Life Updates

Long time no chat... it has literally been four months since I last sat down to publish a post. Definitely not my proudest blogging realization.  While the hiatus is not something I am proud of, I do have to say that sometimes something has to give in the height of a busy schedule.  While I have missed writing posts and interacting with each of you regularly, I honestly don't think my posts would have been the quality that I strive for.  Furthermore, I have realized the importance of taking a step back to give yourself some time to breathe. As you will soon read, life has been a little bit crazy lately.  Lots of life has happened since August, so today I wanted to hop on to share some life updates with you. 

Teaching Career
I'm still plugging away with grad school.  This past semester I decided to slow down to one class.  I knew that between the chaos of the start of the school year and coaching I wouldn't have enough time to dedicate to two classes. Taking one class was refreshing because I was able to really focus on applying what I was learning to my daily teaching practice. I also felt like I was able to be more engaged with the content because I wasn't balancing as big of a work load as I had the semester before. While slowing down means that I won't graduate as soon as I had hoped to, I'm realizing the importance of balance. I'm pretty sure I would be part of the new teacher burn out if I continued on the accelerate path I started with.

Speaking of teaching... this year I finally have a contract, which has brought me more confidence, stability, and freedom. While I am only in my second year, I have already learned so much. The first (almost) half of the year has taught me how to manage my time, speak up more, get creative, take the time to truly get to know my students, and has bettered my classroom management. I have also been lucky enough to enjoy some incredible professional development that has inspired me to change some things in my room as we embark on the new year. I'm thinking of sharing more teaching related posts in the new year to provide you with a more wholesome view of life.

December was a crazy month at school.  This year there was an extra week between Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break, which definitely put my classroom management strategies to the test.  It was a fun-filled month with lots of energy and excitement from the kids.  I think the only way I survived was with lots of coffee, a little medicine ball tea, advice from my mom, and my wonderful coworkers.

Coaching
One of the biggest reasons behind my blogging  hiatus was probably the time I spent coaching field hockey. I have been coaching for the past few years, but this season I stepped up from volunteering to an actual position.  I was fortunate enough to take a chance on a (new to me) program working with someone who I barely knew. As it turns out I traded in my alma mater team, but I have gained a new mentor that I love working with, an even better understanding of what it means to be a coach, and athletes who have restored my love of the game.This change came from a series of unexpected events, but looking back I can say with confidence that everything truly does happen for a reason. As I look ahead to 2019, I am excited for the growth we have planned for our team.

Wedding Planning
This week we officially hit the one year mark until our big day. Wedding planning has been one of the fun parts of life for me! The past month or so I was able to check off a few things from the list, but these will be shared in a post to come! Here's a sneak peak of a little something my mom and I have been working on.



New year, new home
The biggest update of all is that Todd and I have purchased our first home together.  We have been living in our hometown with our parents since we each graduated college. It was great to be able to establish ourselves professionally with the support and cushion of our parents being so close.  We are now both working in places we envision ourselves staying at for awhile. We were both making long commutes to and from work, so we began toying with the idea of buying a place this summer. One of the perks to spending time at home post college was that we were able to save up a good chunk of money. We figured we would move out within the next year, but we did not think it would happen this soon. We found a place online that was much closer to where we work and I coach. Back in October we went to look at it thinking nothing would come out of it... 24 hours later we put an offer in and it was accepted! Two weeks ago we made settlement, and we are still working to get everything organized and decorated. With the holidays, we have spent more nights not home than we have enjoying our new place. I am excited to share more about our new adventure in the future.




I'm looking forward to taking the day to finalize my reflections and set my intentions as we begin a new year.  I am thankful for the support and love from friends, family, and readers that I have had this year. I'm very much so looking forward to the fresh start to revive my blogging habits and get back to better routines.

