The past week must have been the fastest passing week ever... I thought it would be kind of mellow, so much for that!
I finished two series and worked on many details of upcoming engagements in January, wrapping-up business properly so that I can kick back and enjoy. Well done. The next two weeks should be very slow, like a nice long sigh.
Today was a big house clean-up day, and we just hosted the Christmas Eve dinner. Tim's family tradition is pretty easy - we order chinese food! Far from my French Canadian 'réveillon' roots... but I like it. We ended the evening by singing a few Christmas songs, and everyone was gone by 8pm.
Dylan helped me to clear the table and wash the dishes, and he went to bed early - happy and excited. He asked Tim to read The Night Before Christmas, another Posgate tradition. My big 12 year old is full of Christmas spirit this year. Beautiful.
Leo prepared a little plate for Santa, a couple of fortune cookies and a few carrots for his reindeers. I hope Santa doesn't leave too many crumbs on the floor and in the fireplace this year... he is a bit messy sometimes. But I guess he's in a hurry, so I should cut him some slack.
Almost 10pm... time for me to go to bed, something tells me that it will be an early morning!
Somewhere between Izamal and Sudzal, Yucatan.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
2011
Another year, this one was pretty good. It started in the heart of the Yucatan state, we were just about half way through our great family escapade. I had pulled the plug on stress and worries and was happy with a much simpler life style. Happy that my children were enjoying it too, and very proud of Tim for stepping outside of his comfort zone for three months. In retrospect, it was fantastic for all of us to immerse into simplicity and I think that we came back home with a fresh new perspective.
2012 is very promising, the boys are growing beautifully and family life is good - home sweet home. Business is also pretty good and I realise that I can provide sufficient income for our family. Tim can generate a fair income too but he always has to make a big special effort to make it happen... so it happens in phases and it's far for consistent, and it's not likely to happen if I don't let him know that he must focus his energy on it for awhile. He's an artist, and work is not always tied to income. I find this part of our life difficult. At this point in my life, I would like to just pay off the house and invest in a bunch of much needed upgrades and fixes - partly for comfort, but mostly for decent upkeep of our house. I can not do it alone and sometimes it feels like I'm on a treadmill... only managing to keep up a good pace but staying in the same spot. If I think about it too much, I get very frustrated and bitter... so I focus on the positive aspects. We have a good roof over our heads, food on the table, we're healthy, we have enough money to keep the boys in hockey and baseball, and for some entertainment. We're doing pretty good overall.
For these reasons I'm having a hard time with my upcoming Mexico vacation... flipping back and forth between remorses of selfishness and satisfaction of rewarding myself for providing for my family. It started as a plan for a low cost business trip, and it has turned into a much bigger expense. I have no choice but to go with the flow at this point, make the best of it, and make sure that I still follow my business agenda while in Merida. Life is a balancing act of holding on and letting go, it requires an open mind and willingness to adapt. I have done it many times before, so I should be able to find peace with my decisions.
It's the Holiday season again, time for fun gatherings with family and friends. I'm making candied nuts, pepita brittle and nuts and bolts this year instead of cookies. All packaged in pretty tins, perfect for parties. I will share my best finds on that front very soon - Stay tuned for recipes!
2012 is very promising, the boys are growing beautifully and family life is good - home sweet home. Business is also pretty good and I realise that I can provide sufficient income for our family. Tim can generate a fair income too but he always has to make a big special effort to make it happen... so it happens in phases and it's far for consistent, and it's not likely to happen if I don't let him know that he must focus his energy on it for awhile. He's an artist, and work is not always tied to income. I find this part of our life difficult. At this point in my life, I would like to just pay off the house and invest in a bunch of much needed upgrades and fixes - partly for comfort, but mostly for decent upkeep of our house. I can not do it alone and sometimes it feels like I'm on a treadmill... only managing to keep up a good pace but staying in the same spot. If I think about it too much, I get very frustrated and bitter... so I focus on the positive aspects. We have a good roof over our heads, food on the table, we're healthy, we have enough money to keep the boys in hockey and baseball, and for some entertainment. We're doing pretty good overall.
