2013.

When I was first thinking about recapping this year I felt like there wasn't that much to talk about that was exciting or worth re-living. Then last night I decided that I wanted to make a flipogram for my instagram and when I looked through my pictures I found so many things that were worth mentioning. I am thankful that I did that because now I can really look back and reflect on this year. Here are some highlights of where the year has taken me and what I've done in the past 12 months. 

January

*I started substitute teaching since I had just finished my student teaching. I was no longer a student and was actually a 'real teacher' just without a job.

February

*I turned 23, it was very anti-climate and not the best birthday on the actual day. 

*I went to Pullman (my college town) to celebrate my birthday and had a blast thanks to my amazing friends && boyfriend. 

*I had my first competition as an FFA advisor/coach. My kids were competing in Agricultural Issues and I remember having butterflies in my stomach the entire evening. I think I was more nervous than the kids. 

March

*My mom took my brother and I do DISNEYLAND! It truly is the happiest place on earth and I love going there. It will always be my top choice for a vacation that is going to be 4 days or less. 

April

*Another State FFA competition, my kids got 2nd in State. So close to winning, I was so proud of them. 

*My best friend [since 5th grade!] got engaged and asked me to be the maid of honor in her wedding. 

May

*I watched my best friend graduate from college. 

*Macklemore concert! 

*State FFA Convention, this is why I am an ag teacher. The passion that the students have, how hard they work to achieve their goals, and their smiles when they are successful cannot be matched. It was an amazing 5 days. 

*4 year anniversary with the boyfriend. <3

June

*I GOT MY FIRST TEACHING JOB! I was hired at the school that I student taught at. It was a dream come true. The most amazing kids, teachers, and FFA program. 

*I went on a mini Drum Corps tour with my boyfriend who teaches the Drum Line for a local Corps. It was great to see what his life is like on tour and be a part of it for a few days.

July

*I planned and executed awesome 4th of July Party. 

*My little brother and I went to New Jersey to visit my dad and family there. While we were there we road tripped to Boston because neither of us have been there before. 

August

*Last month of freedom before school, girls nights, weekends with my boyfriend, && relaxing before the craziness begins. 

*Our family's favorite activity was going to the Horse Races. I was pro at losing all of my money, but I love the atmosphere and all the yummy food!

September

*I started my first year of teaching. It was hard, stressful, and tiring, but I loved it. 

*Carrie Underwood concert!

October

*Went back to Pullman for a football game && managed to party until 5am. That's a record for me. It was such a blast.

*I took 11 students over 2,000 miles away to the National FFA Convention in Louisville. I successfully didn't lose any of them in the sea of 67,000 students and came home with 4 National Champions. I was one proud advisor. 

November

*My boyfriend and I got an apartment together and moved in! We had been apart for almost 18 months since we graduated from college so the end of our long distance relationship was a glorious day. 

*My boyfriend, a couple of my friends, and I carpooled to our college for our marching band director's last game at our school. He has been the director there for over 25 years and has change the life of so many students and taken the band from about 30 to 250. It was a really special moment to be there to see him recognized at halftime. 

December

*Celebrated my Grandad's 80th birthday by surprising him for a Brunch with the entire family. 

*My boyfriend spent Christmas with my and my family and it was so special. If there is one holiday I love more than anything else it's Christmas, we have so many traditions which I love and it was great that he got to be a part of it. 

Turns out it was a pretty great year! I will be posting my hopes for 2014 in the next post. Time to go shopping for my New Year's party. I hope you all have a safe && Happy New Year! 

one year ago.

one year ago was my last day of student teaching. look at me now, with my own classroom, surviving, and working with the most amazing kids.

i am blessed.

the fact that i have survived the past 4 months amazes me. i have learned so much about myself and what i am capable of. i love being a teacher. i love greeting my students at the door at the beginning of each class period. i love when their faces light up because they are excited to tell me a story. i love when they finally understand something and it clicks.

it hasn't always been easy, i have the kids who are disrespectful, rude, and disengaged but i don't let them get me down. i kill them with kindness, greet them with a smile every day, and hope that this wil be the day they change their attitude. it's tough, but so worth it.

i am so excited to see what the next 6 months have in store for me.

for now, 2 weeks of relaxation, family time, boyfriend time, and enjoying the season. i am looking forward to this break so much.

a peek at my tree.

Last night my mom my boyfriend and I went to my house for dinner and I helped my mom set up the Christmas Tree. Usually my little brother is there too but he decided to stay at school longer after finals so he isn't home yet. My mom didn't want to wait any longer so we decorated it on our own. Our Christmas tree is full of tradition and one of our traditions is that we keep all of our old ornaments. There are ones that range from the year I was born all the way to ones that we got last year. I love that it is eclectic and that each ornament has a story. I hope that when I have children we have a tree like that. While I do love how perfect some trees look with matching ornaments and color schemes, I love the chaos and originality that our tree has. I picked some of my favorite ornaments and made this pic stitch last night.

 In the top corner is me when I was in second grade...check out those bangs. :P Below that is an ornament from my college. GO COUGS! The seasame street ornament is one that has been on the tree as long as I can remember. I think that it was my older brothers. My mom tried to not put it on the tree this year but I objected, it's a classic! The bottom right is a santa buried in sand which my dad gave me last year. It has the name of the town on the shore in NJ where he lives. I go visit him every summer, that is my happy place. Lastly is the big heart ornament in memory of my stepdad who died two years ago. I miss him every day and I am thankful that we have that ornament so that he is part of our christmas. He was my father for 10 years and had a really big impact on my life. 

I hope that you have as much fun decorating your tree as I do! 9 days until Christmas! 

16 days

I cannot believe that it is only 16 days until Christmas, where did the fall go? The time is flying by and I will take that as a good thing because it means that I am surviving my first year of teaching. It has it's days, but I still love it. I am so thankful for a job that is so wonderful, it is truly a blessing.

Speaking of blessings, my boyfriend moved to my side of the state (he was 4 hours away) and now we are living together! I am so excited to finally be living our lives together. After spending 4 years together in college when we could hang out basically 24/7 the past 18 months apart have been so incredibly hard. I love being able to welcome him home from work every night, spend lazy sundays watching football, and reading the bible together before bed. It is wonderful. I also now only live 5 minutes from where I teach and am absolutely loving that commute. It doesn't get better than this!

I am really in the Christmas spirit this year. I have been diving into my bible and trying to really focus on Jesus and his birth during this season. Along with that, I am such a giver and absolutely love being able to shop for the people that I love. I must say, I am impressed with my purchases so far.

I've been gone a while but besides moving out things are pretty standard. Life is so, so, good. I thank the Lord for all of these blessing every day.

 

Re-reading Mockingjay after seeing Catching Fire & enjoying my fireplace in this freezing weather! 

<3

Influence.

Today we had a day at school without kids for professional development. We all came into the day curious since they didn't tell us what we were going to be learning about. It ended up being all about character development and servant leadership (something out school is founded on) and it was a really wonderful day.

