January 2013

I am making this the year of ME. I would not consider myself a selfish person but as I've grown older, I've realized that sometimes I have to put myself first in order to be happy. That is what I plan on doing in the year 2013. I want this to be a great year!

Because it is the beginning of January, it's my favorite post: Farley's Currently

Listening: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is one of my all time favorite movies. I'm such a girly girl and love all of those girly girl movies (however, I'm learning to broaden my horizons and watch movies outside of my comfort zone)

Loving: I've spent most of my break with family and I'm perfectly content with that. I was with my mom for several days and then we came back to my house where I hosted my first large celebration. I had Christmas at my house for my mom's side of the family which was close to 40 people. I love my family!

Thinking:  For the most part, I have covered all of the Reading standards. Reading is one of those things that are repeated over and over. At this point in the year, I like to begin novels. I am differentiated novels in my class. So far, I think the novels I have decided on are:

Tornado (Byars)                             3rd grade level

The Forgotten Door (Key)             4th grade level

Day of the Blizzard  (Moskin)      5th grade level

My Side of the Mountain (Paulsen)  6th grade level

 Wanting: Oh how I want to go for a long run!! I was doing so well and running just over 3 miles at the beginning of December. Then around the second week, I got sick and it has lingered. I'm finally feeling better but now there is a ton of snow on the ground. I'm really in the mood to go for a run outside but I may have to wait until next week when the temperatures are a bit higher and hopefully the snow is melted.

Needing: I guess this explains everything. I have had a not so good attitude about school this year. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I haven't had a great year. I hate being so negative all the time about it but this is the first time in my entire teaching career that I absolutely dread going to school each day. It HAS to get better.

OLW: HAPPINESS! This goes along with my "needing" I have to be happy. Plain and Simple

2012 Year in Review

I think back to the past year and I've had many ups and downs. Overall, I want this to be a better year! :)

January: I lost my uncle to cancer. It was something my entire family had never really dealt with (other than the loss of older relatives). While I have a very close family, times such as this brought us so much closer than we ever were.

February: I decided I needed a change and started looking to buy a house. When I had a small apartment full of people staying with me during my uncle's death, I realized I needed a bigger living space. Family stays with me a lot and I was ready for that next step in my life. It didn't take long for me to find my perfect house. I only looked at THREE!!!! :)

March: The house process was STILL going on. This ended up being such a stressful situation for me. I would have thought a vacant house would be a quick move but that proved to not be the case. Finally on my birthday, I got the call that I was able to sign! Move in happened at the end of the month.

April/May:  I was getting my house set up and made it feel like a home. I was also coaching track for my 7th and final year. I had the opportunity to move up to the junior high and teach Language Arts which had always been my dream job. However, the timing didn't feel quite right so I chose not to pursue the position. I also learned that my principal had accepted a job in another district which was a letdown.

Summer: I LOVED being in my house for the summer. Sitting on my porch and reading was one of my favorite things to do. I got two little kittens and I ran in the Color Me Rad 5k with my cousin.

September/October/November: School was hard. I felt very negative and like I never got into a true routine. Having a new principal is hard and feeling like I was on an island with my teaching had me frustrated. But I kept on keepin' on. I also wondered if I did the right thing by staying in my current position and not taking that Junior High one.  I guess in order to deal with my stress, I started running. One day, I just decided to run and it started to become a new passion.

December: I ran another 5k-The Reindeer Run with 2 people I teach with. At this point, I realized I could easily run 5k. I hope to run in several in the next year and maybe even a 10k. EEEEK! By the end of the month, the holidays were here and the snow fell. I'm ready for spring ;)