For these reasons I'm having a hard time with my upcoming Mexico vacation... flipping back and forth between remorses of selfishness and satisfaction of rewarding myself for providing for my family. It started as a plan for a low cost business trip, and it has turned into a much bigger expense. I have no choice but to go with the flow at this point, make the best of it, and make sure that I still follow my business agenda while in Merida. Life is a balancing act of holding on and letting go, it requires an open mind and willingness to adapt. I have done it many times before, so I should be able to find peace with my decisions.
It's the Holiday season again, time for fun gatherings with family and friends. I'm making candied nuts, pepita brittle and nuts and bolts this year instead of cookies. All packaged in pretty tins, perfect for parties. I will share my best finds on that front very soon - Stay tuned for recipes!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
December Full Moon
Yesterday Dylan left school early and came home after lunch, and we went to see Leo in his Holiday school concert - featuring a great collection of French Canadian folkloric songs. It was fun, and felt very good to see all the kids signing traditional songs. It reminded me of my childhood, we did sing many of these songs when we gathered over the Holiday season. A couple of guitars, spoons, and everyone singing. I wish we could revive the tradition... but I'm the only one who knows the songs, that repertoire is foreign to Tim. Maybe I will invite a few Quebecois friends over the Holiday break and give it a try! These good musical memories are pretty much the foundations behind what I do for a living now. Getting kids to sing, teaching them songs that they bring home and sign to their parents. The very best feedback I get is when parents tell me that their child sings the songs I teach them. Or when older students take the time to tell me a special thanks before I leave the classroom, or to tell me how much they like music class. This is something they will keep enjoying all their life, and to help anchor that enjoyment is amazing.
It seems that the December full moon came with winter weather, hat and gloves are now required. The skating rink is open at Trinity-Bellwoods park, the closest to our house. Dylan goes there to play shinny (hockey) with his friends and I love to see him walk down the street with his hockey bag and stick. That too reminds me of good winter times of my childhood. My sisters and I would walk to the rink in our skates, and stay there until we couldn't feel our big toes from the cold. Crazy... who decided to settle in this weather anyway?
The children would like to set-up the Christmas tree this weekend, we'll try to squeeze that into our schedule.
Full moon, December, and thoughts of December 10th of last year. Nostalgia... and so very much looking forward to being in Yucatan again in the coming spring. No developments on the Merida teacher training project... I am adjusting my expectations and will be happy to simply meet my contacts in person once in Merida. Can't wait to see my Telchac friends - wonderful and inspiring women, and also hoping to get together with my old friend Jose-Luis... have not seen him in about 25 years! But that's all on the other side of this winter... can't go around it this year, I'll have to go through it!
It seems that the December full moon came with winter weather, hat and gloves are now required. The skating rink is open at Trinity-Bellwoods park, the closest to our house. Dylan goes there to play shinny (hockey) with his friends and I love to see him walk down the street with his hockey bag and stick. That too reminds me of good winter times of my childhood. My sisters and I would walk to the rink in our skates, and stay there until we couldn't feel our big toes from the cold. Crazy... who decided to settle in this weather anyway?
The children would like to set-up the Christmas tree this weekend, we'll try to squeeze that into our schedule.
Full moon, December, and thoughts of December 10th of last year. Nostalgia... and so very much looking forward to being in Yucatan again in the coming spring. No developments on the Merida teacher training project... I am adjusting my expectations and will be happy to simply meet my contacts in person once in Merida. Can't wait to see my Telchac friends - wonderful and inspiring women, and also hoping to get together with my old friend Jose-Luis... have not seen him in about 25 years! But that's all on the other side of this winter... can't go around it this year, I'll have to go through it!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
December?
Wow... Christmas in less than 3 weeks...
The boys are very happy to be home for Christmas this year (we were in Yucatan for Christmas last year). So far December has been rainy and warmer than usual, Toronto is still well above freezing temperatures. It would be nice to have some snow for the Holidays, the kids are also looking forward to a full winter experience. I just started my shopping, a bit reluctant... one of the things I appreciated about our 3 month trip to Mexico last year was that we were in very remote locations and far from all the commercial madness - Christmas and all. No TV, no billboards, no paper, only the occasional Facebook update. I think everyone should experience that for at least a month every year - we enjoyed 3 months of being disconnected from 'daily and in your face marketing'. I loved it.
