Girls Day

My daughter Skyla and I had a Girls Day yesterday! We started with lunch at Strano's in the Market, followed by a movie 'Confession's of a Shopaholic"...(very fun and funny, a total chick flick!), then a walk through "The Arts Project" Gallery, and then to Sweet Cakes for a cup cake and The Chocolaterie Forrat for some gourmet chocolate! A great girl day indeed!

I Survived A Whole Month Back At Work!

Time flies! I can't believe that I completed a whole month of work! I am an old pro now! These were the highlights of a working stiff this past week:

• I was asked to utilize my other skill...(Photography). It is always a great joy when I get to break out my camera! I was asked to take photos of my co-workers for a booklet that the agency is producing which introduces all of the employees. I had fun! It was like an episode of Americas Next Top Model for some who enjoy photgraphs being taken and for others it was like taking their mug shot...but they were all good natured about the whole thing! The end results were good and there were many compliments, people commenting that they liked their photos!...and I even had a few people asking what my fees are interested in booking me for future photo sessions! I am not sure that that is a route I want to go down...I prefer to take photos of things I enjoy and then making art with them...but we will see.
• I took a Resume Writing Workshop to update my Resume and I have one of the Counsellors reviewing my new Resume. I was surprised at how after only 3 meetings with me, she decided that my new Resume does not have enough Pizzazz! She stated that I am far too funky and unique and that I stand out in a crowd and that my Resume needs to do that as well! I think that I will take that as a compliment...but I still find it funny that even when I try to belnd it, I still somehow manage to be dubbed the Funky one!

I Survived Week Three of Work!

Three weeks down...49 to go!

Highlights of the week:

I was sent to facilitate at an agency that works with long term mentally ill out patients. I was there to help them with computer lessons. What a blast I had! I was very busy with back to back clients all of whom I liked very much!

• First up was J....he needed step by step instructions on how to access the Internet. J is a severe Schizophrenic and has a hard time concentrating on one topic and therefore has learned to talk and read very quickly. We surfed, You Tube Videos, Make Your Own Word Searches, The Weather for the week, London, England's weather, Who built the London Life Tower, dogs, more specifically Cocker Spaniel dogs, The Oakland Raiders, Food Basics online flyer, A Channel News, America's Next Top Model, and a few I can't remember, in 3 minute increments, reading each page at warp speeds. It was like Speed Surfing! What fun!


• Next up was P...he is pretty proficient with a computer but likes to print things and needs help with this. P has severe OCD, and a need for things to be neat and orderly and precise and printed out! We printed out each of his emails that he received just in case he lost the ones he saved on the computer and then, he printed out by hand and with the precision of a printer itself....the email addresses and names of the people he received emails from...just in case he lost the computer copies and the printed copies of the emails. Then, we re-arranged the mouse pad several times, the chair several times, and the printer several times. What a fun guy!


• Then came D....he was very excited over the purchase of a new digital camera and wanted to know how to take 3 pictures he had taken off of it, and how to print them off. I was excited too as cameras and photo taking is one of my hobbies as well! Once we mastered the art of using the camera we moved on to more serious matters...playing Spider! D is extremely good at this game and makes his own sound effects to go along with it!


• Finally there was R....who showed up in the midst of a winter storm wearing shorts! and boots and a winter coat! He informed me he does not like to wear pants as he does not like the way they feel on his legs! Our whole session was about finding recipes and cutting them and pasting them into Google Folders. R informed me he does not cook, he just likes the Recipes! On that day he was on a quest for Rancher recipes...some of which I told him sounded like road kill to me...which he got a big kick out of!

Here is the Recipe for Mouse Pie!

Hardship Recipes

Mouse Pie
5 fat field mice
1 cup macaroni
1/2 thinly sliced medium onion
1 medium can tomatoes
1 cup cracker crumbs
salt and pepper
Boil macaroni 10 minutes. While it is cooking, fry the field mice long enough to fry out some of the excess fat. Grease a casserole with some of this fat and put a layer of macaroni on it. Add onions, then tomatoes, salt and pepper well. Add field mice and cover with remaining macaroni. Sprinkle the top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees about 20 minutes or until mice are well done. (Don't have any field mice? You could use 10 little sausages)

Sick Mom

My mom is not well...she was rushed to emergency today and they thought she had a stroke. They are keeping her in for observation, but are now saying it wasn't a stroke but they are keeping an eye on her heart.

She lives in Mississippi....I live in Ontario, Canada......not being there for her right now is breaking my heart.

