Sunday, June 13, 2010

Crazy or Calm?

June is a crazy month for teachers here. I know some schools have already started summer vacation, but we don't start ours until July 1st. It's really not that far away, but it feels like light years right now! Government testing is finally over, but we still have report cards and all the usual year end stuff to do. So, I've not been around as much, and that probably won't change a whole lot until next month.

One side effect of the nuttiness is that I haven't thanked 2 wonderful people for the blog awards they sent my way a week ... or four... ago. *Sigh.* Sorry.

First, the lovely Lisa Gail Green over at Paranormal Point of View awarded me the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thanks so much Lisa Gail. If you haven't been over to her site yet, you've got to visit. She's fun and has the most interesting interviews! :)

The equally lovely Lynn over at Place to Create awarded me the Blogger BFF award. Lynn is another Canadian girl - she lives out in Alberta. You've got to visit Lynn's blog as well. She's a sweetie. She's doing a Creativity Boot Camp that's sure to spark some ideas for you. :)

Thanks again to both of you. I really appreciate you thinking of me.

I haven't passed along awards lately - but I will this time. Again, this time I'm going to choose some blogs/bloggers that are fairly new to me and a few 'old' friends. :)

Charmaine Clancy at Wagging Tales
Stephanie Thornton at Hatshepsut: The Writing of a Novel
Maribeth at Giggles and Guns
Lindsay (aka Isabella) at Adventures in Writing

And, sadly, that's as much linkage as my tired old brain can handle at the moment! If you have some time, please check out these blogs -- they're all a lot of fun. You won't be disappointed!

So, how's your June going? Crazy or calm?



122 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Congrats on your awards and hope your break starts soon!!! July 1st seems a long ways away...

Unknown said...

Congrats on the awards! You're almost there, July 1st is right around the corner! But if you don't get out until July, when does school start back up? O.o

Aubrie said...

Wow, July 1st seems so late! My husband gets out this Friday from his elementary teaching job. Last month was his crazy month! Hang in there. You're almost done!

DL Hammons said...

Congrats on your awards...and to those you've tapped for recognition!

My June....is HOT!! (107 heat index today)

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Congrats on your well deserved awards. Hope July won't take too long for you.

Yvonne.

Jemi Fraser said...

Diane - yes it does!! Thankfully I love my kids... :)

Thanks!

Jemi Fraser said...

Amanda - I know - it seems far, but it's really only a few weeks!

We start back up on the 1st of September usually. So it'll be a nice summer - it just has to get here.

Jemi Fraser said...

Aubrie - thanks!

I think summer vacation schedules depend a lot on weather. I think most schools in my province follow our schedule though.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks DL!

107 is hot! I don't think I could take that.

Jemi Fraser said...

Yvonne - thanks! Yeah, it'll probably zip by, but right now it doesn't seem likely :)

Mason Canyon said...

Congratulations on the awards and thanks for some new links to check out. BTW, you mean the craziness doesn't go on forever? :) Have a great week.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Jemi Fraser said...

Mason - you'll enjoy the links - there are some great people there!

And, yeah, the craziness does always go on - I think I just need a break of a different kind of crazy right now :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations on the awards. And the craziness will pass.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Alex! I sure hope so! :)

Hilary Wagner said...

Congrats, Jemi! C'mon summer! I hope you get to relax soon! ;)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Hilary! Me too - this year it's been so busy, it just can't come quickly enough :)

TerryLynnJohnson said...

Wow, doesn't seem fair you have school until July! I'm sure it will fly by.
June is a crazy month for me so far, turning 40 and reached a goal that I set for myself that I'm burning to announce on my blog (soon)
Congrats on your awards!

Al said...

It's June already?
The whole year seems to have been crazy!
Enjoy your summer break (when it finally arrives).

Christi Goddard said...

Congrats, chickadee. Two well deserved awards.

Laura S. said...

July 1st isn't too far away! It's nearly mid-June already. Where does the time go??? So when does school start again for you then?

