meet Janice

After reading her interview ovet at Kim's,

I think you'll agree with me that Janice is a very interesting lady.

Enjoy!

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Thank you all so much for your supportive comments about my husband.

He's got an appointment at the neurology section of the hospital tomorrow and we'll take it from there.

My son has a bad cough now and I'm praying for spring to hurry; not possible, I know!

So sorry I haven't been leaving you notes, though I've been reading your posts.

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Have a great Sunday!

(and don't forget to read the interview)

meet Kim

(image via)

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Interested in getting to know a lovely lady?

Yea, I thought you would be.

Pop over at Jabblog's to read her interview.

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My son is getting better but I can't send him to school yet so I've taken today and tomorrow off. Thanks for all the comments and 'get well' wishes for him. I do appreciate them.

Hope we're both back at school on Wednesday.

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Have a lovely week!

me

if you're interested in getting to know me a little better

stop by Erin's lovely blog.

i'm off to work now.

take care!

xxx

Interview with Erin

Hello, hello!

Come in and make yourself at home!

Today you're going to meet my lovely interview partner, Erin.
Apologies for the delay in posting this; I know I told everyone who's participating to try and do it before the holidays but we have both been extremely busy lately.

Now, if everyone's ready, let's welcome Erin.

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-Welcome Erin! Please tell us, which part of the world do you call home?
I live in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada. I grew up here, beside the Pacific Ocean, with snow-capped mountains all around. I'm so lucky! Come visit me at Pughs' News to read more about my life here.

(Erin and her boys in London this summer)

(Erin enjoying a glass of wine outdoors)

-What do most of your weekdays look like?
I get up way too early every morning, and somehow manage to get everyone organized, dressed, fed and out the door on time, including me (only problem is, I often forget to feed myself!) I drop my husband off at the bus stop, my little one at his preschool and then take my older son to kindergarten. He goes to the school where I teach, so once he's at school, I'm at work too (I work three days a week). Isn't that handy? Once in a while, we have enough time to drive through Starbucks and pick up a latte that I'll drink at my desk. Those are the really great days! I get to relax a bit while I'm in my library, but at 3:30 or 4, I'm in the van and on the go again, running errands, picking kids up, and heading home to make dinner and get a fire going (it gets awfully chilly here in the winter!) I try to read with the kids, and do art activities with them before or after dinner. Then it's time for baths, pajamas and several bedtime stories. My husband gets home around this time and helps me tuck the kids into bed. Then I head for the gym (3 nights a week). I'm usually there for an hour, and then I head back home to have a shower and start packing backpacks and lunches for the next day. When all that's done, I sit down with a cup of tea and try to write on my blog for a bit, write a letter, or maybe read a book or watch a tv show with my husband. Needless to say, I go to bed way too late every night...

(Erin and her husband)

- As I've told you before, I love your job as a school librarian. What do you like most about it?
I think my favourite part is shopping for books! There's nothing better than spending the afternoon in the bookstore, picking out stacks of wonderful children's books, and then charging them to someone else's account! I also really love the excitement on the kids' faces when they see a title arrive on my "New Books" display shelf that they've been waiting for!


-Which are some of your favourite children's books?
Growing up I loved the Betsy-Tacy series, Anne of Green Gables, the Narnia books, A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. I still love all of them, and can now add Harry Potter to my list. Children's books are still my favourite kind of books to read.

- What are you reading these days? Can you recommend a couple of books you've really enjoyed?
Right now I'm reading The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. It's a strange story, but I'm really enjoying it. I just finished The Hunger Games Trilogy. It was intense, and rather disturbing, but I couldn't put it down. Next up I'll be re-reading Water for Elephants, for my book club. A few books I always recommend are And God Created the Au Pair (hilarious!) and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (lovely historical novel). Both are written in the form of letters. I love letters!

( Parliament buildings in dowtown Victoria)

-How do you usually spend your weekends? What are some of the things you do as a family?
We go grocery shopping as a family every weekend. We work out in the yard (we have a big garden), and try to catch up on a few household chores. We like to take walks and go for bike rides. The four of us usually go to Starbucks on Saturday evening for a drink and a treat.
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-How does your family celebrate Christmas? Any traditions you'd like to share?
We love Christmas! We celebrate with lots of lights and decorations, baking of traditional treats (like gingerbread men and shortbread cookies, chocolate rumballs and butter tarts) and getting together with family and friends. Christmas dinner is always an enormous extravaganza with at least 20 people! My sister does a movie night at her house where her husband projects a classic like White Christmas or It's a Wonderful Life (my all-time favourite feel-good film!) onto a big screen. We eat popcorn and goodies and get all weepy and sentimental. It's great. On Christmas Eve, we sing carols loudly, with the windows open, so the elves can hear how festive we are and toss candies into the room. It is a completely magical time of the year. I adore it.

(Her little boy on the beach)

Thank you so much Erin; it was great getting to know you a little better; and thank you for all the beautiful pictures.

~~~~~~~~

I think if I ever get tired of teaching, I may become a reporter; this was such fun!

xxx

my today and ... finally ... interview partners

~ after school fun by the river ~

~ a healthy meal of lentil soup and lettuce salad ~

~ oatmeal cookies; yum! ~

~ quiet time with pre-school maths (drawing mostly) and crochet ~
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ok, ladies. I've got your interview partners ready (with the help of little slips of paper with our names on).

first of all, please accept my apologies for the delay;

after the whirlwind of the past two weeks, life has found a rhythm again.

now, I won't say who will be interviewing whom here;

I'll e-mail all the info you need

(if I don't have your e-mail, I'll leave you a comment).

some general guidelines:

~ it would be preferable if we could do it before the holidays.

~ you may arrange the interviews however you like; exchange e-mails and form your own rules as to who will ask the questions first, what the questions will revolve around and so on. if your partner is only interested in only one part of the interview, I could do the other one.

~ a little card swap would be nice but again it's up to you to decide.

~ together with your answers to your partner's questions, you may attach photos - maybe ones that appeared on your blog, or anything else you consider relevant; this way we'll get to know you better

~of course, you need to post the interviews on your blogs for everyone to read; if you don't have a blog, I can post it for you.

~ let me know when you've posted an interview so I can add a link.

I think that covers it!

thanks for playing along!

apart from my partner, I'll be glad to be interviewed by anyone else who's interested in my little existence.

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ok, then!

let the fun begin!

I can't wait to hear from you!

xxx