Feeling Goooood

Finished!!!! It's such a great feeling. Two months without my year long boyfriend Mark Ng (think hard), planning, report cards, waking up early because I have to, and solving ten year old's conflicts (unless my nieces and nephews stir up trouble). Yeeeeeeah. Feeling good.

Even better is the fact that the sun is shining and the sky is actually....blue! Gorgeous.

And to add to it is the fact that my summer reading material just arrived in the mail. A perfect way to start things off. I was happy to learn about Paddyfield.com, a small scale, Amazon-like service just for Hong Kong, with a solid selection of reasonably priced books, and free shipping! Sweet. To get things started this summer, I've got Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by one of my very favorite authors- Anne Lamott. I also bought Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises and A Revolution of Hope by Brian McLaren, and my last choice- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. Plus, Viva La Vida is ringing in my ears...good books and good music.

It was so nice to have Mom, Dad, Autumn, Andrew, Pamela, and Raysha here. I must say it was a bit of a teaser though. I came home from school yesterday sad to have an empty house. They were here for two nights. Again, we packed in as much as we could in the time we had: eating Chinese food, walking the streets of Mongkok to find bubble tea (for Raysha) and delicious mango drinks (especially for Dad), they had an adventure in the rain- lost in Mongkok on their own (ai ya, I was working!), we went to the Peak and had fun shopping, while imagining what it might look like if we weren't in a cloud, enjoyed some good Mexican food (after getting lost again in a different area) followed by Krispy Kreme. It was lots of fun...I love them so much and it was much easier to say goodbye because.....I'M FLYING HOME IN NINE DAYS!!!!! One more BIG reason to be feeling gooooooood.

Medieval Day and More

Here are some pictures from our Medieval Day. It was great fun. I decided to let the kids decorate the cake this year (must...let...go...ha ha), and they really enjoyed that. The boys enjoyed chess, the girls were fairly involved in making sure the Queens were dolled up appropriately. Our minstrel was a highlight. The skits were dramatic though perhaps...unpolished. We ate fruit, cheese, stew on trenchers (bread), drumsticks, and dessert. One new dimension to this year's feast was the creation of goblets for the ale. They were quite nifty. Here's what I wrote about last year's feast.

After school, eight of my students came over to my place for a party as a reward for reaching their reading goals. They were very energetic. Ha. They explored every inch of my 600 square foot flat and enjoyed jumping on my bed. I suppose there is something thrilling in jumping like a monkey on your teacher's bed. We made pizzas and watched Holes. I finally sent them back to their parents on a sugar high. It was a full day and by the time the rug rats left my place, I was ready for bed!

Today brings wonderful news: I'm finished report cards!!! This is such a wonderful season for a teacher. :) Four teaching days to go, and five prep days to follow. Yeeees!

Mom, Dad, Autumn, Andrew, Pam, and Raysha are coming tomorrow for two nights. Of course I'm excited! Guess I'd better get things organized around here- maybe they won't be as rambunctious as the kids in my house on Friday!! I'm trying to decide if I should do my dishes or let Dad enjoy them...hee hee hee. I miss the good ol' days. :)

Making pizzas.

The Party!

The Monkeys.

This year's cake, decorated by the kids.

All dressed up for the feast.

Robin Hood and the Jester.

Dragonboat festival = HK holiday

That's today! What a great feeling to go to bed late on a Sunday night and sleep in on a Monday morning. Beautiful!

A few random notes on a sunny Monday morning:

-It's been a fantastic French Open/NBA Finals weekend. Roger was a major, major disappointment last night, however. Terrible!!! Rafa, on the other hand, despite his butt-picking ways, proved completely dominant. I was happy for Ivanovic and loved watching her play, though would have liked a more competitive final. I am loving the Celtic's play against the Lakers. Rondo is my favorite. The main point is: the Lakers will not win. Ha, I know Heather is appreciating this blog (she fancies both Nadal and Kobe).

-I'm still laughing at Elijah's obsession with the HNIC song. Tim's video gave me a major boost on Friday!

-We have 9 teaching days left. This is glorious news! The next week will be extremely busy thus I'm extra grateful for the holiday. Report cards are due next Monday, my class will have the Medieval Feast on Friday (any ideas for this year's castle cake? or my costume?), students are coming over to my place for a celebration on Friday, and I'm planning a farewell for a good friend on Saturday.

-Mom, Dad and company will be here for two nights the next week! I'm praying for clear skies so we can go to The Peak.

-I've joined a new church family. I am so thankful for the genuine friendships developing with the folks at Solomon's Porch. I am excited to be a part of this group of followers. It has been a refreshing and stretching six weeks or so since joining SP.

-The musical highlight of my year thus far came this week. I met The Wailin' Jennys. They have my heart.

-Officially 20 days until I cozy up on Air Canada for the journey to the homeland. I am very excited. The summer is a bit of a whirling dervish, with stops in Calgary, Medicine Hat :), Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Kennedy, Portage, Regina, and then back to Calgary, Regina and Kennedy. The schedule flows in that order- arriving in Calgary on June 29 and flying out on August 11.