Currently September

It's been awhile since I coveted Currently on my blog and now is about time!  With the coming of September, this means I have already been in school for a month...whaaaaaaa?!  We finished our 4th week of school this past Friday and it already feels overwhelming.

Listening

We are settled in for the night after being out all day on our much needed date day.  So, this means one of our three kitties is sleeping soundly between the two of us on the couch.  The UFC fight was a PayPer View fight and we couldn't watch it till tonight...plus, both of us didn't really want to see it badly enough because the main card was changed when one of the fighters didn't make weight and had to drop out.  I may be speaking Japanese to some out there at this point...but we enjoy it!  :-)

Loving

I've said this a ton to so many friends and on Facebook in the last few weeks.  But it really is nice to be a teacher since we get to start all over each school year.  This means we can take the time to figure out what to change, improve on, or keep the same each summer. 

Thinking

I posted this on Facebook yesterday...

(source)

Sure I could do some swimming or barbecuing tomorrow...but I have a HUGE to-do list of things I haven't been able to get done in the last couple weeks.  In fact, my hubby came to my classroom with me today (on a Sunday) to help me scan and put away about 50-60 new library books that have been sitting at the back of my classroom since the week before school started.  Sigh.  This is the life we lead.  

Wanting

So speaking of which, wouldn't it be nice to have a 3-day weekend every week?  How many of us say this every time we have a 3-day weekend though.  

Needing

Only educators could really understand the enormity of how hard it is to readjust to life with a paycheck again.  The first couple months are always a time to play catch up.  That is all I really have to say about that.  Know what I mean?

3 Trips

I've been lucky to do a lot of traveling, when I was younger, so my list probably looks different than most.  On the other hand, it was really hard to pick just 3 places because I was bit by the travel bug a long long long time ago.  Out of the 10 countries I've visited in Europe, I'd love to go back to every single one of them.  But I didn't get to visit Spain on my two trips to Europe in my 20s, so that is a place I definitely want to go some day.  My hubby, the pitmaster, has been to Austin, Texas a couple times and there are so many cool places I want to be able to go...including several of the famous BBQ spots like Franklin's.  Enough said there.  I have been to France, but didn't really enjoy Paris at all. But I would absolutely love to go to the Riviera to hit up the awesome beaches and scenery.

Join up with Farley and a ton of other teachers for a Currently linky party here.

Monday Meet Me

I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune for a fun little get-to-know-me a little more post today...nothing like better late than never huh?!  

Okay...I promise I'm not all super girly, but I couldn't fit everything in the "I do" box. Basically...I'm a guy's girl but with a touch of girliness at the same time.  This is what happens when you grow up with 2 brothers and only boy cousins.  My only girl cousins were something like 10-15 years older than me!  I tend to form a rapport with my boy students year-to-year because they understand my sense of humor way more than my girls...that is until they start noticing my painted nails and fancy clothes.  Ha!

Currently June

It's been awhile since I was able to sit and enjoy one of Farley's Currently posts.  I am a week into my summer break...have had one school-related nightmare and have been hitting the gym every day!  So, here's to a celebratory Currently!

Listening

I've had a fascination with learning about WWII since learning about Pearl Harbor when I was in 6th grade.  From there, I began to find the Holocaust interesting (and I mean that in a way that means I despise this happened)...reading quite a few memoirs, historical fiction, and more ever since.  So, when I found out The History Channel was showing a new 3-part mini-series, I had to record it!  My hubby and I are watching Part 2 and both of us have learned a lot we didn't even know about...me more so.  As we sit here, my hubby is calling out the names of all the planes (he is a fan).  For example, I had no idea America only had 100,000 troops around the time we HAD to become part of WWI.  We found out why Hitler had his icky little mustache too...when he was in the trenches of WWI, he wasn't able to seal his gas mask when gas was thrown in.  So, he chopped the sides of it off with a knife right there in the trenches.  Seeing how Hitler rose to power, as well as other fascist leaders, is giving me the willies.  I highly recommend you watch this mini-series too!

