Real, Not Ideal

 Can anyone else believe it’s the end of May? For being in a pandemic and not being able to do anything, I feel like 2021 has flown by so far. Also , it has been about a year since I moved home in the middle of a pandemic. That is a fact that makes me so sad when I think too hard about it. There is still so much uncertainty, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to see the British people I love again. It has been hard to come up with these favourites when I’m not doing anything! My days are work, tutoring, family, repeat. I’ve been talking with people online a lot more and trying to plan at least some things for the future, but overall, the things that make me happy are quite simple. 1.        Baking If you have been watching my Instagram stories, you’ll see that I’ve had an Amish Friendship Loaf starter for about a month now. Every ten days, I get to bake with it. I’ve made waffles, bread, scones, cinnamon buns, and loaves. This has been somethi...

       January of 2021. I’ve been finding hard to be in this month without looking back at last year and how hopeful I was about the rest of the year. I had travel plans. I was starting to come up with travel plans ( Belgium and Berlin were my last trips ). I was planning for my leaving party. It’s hard not to feel sad when you look back on 2020. I also feel like it makes me hesitant to make plans and get excited for things in 2021. I keep being told to be hopeful, but this lack of knowing holds me back from making plans.      I don’t want this to be negative. This is just the “real” part of where I’m at right now. However, there is actually a lot I can count on and look forward to. Despite the fact that I’ve established an awesome Work From Home routine , I’m looking forward to being back in person to teach. This past week, I also got an official job offer that means I have solid work for the rest of the year teaching English! My book club will be mee...

 I had SUCH a hard time narrowing down my choices for this month. It has been a month jam packed with some very exciting things. I’ve started working an actual teaching job again which now has me working weekends, but I’ve also been filling my time with some amazing personal things. No more blabbing – here it is! 1.       Dance This is something I’ve been doing for a couple months with my sister, but it isn’t until this month that I really started feeling good about it. I danced for years and then stopped seven years ago when I started university. Brianne never stopped, so she wanted to start it again when I got home. At first, it was really hard. My body wasn’t used to moving this way anymore. After the first few classes, I found myself in tears because I felt like I was doing horribly. Well, I’m happy to say I’m getting better and it’s getting easier. I truly look forward to going every week.  2.       Thanksgiving I...

                I cannot believe this is the end of August. The end represents my final month employed as a teacher in the UK. It’s the end of a summer of a ton of reading. The end of all the free time I’ve been using to spend time with my family.                It’s also the beginning of a lot of exciting things. I’m starting to put down my roots in Canada. I get to be a part of my friends’ lives again. I get to go back to work!                Before I look forward, let me look back at my favourites in August. 1.       Bralettes Like many people during lockdown, I have given up on bras while being at home. When I was in Leeds, I would live in workout clothes. When I came home, I started feeling the need to put actual outfits on. I quickly realized that I was not about to sit...

July has been another month of transition. I’ve had to go from working to not working anymore. I’ve had to consider the best ways to make a routine work for me while also helping out around the house. I’ve seen friends and made plans for the future. I’ve interviewed for a couple jobs and I’m anxiously awaiting the results. I’ve been busy! When I look back, these are my highlights. 1.       Canada Day I get the hesitancy about Canada Day. We’re celebrating the beginning of a country that is based in stolen land and robbed culture. I’m taking a course on Indigenous Canada right now that delves into the true history of Canada. It’s an important history and the outcome of it has affected my own family. However, I do think there is a place to celebrate the country I’ve grown up in while also respecting where it came from. I love celebrating Canada Day by being around people I love, and that is what I’ll continue to do. 2.       Article ...

                    When I was saving the document for this blog post, I smiled when I wrote the date. I’ve been home for nearly a month. Things have felt better than they have since March. I’ve started to sink into a routine (more on that later), and I get to see all the people I’ve been missing.                There were SO MANY good things about this month that I had a hard time narrowing it down. My sticky note where I keep my list has been scribbled over and re-written so many times. For that, I am grateful. 1.       Home This is the over-arching favourite of the month. After I got my last suitcase a few days ago (it has been an absolute nightmare), I finally feel settled in. The first thing I did when I got home was shower and make tea as a homage to my now second home, but I certainly feel more comfortable here.  2. ...

Happy end of April! The temperature is getting warmer and the days are getting brighter. Despite the whole world being told to stay inside, I hope you’re enjoying that a little bit. Open the windows! Read in a patch of sun! This monthly post is . . . unprecedented (does anyone else hate that word though?). This isn’t about what I’ve done to make this month exciting because what I’ve done that is pretty much the same thing every day. Two years ago, I was talking about my last placement and the fact that I was almost done PGCE. Three years ago, I was celebrating all kinds of wonderful because it was the end of university. Four years ago, I had taken so many trips that I was excited to share. I won’t go back further because the formatting of my blog posts was different (and embarrassing, quite frankly), but that was a nice little trip back in time from my sofa. Anyway, these are the things in my life right now that are favourites because they’re helping me do something or be s...

What a month. I’m going to discuss anything other than the world burning around us though. After all, there have been some absolutely standout moments that I cannot forget about. I’ve been busy and it has been an exciting one. Relish in this, because I suspect that April’s may be less exciting. 1.       Axe Throwing I put this as my first favourite fully knowing that the picture that pops up as the main picture for this post IS one of me about to lob an axe. It was at the beginning of this month when my friend texted me to ask if I wanted to go axe throwing to relieve some work stress. It was SO FUN. As if turns out, we’re both terrible at it. In fact, I have the video of the first time I hit the board and my face is full of shock. Despite the sore muscles the next day, I loved this as an activity and we planned to make it a regular thing for us to do. 2.       World Book Day I mentioned in the last po...

In contrast to pretty much every other month, January did NOT fly by. I don’t know what it is about coming back to school after Christmas that makes everything feel like it’s going by in slow motion. Everyone’s starting to feel the drain of never seeing daylight, and after spending Christmas break grazing on cookies and chocolate, your eating pattern is way off. Nevertheless, it has had some nice moments. I’ve been to see a lot of movies (what else is there to do in the middle of a wet British winter?), and I’ve really been focusing on myself as I start my new goals . Here are my highlights: 1.       Being with my Family. As usual, seeing my family was incredible but I was also very sad when I had to say goodbye. The one thought getting me through is that it is the last time I’m going to be leaving them. However, seeing them over the break, ringing in the New Year with them, and skiing with my dad and sister (until she broke her thumb, of...