, and she's also had the privilege of seeing Maria up close and personal in the region of Halifax...
Small world, ain't it?

Not what we expected

October 31st and I got a call to supply teach for the day. I expected chaos. But actually, grade five is one of the easiest classes to supply for. An assembly in the morning. Recess. Watching skits by masked hooligans (drama). Gym (capture the flag). Recess. And then my very first, grade school halloween dance ever (I became the 'reverse' bouncer - letting kids leave the gym one at a time to go to the washroom...). I bet that supply teaching on Monday might be a 'bit' worse. We'll see.
Anyways, after some debate, Steph and I stocked up on candy for Halloween. We didn't know what to expect but we expected more than what we got. We figured that since our house was on a direct route to the neighbourhood school, and since we see just about 80 kids walk by our house everyday -- we could bet on maybe 100 kids showing up to our door. We meant to ask our neighbours what we could expect, but kept forgetting whenever we saw them. So we bought three boxes of candy.
We only had (maybe?) 50 kids (25 of whom hardly qualify as kids) come to our door.
Now we have a ton of candy that we don't want or need. Anybody wanna come over and eat it for us?

Sometimes you just feel Proud

Well. My girls have yet to win a basketball game. But I'd have to say that I'm proud of them. Why?
Well...
(1) Not once have I heard any of the girls comment on hairstyles, shoes, or prettyness.
(2) While the first game they played against their rival school, they lost badly <50something> but the second game they played against their rival school they only lost by a score of 24 to 14, which was a defensive marvel.
(3) A couple of them have put in enough effort only to have to leave the court to (a) throw up; (b) foul out; and (c) because of a black eye or other injury.

They may not be winning, but they still have some fight in 'em!