Loving

Oh summer break how I love thee!  Let me count the ways.  I printed out the gym schedules for the 3 that I go to (gotta love the multi-gym pass I have with LA Fitness) and figured out how to fit in as much yoga, Zumba, and now Pilates as possible.  It feels great!  I have only read 13 books so far and normally I would have read double that by now.  This is because I would come home after work and just plop down on the couch to watch mindless TV in order not to stew over and think about the day's events or next day's events as much as possible.  

Thinking

I am retaking 2 parts of my National Boards this year as I only missed certifying by 6 teeny tiny points. I already submitted my Entry 3 portfolio for scoring, now all I need to do is take the Science section of my Assessment Center exercises.  I've made notecards of several Accomplished Teaching Standards and the Unifying Concepts in order to pull them for evidence during my written exam...but I haven't studied!  Thank goodness I am meeting with a fellow candidate friend to study tomorrow.  Procrastination at its finest!!

Wanting

My Assessment Center exam is on Thursday morning 8:30 am.  So, as soon as I have that day behind me...technically, that half an hour...my summer break is golden!!

Needing

There seems to be a running theme here!...and that is summer break.  After Thursday morning is gone and behind me, I would love this summer break to go by at the speed of molasses.  

Summer Bucket List

I have so many books on my to-read list since I am behind, this also includes some professional reads I've been excited to read for the last month or so.  If you'd like to see what books I have on my list, HERE is a blog post I just put up the other day.  Also, I am going to be hosting part of The Brownbag Teacher's book talk in a couple weeks for Reading in the Wild.

For the first time since we basically moved to Arizona (9 years ago), my hubby is getting paid-vacation time from his new job!  So, we are heading back home to San Diego to enjoy a week in cooler weather. We can't wait!

Like I said, I need as much time to regroup, refresh, replenish, and get up the strength again to conquer this upcoming school year.  See all the above for how I plan to do that.  :-)

Link up with Farley and a ton of other teachers to share your Currently.  Thanks for visiting!

Summer Reading...And My Return to Blogging!

It has been way too long since I have been able to sit and blog away on my little keyboard.  I've been wanting to come back for awhile now, but time was most definitely against me.  Around the time I disappeared from the blog world, our district was hunkering down for state testing (AIMS here in Arizona) and then the due date for my National Boards retake was approaching very very quickly.  Then, when I thought I'd have a chance to sit down and put a post together...the end of the school year sprang up. So, everything just drained me in general.  Have you ever had one of those school years, weeks, or even days when you just need to come home and do mindless things to keep from collapsing from exhaustion (mental, emotional, and physical)?  Me too!!!

So, I've been simmering over several blog posts I wanted to put together to jump feet first back in to blogging.  Then, this linky party popped up over on Hands-On Teacher in First (Marie's blog) and it is just perfect!  Now that I have some time on my hands I have a growing summer reading list with both personal and professional books I've been hankering over.  Please join up with us and share what you plan or hope to read!

Professional Reads

Normally, I try to only pick one professional read...or I end up overwhelmed and try too many things at the beginning of the year.  But I ended up discovering a new book by Michael Linsin who wrote Dream Class, which I read last year and just loved.  So, the list became 2 deep.  Then, came an invite from The Brownbag Teacher to join in for a book talk for The Book Whisperer's Reading in the Wild...which I also didn't get to read this past summer. 

