June in Winnipeg

According to Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, there is supporting research that happier people perform 31% more productively than at negative, neutral or stressed. And so, since it is June, the end of the school year when report cards are due, which unfortunately causes me undo stress and anxiety because I never feel like I've quite accomplished enough with my students, I am jumping back into this blog to showcase this month's highlights to remind myself that I am blessed with friendships, family and the boyfriend who all currently surround me in my community.

Here is the bf, biking with me in the rain in Grand Beach. I am grateful for him and our adventures. 

This season I am playing on two ultimate teams, Lord of the Swings on Tuesdays, and Top Gun on Wednesdays. Although I’m not great at throwing to a moving target under pressure (something I need to learn!!) I’m okay at zoning, catching and being part of a team. I’m having fun playing! This week will be my last one in Winnipeg before I head to Squamish as I usually do for July & August to bike and kite and play in the mountains!

[Picture to come...]

Despite this end-of-year marking and these report cards, I’m loving being a Home Economics teacher! What a great career switch this has been for me! My students are for the most part engaged, I get to have stimulating conversations with them about life while they cook, I get to bestow an important skill on them, I don’t have too much marking to do, it’s a subject about which I’m passionate, and I get to teach it in French, which is important to me since it’s my maternal tongue. Lastly, I love working in an intellectual environment, and seeing first hand what’s happening with our future generations, what my students deem important, and how they are growing. Here are two of my students making pasta from scratch for our Food & Nutrition class in the fall.

Earlier this month, we celebrated Mae's birthday at Oxbow. I am grateful for these ladies always celebrating each of our birthdays without fail!

On Father's Day, and I went to Lorette for a fabulous roast beef dinner. Cheers to celebrating my dad who loves me and shows me by a multitude acts of services. Even on the Monday after Father's day, he drove me to work so that he could bring my van into the shop to possibly get air conditioning installed before I head out to Squamish. Unfortunately, the trusty Toyota Sienne van at 420 00 km needs to be retired rather than fixed, so I best look for a new one before I drive off to BC.

This past Tuesday, my book club met up to chat about the Subtle Art of not giving a f*ck... although not everyone loved nor even finished the book, I quite enjoyed some of the gems I picked up from my reading, though I will finish it completely before I write about that. Maybe I'll mention it in my practically-nonexistent "Books" blog.

Cheers to community, playing, growing and doing work that's worthwhile. 

All in a week

My perfect week includes…

…rejuvenation in good sleep

…nourishment in planned, mindful meals

…satisfaction in work well done

…peacefulness in organized spaces

…gratification in getting tasks accomplished

…health in active living

…love in friendships

…restoration through meditation

…gratitude in God

…intellectual feeding through reading & learning

…discipline in creating habits & achieving my goals.

I had a fun weekend attending a yoga class with Rachelle & Dina Friday night then we met up with Makaela & Krista for drinks and snacks. Saturday Elise, Caroline & I went for an xc bike ride at Grand Beach and the trails were in perfect condition! We went to Roxi's for nachos & beer to celebrate a solid ride. Sunday I went rock climbing with Dina, then went again with Elise on Monday. Now I just need to sleep longer, eat healthier, work smarter, clean better, pray more, and read the Book of Negros for my book club happening at the end of this month.

January 2017

I hate dating. But apparently it's our current culture's way of attempting to find the right match. And so, I'm dating a boy from BC. And lucky for me, I celebrated the beginning of the new year with him kiteboarding in Mexico. Here are some highlights of my trip!

We had great wind!

We played a lot of chess!

We made new friends and went swimming with whale sharks in the ocean. Swimming with sharks! Seriously!

We were grateful we were able to kite in La Ventana to ring in the new year.

Father's Day Marathon

One of my highlights from this week includes running the first leg of the Father's Day Manitoba Marathon relay with coworkers from the school (Louis-Riel) at which I currently teach. I ran the 9.5 km leg with my favourite Teacher's Assistant ever, Normand. Here's a picture of me post-race:

Afterward I went out with Stephen for a wonderful lunch at Saffron's where my former Miles Mac student served us in both French and English. I must be doing something right in my career :) 

Other highlights from this week include rock climbing with Elise, Becki & Stephen, and visiting Nikita's new super cute kitten! I'm a sucker for kittens.

Rockclimbing, Date, Shower, Book Club, Garden.