Hubby and I are celebrating our 2 year anniversary in a week, yay! Plus there's Father's Day and some birthday festivities coming up. Lots of celebrations this month!

Congrats on your awards!

Jemi Fraser said...

Terry Lynn - okay - that wasn't fair! I'm dying to know what your personal goal was! Hmmm... well, congrats on achieving it - and hope the 40s are a fabulous decade! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Al - I'm so with you! It has flown, but this month... not so much :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Christi! You're a sweetie :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Laura - you're right - the year has flown by. Hard to believe June is almost half done.

We don't go back until Sept 1st, so it'll be a nice summer :)

You've sure got a fun and busy June planned - congrats and enjoy!

Caroline Starr Rose said...

Hang in there, Jemi!

My June is pretty crazy. I'm working on my first-round edits. On Friday we got a contract on our house (hooray!). Lots to keep me busy this month and next.

One day at a time...

Jemi Fraser said...

Caroline - thanks - I'll make it, it's just been a very busy work-filled weekend - again!

You sure do have a busy month! And an exciting one :)

Mary Brebner said...

Hang in there, girl! You'll get there.

Jemi Fraser said...

Mary - I hope so! Two & a half weeks seems like forever today :)

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Super awards! Congratulations, Jemi!!

Alix said...

Ugh I used to hate report cards. Good luck with them and congratulations on the awards.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Carol - I've got some wonderful friends :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Belle - report cards are most definitely NOT one of favourite reasons for being a teacher. And I do love it - I'm just really, really tired! :)

Anonymous said...

Congratuations on your awards, Jemi! :)

Dawn Simon said...

Congrats to you and the other blog award winners! :)

My June is crazy. Good, but crazy.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Sandy :) I've got such nice friends!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Dawn!

'Good, but crazy' - that pretty much sums up my June too. Actually it pretty much sums up my life :)

Buttercup said...

More crazy than calm. Usually the summer is slower, but two of my colleagues are out on medical leave and it will be busier than usual. Still hoping for a few long weekends.

Renae said...

I feel your pain! I can't imagine going to school all of June! At least it's almost over.

Congrats on the awards!

Natasha said...

School reopened today!
We have our Summer Holidays April to June, which are really our hottest months. I personally feel we should have them June to September, so kids don't get wet during the rainy season, but I don't have much say in it, do I?

So relatively calm!

Stephanie Thornton said...

I feel for you- last month was utter insanity for me as school ended. June is much calmer.

You've only got a few weeks to go- you can do it!

Rosalind Adam said...

Well done on getting those awards. I haven't taught for about ten years now but the memory of reports, tidying up loose ends, passing notes on and receiving notes about next year's class etc, etc, still makes my heart feel heavy. Keep your pecker up! (Do they say that there? It's not rude, really!!) It'll soon be the holidays.

Jemi Fraser said...

Buttercup - That does sound busy! Hopefully you can get a bunch of long weekends in!

Jemi Fraser said...

Renae - yup, right now it seems really, really long! Hopefully September will be really, really far away once July comes :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Rayna - nope, no one seems to ask us what we think in these kinds of matters, do they?

Our hot months are usually June - August, so at least we get a couple of them off. We don't have air conditioning at the school of course, so it helps having them off.

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephanie - I'm sure hoping these weeks fly by, I don't remember being quite this tired in other years, and I've got a great group of kids - we have tons of fun!

Jemi Fraser said...

Rosalind - that totally cracked me up! I haven't heard that one before :)

It is a bit crazy the last few weeks, but summer's getting closer!

Lisa Gail Green said...

Aww, I'm glad you liked it and thanks for the link Jemi!

Eric W. Trant said...

Ours are out of school, finally, a week behind the rest of North Texas.

My mom retired and moved to Dallas.

My wife is four months pregnant -- we find out Wednesday if it's a boy or a girl.

I still have my job.

I'm revising another short story for an upcoming anthology, and hoping the same publisher will take on a book and help me REVISE! Even Achilles had his heel, I am discovering my own deepest weakness, just as he did during the heat of battle and not before.

