To the Best Friend I Met in College

Dear Best Friend,

We cannot say we have known each other forever or grew up together. We do not have memories of running around outside or memories from elementary school or high school. I cannot definitely say
that we have made up for the lost time both with laughs and tears.

I used to be jealous of the people who had a best friend you always saw them with. They seemed to just understand each other and be attached at the hip. I never had a friend like this until I met you.

From the first time I walked across the hall and into your dorm we just clicked. We joke that I walked into your room and never left, but I honestly never remember a time when it was awkward. We just understood each other and I mean we also had 18 years of information to share. From this point on I remember studying together, eating together, and just sitting together.

We just clicked. We were both freshmen and we were both very homesick. We had similarities, but we also had things that were completely different. I do not know if I would have made it through college without you. We were pretty lucky that we had the same major, so we had a ton of classes together so we always had a built-in study buddy.   

We got to visit hometowns together. Hear all of the crazy growing up stories. We laughed together. We also cried together. We went through some of the most exciting parts of life together. We also experienced heartbreak together.

I could not imagine my college years without you. Sometimes it is so weird thinking we have known each other for four and a half years because we spent so much time together and are so close. We could probably tell people stories about each other that we were not a part of and they would never know.

I finally understand the people who had a best friend that they could do everything with because I have you. I am glad that for the rest of my life I will have someone that I can talk to about the small things, funny things, milestones, and heartbreaks. I know that you will not judge and that you will always be on my side. I am thankful for your friendship because I do not know where I would be without you.

Love,
Your Best Friend

Must Have Kitchen Items

I have been living on my own for four and a half months and that means I have been cooking for myself. In this time I have found a few things that I would consider must haves. They have made my life more easy and my food delicious.

1) Crockpot- I love, love, love my Crockpot. I have made meat in it and a soup. It is nice being able to throw things in and let it cook up for several hours.

2) Knives- Invest in a set of knives and make sure you have a set. You will be cooking and realize you need more than one knife.

3) Cutting Board- Get yourself a good, big cutting board that you can use to prep food.

4) Tupperware- Cooking for one means I have leftovers. Get some good tupperware of different sizes and ones that are microwave safe. These will make your life even easier.

5) Measuring Cups- Even if you do not plan to cook a lot. You will eventually need to measure things that you are going to eat.

I think those would be my top five kitchen must-haves.

Lifestyle Quotes

These are just some quotes that I thought could inspire others.

Dear Mom & Dad

Dear Mom & Dad, 

Thank you for loving me and protecting me from the moment you knew I existed. I wish that every child could say that, but sadly in this world, we cannot. Thank you for making sacrifices so that I could grow up having the things I needed. Thank you for making those sacrifices so mom could stay home with me when I was growing up.

Thank you for cheering at my soccer, volleyball, basketball, and softball games. And for my mom anything else that I was ever a part of. You guys have been a constant place of support. I knew I could always have a hug after an amazing win or a heartbreaking loss. 

You loved me enough to deal with me through injuries which, were not fun for any of us. You were willing to get ice, Tylenol, and food. You dealt with my tears of pain and frustration, while constantly telling me that I would be okay. 

Thank you for wholeheartedly supporting me in anything I wanted to do. You always were very supportive of my busy schedule. 

Thank you for being my chauffeur and then my free car rental service. My movers for college and my first apartment. For being the hotline I can call when I realize that there are some adult things I cannot figure out on my own. 

My final thank you will be for something anyone who knew three-year-old me would have never thought I would be saying. Thank you for giving me a brother. You always said we would be stuck together forever and I am thankful for that. You gave me someone to play with growing up and now someone who is a very good friend. 

I love you both with all my heart and could not imagine having anyone else as my parents. 

Love, 

Your Little Girl 

Planner Person

I am a complete and total planner person. Over the years I have tried many different planners. I have tried weekly layouts, timetable layouts, desk calendars, etc. I love having the ability to write things down and visually see what I need to do. It helps me feel on top of things and it is how I keep calm and try to not lose track of things.

This November I began thinking about what type of planner I was going to for 2018. In the past I was a college student and then in the begining of the 2017 I was student teaching. This means I was carrying a backpack around with me and had a lot of assignments to keep track of. This changed after I graduated college. I still have dates to keep track of, but I do not as many things to keep track of.

I have always been a writing things down person, but I decided to make the jump into using GoogleCalendar. As an adult I realized that people would ask me about dates and if I was free. Sometimes I would not have my planner with me because of this I decided to make the switch. So far it is going great. I have my phone with me pretty much all the time so I am able to check dates and things. I can also input things in right away.

Some of the features that are amazing are you can color cordinate things. Right now I color cordinate my work calendar and personal calendars. You can also have people use different colors and sync calendars with family memebers. I really think if you are a planner person who is finding it is hard to have your planner with you all the time you should try GoogleCalendar.

Everyday Makeup

I am going to start by saying that my goal with makeup is to just highlight some of my features and to erase some of the other ones. I have two different looks that I would consider my everyday makeup and only one thing separates them. My other goal is that my makeup can be done in around ten minutes. 

