Moaning Monday

There was definitely lots of moaning this morning when I realized I had to get up for work:(

Teaching:

The day went fine and was pretty productive. This week my students are creating castles that they are in when they are at their desks. It was cool to see how excited they were!

We got through a journal, an activity on adding ‘ed’, an introduction to graphing, and some prodigy and RAZ Kids.

Not a bad day all in all, though the twenty minute staff meeting about nothing at the end was not a great ending:(

Exercise:

I got home just in time to go for a run with Sarah around the local river. I’ve really started enjoying these slower runs now that I’ve seen that they seem to help my running on the other days. I just wish they were at least 5km long so it would keep my mileage up!

I came home and did a BeFitDavis workout too. I had to change a couple of moves, but really liked that I got to use my Bosu ball. I did four sets of: upright rows on the bosu, lay pulldowns with a band, leg raises, squats on the bosu, pushups on the bosu, Russian twists and full weighted sit-ups.

I am trying to pay more attention to see if I’m gaining definition anywhere. I haven’t seen any yet, but I keep hoping!

Movie:

Since I went to work today, I got to watch a hallmark movie. Tonight’s movie was Matching Hearts. It was really cute, but that might be because I’m a sucker for animals.

Well I’m off to bed.

Have fun!

AJ

A Wasted Day

My mom is in town and I didn’t even get to see her today:( A waste of a day!

Exercise:

I met up with Dennis this morning, but neither of us was feeling a run. Thankfully there were two of us so we went anyways. It was almost exactly three kilometers before my legs eased up. The last kilometer downhill was my favourite!

That was unfortunately my only exercise today:(

Teaching:

I spent all five hours checking work today! It was insane how much I had to check after not being able to check for three days.

Knitting:

While my cousin was here replacing my leaky faucet I finally started another knitting project. I had a single ball of yarn hanging around and while my mom thought I should put it with something else to make a bigger project, I decided I really just wanted a toque out of it. I am trying out Joji Locatelli’s A Little Lonely Cable, a free pattern on Ravelry.

Toe up socks will be next I think:)

Movie:

I needed cheering up after not seeing my mom so I watched another Hallmark movie tonight. Nature of Love was very cute!

Have fun!

AJ

Friday Eve Finally

Well I can’t even remember if today was good or bad, it was just tiring!

Teaching:

We got through a lesson on adding ing today and while the children got it during the lesson, the worksheet seemed to confuse them. I may try to get some time tomorrow to tackle it as a class.

We got a math drill done and three of my grade ones are now regularly getting all twenty five questions done in the minute. Of course, there’s a range because I have students who also only get one question done in a minute.

While the children went to library I ran around like a headless chicken getting stuff ready for next week. It’s going to be quite the week!

This afternoon we finished our polar bear art and while I would love to show it to you, once again I am out of media memory on here😖😖😖🙄

After school Liane and I ran Bookclub because Robyn the teacher who usually takes the lead is away sick. I always enjoy Bookclub with the kids and there was some good discussion around autism and service animals. Sometimes it’s really nice to work with that slightly older grade:)

Finances:

After school I spoke with a financial advisor. I’ve never had one as I always figured I didn’t have enough money to worry about it, but my running buddy recommended this guy. I spoke with him and he seems pretty good. I have an appointment to meet him next Friday and I’m going to drag my mom along as she’s a good judge of character and always knows what types of questions to ask. I hope these skills rub off on me soon! Besides, I’ll be way more comfortable having company!

Exercise:

I went out for a run today and ended up on the sidewalk as it was a little darker than I was expecting. I got 4km in and it wasn’t my fastest or my slowest. I am having trouble with the fact that I didn’t get 100km in during January, so now I feel like I’m way behind. I keep trying to remind myself that I have all year to run!

Movie:

I watched Christmas Chalet tonight. It was a good story, but I have to admit that the male lead bothered me. It looked like he was wearing a mask the whole time. I have to admit that so far Hallmark does better movies than Up or Lifetime (and yes I realize that to some people that doesn’t say a lot).

Knitting:

I got a few more rows on the market bag done. I don’t get why this bag seems to be taking so long????!!!! Oh well, hopefully over the weekend though I should really be reading my Bookclub book!