I wanted to share what I thought was possibly the best part of the day. We were discussing leadership and the definition 'Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.' Individually we were asked to write down the top 15 people who we think had the biggest influence on the world. After we wrote out lists we shared them with the table, guess who everyone except one person had at the top of their lists....Jesus! I was so excited and encouraged by this fact. Even though I know that some of them may or may not be believers, it was refreshing to actually hear that name being talked about in school. Being a public teacher you can't be open about religion but there are so many times that I wish I could. We ended up making it a survey of all 100+ teachers at the training and almost 90% of them agreed that Jesus was the person with the biggest influence on the world. This made my heart happy.

Jesus has had such an influence on every single one of us. He came for us, he lived for us, he died for us. Nobody else can love us as much as he does. Knowing that most of my coworkers believe the same thing makes me even happier with the place that I work and was definitely the highlight of my day.

midweek confessions

I've been away for a while and I figured there was no better way to come back than linking with E for some Miweek Confessions!

1. I still love my job. Every day there are little things that just make me so happy that the stress, worry, and exhaustion are all worth it. I have yet to question if this was the right career for me and I think that as a first year teacher I am blessed to be feeling this good about it.

2. My boyfriend and I are signing a lease on an apartment...today! We have been living 300 miles apart since we graduated college in May of 2012. I am beyond excited to be living in the same place as him and not have to only see him a couple weekends a month. I'm so ready for our life to continue together and this is such a big step. We are going furniture shopping today and while I am thinking walmart, he has bigger plans. We will see what our bank accounts allow.

3. I am so ready for Christmas this year! Usually I am a person who likes to wait until after thanksgiving but I'm so ready to go out and start shopping for people. My favorite part about the holidays is picking out great presents for people because it brings me so much joy watching them open them and be excited about what I got them, especially when it's something they really wanted. It's also an excuse to shop, and I love to shop! Buttttt, I haven't started listening to Christmas music yet. That is one thing that I will stand firm on.

4. I wear leggings or skinny jeans every wednesday. This wouldn't be such an issue, except that I have a class that i see only on wednesdays and they probably think that I should get some more clothes. Granted it is always a different dress, I wonder if they notice and judge me. I wear dress pants every other day except friday, thank God for casual Fridays.

5. I get to see my best friend on Friday! I haven't seen her since her college graduation in May and I can't wait! We are going to visit our college for our band director's last football game. He is retiring after 25 years. The impact that he had on us as students was life changing. We all look up to him and he kept us in check all of our college years. We love him like a father and it will be bittersweet saying goodbye. He deserves retirement though and will be living it up in his cabin in Montana.

That's all for this week. Off for some professional development this morning then a crazy wednesday. Thanks for reading! Happy Hump Day! :]

Dear November...

Dear November,

We are already a few days in and you have been a great month so far. I came back from a great trip, got an extra hour of sleep, and made the decision to get my health back on track. Please send us some sunny fall days to make up for the fact that we barely have any daylight. I don't have any big things happening this month but in a way I am thankful for that, thankful for a little more time to myself and for some time I can give to others.

This month my boyfriend is supposed to be moving to my town so I cannot wait for that to happen. After being in a long distance relationship for almost 18 months since we graduated college it will be amazing to be living in the same place again.

The football team at the school I teach at made it to the playoffs so I will have some more football games to attend. I will also be going back to my college for my band director's last game there, after 26 years. It is going to be a special day for him and I am so thankful to be able to attend.

At the end of the month we have Thanksgiving and Black Friday! Due to family things I am not a very big fan of Thanksgiving but I LOVE going out and getting steals on Black Friday. This is a special time for my mom and I and since I will have an entire apartment to furnish and decorate I think that it will be the perfect time for that.

Happy November, everyone!

Nationals Update!

I am home from Nationals and I must say, it was an amazing trip! It was everything that I hoped for and more. The kids had a blast, I had a blast, and we all left with smiles on our faces. I am going to update you based on the 'hopes' that I posted before the trip.

-We had no issues in the airport and the fact that we flew Southwest was kinda cool because the kids could sit by whoever they want and change on each flight. Our last flight coming home we had some crazy turbulence and one of my students threw up when we got off the flight but thankfully we made it home safe and sound.

-We made it to the hotel easy-peasy! The airport shuttle driver was hilarious and told us stories the whole way there.

-We didn't lose any kids! The first day my partner teacher lose his briefcase (thankfully nothing super important was in it) so the rest of the week we joked that it was my job to not lose the kids. I succeeded and we didn't even have any near disasters. Thank goodness for kids to meet you where they are supposed to, when they are supposed to.

-We had two teams place FIRST in the nation, which means I have four students who are National Champions. We blew the goal of one student in the top 3 out of the water. Each student was in a different division (they take the top 1 per state) so they weren't competing against each other, only students from other states.  I am so thrilled for those students and that accomplishment. Our other students finished 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th in their respective divisions. Not too shabby!

-I'm not sure if it was the time of their life but I think that they all had a wonderful time and based on the conversations we had on the last day, the are all inspired and ready to start working on their projects for next year. It's pretty exciting. :]

I am so thankful to have been able to go on this trip and have this experience with the kids. I can't believe how blessed I am.

Back to school tomorrow, I'm excited to see the rest of my kids!

Nationals Bound!

Tomorrow I am taking 11 students across the country to a National Convention for a club that I am an advisor for. I am thrilled and excited, only a tad bit nervous. Thankfully these are all really great kids and we also have another teacher and a couple of chaperones going, but I am the organized one who is running a lot of the activities. I can't help but think about how just 5 years ago I was making this trip, but as a student. Sometimes I have a hard time believing how far I have come. Teaching has been my dream for so long, taking kids to this convention was a life goal that I set for myself when I was a student attending the convention. I never could have imagined that my first year of teaching I was already accomplishing it. I am blessed, God is good.

Things I'm hoping for:
-That there are no airport issues or freak outs about airplanes/flying
-That we get safely to our hotel tomorrow evening
-That we don't get lost downtown, or lose any kids downtown...or lose any kids anywhere
-That we have at least one student get into the top 3 in the Nation
-That the kids have the time of their life and leave feeling inspired and more motivated to be involved in this organization

I'll be back to report on those hopes on Saturday, have a great week!

Happy Sunday!

I got to spend this weekend with my boyfriend and it was a lot of fun. His passion is also teaching, but teaching drumline. He has worked for different high schools teaching them since he graduated and it is his true passion. I spent the weekend with him at a marching band competition and it was a lot of fun. I love watching him interact with the students and seeing how much the students look up to him. When he moves to live near me I hope that he finds a school that will allow him to work with their drummers. I feel really guilty that he has to give up his passion for me to be able to have my dream job. I wish there was a way for both of them to happen.