I start with a foundation primer on my nose and chin. I also use a firming eye cream and put on some chapstick. After that, I use a CC cream all over my face. I do not like how heavy foundation is so this or a tinted moisturizer has been a great alternative. Then I go in with some powder. I do not want to look too oily. I consider this my base for my makeup. 

Now for some of the more fun parts of my makeup. I use a pink toned blush on the apples of my cheeks. I always feel like this makes me look more alive. Then I put on mascara to have a frame around my eyes and throw on some pink lipgloss. This would be the look I wear for work every day. 

If I am going somewhere on the weekend I will add some simple eyeshadow to my look. When I say simple eyeshadow I mean it. I do not really change it up to much. I start by taking a dark brown color and putting that in my crease. Then I take a light brown/gold shade and put that on my eyelid. That is all I do nothing to fancy. 

A-Z Teaching Tips

This article may be useful and a little fun. I am just going to hop right in. Just one quick disclaimer first, I am a first-year teacher so this is my knowledge from student teaching and my first few months.

A- Apples! Now you might be thinking that you will receive all of the apples in the world, but that is not what I am talking about! I am talking about the apple decor that you will see everywhere and think is the cutest thing ever (and they kind of are). Make sure you pick out one or two that are cute and then pass on the rest, you will receive many gifts from your students that you will want to display.

B- Bags! You will need bags for all of the things. They help keep together little manipulatives. They work for teeth that fall out, jewelry that breaks, talking things home, and where I live wet snow clothes. So just get yourself some bags, I put sandwich size and gallon size on my school supply list.

C- Clorox Wipes! These are amazing, from cleaning up paint and spills. I also use them if I have noticed sniffles or had kids that were sick. It is nice to know you are wiping away some of the germs.

D- Dice! They can be used for math, word work, grouping students, telling how many of something your students need to do. They work for a random number, but you still get some control over it.

E- Erasers! I do not know about you but I cannot stand the sound of erasing when there is no eraser left on a pencil. Therefore, I have big pink erasers and cap erasers for my students to use. It helps my sanity.

F- Fan! I do not know about you, but my school does not have air conditioning. That means having a fan in the room even if it is a small one makes things a little more bearable on some of those hot days.

G- Glue! All different types of glue, but there are also times you need to just break out the hot glue. If you are trying to glue pipe cleaners, beads, google eyes, etc. Save yourself the trouble and break out the hot glue gun and glue it for the students. This saves you listening to them wine.

H- Humor! Learn to laugh at yourself when you mess up. Tell your students funny things! Laugh when they do something funny. Those couple minutes of laughter will lift everyone's mood and build relationships.

I- Independence! It is okay for you to tell your students they can do something by themselves if it is realistic. It will save you so many headaches. You will also be helping them, in the long run, learn to do things by themselves.

J- Joy! Do not forget your why. Remember why you wanted to become a teacher. You will need it on some of the hard days. It will keep the joy in your teacher life.

K- Kindness! It is important to model kindness for your students. Saying excuse me or apologizing. When they see you do it, they know that it is not just something adults say.

L- Lesson Planner! Find a lesson planner that is cute and functional. It will help you want to look at it and read it. Ultimately no one can gift this to you as a surprise. You need to do the research and see what will fit you the best.

M- Minutes! It is okay to take a minute and pull yourself together. Take a deep breath. Turn off the lights and tell your students you are all going to sit quietly for a moment.

N- Notes! Write down everything or you will forget. Sometimes you need to remember something and then 3 students come to you with emergencies. Write even the smallest things down.

O- Organization! This is kind of like the planner. You need to figure out what will keep you organized and keep everything straight. You will have papers, manipulatives, and everything else you can imagine.

P- Pencils! Buy extra pencils. I do not know about you but my pencil sharpener is only allowed to be used until we start our first lesson of the day. I cannot deal with the sound all the time. Therefore, I bought some pencils with my own money and keep them sharpened for when one breaks.

Q- Quizzes! Not real quizzes, but you might need those too. My students love Kahoots! They are so engaged and I can even sneak in some math review.

R- Read Alouds! I do not care what age you teach. Try to find some time in your day to read to your students they love it.

S- Scissors! Invest in a good pair! It will be oh so worth it.

T- Tape! There is a time when glue does not just cut it.

U- Understanding! Sometimes you need to ask questions to understand where your students are coming from. They will suddenly say something and a light bulb will come on and you will get exactly what you are going to talk about.

V- Videos! Find educational clips. They are an instant engagement strategy. Bonus if there is a song. Students learn songs and never forget them.

W- Whiteboard Markers! Never turn down a whiteboard marker. You will use them all the time and it is important when your students can read what you are writing.

X- eXcitement! This may be cheating a little. But bring excitement into what you are doing it can turn the most dare I say boring lessons around.

Y- You! You are your students teacher and they love you. Share things about yourself, they will never forget! Also whatever you find cool and nice your students will take an interest in. Being yourself will be the way to make a connection with your students and to get them to buy in.

Z- Zzzz! Do not forget to take care of yourself and get rest. You can not be on top of your game if you are exhausted. In this one I will also include eat well, exercise, and make time in your schedule for self can even if it is only ten minutes.

Holiday Traditions

Holiday Traditions, everyone has them when you really think about it. People tend to be very protective of their holiday traditions which I completely understand. My parents are both teachers, this means that they get a nice chunk of time off during the holidays for family fun. So, we have at least a week during the holidays to soak in some family time.

