Simply

 Sometimes when I think about writing a blog post, I get stopped because I feel silly. I want to have lots of posts to look back on years in the future, but I also don't want people to read stuff that is boring or I guess unimportant. I either feel like I am being too personal to where I feel vulnerable, or I am too surface level and it's boring. I try to keep my posts casual and to not edit them or think too much about them. I want them to be authentic and not feel like I am writing essays for school again.  When I get stuck with these feelings while I'm considering writing, I sometimes go read old blog posts from my Mom and my Auntie Lisa. Their blogs go back to like 2008 and it's so interesting to me to read their words from when they were younger. Some of them are so funny and I get so much enjoyment from reading them. But while they were writing them, they probably just felt like I do, writing about normal life for them. And maybe I just feel this way sometimes bec...

 Update time! My break was supposed to be from December 17th - January 26th but that has not been the case! This break is already longer than my other breaks, but the snow storm has nicely extended it. The first 3 days I was supposed to be back were completely canceled and fully remote. Luckily I didn't have to try and teach on zoom, but could just assign mini asynchronous lessons for them to complete at home. The last 2 days of the week were delays, so classes were shorter and I got to sleep in. Then we got another snow storm, and today school is completely canceled as well, planning for cancelations and delays tomorrow. ANDDDD, it's supposed to snow again on Wednesday. I still haven't been back for a normal day of school yet. For the quarter only being 9 weeks, I already know it's going to fly by because of all this snow. Clayton's job is also weather dependent so we have been able to hibernate together :) Also, I didn't know that snow storms have names like H...

I have a story to write about from what happened to me this morning. And the reason I'm sharing this, is because it pushed me down a rabbit hole of thoughts. First for context, I don't go back to teaching until January 22nd, and I've only had 3 days off since we've been home from our trip to DC. For the first 2 days, I felt great, was so excited to relax, but also got a lot of catch up work done around the apartment. Then day 3 hit, and I fell into my typical habits of couch rotting and feeling lonely, bored, lazy, unmotivated, and essentially just stuck. That evening, while confiding in my wonderful husband, he suggested that I have a plan for the next day because he knows that helps me get out of these moods. So, I start creating a plan and Clayton suggests I go on a hike by myself at the state park down the road from our apartment. I love this idea, sounds great to be outside with this nice weather, and add it to my list.  Fast forward to this morning. I am completin...

Happy belated New Years! I keep saying "next year" but it's this year and I just can't believe it's already 2026. I have been thinking the past few weeks what I wanted my resolutions to be, but I've been struggling to decide this year! I either create resolutions that are unrealistic and I forget about them (like workout 4 times a week), or I choose ones that I am already going to do (graduate college). I wanted to create resolutions this year that can be adjusted depending on what's going on that week, but still keeps me motivated and striving for a goal.  One thing when I'm teaching that is so important to me is purpose. I try my best to have my students know and understand it, and I try to remind myself of it as well. Purpose is the whole reason that any of us do anything. Soooo, I chose a big picture purpose to work towards all year. I am choosing to work on habits. What's good about this purpose is that I can start wherever I'm at now, and...

I've been feeling so much better since my last blog post. I feel like every time I post a blog, the next day I feel completely different haha. I've been putting less pressure on the productivity of each day and instead focusing more on my enjoyment levels. Learning to love imperfection is something that I am still working on, but I've been doing better with it these past few weeks.  If you know me and Clayton, you know we love traveling. We are always talking about where we want to go and when we can make it happen. Since we've moved to North Carolina, it's been way more realistic for us to plan trips which is amazing! Daydreaming about travel is definitely something that keeps our heads up each day during the winter. I'm so excited about our upcoming plans so I thought I'd share! December: - 5 days in Texas visiting Clayton's family for Christmas - 6 days in Washington visiting my family for Christmas January: - 4 days in DC April: - Family vacation som...

 The more I grow up, the more I start to “figure myself out”. Just things about myself I’ve always been confused about, and then I start to have even more questions. For example, growing up I wanted to try every extracurricular activity. Even after I tried them all, I wanted to continue them all instead of putting 100% into just one. Logically, I always knew that picking one would result in me being better at it so that I could focus all my efforts towards it. But I could never get myself to do it. I’ve been the same way with my career. I purposefully tried to pick a job that would essentially allow me to have all the variety I want. Again, I know that picking a different career would make me more money or I could devote more energy to it, but I couldn’t get myself to do it.  I’ve been trying to figure out why I am this way. I’m actually so torn on if being like this is a positive or negative for me. Positively, I know I just love to do and want to do so many different things ...