Teach like a Pirate by Dave Burgess | This particular text has been on my to-read list since last summer.  But I had to worry more about the two books I had set aside to help me prepare and study for my Assessment Center exercises.  I have only heard wonderful and fantastic things about this book and can't wait to dive into it!  It is most likely the best book to read to make a comeback from such a rough year like mine.  In case you haven't heard of this one, here is a peek into some of the topics:  Part I - Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Transformation, & Enthusiasm; Part II - "I Like to Move It, Move It," Long Live the Arts, Stand and Deliver, etc.; Part III - called Building a Better Pirate.  Sounds intriguing no?  In case that didn't convince you, here is the synopsis from Goodreads:  "Based on Dave Burgess's popular "Outrageous Teaching" and "Teach Like a PIRATE" seminars, this book offers inspiration, practical techniques, and innovative ideas that will help you to increase student engagement, boost your creativity, and transform your life as an educator. You'll learn how to: Tap into and dramatically increase your passion as a teacher Develop outrageously engaging lessons that draw students in like a magnet Establish rapport and a sense of camaraderie in your classroom Transform your class into a life-changing experience for your students This groundbreaking inspirational manifesto contains over 30 hooks specially designed to captivate your class and 170 brainstorming questions that will skyrocket your creativity. Once you learn the Teach Like a PIRATE system, you'll never look at your role as an educator the same again."

The Classroom Management Secret by Michael Linsin | I didn't plan on reading this one, but I get Linsin's monthly newsletter emails and one of them caught my eye.  It closely related to the issues I was going through with my students this year, so I actually took the time to read it closely.  Come to find out...he had also released this new book.  I enjoyed his personable and user-friendly process to create a Dream Class (which I wasn't fully able to do because of how thrown off I was by my group this past year).  I decided, despite management being my strongest ability as a teacher, I needed to rethink my system and make improvements.  This way, no matter what kind of group I get next year, I will be ready!  Before I bought it for my Kindle, I checked the Table of Contents and was immediately intrigued by the first several chapter titles:  Why You Should Smile on the First Day of School, 7 Keys to the First Day of School, The Biggest First Day of School Mistake You Can Make, Why Coming on Too Strong Will Force a Mutiny in Your Classroom, and more.  Here is the description from Goodreads:  "In The Classroom Management Secret, you will learn how pursuing just two simple principles will allow you to grab ahold of the rewarding and meaningful teaching career you've always dreamed of. Based on the popular blog, Smart Classroom Management, the book progresses step-by-step through 46 keys, showing you how to manage your classroom in a way that inspires your students to want to behave. By the end, you will have the knowledge to take over any K-8 classroom and create the kind of peaceful buy joyous learning experience your students will always remember."

Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller | I was, and still am, a HUGE fan of The Book Whisperer.  It changed how I saw and taught students how to love reading.  It also changed the reading lives of so many of my students.  They still thank me to this day for how I helped them become a self-selected reader who enjoys reading for what it should be.  So, when I found out Donalyn was releasing a 2nd book long before it came out...I added it to my wish and to-read list.  Sadly, I wasn't able to get to this one last summer either.  But I just found out The Brownbag Teacher is having a book talk on it and had to join in.  So...bring it on!  Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:  Teaching students to become lifelong readers A companion to the bestselling The Book Whisperer, Reading in the Wild explores whether or not we are truly instilling lifelong reading habits in our students and provides practical strategies for teaching "wild" reading. Based on survey responses from over 900 adult readers and classroom feedback, Reading in the Wild offers solid advice and strategies on how to develop, encourage and assess key lifelong reading habits, including dedicating time for reading, planning for future reading, and defining oneself as a reader.Includes advice for supporting the love of reading by explicitly teaching lifelong reading habits. Contains accessible strategies, ideas, tips, lesson plans and management tools along with lists of recommended books co-published with Editorial Projects in Education, publisher of "Education Week" and "Teacher Magazine"
Packed with ideas for helping students choose their own reading material, respond to text, and build capacity for lifelong reading."

For Fun Reads

I usually have a HUGE list planned a couple weeks before my summer starts, so I can get to the library and start grabbing up books.  But, alas, that just didn't happen this time around.  However, I did come home this past Friday (our last day of school) ready to find a juicy and fun chic lit read from my long to-read list on Goodreads.  My book club of lady friends is reading The Monuments Men this month as well...so these two are givens.  As for the rest of what I'm going to be reading this summer?  Perhaps I should read the 3rd book in V.C. Andrew's Dollanganger series.  I'm hoping I get off the wait list for Emily Giffin's new book soon, since I've been on it for the last month already.  I also have some Jodi Piccoult books I've been hoarding.  So many choices and so little time!!!

