I'm Back! (Hopefully)

Hello to anyone who reads this blog! Which may only be my best friend Karlee (Hi Karlee!). That's okay. I know I have not posted since December which is crazy. A lot in my life has changed since then and there have been things in my life I have been working on since August without ever mentioning them on here.

I am 2 and half days being done with my first year teaching. This statement is crazy to me! I cannot believe the year has gone so quickly. I cannot believe I am about to send my first class of students onto 3rd grade.

Since summer is starting soon I am hoping to make this a part of my routine (eye roll if you have heard me say this before). I know I have said this before and it has never happened, but I am really hoping that with some of the other changes I have made I can get this to be part of my routine. I really do enjoy it, even if it is just for me to go back an read in my old age.

I will be letting you in on some of the bigger changes that have happened in my life since I have been away. Trust me this is nothing super exciting, it is mainly self care that I have been working on. There will also be a post reflecting on my first year of teaching.

Please let me know if you have any requests. I have mainly stopped posting in the past because my life is pretty boring and I run out of ideas of things to write about.

One of my goals for summer 2018 is to make this a part of my routine. We will see how that goes!

Bye 17, Hello 18

Well, we can all see that I did pretty good blogging every day for the first half of the month. Then school got busy and I just wanted to spend time with my family. So, I kind of fell off the wagon, but let's move on.

2017 was a year filled with change and new experiences! Let me go over my highlights of 2017.

• Moved in with my grandparents for 6 months. 
• Completed my student teaching at 3 different schools. 
• Graduated from college. 
• Accepted my first teaching job. 
• Moved into my first apartment. 
• Started figuring out adult life. 
• Set up my first classroom. 
• Began my first year of teaching. 
• Was asked to be a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding. 
• Had a wonderful girls weekend. 
• Began to make better decisions to be healthier. 
• Saw my best friend graduate college. 
• Was asked to be maid of honor in my best friends wedding. 
• I got to also enjoy spending time with family and friends. 

I cannot wait to see what 2018 will have in store. I cannot wait to continue to focus on making myself better and spending quality time with people around me. 

• I want to continue working on leading a healthier life. 
• I also want to focus on making good financial decisions that will begin to set up my future. 

I have a few ideas for blog posts that I look forward to writing in 2018! Happy New Year to all my wonderful readers. 

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.