On the health front, my cold was nested in my right ear for about 10 days - plugged ear... but now it made a merry come back for another round of sneezing and sniffles. It's war - and I am determined to claim victory.
Work is settling nicely, all my clients are paid-up for this first trimester and I started to invoice for January. The next 2 weeks will be fairly busy, I am ending two series of workshops - one for Kindergarten and another one for grades 4, 5 and 6. The last 2 weeks of my series are pretty much all about evaluations, and when I am finished the teachers have what they need to put a mark of the report cards. Here in Ontario, the first report card is issued at the end of January.
I am contemplating the summer already, and I think that I will take the plunge and finish my Orff Pedagogy certification at the Royal Conservatory of Music. It will be a lot of hard work, but it will be very good for me. Nothing like a good intellectual challenge! One of my teachers will also attempt to register in the Music in Early Childhood program this summer, it was cancelled last summer because they didn't get enough registrations. She is excellent, a natural. With that certification under her belt I would like her to lead some teacher trainings in French - we talked about it and the plan is to get out of the city to provide trainings in the many French communities of Ontario. I would cover the elementary school grades 1 to 8, and she would cover early childhood educators.
I have a lot of marketing work ahead of me between now and March break... I am merging both businesses, probably incorporate, and deploy my long planned positioning sweep to enlarge my zone of operation.
Okay... 8:30am and a full day ahead of me... let's get to it!
The boys are very happy to be home for Christmas this year (we were in Yucatan for Christmas last year). So far December has been rainy and warmer than usual, Toronto is still well above freezing temperatures. It would be nice to have some snow for the Holidays, the kids are also looking forward to a full winter experience. I just started my shopping, a bit reluctant... one of the things I appreciated about our 3 month trip to Mexico last year was that we were in very remote locations and far from all the commercial madness - Christmas and all. No TV, no billboards, no paper, only the occasional Facebook update. I think everyone should experience that for at least a month every year - we enjoyed 3 months of being disconnected from 'daily and in your face marketing'. I loved it.
On the health front, my cold was nested in my right ear for about 10 days - plugged ear... but now it made a merry come back for another round of sneezing and sniffles. It's war - and I am determined to claim victory.
Work is settling nicely, all my clients are paid-up for this first trimester and I started to invoice for January. The next 2 weeks will be fairly busy, I am ending two series of workshops - one for Kindergarten and another one for grades 4, 5 and 6. The last 2 weeks of my series are pretty much all about evaluations, and when I am finished the teachers have what they need to put a mark of the report cards. Here in Ontario, the first report card is issued at the end of January.
I am contemplating the summer already, and I think that I will take the plunge and finish my Orff Pedagogy certification at the Royal Conservatory of Music. It will be a lot of hard work, but it will be very good for me. Nothing like a good intellectual challenge! One of my teachers will also attempt to register in the Music in Early Childhood program this summer, it was cancelled last summer because they didn't get enough registrations. She is excellent, a natural. With that certification under her belt I would like her to lead some teacher trainings in French - we talked about it and the plan is to get out of the city to provide trainings in the many French communities of Ontario. I would cover the elementary school grades 1 to 8, and she would cover early childhood educators.
I have a lot of marketing work ahead of me between now and March break... I am merging both businesses, probably incorporate, and deploy my long planned positioning sweep to enlarge my zone of operation.
Okay... 8:30am and a full day ahead of me... let's get to it!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Flight - check!
I booked my flight yesterday, good deal! Perfect situation... a 10am departure, direct flight to Cancun, and a pretty good price ($250+tx). I booked it as a one way... tempting to leave it at that : )
I have received some news from the French connections in Mérida, and I will try to get things moving for a couple of teachers training workshops. I need a marketing local partner to spread the word, and a good space for the workshops. I'm offering to give 3 sessions - French, English and Spanish, for early childhood educators and elementary school teachers. We'll see what happens... it will determine how long I will stay in Merida, and of course it will determine the date of my return.