Revision.

A summer of discovery and growth, a harvest, if you're in feeling agrarian.

- Eric

Jean said...

It is getting calmer. Woot! Woot! Yeah!

jmartinlibrary said...

Calm. I have one last week of teaching professional development and then it's all writing, all summer!

Lindsay said...

Congrats on the awards, and thanks for mine. You are too sweet to include me. :)
My June = hectic so far. Which is why I have to say sorry for not getting here sooner.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your awards! Sorry to hear you still have so much to do for the rest of the month. Hopefully you'll be able to take some time to relax, put your feet up and take a deep breath.

Janet Johnson said...

I see you everywhere, I can't believe I wasn't a follower before!

Oversight corrected. :)

Jennifer Shirk said...

It's not crazy yet...but it's gearing up to be crazy. LOL By the end of this week for sure!

Jemi Fraser said...

Lisa Gail - you're so welcome! I hope some 'new to you' folks pop on over :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Eric - I hope everyone is healthy - exciting news about the baby :)

I hope to one day work with an editor - I think that's probably when you learn the most. I think they 'see' the writing in a different way.

Good luck with it all!

Jemi Fraser said...

Jean - calmer is good! Hope you folks enjoy a fun-filled summer :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Jenny - that sounds wonderful! I've got a few PD days after the kids leave, but I'll be on writing duty in July - can't wait! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Lindsay - I completely understand! I usually pop over to the recipients' blogs and give them a heads-up, but I ran out of time! Glad you found it on your own :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Kimberly - taking a deep breath sounds wonderful! And I can probably fit that in... maybe :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Janet - thanks! Nice to 'meet' you! I'll pop on over to your place in a bit :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Jennifer - lucky you! Sometimes the build up is crazier than the actual craziness :) Good luck!

Carolyn Yalin said...

I can't believe June is half over! Life in general can be busy.

Jemi Fraser said...

Carolyn - I agree - this whole year is just flying by!! My life is just the same - always busy, busy, busy. :)

Helen Ginger said...

Thanks for all the links. I'll click over to those I don't know yet. And congratulations on both awards!

Kimberly Franklin said...

Congrats on your awards!! And thanks for mine!!! Also, your school isn't out yet? Crazy!! Happy Summer!

Terry Odell said...

Day job retirement has its rewards. No real difference in days, weeks, or months.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the awards to everyone, I'll be checking out some of these sights definitely.

Also, thank you, Jemi, for your comments on some of my blog posts. I really do appreciate your thoughts and kind words.

As for how my June is going, it's getting hotter and hotter in California, but somehow I think I'll survive the heat. Plus, I'm also graduating this week. So, I'm free!

Write on, Jemi!

Jemi Fraser said...

Helen - thanks! You'll enjoy the links - they're great people :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Kimberly - you're so welcome! :)

Two and a half weeks to go seems long, but if they fly by like today did, it'll be fast!

WritingNut said...

Jemi - congratulations on the awards! They are very well deserved! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Terry - hmmm, sounds dreamy! I do love my day job (a lot!) but having more time would be an amazing experience.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Vatche!

I hope you enjoy visiting some of my other blog friends :)

Congrats on graduating! That's a huge step - good for you.

I don't know how you survive the Californian heat - it would drive me batty!

Jemi Fraser said...

WN - thanks so much - you're a sweetie! :)

Lola Sharp said...

CONGRATS on your well deserved awards, my friend.

As for me...CRAZY!!!

Those of us with kids still in school/finals/dance recitals , it is insanity. (we had a lot of snow days this year, so my kids high school has their last day on the 23rd) I call this time of year: The crazy before the calm.
The countdown until lazy summer days and sleeping-in-mornings has begun. T minus 8.

Why does summer always seem to fly by so fast?

Jemi Fraser said...

Lola - I'm going to make that my mantra for the next couple of weeks -- the crazy before the calm, the crazy before the calm...