On an unrelated note, I saw this on another blog this week and I couldn't not re-post it because of how perfect the quote seems. As I grow on my journey of building this relationship with Jesus I feel so much more confident in my prayer. I used to not know where to start with my prayers but now it feels like it just flows out so easily. It is like a conversation with a friend, I can just let everything out, it's amazing. I am so thankful to have a Lord who listens to us at all times and is always looking out for us.

I hope you all had wonderful, relaxing, weekends!

life is short.

I hate coming back just for a sad post, but today is a sad day. I came home after school and one of my friends from college facebooked me and asked, did you hear about Becca? Now I don't know about you, but whenever I hear a question like that you can assume that it wasn't good. Well...it wasn't.

Becca was killed in a car accident this morning. Nobody expected it, her facebook statues from a couple hours earlier talked about how tired she was but how much she loved her job and that it made it worth going to work. It breaks my heart.

More than anything I hurt for her family and her friends. She was so young, just graduated from college and so excited for her new job. I know that she had great plans for her life and now it was all cut short. I can't imagine the pain that they are going through but I know they need all of the prayers they can get.

It makes me think about my life. I'm only 23. I'm looking forward to getting engaged, married, getting my masters, having children, and accomplishing things in my career. We make all of these plans but we never know the ultimate plan, how long we will be on these earth. If today was my last day, did I live it happily? Today the answer would probably be no. I struggled with kids being on task, I was stressed about school, I was upset at my boyfriend for not texting me back...all of this while a mother was crying for her daughter, a best friend was grieving for her partner in crime. This is a terrible wake up call, but that is exactly what it is. I need to chose to be thankful. I used to be good at it and then school and stress got in the way. There is so much to be thankful for each and every day, look for it, thank God for it.

craziness.

Sorry for my lack of posting in this blog, this year has truly kicked it into high year and I feel like I barely have a moment to breathe.

School is still great, for the most part I still love teaching and the joy that it brings me every day. Yes, there are times when my students don't cooperate, or when they ask the same question 10 times since they didn't listen to directions, or when my lesson is a total flop, but I am trying to accept that this is okay, People kept telling me that the first year would be hard, and it is. I think the hardest thing is having so little free time. I am worried about what that will be like when my boyfriend moves here and I want to spend time with him but I'm hoping that I will be better at managing my time by then. I am convinced that I could literally spend every free moment doing school stuff and I still wouldn't feel like I am ahead.

I haven't worked out in at least three weeks. It makes me sad because I miss it and miss how good it makes me feel. It's all my own excuses but between meetings, other commitments, being sick, and being exhausted, it just isn't happening for me right now. I hope that I can change that soon.

I have been going out of town almost every other weekend to see my boyfriend and that makes planning hard but it makes me so happy. I am so thankful that we have been able to see each other so much and when he finally moves here I will be one happy girl.

We had homecoming at our school this week and it is a big deal around here. I dressed up for all of the spirit days and went to the football game last night, it was a blast. I am heading out to chaperone the dance in about two hours. That is sure to be an experience.

Overall life is good. Crazy, stressful, hectic, but good. <3

Midweek Confessions

I'm linking up with E for some lovely midweek confessions!

• I am really, genuinely, starting to feel overwhelmed with school. I still love my job and it is such a blessing but some days I am just so drained that I want to cry. People weren't lying when they said it was hard. 

• I want new boots, really bad. I find myself wanting to wear them almost daily because they are comfy and I love being able to wear leggings but I only have one pair that I like so I limit myself to once a week. I went shopping this weekend and tried to find some but between my monster calves and my cheap budget it didn't happen. I need to splurge and get nice ones. Any suggestions? 

• I said on Friday that this week I would force myself to go to the gym. Well it's wednesday and all the days I could have gone have passed. Oops. That's what happens when you live at home and your mom tempts you with better things to do after school than go to the gym. 

• I forgot to put mascara on today. I wore a super cute outfit, curled my hair, && as I was driving to school I remembered that I didn't finish my make-up. lovely. 

• I am going back to my college this weekend to go to a football game this weekend and I'm so excited! I don't even care that it's a 5 hour drive after a night of little to no sleep from supervising a lock-in. I get to eat at my favorite places, see some of my best friends, have a fabulous football weekend, and see my boyfriend. <3 Fun weekends are what get me through the week. 

Halfway there! Happy Wednesday Hump Day!

Fall

This weekend we had a streak of two sunny days in the 70s and this was amazing after a stretch of record breaking rain in my area. I'm not sure if it was the weather or the fact that I had a lot of time to myself but this weekend was a really good one.

On Friday we had a silent auction to raise money for my students and their trip to Nationals. I was basically in charge of it so it was pretty stressful but the night was such a success. All of the people who attended were so generous and it was a really fun event. We made a lot of money for the kids and that makes me so happy.

Since I got my first paycheck this week I told my mom that I wanted to go shopping, so we did! I didn't spend too much but got some more school clothes, including a scarf and dress that I am super excited about. I still need to find some good new boots but those are always a struggle for me. I need to splurge and by expensive ones that will last but I am so cheap! it's a serious issue.

Today I spent most of the day at church, serving, attending service, then at a leaders meeting for kids ministry but in the afternoon I went to a pumpkin patch and corn maze which was a blast. The sunny weather was perfect and the group I was with was a lot of fun.

This evening I even had time to catch up on some quality reality tv that I had on my dvr and relax. It's so nice to have a little time to myself. This week is going to be a lot less busy (I hope) and I get to see my boyfriend this weekend. It should be a good week!

Happy Monday!

Five on Friday.

I'm linking up with to share five things that happened for me this week! I apologize in advance that they are basically all related to school but it pretty much consumes my life.

1. This week was the first time I felt so overwhelmed that I literally wanted to cry. We were sitting at a training for this insane evaluation system we have to use and I was just so stressed out. I try to always be the happy teacher and put a smile on my face but that day it was hard to even make it through the day.

2. The earliest I was home from school this week was 7pm. Considering the fact that I go to bed by 10 this does not leave me enough 'me' time and I think contributed to the feelings above. I really need to work on balance in my life.

3. We had a 'secret staff dress up week' this week which meant casual outfits every day. It was glorious. I love dressing up but jeans sure felt great.

4. I didn't make it to the gym once this week...and I ate like crap. I'm not feeling to good about it. I am forcing myself to the gym next week.

5. I got my first real paycheck and it was glorious! Since I've never had a 'real' job before the check felt massive. My mom and I are going shopping this weekend and I can't wait to buy some new clothes. I am also booking a hotel and flight to vegas for my best friend's bachelorette party. Woo!

Happy Friday!

share the good news

This week at bible study we are talking about Evangelism and we had some really intense conversations. I still consider myself kind of a 'baby Christian' because I am still learning and haven't been involved in the church for very long. I find these talks so interesting because I am thinking about things I never thought about before.

