Happy New Year 2013!

Another year has passed and I'm like WOAH.

Here are some things we did this year:

Celebrated the 1 year anniversary of Tommy's accident on 1/4/12

Celebrated Tommy turning 24 on 1/8/12

 

Saw Legally Blonde on 3/17/12

Bought a house on 3/26/12

Celebrated my 24th birthday with a checkered cake from Laura and a B-Day movie on 5/4/12

Went for many runs on my favorite trail by our house

Celebrated Megan's Wedding shower at our new house on 5/27/12 :)

Went to a Sox game with Kyle and Kelsers on 6/3/12

Set sail on the Getting' Tipsy with Second Grade on 6/13/12

Celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on 6/17/12!! We went back to IG and walked around, took some pictures, and recorded a video of our current life- 1 year later as a married couple :)

Celebrated Megan's bachelorette party!

Stood up with Megan & Jeff as their Matron of Honor on their wedding day 

Celebrated Nicole Lukemeyer's wedding shower and went to her wedding later in the year!

Went to Arlington Race Track for the first time on 7/14/12

Started house sitting a kitty on 7/19/12 and ended up keeping her! (Thanks Aaron!!)

Ran a half marathon with Megan Lackaff on 7/22/12

Visited the Art Institute with my husband on 7/26/12

Went to an engagement party for Liz Lange on 7/29/12

Celebrated a friends wedding on 7/28/12

Beat the pants off some friends in darts by getting a double bullseye and triple 19 on 8/17/12 (woot)

Donated my hair to Locks of Love for the second time on 8/20/12

Ran a 5k with Anna on 9/2/12

Won a new pair of running shoes from the half marathon on 9/14/12

Went to the Ryder Cup on 9/28-9/30/12 and had an AWESOME time! One of my favorite 2012 memories :)

Day 1                                          Day 2                                        Day 3

Attended ISU Homecoming AND ran in the 5k in October

Hung the first pictures in our house on 10/13/12 (ha, only a few months after we moved in...)

Went to a CAFE conference with some friends on 10/24/12

Carved pumpkins and dressed up for Halloween. I was a chef and Tommy was Harry Potter. That was a tough school day for me.....clearly....

Read the Hot Chocolate 5k on 11/4/12 for the third year in a row!

Voted on 11/6/12. Woot.

 

Went Black Friday shopping from 10:00 pm to 8:30 am....yessssss. Laura was good company!

Had the first annual Friendsgiving on 11/25/12--- NO PICTURES FOR THIS....or so I thought!
Kelsey has kindly texted me two pictures that sum up the night :)

 

Got our first Christmas tree in the house on 12/3/12

Celebrated the "End of the World" with each other on 12/21/12

Celebrated Christmas with both sets of family and moustaches on 12/24/12

 

Hosted a rockin' New Year's Eve 2012 party :)

What a wonderful 2012 it was for us! Brought on some big changes in our life and we feel blessed. We can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us!!

#25- Donate my hair to Locks of Love again!

This is #25 on my 25 Before 25 List.

This past August 2012, I decided to FINALLY donate my hair to Locks of Love again.

The first time I did it I was in high school. My hair was down to the middle of my back and I just decided one day to donate it. I cried from the time she made the little pony tails on my head, to the time she evened everything out after cutting off 10 inches. Looking back, that seems silly because it's just hair, but I think I was feeling like I lost a part of me.

This past August when I donated my hair again, I didn't feel like my hair defined me. I was so much more than just long haired :) So I didn't even cry about it! Go me!

Not to mention the fact that it felt good to be able to do something for someone else.

So here is the before, during, and after:

{Before}

{During- sectioning off hair}

{During- cutting off sections!}

{After}

I hope to be doing this again in another year or so!

One Little Word for 2013

So I have decided to choose my One Little Word for 2013, seeing as how we only have two days left of 2012.

This year, I have decided my word will be: Persist

{Persist}

According to Google, persisting is when someone continues in "a course of action in spite of difficulty, opposition, or failure", or you know, life in general.