See y'all next year!
XOXO

Life Lately

If you haven't noticed, I took a bit of a break from blogging. The past few months have been filled with transitions for me.  I shared with you back in August that I was finally hired as a middle school teacher.  (Check it out here!) While the transition to having my own classroom has not been as overwhelming as I thought it would be, I definitely have had very little free time.  I have been working to balance life, but clearly I'm not the best at that.  Now that the first quarter has ended, I am just beginning to feel like I have a grasp on life again.  Which brings me back to blogging!  It has been something I have missed and thought greatly about.  At one point, I debated whether or not to continue writing.  However..after a few kind words from friends and family, I was quickly reminded of all the reasons why I should continue to write.  

I'm excited to get back to writing, and share everything that has gone on with all of you.  While I have lots of exciting updates to come, I thought I would give you a preview with a few pictures.  

I'm hoping to post two to three times a week moving forward, but I would love to hear what posts you're hoping to read this upcoming month. 

XOXO

 

Pulse Check

Good morning. I hope y'all (apparently my vacation down South is rubbing off on me) had a fabulous week and your week has been off to a great start! While I don't have a full blog post for you to read today, I just wanted to do a quick check in- a pulse check. I thought this short post would be better than nothing at all because we all know how inconsistent of a blogger I can be when life gets crazy. 

Yes, I'm alive and well and home safe from vacation with my family.  After taking an entire week off, I'm feeling more relaxed than I have in months. The trip was very much needed. Although, my head is already starting to spin with the changes that are about to happen in my life. I have a lot going on in the next fews weeks and a to do list that might be close to impossible to accomplish. The month of July was an emotional roller coaster for me, but now that it is over I have some exciting news to share with you.  I'll be doing a big reveal for you by the end of the week, but in the mean time I wanted to leave you with a few pictures from my vacation!

XOXO

Let's Have Coffee

Good morning sunshine. I hope your week has gotten off to a fabulous start. If not, then let's start to turn things around now. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea if you prefer), put on your favorite playlist, and have a seat to chat about life's recent happenings.  We're going to have a bit of a virtual coffee date. I clearly have not been posting regularly, so I thought it would be fun to catch up a little bit.  I'll share  some life updates with you, then I have a few questions for you to answer! 

The first question I have for you...What's your current go to coffee date beverage?

If we were on an actual coffee date right now, then I would be drinking some type of iced coffee with cream and a little sugar in it. It's way too warm outside to be drinking a hot beverage! The heat index the past few days has been around 90. My go to Starbucks order lately has been iced coffee with milk, two pumps of simple syrup, and a pump of flavored syrup depending on my mood. 

So the last time we chatted, I filled you in on month five of my adulting adventures. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then check it out here. Since then I have finished out my temporary long term substitute contract as a seventh grade math teacher and started my summer "break".  The teaching position gave me lots of experience. I realized this weekend that this past school year I had the opportunity to help open a sixth grade Language Arts classroom, and then I learned how to finish out the year with my substitute teaching position.  The end of the year was filled with so many interruptions, schedule changes, high energy adolescents itching for a break from school, and some really heartfelt gifts from generous students. I could go on and on about my experience as a new teacher, but I think I might save all the details for another time. 

Do you have any exciting plans this summer? 

This summer I have a short list of items I'd like to cross off. I'll be working several different jobs- my part time retail job, nannying, and working a camp this week. I plan to continue getting into better shape by playing field hockey, running, getting back into lifting, doing yoga, and attending spin classes. I'm hoping to find time to relax and simply do nothing because the past few months have been crazy busy.  I intend to catch up with friends I haven't seen in awhile. The goal is to have full time teaching contract by the end of summer, so ideally I will be busy with interviews. 

Have you read any good books lately? 

I love to read, but lately I haven't had time to do so.  Now that I have more free time, I'm looking for book recommendations.  I discovered an app yesterday that allows you to use your public library card to download audio books. I'm excited to try this out. I'll let you know how it works out. 

I'm working on posting on my blog regularly again. I have some ideas of things I want to write about, but I am constantly searching for better ideas plus it's all about the readers. 

What types of posts would YOU like to see in the next few months?

I have a few posts planned about healthy dinner ideas, some outfit inspiration, and of course an adulting update. My blogging editorial calendar hasn't been finalized yet, so I'm still open to any and all suggestions!

What's been your favorite lunch food lately? 