When talking about evangelism our pastor made a point that we are pro at evangelizing, when there is a new starbucks, we all talk about it...when there is a new iphone, the same. We are forgetting the greatest news of all, Jesus died for us and we can all have eternal life! Why are we not shouting this from the rooftops? I'm guilty of this, I use my blog to talk about my faith but ask me how often I talk about it with friends who are non-believers and I probably couldn't tell you the last time I did. I am so thankful for my small group and friends from church who help me grow but I wish I could do that for other people.

I want to become more intentional. I want to spread the good news and find ways to show God's love.

How do you share the good news?

Dear October...

You are my first full month of school and I hope that you are kind to me. Please help my kids to not be totally hyped up on sugar or totally zombies from lack of sleep as we move into the year. This is the time that 'fall' really hits and I'm excited to see the leaves change color but not excited to see our days dwindle down to nothing. Clearly I'm conflicted on how I feel but here are some of the things I'm looking forward to this month.

1. FFA National Convention! Even though it is only my first year teaching I get to go on a trip to Louisville, KY with 11 of my students who qualified for Nationals! I am absolutely thrilled! Since I student taught and helped many of them last year I don't feel bad about the school paying a ridiculously high amount of money to send me. I went to Nationals as a student and I can't wait to see my students experience it.

2. Homecoming...high school style! My school has homecoming this month and I'm excited for all of the hoo-rah that accompanies it. I love participating in Spirit Weeks and being silly with my kids. It also will be the first home football game I can go to, FINALLY! It will be a fun week.

3. Marching Band Competitions. My boyfriend teaches drumline for a couple of high schools and October means marching band competition season, which means he will be traveling closer to me more often and I get to see him almost every other weekend. :]

4. Fall clothes! I am wearing my first outfit of leggings and a sweater dress today and I love it. So comfortable yet it looks like it's actually cute. I also have been wearing quite a few scarves and my boots with skinny jeans. All of these are total wins. Now I just want to go buy some new boots!

5. Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch adventures! I am going to go to the corn maze this weekend with some of my friends and I haven't done that since high school. Nothing says October like a pumpkin patch and corn maze!

I hope you all have some equally wonderful things to look forward to this month!

Teacher Talk : Teacher Outfits

I'm linking up with Nicole and Jamie for my second Teaching Tuesday post!

One of the things that I love about teaching is that I get to dress up every day! I look forward to my fridays and jeans, don't get me wrong, but I do enjoy the nicer clothes during the week. Here is a sneak peek of some of my favorite teaching items.

I love sheer shirts and button ups, and slacks every day except fridays. My classroom is freezing so I usually wear a cardigan or at least have one nearby for when I'm chilly. I have them in almost every color, it's an addiction. I am also totally a ballet flats kind-of-girl. :] I am on the tall side so I have never tried wearing heels to school but I imagine that they would make me feel like a giant. My lanyard is practically an accessory since I have to wear it every day so I love that I have this awesome bejeweled one! I am not the best at accessorizing so this does it for me.

I like to think that I am fashionable but really, I grab a pair of dress pants and a top && call it a day!

I hope you all had a great day, happy teaching tuesday!

typical, atypical weekend

This was my first traveling weekend since school starting and I am definitely feeling the effects. My boyfriend and I have been in a long distance relationships for almost a year and a half (since we graduated from college and moved back to our respective homes) and the school year makes it really hard to see each other. We have worked hard to make it work but thankfully he will be moving to my town in a few months. Anyways, this weekend I went and visited him and even though it made for a really long friday, it was worth it.

He teaches drumline for a high school marching band so when I got there on Friday I met him at a football game. I love the energy of high school football games and we had a good time. On Saturday the highlights were going to our favorite restaurant and watching our college dominate in their football game. This morning it was bittersweet knowing that I had to leave, but we got to spend a couple of hours relaxing, watching football, and cuddling on the couch.

It hurts my heart to be apart but I know that it is making us stronger and setting us up for an even better relationship when we are finally together again. We spent four years inseparable while in college so I know what it's like and I know how fabulous it will be. I can't wait for when he moves here and we are back to our normal, every day, relationship. It will be glorious.

I hope you all have a good monday! I am sick so I'm a little nervous for how school will go but I just made jeopardy for my 9th graders and have lots of activities for my juniors. Let's hope they cooperate!

Midweek Confesions

Nothing like some confessions to brighten up the middle of the week. I'm linking up with E for some always fabulous Midweek Confessions! These are all school related since school is basically my life. I heard that the first year of teaching is hard but man, it's kicking my butt! Thankfully I have some awesome students and that's what most of these are about. These ones really brighten my days and remind me why I chose this profession. Midweek Confessions...this kids say.

1. Student walks into my class today and loudly proclaimed, "Ms. T... can we PLEASE teach Tyler how to act with his girlfriend. He saw her in the hallway and gave her the most awkward hug like he didn't even know what to do. This really is a life skill, we need to have a lesson on it today." Meanwhile the boy he is talking to tries to make excuses and is clearly embarrassed. Oh, freshman boys.


2. We were talking about when I was in college and how I met my boyfriend. "You were in a band! What was it called? Were you the lead singer?"
...No, I was in the band, like, you know, the marching band? *student laughs* oh...

3. A student asks me about another student who had a crush on me last year. That whole situation was super weird and awkward for me. The kid this year, "I heard you had a boyfriend, are you still in a relationship? Are you ready for it? For the big question?" I walk away embarrassed. Why am I embarrassed about a 15 year old kid asking me about if I'm ready to get married to my boyfriend of 5 years. I think just knowing that they know something so personal about me kinda weirds me out.

4. "Ms. T... what day is it? what day is it?" I say, uh, wednesday? student: "it's hump day!" I want to bust up laughing but I try to pretend that I'm a little more mature that I actually am. If only they knew how much I love that commercial, and that I might have posted about it on my twitter this morning. I seriously can't watch it without cracking up, it's the best commercial in a while.

5. In class today we were talking about the new iOs7 update and this kid was talking about how it is all that is on instagram and facebook today. boy: 'i'm instagram famous you know, look me up, blahblah-insta-name...I have so many followers' immediately a girl goes, 'can i get a shout out?' boy: 'only if you take a picture with me!' ...really kids. instagram famous && you want a shout out? kids these days.


These probably don't sound as funny in writing, but they have brightened my day all week. So thankful for these gems of students. Happy Hump Day! :D

Old Navy Steals

Usually when I go shopping and stores ask for my email I just decline because I already get way too much junk email. I read on a blog once that they get super awesome Old Navy emails so last time I was there I decided that I would sign up. Today that decision definitely paid off! I got an email last night that would give me 50% of any one item && it said that i could use it with my super cash. Sweet! I knew that i needed a new black cardigan so i got that and a pair of my favorite yoga capris for a grand total of $20! I was stoked. that's a bargain to me!

I haven't been shopping in a while because I'm broke but I'm already making lists of the things that I want to buy when I get my first paycheck at the end of this month. I absolutely cannot wait!

