News,news, and other news...

Running...

Things are going well, even thought last night's tempo with Simon was tough. But I can figure out the reason for that; staff luncheon. Yesterday was the final staff lunch for the school year at school and there was a great spread! Samosas, sushi sandwiches, pasta, AND deserts! I couldn't help but go up to the buffet three times! Thus, when I met Simon at 4:30 at Burnaby Lake to run a 6k tempo at 3:30/km pace, I felt a little tired, a little fat, and a little uncoordinated. We warmed up for 2k and then launched into the workout. While not feeling great, we were able to hold 3:30 for the whole 6k, uncomfortably to be sure, but held nonetheless. While it wasn't a great feeling run, it was encouraging that it was no slower than a week previous and my heart rate was a beat lower on average. This is encouraging because heading into Scotiabank Half-Marathon on the weekend, I know that even if I am not feeling great, I will still be able to run well. I have an abbreviated workout tomorrow night and then a couple of runs before the race on Sunday.

School...

Almost done. Tomorrow should be the wrap up of my packing and prepping for next year. I have everything filed away and after working with a colleague tomorrow on planning for her class next year, I am pretty much done. I can't believe that two years at NWSS have come and gone, and I am very different teacher leaving than I was arriving, and for that I am thankful. The staff and students at school are great and I am going to miss them, but I am excited to go back to Victoria with new skills and views on teaching and share that with people on the island.

Pets...

On the right side of the blog are pictures of a kitten than Sonja and I are going to bring home in August. He is a Siberian Forest Cat and he is pretty much the cutest thing ever. For those that know me, you know that I have never been a cat person, save for Fluffy (my grandma's cat) and Elmo (Jay and Danielle's cat). I had a wonderful dog and love the idea of running with a dog through trails, so a house cat is pretty much the opposite of that. However, this little kitten has changed my mind. The biggest thing is that the Siberian Forest Cat breed is pretty much hypoallergenic, which is important for me as I have allergies to cats. When the breeder brought him out for us to meet and test for allergic reactions, he was shaking and mewing. Within two minutes of being on my lap and on my chest, he was calm and quiet, eventually feeling comfortable enough to fall asleep on Sonja's lap. After an hour of playing and hanging out with him, neither of us had an allergic reaction and he didn't want us to leave, as evidenced by the claw marks in my neck when the breeder tried to take him away from chest when it was time to go. He is too little to come with us now - he still needs his mom to feed and teach him - but we will go back to Seattle to get him in mid-august. We are very excited to get him, and as the breed is described as "dog-like" in nature, I think I will teach him to play fetch! We are still unsure of a name for him, so please vote on the right as to the name you think he most resembles. For those Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica fans out there, you will recognize the first two names.

TV...

OK, I am watching too much lately, now that marking and prepping no longer consume my evenings. I am generally splitting my time between HGTV (Mike Holmes may be my new hero) and Battlestar Galactica, which Sonja and I are close to finishing the series. I have always enjoyed sci-fi stuff (I watched two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation every night in grade 11 and 12, which might explain my lack of girlfriends and parties during that time). I didn't have much backstory on the original BSG, but this new one is quite good and smart. We only have a few more episodes until the end of the series, so don't spoil it for us if you know who the final cylon is!

House...

I have submitted the ten thousand documents the mortgage company needed from me. It was a bit of an ordeal, but it is done and know we wait for the lawyer to call. We have also booked our Uhaul, so if anyone wants to come over on August 1st, we would love to have your hands!

So, I think that is about it for now. Good lucks to my friends racing this weekend in Des Moines and to those recovering from injury. I am off to finish watching Holmes on Homes!