I have not chosen this word because I have dealt with much "difficulty, opposition, or failure" this year.  In fact, I think this particular year has not been that hard. I have had harder years in the past. Not "OMG this class is so stupid" hard, but life altering WTF hard. And personally, I think it has made me a better person, but this is not why I have chosen Persist as my OLW of 2013. (Or should Acronym be my word? Ha).

I chose Persist as my word because I think I need to work on this. I wouldn't necessarily say that I am a "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" type of person, but I do think that I am semi-ok at sticking throughout he hard times....when it comes to other people or when other people are involved. I don't hold the same standard to myself, and I don't think that's ok. 

I recently had a convo with my sister Katy about something I view to be related to this ideology. 

She said to me that she used to feel guilty when she did something for herself, like bought a pair of shoes she wanted (but didn't need), or went to the Korean spa for some relaxation. And I have to say, that I STILL feel that way. Part of it is because I feel guilty about spending the money, but I'm afraid a another part may be that deep down I don't think I am worthy of it. Katy told me that she has learned that she needs to take care of herself before she can take of other people, which has led to her feeling ok with doing any of those aforementioned things and not feel guilty about it anymore. 

I think I need to focus on persisting for myself in 2013 for me, not for anyone else, because I AM WORTH IT. 

I am going to show persistence when those ugly "you can't do it" thoughts pop into my head. 

Sounds silly right? To not be good at persisting through negative thoughts that I, myself create.....but I find that being nice to myself can be one of the toughest things to do. 

So here's to PERSISTING in 2013. I can't wait to see how this unfolds.....

#4- Become a Teacher

This is part of my 25 Before 25 List......it's #4- Become a Teacher!

The end of the school year has come and gone and it has led me to reflect on my teaching experience thus far. 2010 was my first year teaching {ever} and I was scared and excited all at once. After having 10 interviews in multiple districts and being rejected 9 times, I was stoked to finally have a teaching job.....and not just any teaching job, a teaching job in the district that I went to school at. It was seriously everything that I ever wanted (minus the fact that it was part time, but thank God it was because of the year that ensued). And I love that fact that I see cows on my drive and get stuck behind a tractor driving down the road sometimes :)


I was worried about the fact that I was teaching Kindergarten, but after the first day I was pretty hooked. Kindergarten is so much fun. I loved that I got to sing, dance, and sit on the floor with the little kiddos. Not to mention the fact that they are just so darn cute! We did super fun projects, and they are like little sponges at that age. They grow so much over the course of the school year and I had so much fun learning with them. And do you know what's weird? At some point it hit me that I wanted to teach Kindergarten. When Tommy was in the hospital, I worried about my kiddos the first day I was away from them. Then, I stopped thinking about them when I was at the hospital and focused on Tommy. When I went back to the classroom a few days later, teaching Kindergarten was still so fun. I actually enjoyed going to school when I did, and I enjoyed being with Tommy when I was at hospital. I was having fun in the middle of a crisis, and you may read this and think that is totally selfish, but that's what teaching Kindergarten was for me: fun. Even on the days that were hard- the kiddos were crazy, someone was crying or under a table, a lesson didn't turn out like I planned, etc.- I was still happy to be teaching Kindergarten. 


I love teaching them how to be little people. I love teaching them how to sit on the carpet criss cross applesauce with eggs in a basket. I love singing hallway songs, calendar songs, and phonics songs with them. I love penguin playday and teddy bear playday. I love giving a direction and then telling them to put their hands on their head/shoulders/knees/elbows etc. I love teaching the basics- especially phonics. I love seeing them grow academically/socially. I love teaching them compassion towards each other and how to problem solve. I love their love of learning. 


Last year I taught Second Grade. Big jump, I know. 
It was definitely.....different/fun/challenging/friendly/unexpected, thought not all in one day. ha.
I learned a lot about my teaching self, my personal self, and teaching in general. I do not think I would have gotten through alive without my team, and my friends at school, that much I know. Next year will be a new adventure, a new challenge, and though I am not ready for it right this minute on August 1st, I will be. Many things to look forward to this month :)


I am a teacher right now, but I suppose this will be a lifelong journey.


And that's #4- Become a Teacher.