We don't have snowdays - and we're in Northern Ontario. We did cancel the buses one day this year, but teachers are expected to always be there and the schools are always open. I've only had 3 or 4 snow days in my entire career. So at least we never have to extend the year. :)

Anne Spollen said...

Kids here go to June 25, so we're not far behind - and June is absolutely nuts here! It's more like the two weeks before Christmas.

Just keep thinking how all this craziness will make summer all that much sweeter.

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

Congrats on your blog awards. Summer is just around the corner. Hang in there. :0)

Charmaine Clancy said...

Aww shucks Jemi - THANKS! I had a bit of busy week with school and only just got around to checking out my friends' blogs today - glad I did!

Jemi Fraser said...

Anne - so glad to hear someone else goes into late June - I hadn't realized how different all the schedules were!

I'm hanging on to your thought that summer will be all the sweeter for the amount of craziness now! Thanks :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Kathi!

It is close - and getting closer every day :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Charmaine - you're so welcome! I didn't even have time to get to the blogs of people I've passed the award along to - it's been crazy. Glad you had time to pop by! :)

Talli Roland said...

Yippee! Thanks so much, Jemi. I love awards! And congrats on yours. My June has been fairly crazy so far - but it might calm down a bit towards the end! Good luck with the last days.

Theresa Milstein said...

It's crazy for parents and teachers this time of year. There's so much going on at the schools. One more week - I can't wait! Good luck finishing school.

Jemi Fraser said...

Talli - you're so very welcome!

Thanks - I'm hoping mine will calm down a bit too. Everyone is pretty much ready for summer - more than ready :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Theresa - hope your year finishes off well as well. It can be such a nutty time of year - and all the nuttitness is in fine form this year :)

Arlee Bird said...

June has been pretty laid back so far. My wife's school year ends with the students this week and she's pretty excited about it. I'm of mixed feelings though.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Jemi Fraser said...

Lee - I bet your wife's excited! She should be - there's nothing quite like that first day of just breathing! :)

Helen Ginger said...

Congrats on the awards. More blogs to visit. Yay!

Jemi Fraser said...

Helen - thanks :)

They are some great people - enjoy the visits!

notesfromnadir said...

Yay for Talli getting an award. I always enjoy her posts. Will check out the other bloggers a bit later.

I laughed when I saw the words 'report cards' as I can't recall the last time I've had one of those!

Hope June is going well for you! :)

Anne Tyler Lord said...

Holy Cow! July 1st is the last day of SCHOOL! I have never heard of an end date that late!

My June is crazy and going by really fast! The kids are home & I want to do so many things with them, pick up on doing more writing, get out to enjoy the weather and try to prepare to go back to work very soon. I feel like summer is clamping down on me, I need more days!

I hope you get some summer break with that late end date.

Jemi Fraser said...

Lisa - Talli is awesome! - so are the others - I hope you have some time to visit a few of them.

Thanks - I hope report cards are done soon and summer zooms right along the way!

Jemi Fraser said...

Anne - Actually the first day of holidays is July 1st - but one day isn't going to make a difference either way!

I'm really hoping to get a lot of writing done this summer - my brain's been banking up ideas - hopefully they don't disappear before then :)

Unknown said...

Well good luck pushing through till July 1st!!!

Good luck getting some great writing done as well, I can't wait until I'm a teacher and have the summers to write, it would a dream come true!

Congrats on the awards! Well deserved!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Jen - it seems like we're all in countdown mode at school - staff & kids alike :)

I'm hoping to do a lot of writing this summer - but sometimes life & the family get to come first :)

Anonymous said...

wow, your a great blogger,... grats.. keep it up..

erica m. chapman said...

Congrats on the awards!! June has been pretty crazy. I am getting a lot of writing/revising done! Hope June is going great for you ;o)

Shannon said...

Aww thank you Jemi. Made me feel all squishy inside!! :)

Jessica Bell said...

