those little surprises

It might seem obvious that surprises are unexpected, but I find unexpected surprises to be the best kind of surprise. Whether it's a week of gorgeous weather that shows up and makes it feel like summer, or a package that comes in the mail, or one of those days where time feels like it's just stopped, or being pleasantly surprised that The Hunger Games lived up to your expectations. 

So even though that unexpected week of warmth was followed by getting snow and a cold (thanks, grade 5 students, for still coming to school when you're coughing your lungs out), I enjoyed that week getting to wear skirts and sandals, looking for flowers, and eating sundaes with The Boy. And when my feet ached from wearing those sandals I haven't worn in nearly a year, another unexpected surprise came in the form of a package from Kat, full of things from The Body Shop to pamper my feet with. Thank you so much, lady! 

Other unexpected surprises: getting a package from Krissy with a ring that just screams computer nerd and a lovely necklace that I can't wait to wear in the summer, having a live band listen to my request and play "Benny and the Jets" in a pub with teacher college friends, hearing that my cousin in Poland is engaged (my first Polish wedding, maybe?), being surprised every time one of my grade 5 students says, "You're a really fun and good teacher!" even when I'm teaching math, and surprised at my motivation to actually go to the gym.

Tonight I'm probably going to try to relax with a cuppa tea and a few episodes of Flower Boy Ramen Shop, continue with some graphics designing and web-brainstorming, lesson plan, and then get ready for tomorrow! 

'Til then, here's what I've been up lately in picture-form. 

But wait! Here's the winner of the Starbucks gift card + random bag of goodies:

Katy from twentyfourcarat.net! Congrats! (And visit her blog if you haven't yet!)

Exploring the jungles of a greenhouse and admiring the flowers.

On a walk down by the bay :)

Seeing how many glasses we can stack on top of each other on a wild Friday night ;)

Embracing my inner Katniss and my ticket stub from Tuesday night.

Another unexpected caffeine-related surprise & my new ring! :)

What's an unexpected surprise you've had recently?

P.S. If you like postcards, prepare yourself for a postcard-filled April!

Hope you've had a great weekend so far! :)

march-ing forward

Days are getting warmer, the sunshine is lasting longer, and my hair has become a little shorter ... feels like spring is in the air! It's so strange to me that we're already one-quarter of the way through 2012, but the nice breeze and bright skies prove to be a great distraction from those "where has the year gone?!" thoughts. 

After weeks of group projects and assignments, I can officially say I am no longer a student! All that's left is a good six more weeks of my second teaching block with grade 5s (who are err, very chatty to say the least) and some hopefully positive evaluations and I will officially be a teacher. Except for the whole having a job part. But, still. I'm on my way! 

I finally got a break this week for some much-needed me time combined with The-Boy-and-I time and some catch up time with friends. I joined the local gym (my first time at a gym in two years) and am actually enjoying the aches and sores of my muscles as a greeting in the morning. I helped my friend do some retail therapy and adored all the shirts that have bicycles and bird patterns all over it. I baked a cake and enjoyed the beach with The Boy along with a mini-Star Wars marathon that brought out the geeky sides of us. 

And ... I am now hooked to Draw Something. Just wish I had the skillz to draw. 

Here's what I've been up to this March:

Top: Catching up with my best friends over an amazing meal;
Bottom: Celebrating no more classes with my friends from teachers college.

A Star Wars night complete with a cake we made and lemoncello (yum).

Bipolar Ontario weather = going to the beach with some Haribo!

Went from my hair draping down my back to grazing my shoulders ... feels so good!

(P.S. Yes, I like that pink sweater. A LOT.) 

Retail therapy in the form of a one-piece for the gym  pool & a sailor shirt.

And getting back into the design groove with a header for Kat!

It's been a pretty good month so far, and with the weather getting warmer I'm getting so excited to get out of the house, wear my Toms instead of boots, eat some ice cream (wait, I did that during winter anyway), and make my last few weeks of practice teaching stress-free. 

And on Sunday I'm celebrating 4 years of knowing The Boy aka our met-a-versary (we met on March 18th on the city bus!) with a little outing worthy of spring weather ... going to a greenhouse haha :) 

Here are my goals for the start of spring: 
(1) Get through my block with a smile and make the days enjoyable.
(2) Get my rear end to the gym at least 3 days a week, but aim for 4.
(3) Come back from the gym and blog before lesson planning. 
(4) Go on spontaneous dates and outings.
(5) Call my sister more.
(6) Get back into graphics/web design on a more regular basis.
(7) See The Hunger Games as many times as possible haha. 

What are your goals for the next couple of months? 

Starbucks gift card winner will be announced in the next blog!

(So enter if you haven't yet!)

Hope you've had a great March so far!

And wish Tiara a happy birthday if you haven't yet!