Category: Reflections & Lifestyle

Having bid 2022 a long overdue “adieu,” I spent some time thinking about what I wanted 2023 to be. Every year I tell myself that “this is my year, this is the year I’m going to get started.” Started on what?, I am not sure. 2022 was another tough year, the heartbreak often overshadowed the incredible moments. I lost momentum a lot in 2022; it seemed like the second I dusted myself off, something else hit me hard. Two steps forward, one step back. Most resolutions have been abandoned by now, so I didn’t make any. Instead, I decided that each month I am going to set a series of THREE different challenges or goals.

The focus of February was Mental Health: journalling, reading instead of scrolling and meditating. I am going to try and continue on with those goals but I am going to add the following…

March 2023: “Making the Most of…”

(…my Nike Training Club app)
1. Do ALL of the 106 Yoga Workouts
-I have been absolutely loving the ones I have done so far (25)… 81 left to go!

(…my down time)
2. Declutter one space each day
-I’d like to donate as much stuff as a I can

(…my Spring Break)
3. Have High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria
-This has been on my bucket list for a while; so I am going to finally treat myself

Wishing you all the best this month!

Our vegetable garden is huge and we have MANY flower beds; so my war against weeds is a never ending battle. Between the unusual amount of rain and scorching heat it seems like the only thing growing is weeds. Weeding is a pain in the butt and it is made worse because of all the mosquitos who seem immune to anything that is designed to kill or repel them. Our next door neighbour has a green thumb beyond compare. I have been trying to pick her brain about how to fight the pesky weeds.

1. Stop pulling them!
-It is better to slice and sever the roots rather than disturbing the weeds. When you pull weeds you wake them up.

2. Use mulch!
-I often use mulch to help my perennials survive over the winter. But I didn’t realize that mulch creates a dark atmosphere which prevents the growth of weeds and using mulch in your flower beds actually supports the lives of insects that eat weed seeds.

3. Fabric does work!
-It prevents the seeds dropped by birds from getting into the soil. Using fabric between the rows in a vegetable garden with cut down on the time you spend weeding.

4. If you are going to pull weeds, it is a important to adhere to the age old adage of “pull when wet; hoe when dry”

5. Get to your weeds BEFORE they go to seed!
-Don’t wait! But if you don’t have time or your soil is too dry then it is crucial that you cut the heads off any weeds; otherwise the battle is lost before it even begins.

6. Spacing is everything!
-I used to leave lots of space between my rows and plants so that we could get the rototiller in. Since we have gotten the tiller, it has cut down my time BUT this summer in particular was incredibly wet. So wet in fact the garden flooded several times. My neighbour told me that if you don’t/can’t till it’s better that you space plants close together. Just like weeds can choke out plants; plants spaced closely together can choke out weeds.

7. Don’t water your weeds!
-As convenient as it might be to just put the sprinkler on to water the whole garden; you are actually aiding the enemy. Water only what you want to grow!

There has been a lot of talk this year about “being intentional,” so far in all the professional development sessions I have attended. It comes up in sessions about teaching practice, mental health, self care and achieving goals. It’s such a lofty topic. The most common definition is that “when you are intentional, you choose to make decisions and take action on what’s important to you. Being intentional means getting clear upfront about what you want to achieve. You intentionally set an intention to achieve a specific outcome or result in the future that is important to you.” That’s great but how do you accomplish that? It’s so difficult to put into practice; however, I have been introduced to some really great resources. So, for those of you who are wanting to be more intentional in your daily life, you may be interested in some of these too!

1. THE ULTIMATE INTENTIONAL PLANNER: 2022 EDITION
2. Gretchen Rubin’s podcast: Happier
3. Rachel Kable’s podcast: The Mindful Kind
4. Before You Know It by John Bargh, PhD
5. Rest, Refocus, Recharge: A Guide for Optimizing Your Life by Greg Wells, PhD
6. Mantras
7. Strides app
8. Science of Well-Being offered through Coursera

Summer is coming and I am really trying to be “intentional.” I am trying to be productive and have fun. Sometimes, I get into a bit of a funk when the school year ends. I “take a break” but then it becomes a slump and I end up spending way more time on the couch “vegging out” than actually having fun and doing something with my time. This has really become an issue the last couple of years; maybe it’s my age or just the circumstances going on in my personal and professional life.

So much of my time is highly “routinized” externally to me; so maybe I just struggle being in charge of my own routine.
Or perhaps, it is because I am so emotionally and physically burnt out that I “simply can’t” whenever I do have free time.
Or maybe it’s because I just don’t know where to start because I am not used to having much down time for 10 months out of the year.

Whatever the case may be, I sat down and made a list of all the things that I want to do this summer (in addition to camping/fishing with my husband of course) and I brainstormed what that could look like. From this I’ll make a weekly schedule for myself.

Sample Weekly Plan (July 3-9)…

If you have any great resources, feel free to share! Comment below.

Today is National Pet Day; there is nothing in this world I love more than my fur babies; my three cats and my beast of a black lab. I noticed that my dog is going grey around his mouth –it really hit me that he is 5 years old… he is no longer a puppy. 

We have always talked about getting a second dog; we want to have another bird dog trained by the time our current dog retires, not dies, but retires. After seeing his breeder at the Outdoor Show last month; adding to our family has been constantly on my mind.

Are we ready for a new puppy?

I spent some time on the American Kennel Club website to find out. They encourage you to reflect on the following questions…

1. Is your current dog out of puppyhood and completely trained and bonded to you?
=Our dog is out of puppyhood and completely trained; he spent 5 months with his breeder learning how to be a solid waterfowl dog and an obedient family pet. He is 100% bonded to myself and my husband –my husband moreso. We feel that since our dog is at a good age where he would tolerate an energetic pup and continue to fulfil his role in our business and family while still maintaining his connection to us.

2. What’s the age of your current dog?
=The suggestion is that a dog be around 1-2 years of age before adding a second. He is still in very good shape and still ‘young at heart.’ I feel like the longer we wait he won’t be as tolerant of a young pup.

3. What kind of dog do you want to add to the pack?
=We want to add another waterfowling lab (preferable black or chocolate) to the pack. We would love to actually have him bred; it would be really cool to have a pup that is related to our current dog. We would go back to his breeder and make sure that she picks a dog that suits our needs. It is recommended that you get dogs of opposite sex however, we would have to be careful because our dog is “in tact.” On the other hand, two males could potentially result in a different dynamic to deal with as well.

4. Do you have any big events or projects coming up?
=I have summers off and breaks throughout the year; my husband works 1 week on and 1 week off. Between the two of use our dogs wouldn’t be alone often–they would have our love, attention, the ability to provide fairly consistent training and socialization.

5. Is your family onboard?
=Yes, however, I think it is hard for my husband to think about our dog getting older and retiring.

6. Can you handle the additional cost?
=Yes, we have equipment from when our first dog was a puppy and training. We purposely built our dog run larger so that it would be a comfortable space for multiple dogs. Vet insurance makes procedures cheaper at the vet. We also realize that our budget for food, will double. We have already talked about sending the new dog to the breeder for training; this is expensive, however, it is a major benefit to us, our current dog and our business. It is a worthwhile investment to have a well trained dog.

I also took a quiz at “The Dog People,” and we are ready!