A few weeks ago, I discovered the perfect bento box at Starbucks. I have been working to recreate it at home, but I have yet to master it. I'll be sure to share my recommendations once I perfect it. I have also been loving all of the fresh fruits and veggies that are in season. 

Have you found any cute clothes lately? 

You know by now how much I love to shop.  I am such a shopaholic. I've been working to save my money, but every once in awhile I have to #treatmyself. A few weeks ago, my mom and I went to the mall and had some fun trying on dresses and coverups in Lilly Pulitzer. How cute are these!

I love the bright colors and light fabric- perfect for hot summer days at the beach. The dress would even be great to wear for work to brighten up the office on those days you wish you were somewhere tropical instead. 

I hope you enjoyed our coffee date. As you finish reading this, I am most likely running around with elementary aged kids teaching them how to have fun while thinking outside of the box through problem solving! I'm looking forward to coming home today to read all of your answers to the questions and your feedback on our first virtual coffee date. I'll be sure to answer any extra questions your have- be sure to leave them in the comment box below. In case you forgot, here were my questions:

XOXO

Adulting Month Four

Hello lovelies, thank you for coming back to keep up with my blog posts and not giving up on me. Yes, I haven't blogged in over a month, but I think I have a pretty good(not so good) reason why.  

First, let's begin by rewinding to my last and first adulting update. If you didn't read it, then check it out here. I had navigated my first month of adulting, shared a personal anecdote of how I was feeling a little lost, and was hopeful for what month two would have in store for me.  Well since then, have been two and a half months filled with adulting. These past three months have been a complete rollercoaster for me. 

Month Two (February)

Things that I thought would happen in month two: 

"I'll be searching for open teaching positions to apply for, updating my digital portfolio, continuing my fitness journey, celebrating my twenty third birthday, taking a weekend trip, and watching my little brother being his college lacrosse career." 

Looking back, all of those things I thought would happen did occur. These were what I thought would be the highlights of month two, but they ended up being the small things I experienced.

Breast cancer took on a new meaning for my family...

  During the first week of February, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. My family realized in an instant that life as we knew it was about to change, but we just weren't quite sure how. The rest of the month was spent figuring out what the best course of treatment(s) would be for her, what her options were, and what our roles as supporters would be. For me it seemed like a month filled with anxiety and fear of the unknown. 

I started working...

Despite what was going on with my mom, life still had to go on. I started working again at my part time job. It was nice to be back with my wonderful co-workers in such a peaceful place to work. I also began substitute teaching. I was initially nervous to enter buildings and classrooms that I knew close to nothing about. However, the classrooms I was in during February were fabulous. I enjoyed being able to pick and choose the days I wanted to work or have off without any repercussions. I learned a lot about different teachers' methods of organization, classroom management, routines and procedures, and tricks for writing substitute plans. I was excited to add more ideas to my imaginary bag of teaching tricks. I also loved the short five to twenty minute commutes I had in comparison to my student teaching commute (65 minutes plus). 

I got an interview...

My job search continued, I ended up going through an interview process with a semi-local district. I had applied to the position in early January, but I figured nothing would come of it. During February, I endured three rounds of interviews, which included teaching a demo lesson to an actual class of students. This process was exciting for me since it was my first set of teaching interviews. I prepped a little for them, but I went into each interview with an optimistic attitude that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain whether it was a job or just interviewing experience. At the end of the month, I still had no idea if I would be hired for the position or not. 

A weekend getaway happened...

My fun for month two was a weekend away with Todd. This year we decided to skip the gifts and go away to celebrate our birthdays. We spent two days and one night in D.C. It was a fun trip filled with lots of walking, delicious food, navigating public transportation, several museums, some sight seeing and of course a little bit of shopping. More details on our trip to come in the future.

Lessons learned during month two: 

Perspective is everything

Mammograms save lives

Month Three (March)

March Madness is usually all my family talks about during March, but this year it was rarely brought up outside of the reminder to fill out our individual brackets for the annual family pool. Our pool has no bets involved just a year of bragging rights.

Mom's journey with breast cancer continued...

