iTeach.

Sorry for being away! Thanks to Lauren who commented telling me to come back, you are so sweet. :]

The reason for my hiatus is that I was at a teachers conference all week. I am an agriculture teacher and all of the ag teachers from around the state got together for this conference. We spent a week sharing ideas, learning about changes happening in our state, and celebrating our success over the last year. This is the first time I got to interact with a lot of these teachers since I am new this year and just joining the ag teacher family. The knowledge that some of them have is incredible but their willingness to share that knowledge with new teachers is incredible. I left feeling excited for the upcoming school year and confident in my career choice. There are 10 other people who graduated with me this year and every year at conference it's going to be like a class reunion. It was an amazing week and I learned so much. I can't wait for September!

Friday's Letters || 3

Dear Mentor Teacher: There aren't enough words to express how thankful I am to have been placed in your classroom and to have been able to learn from you. I have grown so much since meeting you almost a year ago. I know that I would not have been nearly as successful without you. I am thrilled to now be teaching alongside you and I hope to make your life a lot easier in the upcoming years.

Dear Sun: I am liking what you have been doing to my skin the past couple of days. I know that you are about to go into hiding but I would really appreciate it if you'd stick around. You make life so much more enjoyable and you make me look good.

Dear Candy Crush: Why must you be so addicting? It is a good thing that there are limits to the amount of lives that you can have because otherwise I would have a serious problem. Your levels are so challenging and make me feel incompetent. Ease up a little, okay?

Dear Mom: Thanks for taking me shopping today. I love scanning the clearance racks for bargains with you and then using extra coupons to get the best deal. Thanks for teaching me how to find the cutest clothes for the best  price, it's a life skill. :]

Dear H: I'm glad we got to have a quality girls night tonight. Mean girls, wine, baking cookies, && painting toenails was a winning combination. I'm glad we got to walk through this crazy journey of student teaching together and now we get the even crazier journey of our first year of teaching. I'm thankful for your friendship!

That's all for this week. Happy Friday!

-J

Midweek Confessions || 4

Here are some confessions from this week!

-I took a picture of the sky last night because it was 10pm and still light out. I am clearly easily entertained...I also really like summer.

-My life is already so boring that I go and visit the lady I used to nanny for (who I consider a friend) and her three girls for fun. They are 6, 5, and 4 and absolutely adorable. They completely brighten my day and sometimes hanging out with them is more fun than hanging out with people my own age.

-I can't resist chocolate. If there are cookies, brownies, or any other dessert like items in my house I eat it. I swear I didn't used to be this bad but lately I can't resist them. I have a serious lack self control.

-I am going to my first official teachers conference next week as a school employee! It is on the other side of the state and I am super excited. I hope that I learn a lot and get to make connections with lots of other teachers who can help me through my first year of teaching.

-I told myself I'd work out every day this week and I worked out on monday and then skipped it yesterday. Talk about dedication...not. Good thing I'm heading to the gym in a few minutes for a workout class. I'm desperately seeking motivation.

Have a happy day!

-J

an open door.

Today in my Bible reading I was in the book of Esther. I was eager to begin this book because I know that there are a lot of great devotional that go along with it so I figured that it must be a good one! I simply read the scripture myself and didn't use a devotional, but I look forward to revisiting it and diving into it deeper in the future.

After my reading I thought about some of the messages that I got from the scripture and the one that stuck out at me the most was how thankful I am that God always allows us to speak to him. Unlike the King who doesn't allow visitors, he is always welcoming us and our problems. No matter what is going on in my life I know that I can turn to the Lord for guidance. He is willing to take some of my burden so that I do not have to carry it alone. Esther was brave and she was willing to face her king for her people, despite the chances of her being punished for her actions. While we can all learn something from her bravery and dedication to her people, I am thankful that we have a King who is always approaching and begging to be in our lives. What a wonderful King.

-J

Melting crayons && frozen yogurt

The first day of summer was filled with teacher shopping and crafting! My best friend is also a teacher and she got all of the supplies for us to make these awesome crayon melting signs for our classrooms. This is all over pintrest and I have seen a couple of friends attempt it but I was still a little nervous. It was easier than I thought and I am super happy with how mine turned out! I am Ms. T but I think that my friends' turned out just as good. I can't wait to display this in my classroom. 