I might as well get our first tradition out of the way (I know some of you may leave after reading this). My family (parents and brother) open Christmas on Christmas Eve (gasp). We would always go to Christmas Eve church, then get home and open presents. It also became a holiday tradition that my mom is normally trying to hurry up and wrap some gifts right before we open it. Another holiday tradition is the fact that my Dad has no idea what my Mom got for us. So, we always ask why he brought us certain gifts since he tries to take credit and he comes up with the best stories.

My mom and I also normally watch all the Christmas movies we can. We love watching Hallmark Christmas movies. I know they are all cheesy, but I will still watch them all. I also always have to watch my favorite Christmas movies, The Year without a Santa Claus. 

On Christmas, my family normally sleeps in and we all kind of wake up whenever. We spend the day being lazy, me in pajamas. We normally play a few rounds of cards and just enjoy the time spent together.

My last tradition is I try to not change out of my pajamas over Christmas Break at all cost. I only wear not pajamas if I am leaving the house. As in for a whole week if I can wear pajamas for 20 hours of the day I am very, very happy.

Our Christmas Traditions are not extravagant, but we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior and spend time together as a family. I would not trade them for anything.

Budgeting at 22!

So I graduated college in May and got my first real job. I moved out and took responsibility for so many more things than I had before. I feel like for this post to make sense you need to know a little bit about me.

Meet Me 

Like I said I am 22, but I am also a planner. I am constantly thinking about things in the future, which I know is not always good. Starting my senior year of college I started watching videos and researching budgeting and money management. I never wanted to wonder where the money for my rent or gas would come from. I also never wanted to worry if an emergency came up. I wanted to be financially stable.

As far as planning for the more distant future, I would like to stay home with my future children if that is at all possible. I do not want them to feel worried about anything financial when they are young (this does not mean getting whatever they want). With all of this in mind, I knew for my own peace of mind I needed to make a budget.

My Budget

I am not going to give any actual numbers, but I can tell you that I do not make a crazy amount of money. The goal of my budget was to cover all my needs, plan for the future, and be debt free. The debt I have right now is my student loans and there is definitely more than I wish I had.

With all that in mind and being a "new" adult, I decided using a cash-based system would be the best for me.

I started off with a written budget on paper and pencil. I looked at how much I would make (I get paid twice a month). Then I looked at when bills were due and the things that I needed to pay. I started by making two groups, what would come out of my middle of the month paycheck and what would come out of the end of the month paycheck.

Personally, I decided it was important for me to tithe, so that is the first thing that I took out of both of my paychecks. Then I made sure my rent (water included), electric, student loans, internet, car insurance, renters insurance, and life insurance were taken out. I also started setting money aside for retirement right away.

Next, I moved onto things that were also needs. I budgeted for my groceries and gas. I also made sure that I had money going into savings.

Finally, I took the rest of my money and divided it up into categories. You could make a general spending category, but it made me feel better to split it up. I put money in entertainment, home decor, clothes, gifts, personal hygiene, classroom and a fund for spending time with friends. Now, these budget categories are more fluid. I like having money set aside for these things because then it is not a huge expense. These categories can borrow money from one another. Let's say I want to buy craft supplies I do not have a specific craft area but I take it from these categories.

Let Me See the Money 

Every time I get paid I go to the bank with my check (my job does not direct deposit) and get out the amount of cash I need for my cash items. Things like rent, utilities, and student loans are kept in my account. I stuff the cash into my wallet (I made myself little dividers). Some of the things like insurances that are not monthly, I still take the amount I need per month and move it into my savings account.

So far this method has worked very well for me. My main goal is to get my student loans paid off. My two biggest tips which make this easier are budget money for you to be able to have little things (hobbies, clothes, coffee) and if the cash is not there you do not need to purchase it.

If you have any tips, questions, or need clarification leave a comment below.

December Must Haves

This is my list of a few of my favorite things to have in the month of December:

1) Fuzzy Socks/ Slippers- I live in a place that gets cold in the winter. Like below zero cold. It is nice to have fuzzy socks or slippers. The fuzzy socks can be worn with boots to keep your feet warm while you are doing different outdoor activities. They are also nice for walking around your house to keep you cozy.

2) Warm Drink- You will see I have a theme here of things that help keep you warm. My favorite warm drink is a peppermint mocha. Find your favorite warm drink there are many and enjoy it.

3) Blanket- Again this helps keep you super warm and cozy. It is also nice to go with Christmas Movies. You can curl up and put on movies and you will have a nice night.

4) Decorations- Find some Christmas Decorations. It will help you get into the holiday spirit. I am

not going to be at my apartment for Christmas and since I just moved I do not have many decorations, but it did not feel the same with no decorations. This does not have to be anything big, I found a mini fake Christmas tree. I got some small ornaments and now I have my own little festive Christmas area.

5) Christmas Movies- I love all the Christmas movies, including every single cheesy Hallmark movies. I love the entire season. Two of my favorites are The Year Without a Santa Claus and Elf. If you have not seen either of these you need to watch them as soon as possible.