On March 1st, my mom finalized her treatment plan. Her surgery was scheduled for March 17th. The first two weeks of the month were filled with more doctor appointments and preparations for her to be out of commission for awhile. I helped her shop for items she would need after surgery and prep some food that we could freeze for future meals. March 17th came, and she endured a six hour surgery. Her surgery went beautifully! A few days later she came home from the hospital and her road to recovery began. Her spirits were high considering everything that had happened. Less than a week after her surgery, we found out that they had successfully removed all of her cancer (insert happy tears here). The month didn't end as she had hoped. Complications from surgery forced her to return back to the hospital. The second half of the month my dad and I took over all house responsibilities (cooking, cleaning, taking care of the dogs, taking care of my mom, grocery shopping, etc.). I didn't realize how much my mom actually did for us until she wasn't able to do these things anymore.

My interview process concluded...

The first day of the month, I found out that I advanced to the fourth round of interviews for the teaching position. This fourth and final round was with two assistant superintendents and a middle school vice principal. It was probably my favorite interview of the process- very conversational and allowed me to share who I truly am. My interview was on a Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon I found out I was hired for the position- a Long-Term Substitute for 7th grade math. I was so excited to accept the position. I found out that I would be taking over for a teacher who would be out on maternity in mid April. For the rest of the month, I served as the middle school's building substitute. I  went to the school five days a week and filled in where they needed me. 

March ended with a fun weekend...

The last weekend in March was definitely one I will forever remember. My best friend got engaged to her college sweetheart. They moved to the mid-west in early August, so I don't get to see them much anymore. However, they came back to their college alma mater (just a few hours from where I live) for the weekend, so I was able to surprise them to help celebrate their engagement. I am so excited to help them plan their wedding. Not many of my friends have gotten engaged/married yet, so this was definitely the realization that we're all growing up and the adult world is oh so real. I spent the second half of the weekend visiting my brother at his college. My parents plus Todd drove up and I met them there. We went to his lacrosse game, enjoyed some of the best brick oven pizza, and ended the weekend with Sunday brunch before returning back home. 

Lessons learned during month three:

The power of positivity is real.

Everything happens for a reason.

You don't realize how much moms do around the house until they stop doing everything. 

My family is lucky to be surrounded by wonderful friends/family. 

Month Four (April)

Here we are half way through my fourth month of adulting. Life as I knew it still isn't the same. My mom is still recovering from her surgery, so I still have a lot of responsibilities to tend to at home. I'm definitely learning how to balance adult responsibilities with fun. I'd like to think that I'm mastering adulting much better than I did back in January.  The first few weeks of the month I continued to be the building substitute for the middle school I will spend the rest of the school year in. Last week, I had off for Spring Break. I spent a few days working at my part time job, went to my brother's lacrosse game, switched out my winter clothes for my spring wardrobe, and enjoyed time with my family. 

Tomorrow I begin my first big girl job. While it is temporary, I am excited to begin the career I have been working so hard to achieve for the past five years. I feel blessed to have this opportunity so soon after graduating. I know the next two months will be filled with personal growth as well as challenges, but I am optimistic for what the future holds. 

It's hard to believe that there are only two weeks left until May. We are closer to being half way through 2017 than we are to the beginning of the year. I'm hoping to hop back onto the fitness train. With everything going on with my mom, I haven't been taking the time I need to take care of myself. My goal is three workouts a week right now, which should be realistic to conquer. I'm also striving to get back to blogging regularly. I know posting five days a week is just not going to happen, so I've decided to start posting two days a week- Mondays and Thursdays. I'm moving more towards quality of quantity in all aspects of my life. 

 Before concluding this post, I just wanted to say a quick thank you. Thank you for coming back to read my blog posts after my month-long hiatus. Blogging is something that I love, and YOU, my readers, keep me motivated to continue posting. An even bigger thank you to everyone who has helped my family the past few months. Life certainly hasn't been easy for us, but your words of encouragement, home cooked meals, cards, and overwhelming support have made it easier for us. 

Thanks for reading. Have a fabulous Monday!

XOXO