A few highlights from my week:

Thursday evening I went rock climbing with my hairstylist roommate Jessica, as well as my Edge friend Anna. I'm enjoying this sport more and more, and am really hoping to have a chance to do it outside this summer!  Here's a photo stolen from Jessica's snapchat of me scaling up on the wall. I've been enjoying finding more friends with whom to do physical activities! Combining social activities with physical ones is my favourite way of spending time :)

Friday night I went on a date at the Palm Room at the Fort Garry Hotel. I was so nervous getting ready for it. What to wear? I texted Manon and Rachelle some outfits to get a second opinion. I decided on a black dress. Would I bike there? I was starting to run late. Where was my eyeliner? I was out of perfume. Dang, and then I was late leaving my place. Driving it was. Aye aye. Getting ready might not have gone smoothly, but the date did. We chatted from 7 pm to midnight while sipping on a bottle of white wine, listening to a piano player and a singer in the background. Surely a second date will ensue.

This week I was privileged to celebrate my dear friend Tiffany's Saturday morning Brunch Wedding Shower! I'm excited to be in her wedding party on August 29th this summer! Before the shower on Saturday morning, I woke up at 7:30am (too early, particularly after going out on a date Friday night) to make some gluten-free quiches that people seemed to have enjoyed! I'm grateful to have become a better cook since I've started teaching Home Ec this past school year.

Sunday Elise and I went rock climbing in the morning, and then I went to my afternoon Book Club Luncheon. Sophia hosted and made a fabulous meal while we discussed East of Eden, one of my new favourite books! It portrays humanity at its best and at its worst. It perfectly depicts the struggle between good and evil. One of the main characters studies in detail the story of Cain & Abel in Genesis. Despite Cain killing Abel, God redeemed him and allowed the rest of humanity to be born from him. Redemption and protection. The character further analyses Genesis 4:7, even learning Hebrew to fully grasp it. He learns that the Hebrew word "timshel" translates to "thou mayest" and concludes that despite our sinful nature, we always have a choice to choose to rule over sin. It's beautiful! What I love most about this book is the human moments and interactions detailed in it.

Sunday evening I started planting my garden with the help of my old tenant the arborist Ivan. Planting seeds in the ground and having plants that I can eat come from that BLOWS MY MIND! It's wonderful! Thanks God.

Sunday blog day!

I've repeated myself numerous times in wishing I would blog more. Blog to remember. Blog to acknowledge the beauty in my life. Blog to practice writing. Blog to slow myself down and notice the moments. Because small moments accumulate to a life spent. I've been kidding myself in thinking that I'll actually make time to blog daily, so I've decided to take some time Sunday evenings to mention a few of the highlights of my week instead.

Let's start with today! I have adventurous & spontaneous friends! Hoj, Brendon, Jadyn, Kyle, Anna, Meghan, Meg, Christina, Luke, Pan, Phil & I met up at a quarry. Apparently the "Private Property, No Trespassing" sign didn't deter the three dozen or so people (including my friends & I) who showed up to enjoy the beautiful sunny day with a cool refreshing (i.e. freezing cold!) dip in the well hidden somewhat secret limestone water hole not too far from Birds Hill Park. Winnipeg has been a bit bipolar with its weather this month... this weekend being plus thirties compared to a snowy May long weekend only seven days ago.

Photo creds to Jadyn for this first pic. 

I, along with Kyle & Brendon, are watching Hoj backflip off the rocks.

Yesterday I spent an enjoyable evening dining in Lorette to celebrate my great Uncle Marcel's 94th birthday party! I'm inspired by him in his consumption of knowledge and books! All the reading he does on a daily basis surely contributes to his astute and sharp mind. He even taught himself to speak Spanish at the age of 60 years old! #neverletyourmindwither  An old friend (and third cousin) Brianne showed up at the party since she lives in Lorette now. She was my best friend in high school. We have both changed and gone our separate ways, but it is nonetheless rich to catch up with old friends when we get the chance.

Another highlight includes my cat bringing me my first present. I love her so much!

Gratitude & yoga

I just read this article about 7 things healthy people do before bed. One is keeping a gratitude journal. Thus tonight I write to say that I am grateful for yoga! I went to a Moksha Yoga class with my friend Sarah this evening, and it was just want I needed. A couple days ago, a friend asked me my opinion on the greatest benefit of yoga, which I responded to without hesitation as being the breath. Deep breathing in and out during a yoga practice is incredibly powerful. We all need to breath deeper and slow down a little in our lives. Even Genesis indicates the importance of the breath: "the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (2:7). Without that God-breath, we are mere dust.

Speaking of yoga, just a little over a year ago I completely my 200 hours of yoga certification. Although some Christians might see a discombobulation between yoga and religion, I see it as an amazing addition to my faith. Through my three incredibly intensive and life-changing weeks at "yoga camp" during the fall of 2013, I learned to be grateful for the breath of life. Whether I experience heart-shattering moments, or whether I experience awe-inspiring moments, I am grateful to be and to breath this human experience.