School's Out In 24 Days!

24 DAYS! 

My first year of teaching will be done in just 24 days. This year has flown by! I've learned SO much! I can't stop typing exclamation points!

What a whirlwind of a year; although life has its ups and downs, life is extremely exciting! In July I will be halfway to 50 and I am anxious to see what this quarter mark has in store for me and those along with me on my journey.

What have I been up to lately? Work, work, work, sleep, running, flights to Michigan, graduation, flights back to Michigan, tutoring, work, softball, meetings, work, reading.....you get the thrilling idea of my life lately!

Jake's graduation happened in a blink, but it was incredibly fun! We went to my favorite CMU bar, The Cabin, and I forgot how LARGE the Long Island drinks are. I couldn't finish it! This is what happens when you work full time and you do not have the tolerance you used to have ;) I am bummed that I didn't take many pictures! I was too busy being social.

One of the best dancers!

Remake of our first photo together

Chris makes me smile like this every time I see him!

Oh lord, I was so happy to see some of the WW boys. Our five minute hugs could have lasted an hour. Those five minutes didn't make up for all the time we have spent away from each other! Sending love everyday to you all! 

Today Jake arrives in NC for interviews, apartment searching, the whole "I'm a grown-up now, unemployed, student loan paying, college graduate who needs a job" mid-life crisis majority of us have. I told him to randomly go to Virginia to be a "live-in manny" because naturally that's the answer to his mid-life crisis, but he's not interested ;)

I hope this week brings him great luck! Send positive thoughts his way!

Work has been a tad crazy. My students are anxious for summer (they are NOT alone!) and the whole 'classroom management-rules-procedures' can be thrown out the window. It is just that time of year. I had my first 'angry parent meeting' last week and I am amazed at the support I received from fellow teachers and administrators. At the end of the day, that is the support that is most important with my job, and although I haven't felt like I've had that all year, that one meeting showed me different. 

I am working on expanding my friend group, although it has been a challenge. One day at a time! It will be nice to have my best friend up here soon :)

I'm still running races with shelter dogs when I can. Yesterday, I ran a 5k with a 6 month old husky/lab mix named Flynn and he stopped on me after the 2nd mile! I had to finish the race solo. He was a trooper in the hot NC weather. I sure hope his sweet face gets adopted very soon!

I don't think he will have ANY issues being adopted! Those eyes!

Time to get out of this comfy bed and have a great Sunday! Safe travels to my mum, stepdad, and Ben as they travel to Michigan tonight for a week filled with visits! It sure is hard to return.

Xoxo, Jodi Leanne*

March Is Coming to An End!

APRIL FIRST IS TUESDAY! I can't believe how fast this school year has flown by! I have 8 weeks of teaching left and then it's summer break. WOW!

April 17th marks my districts spring break and I am trying oh so hard to get back to the mitten. My spring break begins the weekend of Easter, so flight prices are silly high. I hope to spend a week with my family and friends and then fly back this summer to spend more than a week with everyone! Time will tell :)

May and June will bring pretty big changes in this girls life and I am excited for my upcoming adventures! One adventure is to travel to any state spontaneously one weekend (any suggestions?) Another adventure is Jake graduating/moving to North Carolina. Another adventure is deciding whether I would like to stay at J H Rose or apply to other schools. Another adventure is moving into an apartment/condo/townhouse. Another adventure is training for a race. I'm sure that isn't all of the adventures that will occur in May and June, but I think that's a good start :)

I joined my schools staff softball league. I've never been one to jump on the bandwagon with sports, but I feel this will be a great activity to do outside of school with some of my wonderful staff members! I will keep everyone updated on our undefeated season ;)

I haven't blogged about Mr. Button lately so I decided to post a few recent pictures of how big he is getting! He's a wild one, but very smart. We have learned a lot about composts, planets, and dinosaurs!

