Thankful Thursday 10: Wrapping up

Welcome to the tenth instalment of my Thankful Thursday, The Little Things! No, I’m not wrapping up the series, but I am wrapping up some other stuff!

This week I’m focusing on gratitude for wrapping up – quite a few things have neared the end of their life span for me.

Here’s my Thankful Thursday for the Week of June 15 – June 21, 2018!

Things I am thankful for this week:

  • My new sloth mug, which is giving me child-like glee to sip out of:

  • Thursday was the last day of scheduled classes for the year
  • Andrew and I went to see Incredibles 2, which is the funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time. I came away with sore stomach and cheek muscles, and cried laughing more than once. Here’s a gif you’ll appreciate if you’ve seen the movie.
  • It was really hot early in the week, but it’s cooled down right on time for my half marathon tomorrow
  • Andrew and I went to Red Robin for a nice (not so) little dinner, and we got these amazing Chocolate Hazelnut (mine) and S’mores (his) milkshakes.

  • I made it through report card week, albeit with a couple nights where I was working straight through until bedtime

And the theme for this week, Wrapping Up!

I finished up most of the requirements for the teaching year this week, and I also started wrapping up my half marathon  training for the year.

First, the school year.

  • As I mentioned above, this was the last week of scheduled classes. Thursday was the last day. We are still providing opportunities for students to come in and do some fun learning activities next week, and of course there are some provincial exams to invigilate, but the school year is almost complete. And a lot of the usual stressors are gone, like planning lessons and marking.
  • I had a couple of students in the bands performing their year-end pieces in Player’s Hall one morning, and I was so proud 🙂
My student is the girl on bass guitar! This is the senior jazz band
That’s my student on trumpet in the grey t-shirt!
That’s my student on piano! These two photos were of the junior jazz band.
  • I posted my final grades on Friday morning. Then, I got my last couple of students across the finish line who hadn’t been passing.
  • The LSP teachers hosted a picnic on Friday at lunch, and one of the VPs got his head shaved for Cops for Cancer.
  • The awards ceremony was on the last day of scheduled classes. I got to see the final product of the amazing paintings a couple of students had been working on in the cafeteria for a couple of weeks. They are the banners on the sides of the stage.

  • One of my favourite students (I know, I’m not supposed to have faves) gave me this beautiful bracelet as a gift on the last day. Not only does it suit me super well, it went along with a lot of what I taught my Planning 10 students this year about mindfulness and mental health. I won’t miss the I-Reports that come along with teaching Planning 10 as I switch over to a fully French subject assignment for next year. But I will miss the course’s meaningful content and the connections I was able to make with students because of it. Thank you Anna <3

  • Finally, I’ve been collecting textbooks, organizing binders, and cleaning my office. It’s been really nice to have a bit of a change of pace.

Second, the training!

  • My training for my second (and last) half marathon of 2018 is wrapping up as well. On Tuesday I did my 10k race pace at dawn, with this beauty around me:

  • Then on Wednesday, I did my 6k race pace, at dawn again, with this view:

On Saturday, I’ll be doing 3k slow, and that’s it for the training! It’s been a long 7 weeks of battling to come back from my hip injury and still try to finish this half in a reasonable time. It looks like my goal will be sub-2:30. It’s a bit of a disappointment for me as I spent most of the training season doing really well at the 2:00 pace. C’est la vie. I’m going to work on cross training and keeping up some distance for the next six months leading into the 2019 season. Next year, I’m hoping to run both the BMO and Scotia again. I’ll perhaps join my parents for Edmonton in August, too! Fingers crossed!

There you have it!

So, that’s my Thankful Thursday list for this week. I hope it inspires you to make your own, and get on that gratitude train!

Peace and love,

Bee

Thankful Thursday 4: Motivation

Welcome to the fourth week of my Thankful Thursday. This week has flown by, and this time I’m focusing on gratitude for getting my motivation back.

Here’s my Thankful Thursday for the Week of May 4-May 10, 2018!

Things I am thankful for this week:

  • I was able to run my half-marathon on Sunday. My hip gave out at around 13-14km in. I ended up missing my PB by 6 seconds, but I did PB the first 5k (28:31) and 10k (1:00:15), which I’m proud of.
I did it!
  • It was also really great to have Dad, Sharon, and Andrew all at the finish line cheering me on.
Part one of the cheer squad.
Part two of the cheer squad.
  • I felt like I was going to die for the last 400 metres and their cheering really got me over the finish line!
Me feeling like I’m going to die.
  • I’m also thankful for all the awesome signs that people held along the course. Some of my favourites:
    • If Trump can run, so can you
    • Run quietly, I’m hungover
    • Smile, you paid to do this
    • Go random stranger go
    • Worst parade ever
    • Run like someone called you a jogger
  • The weather has been pretty consistently good once again, and I’m really enjoying the sun
  • We’ve had a few really nice dinners and visits with my Dad and Sharon and got to play Mario Kart together (I’ll let you imagine who won, lol)
  • Since my hip flexor is pretty sore after the run, I’m now on a complete rest period until it’s entirely better. It’s nice to be forced to slow down after 5 months of non-stop training.
  • I’ve also booked a chiro appointment and a physio session, which I’m really excited about. Chiro is today, I can’t wait!

Motivation

  • And the title of this post, motivation! For most of March and April, I had totally lost all my motivation, and over the past week it’s finally felt like it’s coming back. I think that some of this could be due to the change in my thyroid meds, which really has lessened my levels of fatigue. My counselling appointment on Tuesday really helped, also. Those sessions really help me process all the things going through my head at a mile a minute. I also think the sun and the longer days are helpful as well. It’s nice to get home from work and still have at least 3-4 hours of sunlight left both for energy and to bask in.
  • I’ve also been reading more. The catalyst for this was realizing that I had an Advanced Reader Copy of a book to read and review two days before the due date.

There you have it!

So, that’s my Thankful Thursday list for this week. I hope it inspires you to make your own, and get on that gratitude train!

Peace and love,

Bee