I mentioned before that I was going to a Carrie Underwood concert and my friend and I went and it was AMAZINGGGG. She is just so sweet, beautiful, and talented! Her voice is so wonderful and she is super adorable on stage. She was talking about love songs and then got all shy and awkward and just laughed and it cracked me up. My friends dad got us the best seats, it was a great night. I love concerts but I tend to be too cheap to ever want to buy  tickets myself. I love when I benefit and other people buy them for me.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend! The rest of mine will be filled with football and lesson planning.

Midweek Confessions

I'm linking up for one of my favorites, Midweek Confessions with E!

1. I wore new flats on Monday and got blisters on both heels that ripped to expose skin before the end of my first period plan. It was painful. Thank goodness I had band aids in my classroom and they did the trick for the day. I swear there are no shoes comfortable enough for a day at school, don't even ask me how people wear heels.

2. My students crack me up every day. Yesterday I had a kid come up to me and ask me my thoughts on the penny, the penny? I haven't thought about that in years and really I'm indifferent to the topic. He informed me that our economy would be better if we got rid of it because more people would buy things for 95 cents. I'm still pondering that thought...

3. I can't seem to get a single printer in my school to work for me. I travel between the copy room, staff lounge, and library during my plan hoping one of them will cooperate and I am yet to figure it out. I spend so much time walking between places that I don't get much planning done at all && that is probably why I have blisters.

4. I look forward to fridays way too much because I can wear jeans and a spirit shirt. three more dayssss.

5. I feel like this doesn't fit as a confession because it's a positive not a negative but I've made it to the gym 4 times in the past 4 days and it makes me feel really good about myself. They made Zumba free at my gym instead of an added cost and I'm so happy to return to it (I did it about 5 years ago in high school).

Happy Hump Day!

It wouldn't be right to let this day pass without acknowledging the date. I lived in New Jersey for most of my childhood so I grew up visiting the city and seeing the world trade centers as I drove down the road on an almost daily basis. I still can't believe they are gone and what a terrible event that was in our country's history. My prayers are will the families who have had to gone on without precious family members since this event. You are not forgotten.

Heaven

Today was one of those days at church where it really hit home and made me think. We have been studying the bible from cover to cover for the past 8 months and today was the end, we made it to Revelation. I'm going to highlight some of the things that my pastor said that really shook me.

1. The only thing that we can take to Heaven is other people. Whoa! All of the people who I am surrounded with on Earth are exactly the people who I want to be surrounded by for eternity...but are they all believers? Sadly, no. What do I need to start doing to have an impact on everyone in my life, including getting them to believe, accept the Lord, and end up in heaven with me.

2. Heaven is so great that we can't even compare it to Earth. By making it seem like Earth is a good place to live, we are making heaven smaller. We are meant to be on this Earth to do work for the Lord but it doesn't end there, it is about eternity in heaven. It's hard to accept that we aren't meant to remain on this Earth but we need to remember how amazing heaven is and that we can't even compare it to Earth.

3. Heaven is a place of sweet reunions. When we arrive and go through those pearl gates we will be surrounded by people from all different time periods and all different parts of the world. There are people who we will be able to talk to and learn from, but first we will head straight to the arms of our loved ones who are up there waiting for us. The people who we have been missing for a few days, a few years, or many years, will be there with arms wide open.

The last part made me think about the people in my life who I have lost and if they were believers and are waiting for me. My heart breaks thinking about a certain person in my life who might not be up there but I try to believe that the Lord is merciful and maybe, somehow, he made it and is waiting up there for me.

That's what on my mind this Sunday. Have a great week!

Five on Friday

I'm linking up to share five things this friday!

1. I can't wait to start going to Zumba! I was a zumba-er way back in 2008 before anyone really knew what it was. When I went to college I really missed it and then when I moved back it was really expensive at my gym so I never signed up again. As of Monday now it's included in my membership so I am thrilled to be able to start going again. Sometimes I get so bored doing cardio so it is seriously the best way to burn a ton of calories and have fun doing it.

2. I have the best group of teachers at my lunch and it makes me look forward ot every day. I didn't go to the lunch room during my student teaching and I think that made me miss out on making connections with other teachers. I'm going to work hard on that this year.

 3. Having 40 kids in a class is wayyyy too many. Scheduling at our school is all messed up for a variety of reasons  right now but I have 40 kids in my 5th and 6th periods and it is wild. I came home yesterday already starting to lose my voice. I hope they get this figured out soon.

4. We have had the most intense thunder and lightning storms the past two days and I LOVE it. We don't get them often here so it is always a treat. I think it is so cool when lightning lights up the entire sky and then the boom of thunder shakes the house. I'm definitely not one of those people who are scared of storms, it lulled me to sleep last night.

5. Even though I bought a ton of dress clothes for school I'm really happy it's friday and I can just wear jeans and my school shirt. Hello, spirit fridays. You think I have a lot of school spirit, really I just am feeling lazyyyy.

Happy Friday!

-J

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

I can't believe this day is finally here! I feel like I could still be a high schooler anticipating the first day, not a teacher of high schoolers. We have a crazy day with only the freshmen in the morning and then a whirlwind afternoon with 12 minute classes, but I am really hoping for a good day. I think that meeting them and making a positive first impression is worrying me the most right now. Also the fact that according to my grade book I have two periods with 40 kids each and I only have 34 chairs in my room...let's hope that is just a mistake that will be figured out before 5th period.

Now...for your viewing pleasure. One of my favorite 'back to schools'.

Wish me luck! Happy Wednesday everyone!

Dear September...

I'm not going to lie, you have always been one of my favorite months. Since I was a tiny little kindergartener I always looked forward to the first day of school! This year I'm a little more nervous since I'm a teacher instead of being a student, but I like to tell myself that I'm not nervous...I'm just excited. 

This month is going to hold a lot of great things and here are a few of the things I'm looking forward to the most. 

1. Going back to my college for homecoming! I didn't go last year during my student teaching and I am really looking forward to going back this year. I can't wait to see some of my friends and live the college lifestyle for a weekend.

2. State Fair! Our fair is massive, one of the top 10 in the country, and I'm so lucky that it's in my hometown! I will be there with students who are showing their animals for FFA but I still get to enjoy the delicious food and fun of the fair. 

3. Carrie Underwood! My best friend got tickets to the concert for her birthday and she chose me! I love Carrie so I can't wait. I've been listened to all of her music on repeat for a couple weeks now to prepare. Good thing I have almost 3 1/2 hours of it on my iTunes. 

4. All of our TV shows are coming back! I've talked a little bit before about my love for some TV shows and I can't wait for all of the fall premieres. I'm probably most excited for Revenge, Revolution, and Biggest Loser. 

Just writing this makes me excited! I hope you all are looking forward to this month as much as I am. But let's get real, a lot of my month will look like this...

&& I'm okay with it. I'm so blessed to have a passion for education and to have been hired and the most amazing school. Thank you, Lord. 