Well I’m off to bed super early:)

Have fun!

AJ

Redeemed

Last night at knit night, I failed. I went with two projects well on the way and came home with both of them frogged. And I hadn’t even taken the project that requires me to concentrate!

Errands:

I was one of those odd ducks who were out at the Costco gas bar at 7:30 this morning. My eyes opened at 6:15 and I just couldn’t get back to sleep:(

Besides this, I got a load of dishes done and some groceries bought , but that’s it.

Exercise:

I had thought it would be mid morning before I would be running, but Dennis was ready earlier so we went out this morning. It looked beautiful, but was quite cold. I should have worn gloves! We went out along Guildford again and right from the start, it felt tough as my legs were tired. We did 7.75km and though I didn’t get a PR for my 5km (though I was trying for one), I did get my fastest kilometer ever- 5:45/km!! I didn’t think I’d ever see a kilometer in the 5s!!!🎊🎉

Shopping:

I stopped for coffee with Dennis and then went to pick up my new Brooks Christmas running shirt that just came in. I haven’t ran in it, but it seems expensive for the type of material it is. It is super cute though so I will just enjoy it and try not to think about how much it cost me!

Baking:

I had bought frozen cookie dough for a school fundraiser for a friend’s nephew and it’s been calling my name so today, I decided that I should try to get it out of my freezer! I do much better when there’s no yummy food in my house! The cookies took two minutes longer than called for and didn’t really spread at all, but they did taste good. I took a dozen to my friend Anna for her boys.

Movie:

My friend Anna has had a very busy fall as her husband prepared for his PhD thesis defense so when she called me up to see if I would go to a movie with her, I didn’t mind seeing Little Women again so that she could get out of the house. This was the first time she’s been out without her boys since September. I think she deserved a break:). I enjoyed the movie just as much the second time:)

Eating:

What have I had today? I’ve had a rice cake with peanut butter and cheese on one half and peanut butter and jam on the other, a cup of tea after my run, a seafood cannelloni out of the freezer for lunch, cookies and ice cream. I had a gift card to my favourite ice cream store and I saw they had a ton of new vegan flavors so I stopped in tonight on my way home from the movie. I tried many and they were all amazing, but I had the Raspberry Pistachio Nut and loved every bite. The people are so kind there, the lady pulled a chair up in front of the heater for me to sit and eat in:)

Knitting:

I have spent much of today working on my Date Night sweater and thankfully I’m to the point where I just continue in pattern until it’s as long as I want it. I have found that I have to concentrate for the lace rows, but can listen to podcasts for the plain rows. I’m hopeful I can get a good portion of the body done tomorrow!

Well I’m tired, have fun!

AJ

Happy Friday Eve:)

I’m so glad today was Thursday and tomorrow is Friday! I so don’t like having Monday professional days because by Friday, you’ve forgotten you had a day without students!

Teaching:

Today felt very mixed up. We started writer’s workshop this morning and it went quite well, though we had planned way too much. We got through a video about polar bears which was a really good documentary called Growing Up Polar. It was about an orphaned polar bear taken in by the Toronto zoo. We also made our polar bear habitats this afternoon. It was so neat to see how different they are and one child actually commented on that! We also had the chance to play outside today as it wasn’t raining for a bit:). On top of this all planning and prep for next week was completed:)

Exercise:

I came home and went directly out for a run. I can’t believe how much my Achilles bothers me until it warms up. It takes about a kilometer before it stops talking:(. I got 3.65km done which was good enough for a Thursday night, especially as I think I might end up running twice tomorrow.

Since my runs and workouts were finally equal, I also got to watch a hallmark movie and do a workout tonight. I ended up doing a minute of jogging between these exercises: bridges, crunches, burpees, squats, dips, mountain climbers, reverse lunges, curtsy lunges, plié squats, pushups, reverse crunches, froggers and bicycle crunches. It was nice to get back to this routine!

Movie:

Tonight I watched Nostalgic Christmas which was fine. I didn’t like the ending when the girl decided to take over her father’s shop at the drop of a hat. Wouldn’t they require more thought??? I know, I need to suspend reality!