6) Family Time- The holidays are about spending time with the people you love. Take time to play board games or watch a movie with your family. Before you know it you will all be in different places. Cherish the time you have with your loved ones.

7) Winter Boots- Again I live somewhere cold and the snow can be crazy. It is always good to have boots to you can venture to get the mail or just get to your car.

8) Long Coat- I just invested in this for this winter. I have a coat that goes down to my knees. On cold, windy wintery days this is a lifesaver.

Please leave your December must-haves in the comments below. I am always trying to find new things that can make December an even more enjoyable time.

My "Diet"

Yesterday you read about my fitness journey I have been on. Today I thought I would write a post to go along with that about my "diet". I put that in quotations because as I said previously I think about this as a lifestyle change. I do not think I could keep to a strict diet for the rest of my life. This means that while I am on a "diet" it is a little different than what other people may think.

I started my healthy eating in August when I started working out. When I got this started I did not have a ton of knowledge about diets and I still do not. My main focus was to make everyday decisions that would help me be healthier. This allowed it to be a lifestyle change. I do not restrict any type of food. If I want ice cream then I will eat ice cream. This might seem like a weird thing to say but I am going to leave some of my tips for my "diet".

1) Watch your portions. I have tried to be very careful about the amount of things I am eating. I focus on eating fruits and vegetables, along with protein. I still eat carbs because that is my favorite thing to eat. I also still eat dessert on occasion. I just make sure that I am eating the right portion. This means eating a tiny bowl of dessert instead of a ton of ice cream.

2) Make a plate. This is something that I have had to retrain myself to do. I do not bring bags, tubs, or containers of anything with me to eat. I make sure to put whatever I want to eat on a plate or bowl. Then I eat it so I do not mindlessly eat an entire family bag of chips.

3) Do not keep things in the house you do not want to eat. I make sure I do not buy things I do not want to put in my body. This means I do not buy chips or a lot of sweets. I still treat myself and have eaten these things, but I do not keep big portions of them in my apartment.

4) Think about the snacks you are eating. I try to consider substitutions I can make for healthier snacks. Instead of chips, I have tried snacking on vegetables. Instead of chips, I have switched to some rice cakes. Just try to think of small choices that are better than the day before. 

5) Drink more water! I have tried to cut out sugary drinks and I try to drink zero calorie drinks. Minus the occasional cup of coffee.

Just remember to make small choices every day that are healthier than the day before. Never get down on yourself for having a treat. You can't live your whole life eating one thing.

Christmas Parade

I accidentally missed day 2! I knew this was not going to be perfect so I am going to catch up and you get two posts today.

I moved to a new town in August and it is definitely a smaller town than the one I grew up in. This means that sometimes it has been harder to get out and do things because there are not a ton of things to do. This means that I have had to try harder to find things to do.

On Saturday, we had our towns Christmas' Parade. This was fun and the first Christmas Parade I had been to. There were a bunch of area groups and business that put together floats for the parade.

The church I attend also put on a live nativity and free soup dinner. It was fun to do something festive to get into the Christmas Spirit. I also had the opportunity to hang out with some of my co-workers which is always a good time.

Fitness Routine

Starting August 2017, I decided that I needed to take an effort to be more healthy in many areas of my life. I started thinking about the things that I could do now that would help me in the future. I am
not going to lie I had tried many times before to workout and I always stopped. I am going to explain a little bit of my history.

I started playing sports in 4th grade and I played all the way through my senior year of high school. I would pretty much be doing different things year around. Once I got into high school I was a three sport athlete. In the summer, I would do speed and agility camps, team camps, open gym, and weight lifting. This meant that I was naturally working out five to seven days a week. I was never the most happy with my body, but I mean I was pretty active. My junior year of high school during basketball season I had an injury to my foot. This caused me a lot of pain and to some extent causes me problems still.

Throughout college, I would try to work out and my foot would start bothering me and I would stop. Fast forward to August I finally decided I wanted to do this. Not just to lose weight which was a lot of motivation in the past, but to be heathier overall. Of course losing weight has happened, but it has been slow and I have been okay with it being sustainable.

Now you may be asking what I do to work out. I did something different this time I started out very slow to get my body back in shape. I started out taking walks. Then, I started doing some videos in my apartment that were indoor walking workouts. If you really try you can work up a sweat and trust me they will work. Then I tried more workouts that would not cause to much strain to my foot and side line me. I play volleyball once a week. I am currently doing a workout challenge with my best friend (if I like it I will tell you more about it). The other day when the weather was nice I went for a walk outside and I tried running a little and it went very well.

I try every day to get 30 minutes of activity. I think the most imposrtant thing you can do is to find workouts you enjoy and can do. They should definitely be challenging because the challenge helps you grow. I can also say in the begining you just need to force yourself to workout. Once you workout for a while it becomes part of your routine. Now I get to the point where I want to workout or I just feel weird. It is just about making these things routine.

The most important thing I can leave you with is even if you are just walking in place in front of the TV, moving is better than sitting there. You can do it. If you need encouragement, please contact me we can all use someone help encourage us.