My family recently rescued a mutt from our local animal shelter and his new name is Cooper! He's my buddy and I'm anxious to start to run with him. He sure has a lot of energy for being '3'!

 Happy almost April!!

'How to Love a Girl Who Doesn't Know How to Be Loved'

Happy Wednesday!

Today, while browsing my Facebook newsfeed after tutoring, I found this article and the title caught my eye.

'How to Love a Girl Who Doesn't Know How to Be Loved'

While reading, I began to think of women and how they are often labeled 'difficult.' When I finished reading, I took a minute to think of why women are often called 'difficult.'

I'm not sure about all women, but I know many who long for a relationship filled with love, honesty, trust, confidence, and happiness. It's one thing to long for a relationship filled with those things and more, and it's a whole other element to know how to find and exist in a relationship filled with those things and more. Many of us try and the relationship fails. Many of us try, succeed temporarily, and then walk away. Many of us try, and then get our hearts broken. Many of us try, succeed, and live happily ever after. Many of us fear relationships and never try. Many of us give our all, but are never met halfway by our partner. 

Then there's the women who fit perfectly into the mold this article describes: the ones who do not know how to be loved.

It's an interesting read that I feel reveals this perspective in an accurate way. 

I'm not sure about you, but this is me.

     

The Longest Recap You'll Ever See...

Since I've been an awful Blogger parent, I have a large recap for this post seeing how my last post talked about me getting ready to leave for my Bahama trip with my nanny family. Shesh! That was July 2013 folks.

What's happened since then?

Well, I went to the Bahamas :)

I golfed for the first time on my 24th birthday in Washington DC!

I left my nanny position to take a teaching job in Greenville, NC.

I was able to decorate my very own classroom and begin teaching at the end of August 2013!

I was a bridesmaid in my brother Adam's wedding. This was the first time my extended family traveled to NC and it was such a memorable weekend!

I started walking shelter dogs two days a week, which allowed me to run my first 5k with a shelter pit bull named Daisy! 

I traveled to Michigan for 2.5 weeks and had the best vacation and spent quality time with those who mean the most!

I witnessed my first NC "snow-pocolypse" where I was stranded in my house and bread/water was hard to find at the grocery store. 

I passed my certification tests and I am now certified to teach in Michigan and North Carolina!

I had a Valentine's Day weekend surprise trip to Raleigh with Jake!

I decided to be a volunteer tutor for Pitt County and I start this Tuesday :)

These are the 'big' events that occurred since my last post. I hope I didn't leave anything out! Teaching has been very tough, but this semester is better. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it. My goal for this summer is to gain three tutor clients, get an apartment, continue to blog, adopt a greyhound, and take a nice trip to the mitten :)

XOXOXOXO!!!!

Oh Brother...

WHOA.
It has been almost three months since I've been on here.
Life of a first year teacher, huh?
I will be making an effort to re-vamp this blog and I WILL begin to post again!
SO much to share :)
Xoxo

Merit

A few weeks back, I was shown this animation for a new online application. This application helps necessary individuals receive attention for their schools and their students using social media and local media. Also, colleges are given tools to award these students for their achievements with grades, extra-curricular activities, etc.

As a future educator, I was happy to learn about Merit and what it strives to do within schools. I hope one day this will spread to high schools and the achievers who will be sitting in my desks one day!

Thanks for sharing Jim!

A Well Overdue Post....

I've been so busy that I almost forgot I have a blog! Whoa! Pump the brakes life! I'm loving every second though and grateful for this life I'm living.

 

What's new with me? Well, many things. Let's see.....I'm still working two jobs (nanny life and consulting contractor), I am looking into adopting a greyhound in September, I have been studying like crazy for a hard exam in July, I leave for the Bahamas with my nanny family this Sunday, I'm spending six days in the mitten in a few weeks, I just had my one year anniversary with the lovely Jake, my older brother Adam is recently engaged, my 24th birthday is in a month, OH and I landed a teaching job in North Carolina!