I am a kid at heart and when my mom suggests that we get ice cream I am always up for it. Tonight we were going to get dairy queen but saw that a new frozen yogurt place opened by my house so we stopped in. I am a sucker for frozen yogurt. I love being able to make it completely my own. Tonight I opted for vanilla, chocolate, and peanut butter frozen yogurt topped with reese's, mini m&ms, oreos, a brownie, and some cool whip. It was a delicious way to end a perfect summer day.

Summer is here!

Today is the last day of school and I'm not subbing so it is officially summer! I can't believe how fast this year has gone and how much has happened! I have totally grown up and it blows my mind. There are so many times that I still feel like a carefree college kid and then realize that no, I'm an actual teacher now. It's terrifying an exciting at the same time. Summers have always been a time of fun and traveling for me so I'm excited that this summer I still have some more adventures to look forward to. Here's a brief rundown of things I'm excited for this summer. 

1. Going to New Jersey to visit my dad! He lives down the shore and my brother and I will get to spend 10 days soaking up the sun, visiting Six Flags, and seeing all our family we don't see for the other 11 months and 3 weeks of the year. 
2. White water rafting! I haven't done this in 8 years or so and I'm so excited! I love the excitement of being on the river and I think it will be a great family bonding activity.
3. Spending time with my boyfriend. We live 250 miles apart and it's hard, but hopefully this summer we will be getting some quality time together. 
4. 6th of July party! I'm having a party after the 4th of July to get some of my friends together from school. I hoping for good weather so that we can sit on the deck, have a fire, and have a good time. 
5. Come August my life will be filled with teacher training's and meetings. I am excited for this because even though it will be a lot of work, it is the beginning of my career and I have to look forward to that! 
6. Decorating my classroom and shopping for school supplies and school clothes! My best friend is also a teacher and we will get to do all of these fun things together. 

There are even more things to look forward to but those are the ones that come to mind right now. I have so much to be thankful for. Thank you Lord for such a beautiful, wonderful, life. 

employed.

It's official, I will be a full time teacher next fall! I interviewed last week and was told that I would be give the job but I've had to keep it hush hush until last night when the school board finalized it at their meeting. I could not be happier. I am at a school that I am familiar with, working with my mentor teacher, and with the best students.

I already am spending my days dreaming about what I want to do. I am slowly making a list of crafty projects that I want to complete, how I want to design my bulletin boards, and my plan for the first day of school. I will probably spend the day at school tomorrow since it's the last day and I can tell the kids i'll be teaching there next year and wishing them a happy summer.

The amount of things that had to happen just right in order for me to be able to get this job makes me thank God every day. I truly feel like he knew this is where I was meant to be and he made it happen. This school has impacted me so much in just a year and I can't wait to see what will happen in the future.

I am blessed.

I am not lucky, I am blessed.

Last night when I was skimming through my Pintrest to find graphics to make a new background on my computer I came across this one, and it really spoke to me. I hear so many people who make comments like, man, you are so lucky! I used to think, sure, i am lucky, but a while ago I started actually thinking about it. When I was thinking about it I realized that no, I'm blessed. God has chosen some great things for me and he is following out His plan for my life. While I am lucky, I also think that I work hard to deserve the things that I earn. I also thank God daily for all of the gifts that he has given me. It is hard for some people to understand this concept but I think that having a strong faith means sometimes that you don't believe in luck, because luck isn't what makes things happen, God is. In the past I haven't been one to completely fall and follow the Lord but that is the person who I am becoming I am loving every minute of the journey.

Reasons I am blessed:

• I have a wonderful family who loves me and supports me. Especially my mom who allowed me to move back home after college and lets me live here for free. She feeds me and we do fun things together and she never complains about me being back at home. 
• I have the best friends. I know who I can call whenever I need someone and even though I am 100-300 miles away from almost all of my close friends, we keep in touch and feel closer than ever. 
• I live in a beautiful house, in a safe neighborhood, in a great town.
• I have a steady income with the ability to not have to worry if I want to go out to dinner with friends or shopping one afternoon. I have freedom to do what I please (within reason) and do not have to worry about my finances. 
• I have traveled to many places all around the world that some people only dream of. I have seen things in real life that some people have only seen in movies. I have a strong desire to travel more but I am blessed to have been to many of the places I have been.
• I have a passion for education which will provide me with a career for the rest of my life. 
• I am healthy and happy. 