<3 

College Football

Over the past couple of years my boyfriend has slowly been making me get more && more into sports. I never would have imagined that I would be the one who is eagerly counting down the days until college football but guess what, I am! The countdown is finally down to one with my college team playing their season opener tomorrow. I was in marching band for all four years in college so you could say I'm pretty invested in my team. Sadly the team isn't quite so invested, going 1-11 my freshman year and being pretty dismal in the three following that. Needless to say, even though we lose...a lot, I still love them.

There are so many things to love about football, being surrounded by friends, wearing school colors, the delicious food! It is always a good time. Tomorrow we are getting together with friends to watch the game and I can't wait! Even though I'm not too hopeful for the outcome, it's all about the experience. ((you can tell i've gone to a losing school for way too long :P)) Hopefully I'll be attending my homecoming game in two weeks! We will see if I can afford to party like a college kid for a weekend when I will probably be drowning in lesson plans and papers to grade.

Are any of you avid football fans? What's your favorite thing about football?

Now I know you were all wondering....

GO COUGS! 

warm welcome

Today was the first day of training with our entire school staff and I absolutely loved it. So many of the teachers welcomed me back and were so kind in telling me that they were happy to see my hired on full time. I feel like my response was always, 'I'm so excited!' But really...I am SO excited.

One of the things that our leadership class does is make signs for all of the teachers. Even though they do it for everyone sometimes they are a little more special than others. I got one last year for student teaching and so I knew they were coming and I was really excited for mine. Well, it did not disappoint. Personally, I think I got the nicest one I've seen. I like to think that a student who really liked me wrote it, not that they just made it all up. haha. Regardless it made me feel good about myself and I wanted to share. I hope your schools do something kind to recognize you and all of your hard work!

Teacher Talk Intro

 I am so excited to be starting this link up, thanks Nicole and Jamie for organizing this!

Alright, lets get down to the nitty gritty. This will be my first year teaching and I will be teaching high school science and agriculture. I majored in Agriculture Education because I was involved with FFA in high school and it totally changed my life. If you know what FFA is, then you probably think of country kids at fairs chasing around their animals. Some of my students are exactly like that but I was in FFA for three years and never raised an animal. I was involved with the leadership aspects and Environmental Sciences/Natural Resources. I could talk about FFA for hours but I'll stop here, moral of the story being that is why I chose Agriculture. In my school that falls into the science department so I'll be teaching 2 periods of 9th grade general science, 1 period of horticulture, 2 period of remedial science for juniors who didn't pass the state standardized test in biology (but passed the bio class). It should be an interesting mix but I'm up for the challenge.

I've known I wanted to be a teacher since about 6th grade. I had a really awesome 6th grade teacher and I really looked up to her. In high school I was in a class called 'Teaching Academy' and it solidified that it was the right profession for me.

I live in Washington State and love it here...despite the rain. haha. I was born and lived in New Jersey for 10 years so I'm an East Coast girl at heart but Washington is now my home.

I was blessed to be hired at the school where I did my student teaching so I am actually not that nervous about the beginning of the school year. The admin team is SO supportive and all of the staff has been so welcoming. I loved my student teaching experience and I am confident that teaching there will be just as wonderful. The school has a culture like you wouldn't believe, everyone is so supportive and kind to one another. It's almost unreal. I couldn't ask for a better place to teach.

I'm most nervous about discipline and planning for my three preps/running a greenhouse/being a club advisor, but i'm up for the challenge!

-J

what's on my camera roll.

I am a picture taking addict && with my iPhone it's just too easy! I was trying to back it up to iCould yesterday and I had 2000+ pictures so it wouldn't work. After going through and deleting some I still have over 1,600...clearly i have a problem. Here are some recent ones to see what's been happening in my life.

Sunset over the lake. I took my FFA Officers on a retreat and the place that we went camping had the most beautiful lake in the middle of the mountains. They wanted to go watch the sunset since we were in the mountains you couldn't see the sunset but the moon started to come out and it was such a pretty sight. I sat and relaxed on the rocks while the kids were doing their own thing, it was such a serene and relaxing place.


My closet! In preparation for the new school year I thought it was imperative that I organized my closet so that I could get rid of non school appropriate clothing and make things more accessible. My best friend helped me and I ended up with this beautiful color coded closet. I'm in loveeee && yet I still feel like I have nothing to wear. Please tell me I'm not the only person with that problem.


I am the maid of honor is my best friend's wedding and we had a little get together for all of the bridesmaids yesterday. We kept it simple and just had a few yummy snacks && some wine but it was such a blast. I hosted it at my house but she did all of the work so I can't take credit for anything. I don't really know two of the other three bridesmaids but we had a blast and all laughed like we have known each other for years. The wedding isn't until next summer but I can't wait for the rest of the fun times that we will have in the months leading up to the wedding. If anyone has any good maid of honor tips feel free to share. This is the first wedding I've ever been in! 

Can't wait for my first Teacher Talk post tomorrow!

five on friday.

Happy Friday! Today I'm choosing to talk about five things that I need for starting my first year of teaching! 12 days until the first day!

1. A school bag! My mom bought me this amazing Coach bag for Christmas last year and I have been waiting all this time to be able to use it! It's HUGE and will definitely fit all of my papers, supplies, lunch, && random other stuff I bring back and forth every day. 

2. My tumbler. Every morning I bring a tumbler filled with crystal light and it's my drink choice of the morning. I don't drink coffee but I like to have something that isn't just plain old water in the mornings. There is always a tumbler on my desk and I am really good and breaking them so I get new ones all the time. My newest one is a pretty starbucks one that was part of a gift that Starbucks gave to all the new teachers at my school. Thanks Starbs! 

3. My planner. I think most of us can relate that if we lost our planners we might lose our minds! During my student teaching I just used a small personal planner and I didn't have a big plan book, I just wrote it all in a notebook, but this year I got a real teacher plan book. I feel like it's still new and beautiful and I'm a little afraid to mess it up but it's about time I started writing in it! I personalized mine with scrapbook paper (it's not the one in the picture) and I really love how it turned out. 

4. Black flats. These are my go to shoe that I end up wearing all the time. I am pretty tall so I feel uncomfortable wearing heels or wedges so I usually stick to flats. I do have some in fun colors like bright red and zebra print but I find that my black ones and the ones that I end up gravitating to the most. Right now I'm struggling between deciding if I should buy expensive ones that will last or if I should just keep buying cheap ones like I normally do. #poorteacherproblems 

5. Cardigans. I am lucky that I already own cardigans in almost every color but that doesn't mean that I'm not always in the market for a few more. :) I always seem to be in classrooms that feel like the arctic and therefore I make sure that I always have a sweater to put on. On those cold winter mornings I love wearing a cardigan and a scarf because I am so cozy and it looks professional! Talk about a win, win! 