Time Management

I am a first year teacher and for the first part of the school year I also coached volleyball. As many of you know teachers normally spend a lot of time working on school stuff. First year teachers it can be even more becasue you do not know the curriculum or have any ideas ready, you re starting from scratch. I think this is great becasue I am passionate about helping my students be the best they can be, but I also did not want my job to take over my entire life. I set some basic ground rules and done a few things that have helped me with that time management.

1) Keep work at work. Unless it is something I can mindlessly do in front of the TV I do not bring work home. I will stay at school later and do my work there. This helps with the teacher burnout you hear about. I need time to relax and just take care of myself.

2) Get to school early. My contract time requires me to be at school at 7:30. I get there at 7:00 and spend that half an hour really working on stuff before my contract requirements start.

3) I eat lunch in my room. I do not do this to be antisocial, but I have about 40 minute while my kids are at recess and lunch. I take the time to spend about 15 minutes in peace eating, then I spend the rest of the time working.

4) Be planned for the next week. I am completely planned for the next week before I leave school Fruday. I have planning time right away Monday morning so I begin planning for the following week. I start things that I know I will not skip and can begin planning.

5) This has a little to do for school, but more about time management in general. I cook a big meal Sunday and use it all week. I will cook a pan of chiecken and then I have it with dinners all week.

I hope some of these tips help you. I know these tips are not possible for everyone, but I hope you can take parts of them and they can help you.

'Tis the Season

I am going to try to blog every day in the month of December starting today (December 2) and ending on December 31. I am hoping this goes well and I can get a schedule. I love blogging, but I feel like I run out of ideas and do not know what to write.

For this first post, I am going to tell you my December Goals. I am going to keep this achievable and choose three goals. I will update you on the last day of this challenge. 

1) Continue on my healthy lifestyle choices. Starting in August I began to work out regularly and try to make better food choice. I am currently six days into a fifteen-day challenge. It is going pretty well and it has been a fun way to change up my workouts. I want to continue these decisions throughout the holidays when it can be a bit harder to do this.

2) Attempt to try to get out and socialize. I moved to a new city to start my teaching job. I want to continue to try to go out and do things in this area. I am perfectly happy being at home because I am a homebody, but I also need to try to find things to do.

3) This one should not be too surprising, but I want to try to blog every day in December. You guys will obviously see how this third one goes and I will update you on the rest.

I hope you have a blessed December! Please let me know if there are any posts that you want to see.

You Really Want to Know Me

I came across an article called 50 Questions to Ask A Girl If You Really Want to Know Who She Is. I thought that I would answer these questions and see if you got to know me better. I would love if anyone reading this would also complete this article and leave the link below. I would love to read it. Do not forget to always be yourself becasue you were created to be wonderful. I think if we learn about other people then we make connections to them and find what we have in common.

1. What’s one thing that’s happened to you that has made you a stronger person? I think having to live alone has made me a stronger person. It has made me more independent and it has forced me to see the things that are important in life. I am getting better at balancing life and making sure no single thing takes over my life. 

2. What’s one thing that’s happened to you in your life that made you feel weak? I think I feel the weakest when someone close to me is struggling and there is nothing I can do to make it better. I want to help them all so they never struggle but that is not possible. There are some things that you cannot fix you can just be there to listen. 

3. Where is one place you feel most like yourself? My apartment has become my place where I feel like me. I am not putting on a show or trying to impress anyone. I am just able to relax and do things that make me happy and help me relax. I am able to do things on my own terms. 

4. Where is your favorite place to escape to? My favorite place to escape is often just to a room by myself. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the people around me so I need time to be by myself. 

5. Who do you think has had the largest influence on the person you are today? My mom has had the largest influence on the person I am today. My mom is a person who will always put others first. She will forgo things for herself to provide for others or to give us something we want. My mom is selfless and if I am half the mom she is I will have some lucky kids. 

6. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? I would change my weight in a heartbeat. It is something I have been uncomfortable with for a long time. In this past month, I have been actively trying to make positive changes. I have been trying to be careful of what I eat and make sure I am making an effort to be active every day. 

7. If you had one day left to live, what would you do first? I think I would want to make sure to tell all the people I care about how I feel. I would never want to leave the earth with someone I love unsure of how I feel about them.  

8. What decade do you feel you most belong in? I feel like I belong in the 1990s. This may be a weird decade to pick, but I liked that the world as a whole was less tense. I love that there was ease of communication and travel. I also like that everyone was not as connected as they are today. I think it is ridiculous to see how young children are already constantly on technology.

9. Who are you closest to in your family? Why? I think I am the closest to my mom. We have always been fairly close and I like spending time with her. It is nice to know that you always have someone in your corner who is also willing, to tell the truth. I am also close to my brother, but that relationship has gotten closer as we have gotten older. 

10. Who is the one person in this world that knows you best? I think my mom or my best friend, Karlee, know me the best. They are both pretty awesome and I know I can trust them both. Here is the link to Karlee's Blog.  

11. What is your favorite quality about your best friend? I think my favorite quality is that she just gets me. She can tell how I am feeling from a look or a text. She also can detect my sarcasm over text because she knows me that well. We think very similarly and are super alike, but somehow we can spend all of our time together and never get upset. 

12. When you were younger what did you think you were going to be when you grew up? From the time I was little until 8th grade I thought I was going to be a teacher. Then in high school, I looked into other careers, but ultimately came back to teaching and that is what I am doing now. 

