Summer Student Gifts & 3 Year Anniversary

Happy Thursday!!! I am in better spirits then I was yesterday; thanks to the people you texted, commented and emailed...I truly appreciate it!! My better mood also comes thanks to a girls night I had with one of my good friends last night. She came over, we had fast food (good idea last night, bad idea this morning...I can't take that grease!), drank wine and just hung out. It was nice to spend time with her- I've seen her a handful of times, but the last time we truly hung out was in April- and talk about stuff not related to work, which is causing stress and headaches for us both.

I have mentioned a few times that I have two amazing students working with me this summer. Tomorrow is the last day for one of them and the other is done next Thursday. So, I am taking them out for lunch today as a thank you for everything they have done. I tried to make this summer a fun one for them and give them tasks that were meaningful but enjoyable. They also did stuff that wasn't so fun; stuffing envelopes and organizing closets and my desk. They were hard, productive workers and I was lucky to have them work with me. They were also highly entertaining, as demonstrated by their suggestion box, lots of laughter in our office.

On top of taking them out for lunch, I wanted to send them off with a little something as a thank you and to remember their summer working with me. This is what they are getting:

 

•  Magnetic boards- I have one on my desk that they both admired, so I decided to make them each one. I love these prints!!! I also made the magnets; I'll have a glitter magnet tutorial in the next week or so. You can find out how I made the magnetic boards here.
• Red solo cup shot glasses- I do not encourage them to drink (they are both over 19, the legal age to drink in Ontario), but every time we saw these at a store, they asked if we could buy them and I said no.
• Bubbles in a pink container- Who doesn't love bubbles?!?! Blowing bubbles is actually very relaxing and a stress reliever for me. Weird, I know, but it works. I figured they could use these to relax when they are back in school. Also, at their request, we had a spirit day where everyone wore pink.
• Bingo dabbers- Also at their suggestion, we played bingo at meetings. They would create bingo cards with things like 'Melissa will break something' or 'So and So will be the first to arrive'. Just a little fun activity.
• Stickers- I give out stickers, not just to the students, but to all my co-workers. I couldn't find gold stars, but I did find apples with A+ and these ribbons that say things like 'good job' and 'you're #1'.
• Necklace- I was at a Celtic Festival earlier this month and was on the hunt for something meaningful to give them. I found a vendor who handmade necklaces and they all have special meaning. This is what I picked:

I picked this necklace for two reasons; this is one of my favourite Celtic symbols and it's for protection and success, which I thought was fitting for them both.

Everything is packaged in pink bags with pink tissue paper, to go along with the pink spirit day we had last week. I have no idea where we are going for lunch, as I am letting them pick. But I'll be giving them their gifts at lunch. I hope they'll like them.

Three years ago today, a place that I consider one of my homes, was hit by an F3 tornado. It was a devastating, scary and interesting experience. Three years later, you can see all of the changes that have been made- new buildings, new trees- but the town is still rebuilding. It's no longer a disaster zone, but once again the prettiest town in Canada.

For pictures and to learn about my personal experience, you can go here.