Those are my top 5 back to school items! What would be on your list? Happy  Friday! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. 

bad hair day.

my mom was off today && she decided that she wanted to get her hair done and she asked if i wanted to get mine done too. free haircut and highlights? of course! i was excited and decided that since i always get typical blonde highlights i wanted to mix it up a little and try an auburn color. i have medium brown hair so i thought doing something dark would be pretty and a good fit for fall. well...it didn't quite turn out that well.

we went to the local beauty school which my mom had been to before so she said it was fine. i also have been to similar types of places so i felt fine about it. then when i sat down i found out that girl that was doing my foil had never done it before, so that was nerve wracking. there were two people who were watching her and giving her tips so i felt a little better about it. but still. if you've never been to a beauty school one of the downsides is that it takes FOREVER. it seriously took almost two hours for her to just get the foils in my hair. my mom came over when they were washing it and she was like wow, thats bright! so that made me nervous. when she finally blow dried it i wanted to cry. it looked terribleeeee. it's so bright and looks like it was dyed, not like they were just highlights. i told her the word 'subtle' like ten times and it's anything but that. with school starting in two weeks i feel like my confidence is totally shot. i know it might just take time to get used to but i'm really not feeling to good about it. i got in my car and seriously had to try not to cry.

alright, that's my hair rant for the day. we'll see what happens.

changing my heart.

Sorry for being gone for so long, the month leading up to school has proved to be pure craziness and I'm sure it will only get crazier as the school year approaches. We don't start school until after labor day so I still have a couple weeks before I finally get to meet all of my kiddos. I cannot wait!

I went on a camping trip this weekend and I was sleeping in a tent on my own. I am not a camper by any means and I am also scared of the dark, this meant that it was a pretty scary time. I found myself awake in the middle of the night freaking out because I thought I heard noises outside and instead of just crying or trying to sleep I started praying. I asked the Lord to keep me safe and he calmed my nerves and helped me get back to sleep. I love being able to turn myself over to the Lord and know that he controls my life. He has it all planned out for me and he will keep me safe.

I have been meeting with my small group for a few months now and I am loving the relationships that we are forming. I'm so thankful to have a group that is helping me to grow in my relationship with the Lord as well as providing me with friendships.

I know that I keep saying it but I will have some classroom pictures soon! I want to wait until everything is perfect though I'm sure that will never happen.

Happy Wedesday!

teacher talk.

I am going to join this monthly link up with Nicole and I wanted to share for any other teacher readers. If you haven't read her blog, Bloom, you should definitely check it out. It's one of my favorites.

So speaking of teacher things, it's been a busy week for me! I have been in my classroom preparing for the year and even though it seems like my list is endless, I'm starting to feel as if my room is my own. One of my friends stopped by today and I told her that if school was starting tomorrow I would be okay with my room, and I think that's a good sign. We still have 29 days until the first day of school so I have plenty of time to adjust things and make my final preparations.

I honestly can't believe that I'm a teacher. I have always wanted to be a teacher and the fact that it's happening right now blows my mind. I work at an amazing school with a supportive staff, I am so thankful.

Worth

For a long time I have been wanting to serve in the Nursery at Church and today was my first day! I was a little nervous since I didn't know what to expect but it was a lot of fun. I miss when I used to nanny and take care of little kids so it was a blast to be able to read them stories and play with them. I think it will be a highlight of my week. But before I volunteered, I listened to a sermon that rocked my world, and that's what I want to share.

Today at church we talked about value and how people measure their worth. Our pastor made an analogy about the fact that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Remember in the 90's when we all bought beanie babies because they are going to be 'worth' so much? Well right now those are all sitting in my garage gathering dust. Anyways the point was that our value is in Jesus. He came to this Earth for us. He was betrayed, abandoned, mocked, beaten, tortured, wrongly sentenced, and eventually killed, for us. Jesus really loves us, all of us.

Jesus died for me. I am a person of great worth.

Jesus died for you. You are a person of great worth.

When you are feeling sad, alone, discouraged, or just having a bad day, try to remember how much you are worth. You are on this earth for a reason, you have a purpose, and you were given this life by our great creator.

FIve on [[a fit]] Friday!

I'm linking up with Darci today for my Five on Friday!

I'm trying to eat healthy and get myself in shape at the gym so today I'm going to talk about my five foods that are my keys to eating well. If I was able to stick to eating these five foods then I probably would have a lot easier time losing weight. It's all those other pesky things that sneak ing (ice cream being the worst) that ruin it for me!

1. Apples! There is nothing like a crisp, juicy, apple. For the past couple of years I have eaten an apple almost every single day and I give that credit for why I don't get sick often *knock on wood* and generally am pretty healthy. You've all heard it, an apple a day keeps the doctor away! My personal favorites are Pink Lady and Golden Delicious.

2. Tillamook Light Yogurt. Very Vanilla! I am a weird person when it comes to yogurt and I only will eat vanilla. I don't like the little pieces of fruit in yogurt and I know that they are TINY but they still gross me out and I can't eat them. So I stick to plain old vanilla and it's delicious. I like Tillamook because it's nice and creamy and I think that they don't use aspertame, so that's always a plus. We know I get enough of that from my diet coke. :P

3. Fiber One 80 Calorie cereal...chocolate! This is a great snack for any time of the day. If I need something to satisfy my desire for chocolate this is a great go-to because I can have a whole handful for only 80 calories! I do sometimes have it with milk and then you end up with yummy chocolate milk. It's not super filling so I usually need something else with it for breakfast but it's still good.

4. Baby Carrots. Let's be honest, I don't actually like carrots. I make myself eat them because I know they have little calories and I feel like they have to be good for me...right? They have the convenience of being small and easy to eat pretty much anywhere. I heard on biggest loser once that if you aren't hungry enough to eat your vegetables then you aren't actually hungry, for me carrots are always the test for that. I save them for after school when I'm starving && then I actually eat them.

5. Luna Bars. These aren't the best and usually if I am counting calories I don't eat them as much just because they have more calories and not a lot of protein. When I'm serious I will stick to 'pure protein' bars but if I want something that tastes a little better then Luna Bars it is! I personally love the Nutz Over Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookie. Chocolate caramel brownie is also a winner.
That's my fun down on my five favorite healthy foods. What are your go to healthy snacks? I'd love to hear some suggestions! -J

Midweek Confessions || 6

I'm linking up with E @ E, Myself, and I for some midweek confessions!

*My students want to go on an officer retreat for their club and i really, really, really, don't want to go camping. I am not big on the idea of cooking on a campfire, sleeping on the ground, and not showering....while being surrounded by my students for three days. Don't get me wrong, I love them...but can't we just stay in a nice hotel or something? 

*Big Brother is my favorite show of the summer. Watching people live in a house and do nothing with their lives? Sounds like a winner. You'd think I'd have something better to do than watch it THREE nights a week and read spoilers online in between. 

*I want to put flowers/plants in my classroom but am afraid they will die && it will look bad since I'm the horticulture teacher. 