I feel a bit better, I think that I'm beating this cold of mine - but not quite 100% yet.
I'm doing some good admin work, trying to have everything settled by next week for the period from January to March inclusively. I'm almost there... schedules are done most of them confirmed, next will be invoicing. Cashflow is a good thing.
Training sessions to prepare for my own team, lining-up program content for the winter months... seasonal songs and activities, including Valentine's Day. There will be one session just before the Holidays, and another one on January 9th.
Chug chug chugging along, and trying not to think too much of where I was exactly one year ago...
I have received some news from the French connections in Mérida, and I will try to get things moving for a couple of teachers training workshops. I need a marketing local partner to spread the word, and a good space for the workshops. I'm offering to give 3 sessions - French, English and Spanish, for early childhood educators and elementary school teachers. We'll see what happens... it will determine how long I will stay in Merida, and of course it will determine the date of my return.
I feel a bit better, I think that I'm beating this cold of mine - but not quite 100% yet.
I'm doing some good admin work, trying to have everything settled by next week for the period from January to March inclusively. I'm almost there... schedules are done most of them confirmed, next will be invoicing. Cashflow is a good thing.
Training sessions to prepare for my own team, lining-up program content for the winter months... seasonal songs and activities, including Valentine's Day. There will be one session just before the Holidays, and another one on January 9th.
Chug chug chugging along, and trying not to think too much of where I was exactly one year ago...
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Late Fall Weekend
Had a few friends over on Saturday night and made a taco feast. Cochinita pibil, baked rice, beans, guacamole, papas con chorizo, guacamole, pickled onions, pico de gallo... yum! When the time came to get fresh tortillas however, I was appalled to find out that our tortilla provider - La Tortilleria - had none whatsoever! The tortilla machine broke down... leaving the entire city of Toronto without fresh corn tortillas on a Saturday. Hard to believe... there must be another machine in town! So we had to buy a few packages of yesterday's tortillas - and do our best with that. It was okay I guess... after spending the day cooking and preparing the fillings, it was not the perfect outcome I had in mind. Oh well. We still had loads of fun - and everyone had a great evening.
This coming week will be a bit slower for me on the teaching front, I have a 2 week break in one of the schools. I am planning on getting up to date with my paperwork, and hopefully tackle a draft contract for my teachers. I am providing all the equipment and material, and with 4 teachers in daycares (including myself), it represents a fair amount in shakers, bells, scarves, rhythm sticks and other things. I also have to protect my client base of course. It will be interesting to see how it develops with my new teacher in the East end - he has some clients of his own already, and I'm hoping to convince him that it would be advantageous to work only for me and get all the material and training he needs. We'll see.
I have a cold. A bad one unfortunately. I'm trying to avoid a sinus infection by doing daily steam inhalations with oregano oil, I have installed our humidifier in the bedroom, I'm taking Cold FX to boost my immune system, I drink ginger tea, and I'm getting to bed early. I have had a plugged ear for 3 days now... I don't like it one bit... my voice gets weak easily and if I speak or sing too much I get in some serious coughing binges. If I lose my voice, I lose work and money pretty fast. So I'm hoping to keep it in check, and get healthy soon.
Sunday night... and here goes another week!
This coming week will be a bit slower for me on the teaching front, I have a 2 week break in one of the schools. I am planning on getting up to date with my paperwork, and hopefully tackle a draft contract for my teachers. I am providing all the equipment and material, and with 4 teachers in daycares (including myself), it represents a fair amount in shakers, bells, scarves, rhythm sticks and other things. I also have to protect my client base of course. It will be interesting to see how it develops with my new teacher in the East end - he has some clients of his own already, and I'm hoping to convince him that it would be advantageous to work only for me and get all the material and training he needs. We'll see.
I have a cold. A bad one unfortunately. I'm trying to avoid a sinus infection by doing daily steam inhalations with oregano oil, I have installed our humidifier in the bedroom, I'm taking Cold FX to boost my immune system, I drink ginger tea, and I'm getting to bed early. I have had a plugged ear for 3 days now... I don't like it one bit... my voice gets weak easily and if I speak or sing too much I get in some serious coughing binges. If I lose my voice, I lose work and money pretty fast. So I'm hoping to keep it in check, and get healthy soon.