Knitting:

I am attempting my date night sweater again. It seems like I have to start every knitting project five times😖. I hate to imagine how much I’d accomplish if I could start just once!

Eating:

I need to get back on track as the scale made me cry this morning. It’s such a slippery slope to where I used to be! Today I’ve had: rice cake with Pb, cheese and jam, yogurt with granola, apple and peanut butter, blood orange, cucumber and cheese, cookies. It’s still not great, but better than it has been lately.

Well I’m going to bed early as I’m getting up early for a workout with Lyndsay.

Have fun!

AJ

Super Surprise Saturday

Well for a day that I had no plans for, it turned out quite lovely.

Knitting:

I tried to go get my blood test done this morning, but one part has to be specifically timed so I’ll try again tomorrow. Thankfully I had much better luck buying a Pom Pom at the yarn store. I finished knitting the second version of the Thistle Seed Beanie with only worsted weight this time. I haven’t attached the Pom Pom yet and won’t until the EA tries it on.

Socializing:

I met up with Brenda at the yarn shop and we went for tea afterwards. We tried Black Sugar which was a new cafe for me. It was super busy on Saturday morning, but I have to admit I wasn’t super happy with their chai latte.

Eating:

I just got home from coffee with Brenda when I got an offer to go for lunch with Lyndsay. We grabbed waffles from Green Mustache. This is really the only thing I ever order from this cafe. They are super yummy!

I’ve also had oatmeal, popcorn and cucumber with cheese today. Hopefully better than yesterday!

Exercise:

I did finally get out for a run this afternoon. I had to do my usual sidewalk to the park and back, but I figure that is still better than the treadmill. I knocked another 4km off. It wasn’t my fastest run as I’ve been fighting tired all day.

I’m sitting at 9 runs and 11 workouts so I’d better get back out there tomorrow!

Movie:

I went tonight with Lyndsay to see Parasite and wasn’t impressed. I feel like someone should check on the mental health of the people who nominate movies for the Oscars as they all seem to be violent or depressing this year. This movie was going along pretty good until it suddenly took a turn to awful! I definitely wouldn’t vote for this movie!

Well I’m going to watch a little Hallmark to get Parasite out of my head.

Have fun!

AJ

The Friends Get You Through It

Often I see these memes on social media about how teaching is a solitary profession and we need to connect. Tonight was the perfect example for me of how the people you work with really do make the difference.

Socializing:

I met up this morning with two of my high school friends for coffee. One of them lives on the campus of one of the local universities so we took her kids over to the main building and let them careen down the hallways on their tricycles. It was the cutest thing ever! We have to put a helmet on the littlest guy cause he’s a daredevil who goes super fast!

I was saying that I hope they will remember this when they are older cause talk about an awesome bragging point and a great memory!

Having my car quit for the second time in a week on the way home, not such a great memory 😖

Knitting:

I got a little bit of knitting in around naps. I was at a loss this morning because I couldn’t think of what to knit next. Then I decided that even if I had missed the deadline for the HPKCHC club this term, didn’t mean I couldn’t look at their prompts. The first I read was to knit something white. Well, I’ve started a small baby blanket that will hopefully get five skeins out of my stash😀

Socializing:

This evening I met up with four of the ladies I work with. My work isn’t a happy place right now, but these four ladies make all the difference and make it bearable. It really is great to work with friends!

We went to Browns Socialhouse for dinner and then carried on to see the new Little Women movie. I thought the movie was very well done and liked how a lot of the story is told by flashbacks:) I also appreciated that they did a great job of recreating Orchard House which was the Alcott residence, though there were a few changes. It’s so neat to have been there! I also liked how they included the fact that Louisa didn’t want the book to end the way it did. I would recommend seeing this movie, though take Kleenex with you.

Well I’m up later than I have been in a long time so I’m off to bed.

Have fun!

AJ

Woah, that wasn’t supposed to happen!

My day started very interestingly when my tooth fell out when I was flossing:(

Teaching:

We got through the day with a phonics lesson, which I just realized I forgot to show the video for🤦🏼‍♀️

We practiced some more place value, had library, and worked on our pointillism art, though we still are not done. Hopefully tomorrow!