13. If you could identify with one fictional character (from a book, show, or movie) who would it be? I cannot just pick one character. I think the reason I enjoy reading so much because I am always able to connect to at least one character. Reading is so enjoyable because I always find a little piece of myself in a character. I am willing to follow the story and always hope for the happy ending because that is what I would want. 

14. Do you easily accept compliments? Or do you hate compliments? I feel like I am in between these two. I really wish I could say I easily accept compliments and from some people, I can do this. Often times when I receive a compliment I worry that it is not genuine and why they are offering this compliment. It is probably something I should work on but there is always a small piece of self-doubt. 

15. Is your favorite attribute about yourself physical or non-physical? My favorite attribute about myself is my self-motivation and drive. When I am put my mind to something I will work hard to accomplish it. I am able to set a to-do list and complete it. I am very organized and am able to keep myself on track to get things done. 

16. What is your favorite physical attribute about yourself? My favorite physical attribute about myself is my eyes. I have blue eyes and I just think they are pretty. 

17. What is your favorite non-physical attribute about yourself? See question 15. 

18. Do you believe in love at first sight? I do not. I believe in physical attraction at first sight. I also believe that there are people who just click when they first meet. But I think that love is a choice you make every day. You work for it and you put in an effort to show the person how much you care. You want to stand beside them at their best to celebrate and at their worst to support. Nothing about that is easy or effortless. 

19. Do you believe in soul mates? I think that God knows the person you are going to marry. I think He is writing your story. I think He will bring the person into your life when it is time for you to meet.

20. How seriously do you take horoscopes? I do not take them seriously at all. I think that they are general statements that you could see in your life. 

21. Have you ever been in love? How many times? I am not sure if I have ever been in love. I have dated one guy before and we were best friends before we started dating. So I am not sure if the love was in a romantic way or more of a friendship way. 

22. What makes you fall in love with someone? I can honestly say any person that I have seriously liked it has happened as I have gotten to know them. I have learned more about their personality and seen the way they care about people. I am able to see the things that make them unique and that is how I start to begin liking someone. 

23. What does vulnerability mean to you? What has the ability to make you vulnerable? I think that vulnerability means being able to tell someone anything and not worry about being judged. It takes a lot to be able to be completely yourself with someone. I think in front of most people we are censoring ourselves to protect ourselves from judgment. 

24. What’s one thing you’re scared to ask a man, but really want to? I want to ask a man their honest opinion of my appearance. I think it would be interesting to hear an honest opinion from them. 

25. If you were a man for a day, what would be the first thing you do? I think it would just be interesting to see what guys talk about when they are hanging out in groups. I always think it would be interesting to see what they discuss and how deep their conversations get. 

26. What do you find most attractive about each sex? I just think the most unique thing about each person is their personalities. I think it is interesting to see what they are passionate about and what they think is important. 

27. What’s one thing you’d love to learn more about? I would love to be able to speak a foreign language fluently. I just think it would be fun and a great to be able to speak more than one language. 

28. What is something you’ve never done that you’ve always wanted to do? I always wished I could be more spontaneous. I know that is not just one thing, but I am a planner. Sometimes I see that people are able to be spontaneous and go do things. I wish I could be a little more like that sometimes. 

29. Why haven’t you done it yet? I think being spontaneous is scary. Especially for me. Like I said I am a planner. I like to know things and have a handle on what will happen and be ready for things. 

30. If money didn’t matter, what would your dream job be? I think I would want to do something in the nonprofit sector. Where I am volunteering my time and helping people. 

31. If you had off from work today, what would you do? Well, today I did have the day off since it is a weekend and I cleaned. If I had a day off I think I would like to take a day trip somewhere and explore something new. Or I would love if some of my friends could come over for a movie night and just to hang out.

32. What was the last thing that made you cry? Other than a sappy video online, it would probably be a couple of weeks ago. I moved out and being completely on my own in a new area was just overwhelming. I am a crier and it is the way I release emotions. There are times when I just know that I need to cry to let it all out. 

33. What was the last thing that made you laugh? It was probably one of my students. They are quite the crazy bunch, but I love them. I have a small class, but they have big personalities. 

34. What is your favorite memory? I think any memory with my family would be my favorite. Since I moved away from them I really appreciate the memories with them and the time we get to spend together now. 

35. What’s the last thing that REALLY embarrassed you? I am not sure what the last thing that really embarrassed me. I do not get embarrassed too easily. So I feel like when I do get embarrassed I brush it off and really try to forget about it. 

36. What is your biggest fear? My biggest fear is disappointing someone. I always want to make the people around proud and I never want someone to be disappointed in me. 

37. Do you have any regrets? What’s your biggest one? I think some of my biggest regrets are trying to hang on to people who did not want me in their life. I think that I sometimes tried to make relationships work when people had stopped caring or did not want to be friends. In the end, I probably ended up feeling more hurt than I should of. 

38. Have you ever broken a law? If you haven’t what is one law you’d love to break? I mean I guess I have technically broken the law when I have sped. So there you go. 

39. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Well, people always want juicy stories. I am not a super crazy person so my stories probably do not compare to other people's stories. This is also not something I am going to put on here so, you will just have to get to know me better. 