 

You can say many events have happened since I last blogged in May. This is life though, right? Unexpected life-changing events and I'm loving every day!

 

I remember graduating in December and saying to myself, "Now what? I'm in debt with this teaching degree and I have no clue what steps to take next!" So, I made the spontaneous decision to be a live-in nanny in Virginia and although it has been tough and challenging, it has also been beautiful and wonderful. I believe I've learned more about myself these past 5 months than the past 23 years of my life.

 

I was hoping to post a few pictures, but that will have to hold off until my next post about my Bahamas trip. This is my first time leaving the United States, besides a small weekend getaway to Canada, and I'm nervous but excited! I'm thrilled my nanny family is taking me along.

 

Until next time,

 

Jodi Girl*

 

  

Zach Sobiech: An Incredible Hero

No words....this is incredible.

What a powerful message.

"It's really simple actually, it's just try and make people happy. Maybe you have to learn it in time, maybe you have to learn it the hard way, but as long as you learn it, you're gonna make the world a better place."

"Death is just another thing on the agenda kinda. Yeah, it's scary. But the only reason it's scary is because you don't know what's next or if there is a next. So it's kinda like sitting in the dark and so you can either choose to be freaking out in the dark and thinking 'okay what's out there?' or you can just relax and fall asleep and just be happy and content with everything."

Life Lately...

Life has been a blur lately....but a very good blur. There have been a few changes, but hey, life is all about change and many are often for the better! :)

World of Beer in Arlington

Jake moved to Virginia for a summer internship about three weeks ago and it has been SO nice having him 15 minutes away. We have spent our time relaxing, exploring the area, taking road trips to NC to see my family, and just enjoying each other's company. I'm grateful for his decision to do an internship closer to me. 

Speaking of road trips to NC, I've taken a few lately and I adore going home to be with everyone. Ben seems bigger each time and the fact that he is now talking in complete sentences at 2.5 years old is mind blowing! This past weekend for Mother's Day, we went to pick strawberries! I enjoy and cherish the weekends I can spend with my family. I hope to make a trip to MI to see the rest of my family in July :)

Alfalfa Bath Time

Cool Dude

Handsome Fella

He Loves My Shades

:)

Big Bro Adam :)

Teeny Guys!

Nanny life has been going well. I landed a second part-time job at the parents' office as a contractor. It has been neat to work as a financial analyst and learn about the ins and outs! All of this diversity has been wonderful :) The kiddos were off of school last Monday and we decided to head to the zoo. Although the sun was hiding, we had a great time:

House of Parakeets! They were so friendly!

No Big Deal, Massive Antelope

Sometimes They Were Intimidating....

Cup of 'Keets :)

Yes, He Waves!

This past Saturday evening, while drinking on the back patio with my family, I was informed that Jake purchased Taylor Swift tickets. She was in DC two nights in a row, but I just couldn't budge the money to go. If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan and I wasn't a happy camper! But, man, what a thoughtful, kind thing to do. I need to think of a surprise for him ;) Ideas?

Ed Sheeran: Opening Act

Waiting....

I Cried Two Minutes After This...

Handsome Trooper Of Mine :)

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Love Story

Treacherous

Holy Ground

If you've seen T Swizzie in concert, you know that she always appears on another stage towards the back of the stadium to sing a few songs. Little did I know, that stage would be right in front of my section and I would be three rows away from her....yes, I cried again.

Yep. Close. No Zoom Here!

Let me tell you. She is skinny, skinny, skinny. A rail! A little shorter than I thought and her hair has been thinned tremendously, but beautiful! 

 What a magical night!

As far as teaching, I had an interview last week for the school I did my student teaching and I should know by next week if I landed the job. I am also waiting to interview with another school in Elizabeth City, NC. We will see! Opportunities are endless! :)

Hope everyone had a beautiful Mother's Day weekend! :)