*I'm not the best driver and when I was on the highway the other day I was reaching for my chapstick and swerved really bad into the other lane. Thankfully I was in the middle of nowhere and there probably wasn't another car within a mile so nothing happened. EXCEPT that my car started beeping and yelling at me and a little car with swirly lines came on the dash. I've never seen that before. Lesson learned, chapstick isn't that important. 

*I haven't straightened my hair in like 3 weeks and it's the softest it's ever been. I might continue to rock the messy buns just because I feel like my hair is so much healthier and stronger. 

Anyways that's all for this week! Happy Wednesday! 

-J

Jesus' Miracles

If I miss church on Sundays I love to listen to the sermons in my car when I am making long drives. Yesterday since I drove for almost 4 hours I decided it was the perfect time to catch up on the messages I missed from the past two weeks when I was on vacation.

Right now we are reading through the Gospels about the life of Jesus. Whenever I read these stories I am amazed by the love that Jesus has and all that he did for the people around him. He performed multiple miracles to make people believe in who he was and what he came here to do. One of my favorites is the story of feeding the 5,000. My dad used to reference this story when I was a kid and when I saw it in my reading I instantly knew what he was talking about. Jesus will always provide. He provided those thousands of people with their fill, it was a miracle. When he was in a boat in Sea of Galilee with his disciples they came across a storm. They were all worried that they would sink and drown but Jesus told them not to worry, to have faith, and he calmed the storm. This showed how powerful he was. Yes he could heal the sick, make the blind see, rid people of demons, but he also could control nature which was even more impressive to the people around him.

These miracles are impressive to read about, but I know that some people have a hard time making them relatable in real life. If I stop and think about my life, I know that I can see many miracles right in my own life. I have a brother who was born weighing less than two pounds. It was a miracle that he survived and now he is healthier than ever, just ran a marathon last weekend, and is taller than me! I decided to become a teacher and in student teaching I found that I was at the perfect school. There wasn't an opening there and I was discouraged and sad that I'd have to leave. One day I found out that the teacher in my subject area resigned and I applied, interviewed, and was hired. It was a miracle. Miracles are all around us if we open our eyes to see them.

In the sermon my pastor was talking about how Jesus is not a genie, you can't just call on him when you want and ask him to grant your wishes. It doesn't work like that, Jesus wants to be part of you life all of the time, not just when you need something. It made me evaluate my life, am I only calling on Jesus when I need him? Lately I have been striving to make sure to be more thankful than ever. I know that there are so many things in this life that I have been blessed with and it is important to take the time to thank Jesus for each of those gifts. Without him, I would have nothing.

What miracles have happened in your life? Thank God for them. What are you feeling blessed with right now? Thank God for the blessings.

Happy Saturday!

-J

Five on Friday

I am linking up with Darci to join in the fun of 'Five on Friday!' Today my edition is the five top things from my vacation. It seemed too short but I also was excited to come back home and start getting ready for the school year! Anyways, my top five!

1. Getting Tan! I came home considerably darker than I was when I left. I attribute this to a couple days on the beach and my devotion to soaking up the sun. Even though it was 90 degrees with high humidity I sucked it up in order to get some color.

2. Walking the Boards! I was nervous to see the Boardwalk after it was devastated by hurricane Sandy bur surprisingly a lot of it was up and running again. It was heartbreaking to see where the pier was that is completely washed away. Also my favorite arcade was swept into the ocean. It's weird knowing it isn't there anymore but I love the memories I have from that place.

3. Pontoon boating! My dad rented a boat for the day and we went out with my cousins, aunt, and grandpa. We used to do this when we were younger and at my Uncle's Cabin in Upstate New York. It was always a blast then and I am glad that it was just as fun this time around. It was a gorgeous day to be on the water, laugh with my family, and swim in the bay. We saw so many gorgeous houses, I wish I could live on the water someday.

4. Harvard! This school has so much history and touring the campus was the coolest thing. Plus our tour guide was awesome and gave us so many fun facts to take home as trivia tidbits.

5. Family! Nothing beats getting together with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandpa who I haven't seen in a year. It's amazing that even though we are apart for so long we always pick up right where we left off and have an amazing time together. I am so fortunate to have such a loving, fun, and supportive family.

That's my five! Off to visit my boyfriend for the weekend!

Boston.

My brother and I made a little trip up to Boston for a couple of days and it has been a blast. I haven't been here before and since I am such a history buff it is really cool to see all of the sights. I have picked out some of my favorite pictures to tell a little bit about our journey. 

In Boston we traveled along the Freedom Trail which is genius. They literally have a trail of bricks (or red paint) that you follow the entire way. It's great because then you don't have to have your map out and constantly be checking it. We were able to leisurely walk it and enjoy looking up at all of the architecture surrounding us. I bought those sparkly silver shoes yesterday and I LOVE how they look in the picture. To the right is Paul Revere's grave. We also went in his house and visiting the Old North Church where he hung the lanterns to warn the colonists that 'The British are Coming!" 

Before we got to Boston we stopped at Yale! I am a sucker for visiting colleges (even though I'm already done with college) and exploring their campuses. We didn't spend a lot of time at Yale but we stumbled upon a copy of the Gutenberg Bible (circa 1450) and a dining hall that looks just like the one that Rory eats at in Gilmore Girls. I'm not going to lie, I spent most of my time at Yale trying to picture scenes from Gilmore Girls and I wasn't too successful. I'm not convinced she actually went to Yale. 

In Springfield, Massachusettes there is a Dr. Seuss Memorial Garden and we couldn't resist. They had statues of Horton, Sam I Am, Thing 1 and Thing 2, and the Cat in the Hat. It was cute. 

           

As I mentioned above we love college so of course we went to Harvard. It was absolutely beautiful. I was amazed by the brick buildings and how pretty the entire campus was. We went on a tour so we got to learn about some of the history and that really made the campus come to life. I decided that I definitely liked Harvard more than Yale (the campus was easier to navigate, it was in a better location, their color is crimson...haha jk) but maybe I'm biased since we didn't do a formal tour at Yale. Regardless I'm glad that we visited.

Tomorrow morning we have a little more sightseeing then it's back towards my Dad's for a couple more days before we return home. I don't want to leave, vacation is too much fun.

What I'll be doing for the next 10 days...

• Walking the boardwalk, eating salt water taffy, new york style pizza, and sno cones. 
• Laying on the beach for hours soaking up the sun and working on my tan! 
• Catching up with my dad who I only get to see once a year since he lives on the other side of the country. 
• Seeing my grandpa, step-sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephew who I haven't seen since lasts summer. 

• Eating way too much yummy food that is not nearly as good where I live. I'm already looking forward to bagels, dunkin donuts, sweet corn, chinese food, and frozen yogurt. 
• Road-tripping to Boston with my little Brother 
• Reading a new book
• Relaxing and enjoying some time away.

I'm off to the east coast for the next 10 days! I might have a few updates but I'm not sure. I hope everyone has a fun filled middle of July!