40. Would you have a conversation with a stranger? I would. How do you ever make a friend if you do not talk to a stranger? 

41. Would you tell a stranger they have toilet paper hanging from their shoe? Or their dress tucked into their underwear? (Or anything else that is embarrassing to be seen in public)? I would. I appreciate when people tell me those things. I always try to point them out. It minimizes the embarrassment if it gets cut off early. 

42. What’s your favorite joke? This is super lame. In high school volleyball, I always told Laffy Taffy jokes to break the tension. So probably some Laffy Taffy jokes. 

43. Are you a dog person or a cat person? I am a both person. I love cats and dogs. 

44. If you could be any animal, what animal would you be? A Koala probably because I have heard they sleep for like 22 hours a day. 

45. What’s one show, movie, or book, you’re embarrassed to admit you enjoy? I still watch the made for TV Disney Channel Movies. They have some on Netflix and sometimes I need a mindless night and will watch them. 

46. How do you think your parents would describe you as a child? I think they would describe me as hardheaded, stubborn, and probably a little bratty. At least that is how they would describe me when they think about me on my bad days. 

47. If you could go back to any age or time of your life, what age or time would it be? This is a hard question, I feel like when I think back I remember a lot of the good times that I would want to relieve. Some of the times I would like to go back to is my freshman year because I went to Germany for Spring Break. I would also love to go back to my senior year because it was just a fun time and I also went to London and Paris over Spring Break. I also think my junior year would be fun to relive because you were independent, but were not worried about as many things. Finally, I also think it would be fun to go back to a summer when I was in like middle school. My parents were both teachers so they did not have a normal work schedule all summer. So, it would be nice to go back to the time before my brother and I were working in the summer and just enjoy the family time. 

48. What’s something you believe in that not everyone else does? I believe in God. I am religious and not everyone is. 

49. What’s one thing you would say that makes you unique from other people? I am left-handed which is pretty unique. You also get a lot of fun questions when you are left-handed that make things interesting. 

50. What is one thing you feel your life is missing? I think right now I am missing having someone I am close to who lives close to me. I am getting there, but I moved to somewhere new and I did not know anyone. So, I am just trying to be open to new experiences and trying to make sure I hand out with people when I get the choice to.  

Back To School!

I start school Monday, which is crazy to say. I have been prepping my classroom all summer (pictures will come later). School has been crazy busy because they have been redoing part of the roof over my classroom. This caused quite the mess which is why pictures will come in a little bit after it all gets cleaned up. I cannot believe this summer went so quickly.

I am super excited to get started with my amazing little 2nd grade babies. I have got my classroom set up and lesson planned for the first two weeks. I am sure it will end up changing a lot as I see what we get done the first week. I am also coaching volleyball and that started this week. It has been a pretty crazy week. It has been nice getting to know some of older girls in volleyball.

On this wonderful last weekend before school starts, I am trying to relax as much as possible. So far today I have cleaned the bathroom, gone grocery shopping, and made lunch. I still want to make sure I vacuum and sweep my apartment. I am also going to try my hand at prepping my lunches for the week. So expect a post about that by next weekend at the latest. I am hoping I can go into the school year with a clean apartment.

If you do read my blog, please give me ideas of posts you would like to see and I will try to get those out to you.  

Da Crib (My Apartment)

Last month I began to move into my first apartment. It was a slow process because I was still working in my hometown. I would come up on the weekends and get things settled. It was kind of nice slowly moving because I was able to unpack the boxes as I brought them to the apartment. In this post, I will be sharing some photos from my apartment. This is also a collaboration post with my best friend Karlee. You can click here to see her post.  

I live in a five building apartment complex and there are eight apartments in each building. When you first walk into my apartment you see my living room. With the help of my amazing family, I was able to find a lot of the furniture for my apartment for a reasonable price. My couch and recliner are not what I thought I was going to get, but they are super comfortable. I make sure to keep blankets out because I like being able to bundle up. My amazing coffee table was made by my dad. I was able to find the table under my lamp and my TV stand at auctions for very affordable prices. My lamp was one my dad had around, he was able to spray paint the base for me so it is a color that I love. 

Right by the door, I use to come into my apartment is my TV stand. On the edge of the TV stand, I keep a little ceramic dish. This is an amazing dumping place so that I do not misplace things. In this dish, I keep my keys, sunglasses, and a pair of earphones. It is nice that as I am leaving I can grab what I need and go. 

My living room and kitchen are one big 

room. I love my kitchen! It is a pretty big kitchen for an apartment and I love that there is enough room to have a kitchen table over the tile and not on carpet. I got my beautiful kitchen table from another auction for an amazing price. I would highly recommend if you are looking for furniture to check out auctions for your wooden pieces. I was able to get solid wooden things at great prices. My kitchen table is large and I can expand it with two leaves. I love that I have a lot of cabinet space to store things in. I also have a dish washer! I never grew up with a dish washer, so it has been a nice luxury to my life. I have a little canvas over my kitchen sink. It is one I painted at college and it says Bless this Mess. It is a perfect sign for a kitchen. 