Sunday night... and here goes another week!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
First Snow
First snow, a few flakes for a few minutes on my way home from teaching. And it reminded me that at this date last year, we had just begun our 3 month family escapade to the Yucatan peninsula, and we had just arrived in our little beach house of Xcalak.
Casa Caracola is a great little house, right in the Xcalak National Reef Park (www.casacaracola.com). That's where Tim, Dylan and Léo discovered the beautiful underwater world of the Caribbean - to my absolute delight. One of my favorite moments of the whole trip was when the boys finally decided that they were ready to go out with us on the kayaks, and snorkel around some of the many boulders of reef about half way between the shore and the reef barrier. They had been practicing right in front of the house for a few days, getting used to the snorkelling equipment. So when we got out Tim partnered with Dylan, and I was holding Léo's hand. We got in... he was unsure and worried that he could not touch the bottom... I told him to just hold my hand and let me gently pull him around. Soon enough he started to relax and look around, pointing enthusiastically at each colourful fish, and I could hear his 'ooos' and 'aaahs' through the snorkel... unforgettable moment.
Some day I would like to go back and scuba dive the Chinchorro with the boys. That would be fantastic.
A nice vision of a possible future adventure - but in the meantime we are very much looking forward to spending the Holidays at home this year. As much as I could do without snow pretty much forever, the boys missed it last year and although it was cool to have a Christmas palm tree, there's nothing like the smell of an evergreen in the living room, with the fireplace crackling. Tim would like to make a skating rink in the park again, it will all depend on the weather of course. We're never sure if we will get enough snow to go tobogganing during the Holidays here in Toronto. That's actually the only reason I wish for snowy cold winter weather... so that the children can enjoy and play. I sure remember those outdoor winter times from my own childhood - skating with my sisters, making snow forts, snow ball fights, snow shoe hikes, and the feeling of having snow caught in your sleeve on your wrists, or not feeling your big toe anymore from the cold. I grew-up in Quebec City, Canadian capital of the snow (so say Quebec city people...). I don't remember being cold when playing outside, I only remember having a great time. In that spirit, I hope it will be a white Christmas. Cheers!
Casa Caracola is a great little house, right in the Xcalak National Reef Park (www.casacaracola.com). That's where Tim, Dylan and Léo discovered the beautiful underwater world of the Caribbean - to my absolute delight. One of my favorite moments of the whole trip was when the boys finally decided that they were ready to go out with us on the kayaks, and snorkel around some of the many boulders of reef about half way between the shore and the reef barrier. They had been practicing right in front of the house for a few days, getting used to the snorkelling equipment. So when we got out Tim partnered with Dylan, and I was holding Léo's hand. We got in... he was unsure and worried that he could not touch the bottom... I told him to just hold my hand and let me gently pull him around. Soon enough he started to relax and look around, pointing enthusiastically at each colourful fish, and I could hear his 'ooos' and 'aaahs' through the snorkel... unforgettable moment.
Some day I would like to go back and scuba dive the Chinchorro with the boys. That would be fantastic.
A nice vision of a possible future adventure - but in the meantime we are very much looking forward to spending the Holidays at home this year. As much as I could do without snow pretty much forever, the boys missed it last year and although it was cool to have a Christmas palm tree, there's nothing like the smell of an evergreen in the living room, with the fireplace crackling. Tim would like to make a skating rink in the park again, it will all depend on the weather of course. We're never sure if we will get enough snow to go tobogganing during the Holidays here in Toronto. That's actually the only reason I wish for snowy cold winter weather... so that the children can enjoy and play. I sure remember those outdoor winter times from my own childhood - skating with my sisters, making snow forts, snow ball fights, snow shoe hikes, and the feeling of having snow caught in your sleeve on your wrists, or not feeling your big toe anymore from the cold. I grew-up in Quebec City, Canadian capital of the snow (so say Quebec city people...). I don't remember being cold when playing outside, I only remember having a great time. In that spirit, I hope it will be a white Christmas. Cheers!
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