There are so many reasons to be blessed, take a couple minutes today and think about your blessings. 

-J

Sweet Baby Angels

Tonight I went to the graduation for the high school that I student taught at. My friend, who also student taught at the same school at the same time, went with me and she affectionately refers to her former students as her sweet baby angels and I think it's the cutest thing. Even though these students are only 5 years younger than us they still seem like babies. It blows my mind that I only worked with them for 4 months and then saw them off and on for another 5 and they have had such an impact on my life. I'm not sure if it is just because they are my first classes but I really enjoyed these students and being a part of their daily life.

One of the things that I know I will love about teaching is the connections that I will form with students and I think this year has shown me a little bit of that. It's all about showing that you care, but still showing that you are the teacher and that they need to respect you. For me, this year, the kids loved that combination and even though some said that i was 'strict' they all told me that they enjoyed my class. I couldn't ask for more than that and I hope that I am blessed with students like this every year. 

Tomorrow I have a job interview for a full time teaching position. I'm super excited and actually not that nervous. I'll be getting to the studying in a bit, gotta brush up on my interview questions. 

Midweek Confessions || 3 || Reality TV Edition

This weekend and beginning of the week flew by. I promise I'll be back with a post of significance later but for now, my confessions [[linking up with E]].

The confession: I like reality tv, a lot. I'm not sure why but for some reason I just get bored with sitcoms and the typical comedy shows. I'll take Survivor over The Office any day. The amount of non-reality shows I watch I can probably count on one hand (Revenge, Revolution, .... ? ) but if you ask me to list reality shows and I could go on forever. In school last week I was reading the kids an article about how reality tv is changing people's perceptions of life and I thought, am I losing my grasp on reality? Thankfully, I think I can see through the staged drama and antics, but it's still really entertaining!

Lets talk about my favorites...
1. Real Housewives of New Jersey. This is the only 'real housewives' show that I watch and it's because I'm from New Jersey. I love that I recognize some of the places they go and hearing their accents reminds me of my family there. The drama is ridiculous and almost sad since it is actually messing with these people's lives! If you are a viewer, I used to love Teresa but now I can't stand her and I like Melissa. Some of the things that Teresa say completely blow my mind and I think she lives in her own little world. I wish we saw more of Jacqueline on the show because she seems the most genuine to me but that's probably why we don't see her often.

2. The Bachelor/The Bachelorette. So what if they go on the same 'super romantic' dates every season, I still can't stop watching! Even though the matches usually don't work out I enjoy watching all of the issues that happen along the way. I also love following the couples on twitter to watch the downfall of the relationships. I would love for some of the love stories to actually work out but after watching the guy (or girl) tell all those other girls (or guys) how much they love them it's really hard for me to believe they can settle forever on the one that they picked. I'm a huge fan of JP & Ashley, couldn't stand Ben & Courtney, and don't really like Sean & Catherine. Let's see how Des does this season.

3. Dance Moms. These girls are so adorable! They are so talented and their dances never fail to amaze me. The moms are ridiculous but I guess that's the point! The arguments that they have a so repetitive and stupid, 'omg you didn't call me at all last week!' I think that Abby Lee really is a sweet woman but she just puts on an act for the camera. If she really was as mean as they make her look then I don't think all of the girls would love her as much as they clearly do. Chloe is my favorite, followed my Paige.

4. Big Brother! Only a couple more weeks until we get another summer of shenanigans. This is a show that I actually don't feel that bad about watching. It doesn't have much substance, but i'm okay with that. I love seeing the creative competitions and punishments that the producers come up with. It is always cool to see how the alliances form and who is the first to back stab and turn on their friends. Let's hope that we have some entertaining characters this summer.

Honorable mentions:
5. Keeping Up with the Kardashians
6. Survivor
7. Amazing Race