Next, is my bathroom. It is pretty basic, but I do enjoy the storage. It is also nice that I finally do not have to share a bathroom. This gives me the opportunity to leave some of my things out. I stuck with a blue theme in a lot of my apartment. I was able to find my shower curtain and my grandparents gave me the bath mat by my shower. 

The final room I have pictures of for you is my bedroom. I am including my closet with my bedroom which could probably be considered a room of its own. My amazing family was going to some garage sales and they found an antique bedroom set. The set is gorgeous and I love it. My head board is huge, but I like that it became my focus piece. I was able to buy a memory foam mattress. It was a little different adjusting to it, but now I love it. My mom would tell you that picking out a quilt/comforter was one of the hardest things about the move. I am very picky and I did not want to get something that I would get sick of. I found this quilt on clearance. I love the color and the ruffles add something to it without it being so over the top that I get sick of it. You may also notice the matching lamp to the one in my living room. I was able to have lamps in both places and if I need to I can put them in the same room as a set. I also was able to add a nice book shelf in my bedroom. It fits perfectly in the little space between the doorways. I love that I can have somewhere to put books and that it looks cute too. It was also the perfect space to hang up another canvas that I made. This one has Song of Solomon 4:6 on it which says, You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. This is the perfect daily reminder that I was wonderfully made. Finally, I have a huge walk in closet. This is nice because it is a great place to store things. My two dressers are on the smaller side, so it is nice to have a place to put clothes.

                       

I am also blessed to have a garage to use for my car and storage. I also have another small storage closet that I keep my linens and my craft supplies in. Now that I am living on my own there has been a lot to adjust to. I have gotten used to cooking all the meals and also keeping up with the cleaning. It has been nice though that I have a place that feels homey and I can relax in. If you have any decoration suggestions just let me know, I would love any help. 

Weekend with my Best Friend

Hello, everyone! I got to spend the weekend with my best friend Karlee. I was super excited because it had been about a month and a half since I had seen her. I went down and spent the weekend at her apartment. We were able to just talk, do a little teacher shopping, go to a baseball game, and even go to church together. It was a great weekend and it will always be one of my favorite ways to spend a few days. Well, this weekend was amazing, it was overall a pretty chill weekend. We just hung out and caught up. This was the best way to spend the weekend. The rest of this post will be giving you a little more information about Karlee and our friendship because I am sure there will be more posts about her.        

Flashback to when we met! Now I wish I could sit down and tell you that I do not remember not being friends with Karlee or that we met on the first day of Kindergarten, but that is not the case. We both ended up at the same college studying Early Childhood Education. She was a double major with Special Education and I was the minor version of that. We both ended up at this college after registering and being pretty sure we were going to go to different schools. I was very homesick even though I was not too far from home. I started going to my classes and one day I realized that a girl who lived across the hall from me was in one of my education classes. I am not very good at thinking of ways to start a conversation, so I kind of knocked on her open door and asked if there was any homework (anyone who knows me knows I already knew the answer to the question). Then I am not really sure how we got talking but in that first little bit of college, you can have a pretty long conversation with anybody as you share basic information. Well, I ended up sitting down and we talked until it was time to get dinner and she invited me to get dinner with the people she normally ate with. Now, I cannot give you some AHA moment of when we became close. It just kind of happened. I can tell you that I spent a ton of time hanging out in her little dorm room across the hall from mine (I think that may be one of my favorite places at college). We talked and hung out, it was all pretty chill. 

I can tell you though that I have never clicked with another person in the same way. We had many things in common and we looked at a lot of life in a similar way. We were able to spend all of our time together and not get sick of each other. Meeting Karlee helped my homesickness and I finally felt like I had someone I could talk to about it. We were able to talk about our high school experiences and families. It is great having a friend who you can tell anything too and you do not feel like they are going to hate you or judge you. We are close enough that it is also nice to have someone who thinks in a very similar way to you. She understands my kind of crazy and is able to roll with it. We did not live together our freshman year, but I spent more time in her dorm room than mine. Freshman year we got to know each other and went through good and bad things together. We cried and laughed together. We got to experience college together. And we even watched a whole lot of Reba on ABC Family. 

Now we no longer live together as I am starting my first year teaching and she is beginning her student teaching experience. I can say that texting and Facetiming will never make up for weekends we can see each other. I can also say that it is nice to have someone who is excited to hear anything that you are excited to tell them. It is nice to have someone you know is always praying for you and cheering you on in your corner. It is a friendship that seems like I have known her forever. I know it is a friendship that will last. One of the things I am most thankful in college is that I pretended not to know the homework, walked into your dorm room and never left.     

Karlee, since I know you will read this. I want to say thank you for getting me through college. Thank you for always being in my corner cheering me on. Thank you for praying for me. Thank you for crying with me and laughing with me. Thank you for letting me complain, but also showing me the positives when I am only being negative. Thank you for dealing with me when I was crazy stressed out. I am so thankful that even though it was not our first choice we ended up in the same college across the hall from each other (I would like everyone to know that dorm was my very last choice). Looking back I know that God knew I would need a friend like you. I am so excited to hear about all of the amazing experiences you have during student teaching. I am excited that we can swap stories now. You are going to be such a blessing to those kids and schools. I cannot wait to see you again in two weeks!

Check out Karlee's blog: https://littlebitokarlee.blogspot.com/