UPDATE: My mom is back home and feeling somewhat better. They believe that she may have had contact with Salmonella poisoning possibly through the tainted peanut butter scare in the US. She is still weak, but getting her rest.

I survived Work Week #2

Week number 2 of a 52 week contract completed....just 50 more weeks to go!
Highlights of the week are as follows:

• I attended a day long Resume Writing Workshop and discovered that my current Resume is very out dated. Did you know it is considered taboo to use a hotmail account as your contact email address now...gmail is suggested for these parts.
• I work in a very multi cultural work place and it seems the topic of conversation this week revolved around last names. I was told that most Colombian children are given both their mother and fathers last names at birth. Many people from China only use one name....and their last name often comes from the village they reside in...kind of like Jesus (of Nazareth). My Zambian co-worker told me that in his country the father chooses the first born childs name and it is tradition to have the fathers first name added to the name.
• Getting to know my co-workers and I am actually really liking them all! This is a good sign!

Wiarton Willie

Tomorrow February 2ND we celebrate Ground Hog day! Good Ol' Wiarton Willie will be coming out and looking for his shadow....if he sees it or if he doesn't is an indicator of how many more weeks of winter we have....

Given the crazy cold and snowy winter we have had...Wiarton Willie...you better have some good news, or else!

Check it out here

Survived My First Week On The Job!

I did it....one week down in a 52 week contract! Here are the highlights of my week:

• I was overseeing a computer lab in a very public Market....an older scruffy looking man was in working on his Resume and doing Job Search. At the end of his session, he was talking with me and during the conversation pulled out a bottle of Olive Oil and promptly took two big swigs! I was so surprised i didn't mutter a word....I am thinking that it had to be something other than olive oil in that bottle...cheeky bugger!
• I was brought in for training in a G.E.D. Lab. It is here that people who have not earned their high school certificates, can write a test to receive their General Education Diploma. They must first brush up on their skills including math, English, science, history and geography. I just learned that I will be tutoring them in all of these subjects including..."gulp"....math! My worst nightmare. Looks like I have to brush up on my algebra, quadratic equations, geometry, and more!
• My first week, and my department hosted the big Staff Meeting this week....it went well, we showed a Power Point Presentation introducing our department to the rest of the staff and agencies we deal with. We also made treats! I made my specialty...cupcakes, but kept them toned down...lemon cupcakes with chocolate frosting and only a bit of purple colored sugar!
• One of the groups that I facilitate is in the old Psychiatric hospital which is still a psychiatric hospital today but used only for out patients and the severe/criminally insane! My computer lab is in the basement in a dimly lit old water works room....very creepy, we are talking stuff you find in horror movies!
• Some of my other groups are in...an old age home, a woman's shelter, a public computer lab, the GED lab, an employment centre, a library, and soon a hospital.
• I have joined the 25Th anniversary committee of my place of employment. I made a list of ideas to celebrate the anniversary and presented it at our first meeting, and was told by one of them later that I shocked them all...they said they were not used to people in my position (work position) being so eager and prepared!
• I volunteered for front desk training to help when the receptionist needs a break...it was another worst nightmare...I lost track of how many phone lines there are...I have a fear of phones!
• One of my co-workers is fond of puns....someone sent me an email this week full of puns and I printed them off and gave them to him as a surprise...he emailed them to the rest of my co-workers and added some to our Power Point Presentation under my name! I am now known as the pun person and I don't even particularly like puns! LOL!

New Job!

One of my New Years Goals for 2009 has come true. I just got word that I have a new job, I may even be starting as early as Monday! Here are the specs...

TITLE: Group Facilitator

EMPLOYER: An Employment Agency

HOURS: 35 per week (a little more than I had hoped for), Mon-Fri, 9-5.

OTHER: Contract position, no more than 52 weeks, with chance of being placed in another area.

Touched By An Angel

There are a few blogs that I like to keep track of mainly for their artiness and inspiration. One of the Blogs I read by Inspireco, has really moved me beyond words these past couple of days. She has shared with her readers in 5 chapters, the story of a foster child that touched hers and her husbands lives. Please read it as I am sure it will touch your soul as it has touched mine.

http://inspireco.blogspot.com/

Hello!

Thanks for dropping by! I am still in the midst of setting things up, but check back daily and you will soon find something new! Check this page for postings on: My Wish List, Birthdays, Special Events, Me The Mom, Bi-Polar Mania, Blasts From The Past, My Besties, Life Lessons, and Seeking The Spiritual Path. (Click on the title to link to the main page of Over The Wall)