Congrats on the awards! Wow, 100 comments! You have quite a following! And you deserve it ;o)

Jemi Fraser said...

Jesson - thanks - what a nice thing to say! Thanks for stopping by :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Erica - sounds like a good plan - busy, but getting a lot of revising/writing done - I hope that's my July :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Shannon - you're so welcome! And squishy is good :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Jessica - thanks so much :) I do have a lot of awesome friends!

Erinn said...

Hi! I just found your blog today.
I"m a teacher too. I teach middle school and we end our school year on Friday---grades were due last friday and now all the teachers are playing the "How do we keep kids busy until the bell rings on Friday the 18" Game.

It's always an emotional time of year for me, because I teach 8th grade and most of my students I'll never see again. They'll go off to high school and I'll be a faded memory. Sniff.

This year is super crazy because I set a goal for myself to finish my WIP by June 23. I've got 43K and I'm hoping to get 50K done.
I also can't seem to focus at all.
Maybe because I"m spending so much time blogging and commenting on blogs. :-)

I'm off to follow your blog now.

Anonymous said...

Crazy. Don't feel like going into details as that will only frustrate me. But I'm slowly pluggin along and getting things done.

Stephen Tremp

Beth Zimmerman said...

My goodness Jemi! My son finished finals at the first of May (college) and public schools were out a couple of weeks later. Of course we do start back in mid-August. Hard for me to imagine school going through ALL of June! I'd be going stir-crazy!

Jemi Fraser said...

Hi Erinn - so nice to 'meet' you! I taught grade 8 for several years - it's so emotional on the last few days! Sometimes the kids don't even want to leave! They'll love it after the first few days of September, but right now high school is scary!

I don't set goals for my writing just because life is too crazy - especially this time of year!

Thanks so much for dropping by - I'll pop over to your place in a bit :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephen - Sounds like you're going through a tough month. Hopefully things look up for you soon. I'll cross my fingers for you.

Jemi Fraser said...

Beth - that's me - going stir crazy!! :)

Actually the kids are great and we're doing lots of interesting stuff - it's just that I'm totally exhausted at this point!

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

JEMI ~
You posted the following on Alex's blog:
--> "I think the Doobie Brothers have a lot of great driving songs from way back too."

Well, you're right, of course. And one of their songs DID make my Top Ten Driving Songs list. But can you guess which one?

~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens

Lydia Kang said...

My June is going crazy! Kids are home, it's hot, and I can't seem to find the time to write...but still, I need to stop complaining, because it's summer, after all!

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephen - hmmm... I'm not gonna cheat - I'm going to guess & then I'll go check!

Listen to the Music - how can you not sing along with it? :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Lydia - you're right - sometimes it's harder to write in the summer when the kids are out and it's supposed to be relaxing :) I hope to get at least some done!

Roxy said...

Congratulations on the awards, Jemi. You deserve recognition! I enjoy your blog so much. June is going too fast. Hope you find some peaceful time amidst the craziness.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Roxy - you're such a sweetie!

June is flying along - or maybe I'm just getting older :)

Susan Fields said...

Congrats on your awards, and good luck getting through the rest of this crazy month!

Jemi Fraser said...

Susan - thanks!! I feel like I can see the finish line now!! :)

Mari said...

Crazy, so crazy that I'm super late for your post, sorry?

I hope all the things I'm doing will pay off soon though, heh.

Teachers can't wait for the summer vacations either, eh? lol Hang on dear! In a few weeks you'll share a relieved sigh with your students. ;)

Jemi Fraser said...

Mari - don't worry about it - we're all so busy, it's hard to keep up. :)

The kids always think it's weird that we teachers are so excited as they are for vacations. They have no idea!

Anonymous said...

Now that you've mentioned it Jemi, it has been an insane month! Just hang in there July 1st is just around the corner.

Thanks for posting the links - can't wait to check them out!

Jemi Fraser said...

Layna - it's getting closer all the time. I love my job, love my kids, but I'm soooooo ready for a holiday right now :)

Enjoy the links!