After school I finished writing the last three report cards and emailed them off to my mom. I’m just so glad to have a rough draft done! I’ll reread them after my mom and then consider them good enough. I’ve learned that i can spend forever on them and never be completely happy!

Appointment:

I had called this morning and thankfully they were able to fit me in this evening at the dentist. They wedges my tooth back in and cemented it down and let’s just hope it stays in place through Christmas!

Movies:

I watched Easter Under Wraps tonight and it was super cute! I think going back to tradition is super popular right now and I do appreciate a lot of it. Sometimes what was is better:)

Well that’s it for me!

Have fun!

AJ

A Little Exercise, A Lot of Knitting

It was a quiet day, filled of nice things!

Exercise:

I got up for my run this morning and ended up actually running straight for a full 4.5km as James was back to walk with Brenda. I had a slow start, but then it picked up and got better:)

This afternoon I got out for a walk to the local yarn store. I could have driven, but thought a little extra exercise wouldn’t hurt.

Knitting:

I got a baby sweater finished for my RMT and his wife who should have a new little boy any day now.

The yarn is 100% acrylic so it is washable and will stand up to baby. The pattern is from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. The pattern is called Zane’s Coming Home Sweater.

I also started a shawl that I am thinking will be for my friend Lyndsay for Christmas. I am using a single skein of Maryanne’s Sparkle in Simplicity that I bought at Knit City two years ago. The pattern I started is Easy Goes It, but I’m not sure about it yet. I’ve done Reyna and Stormy Skies and don’t want to do them again, but am looking for any suggestions:)

I also started another test knit for Zanete Knits and made progress, but then realized I hadn’t checked gauge and it seemed small to me. I ripped it out and will try to do a gauge swatch tomorrow.

Movies:

This evening I have been watching PS I Love You as the secretary at work loaned it to me and said I needed to watch it. It’s been pretty good so far:)

Eating:

I think I’ve had another good day, so I will get some sort of treat for myself. I’ve had:

Oatmeal

A slice of pizza

A steak

Grapes

I guess I’d better get organized for tomorrow.

Have fun!

AJ

Kitchen Adventures and Misadventures

It was a quiet day, with lots of time in the kitchen.

Exercise:

I ran with Brenda and Dennis this morning. Our fourth is still away so I did circles around Brenda so she wasn’t alone. We did 3.7km in the absolute pouring rain! My feet were squelching by the end! I have a 0.9km cushion this week. Hopefully that will help me out.

Reading:

I finished The Walk of Manitoba and Me by Mariana Zapata. I had heard about this book on the Not Your Mom’s Romance Book Club podcast I’ve been listening to lately and knew I had to read it. I didn’t get much else done for two days other than reading this book. I really enjoyed it as it has a spunky female heroine who really doesn’t take anything from her guy. It also has a gorgeous sporty hero. It is a slow burn, on the sweet rather than steamy side, romance. I did get a little annoyed about how often the author mentions how big the hero is, but I could overlook that as he also turns out to be quite sweet. I enjoyed the ending because the book is only from the heroine’s POV so you have to wait until the end to know what the hero was thinking.

Knitting:

I have finished the body of Not a Boring Sweater and am onto my first sleeve. I am knitting it as called for and just hoping I’m going to have enough yarn!

Cooking:

I started the day by making myself some sausage and kale pizzas for lunch this week. I had some for my dinner today and it was quite yummy. I have to admit I used an Udis ready made crust and am not super happy with it. It stayed quite soggy:(. I had used a new vegan mozzarella cheese by Myokonos which was wonderful and melted really well!

I also tackled the Sally’s Baking Challenge for September which was Cheese bread. I won’t be posting this one on Instagram as it was an utter failure. It was super dry and I ended up not loving the taste of the new vegan cheese I tried. I won’t be buying this again. I found myself eating the bread even though I didn’t love the taste of it, so I threw it away and took the garbage out. This is definitely not something I usually do, but I really don’t want to waste my calories on it!

Movies:

This evening I’ve curled up in bed and watched the movie Miss Potter. If you haven’t seen this movie with Renee Zelleweger, you definitely should as it was wonderful!!!!

Well, it’s back to reality tomorrow so I’d better get to sleep!

Have fun!

AJ