bienvenue

I'm the one in the shirt.

I've been considering a new blog for a while now.
You know, one of those well-written,
Make you think,
Sometimes-witty blogs that everyone aspires to...

But, I don't think that's me. So, rather than pretend to be something I'm not, I'll be

me

instead.

Which is to say that I'm an elementary school teacher- I teach prep/1 students (kids who are 5 and 6 years old, in their first and second years of schooling). It's my first year teaching, and as such, I have a lot of questions, and some stories. Often the stories fall out of my head the minute I get home so I don't have a chance to write them down, but maybe having a medium to do so will allow me to retain them better.

I am also a 'runner'. I add the quotation marks because I tend to question the validity of giving yourself a title if you're not actually proven to be that thing. Which is to say that I've recently hit the 10 kilometer mark at an underwhelming pace. I consider myself to have 'good' running form, considering I have no formalised training and taught myself how not to run heel-strike, despite all shoe companies trying to convince me otherwise. I have entered two 'fun' runs, and hated them. That was before I could comfortably run distance. The next few months should see me attempt more, possibly with more success.
Which, in itself, is also a tricky concept because I'm competitive. 'Success' means coming in the top 10, and with my current pace - that ain't gonna happen. So, I have to adjust my viewpoint a little bit, here.

I am engaged- N & I are 'to be wed' in November of this year, at the Melbourne Zoo. Although I used to have what was supposed to be a 'wedding blog', it's fallen by the wayside, and not because wedding planning is so hectic and stressful that I don't have time for it (in fact, to this point, it's been fairly stress-free, and we're looking to the future wondering what all the fuss is about, since all the 'main people' are booked and ready to go. Ask me again in 7 months), but because life has become busy, and therefore, I have become 'time-poor', as they say.

We have recently decided to give vegetarianism a go for a whole number of reasons which consitute posts in themselves. I figure there'll be some of that, some recipes/pictures of food, and other various ethical/vegetarian-y stuff posted here as we sort through it.

And lastly, on a completely non-vegetarian note, we belong to a middle-aged Australian shepherd - Mallei, and two cats- Mia and Darcy. You'll come to know them well, as whenever I'm drawing blanks for blog entries, I tend to stick a picture of them up as the header and call it a day.

So, welcome. Expect to hear about running, cats and dogs, kids, scraped and injured knees, vegetables, health, and some wedding stuff, too.