 

 

How about you?  What is on your summer to-read list?  I hope you take the time for yourself to relax and enjoy some good reads...whether they are for work or play!  

Currently March

Sure, I'm supposed to be working hard on my National Boards Entry 3 right now, since I'm at a Coaching Saturday event.  But I really wanted to get this up first!  Sooooooo...this is a bit of a Boards themed Currently.

Listening

I am at a Coaching Saturday event in order to work on my National Boards entry 3.  There are a ton of people here getting coaching and work done, so there's a ton of talking around me and amazing conversations about collaborating, reflecting, and imagining.  For me, I'm just supposed to be sitting here planning my next several Science lessons because I need to make sure I am using Math to move the Science learning forward.  

Loving

It rained this morning.  For about 3 minutes.  Seriously Arizona?  I despise you right now.

Thinking

I'm here working till 3 and the celebration starts at 5:30.  Soooooooo...this is all about concentrating on my HUGE task at hand.  You know?  After I'm done with this blog post of course.  LOLOLOL

Wanting

Did I mention this rainy weather didn't last long?  I suppose I should at least be happy that the cloud is still full of dark clouds.  So there's that.

Needing

I had really hoped to have videotaped my entry lesson by now.  But it is testing season and so this hasn't happened.  So, planning these lessons today will definitely help!  Next step, figuring out who is going to tape me.  My hubby did it last year but his new job is during the day...soooooooo I am in quite the conundrum.  

?????

These are the items I really NEED whenever I am at these coaching events!  Mountain Dew is especially essential after lunch when I hit a wall.  

Have any of my readers achieved National Board certification or are in the process?  I am a retake candidate and am working on 1 entry and 1 assessment exercise this year.

Currently February

How is it that January seemed to go by sooooooooo slowly, yet February is already here?!  It's my birthday month, meaning I won't even mention how old I will be, and that also means things like parent conferences are around the corner as well as state testing.  Here is my link up with Farley for this month.

Listening:

Our cats are hanging out on the couch with us as we unwind from the week.  They are snoring up a storm and quite LOUDLY.  And yes, I'm a reality TV junkie and even though I tell myself I will stop watching Real World, I always seem to watch it anyway...because it is there to watch.  When nothing else is on, then it keeps me company.  Although, the San Francisco season on right now is quite the trainwreck.  Trainwreck.

Loving

I also scored myself the signature color, Over and Over-A-Gwen, from OPI's Gwen Stefani collection the other day via Amazon.  It's the little things that seem to make me excited these days and I can't stop playing with and looking at this gorgeous red bottle.  It also came with studs and Swarovski crystals. Score!!

And we were supposed to get in the 80s here by today and I am sooooooooo happy to have woken up to cloudy and overcast skies, a nice cool 60 degrees, and a cold breeze instead.  The winters here are lousy and most people who live here want to have a true break from heat.  But we have only had true cool temps for about a month.  It's been jumping up into the 70s and 80s the last week and I'm irritated!

Thinking:

See the above.  'Nuff said.

Wanting:

I seem to want fruity (not chocolate) candy like a crazy person lately.  There isn't any in the house, which is a good thing. But that doesn't mean I don't want it!

Needing:

I already have a sub secured, but the thought of having to put together 3 days in a row of sub plans is stressing me out.  My team is deconstructing on Wednesday (on campus) and then I have my first Gifted conference on Thursday and Friday.  But the sub plans are definitely daunting.  Who wants to do them for me?!

2 Truths and a Fib:

I'm falling back on my typical answers to this one.  It's too late at night for me to think of some new ones.  

YEP - I have visited 12 countries...England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Netherlands, Mexico.  Aaaaaand, I totally can't think of the last one.  Maybe I need to go to bed.

YEP - I grew up in San Diego and the community I lived in was a quick 10-minute drive from the beach.  We were also only about 30 minutes from the mountains and desert.  I definitely miss living in California.  BIG TIME!

NOPE - Not tap and jazz.  But I actually danced hula from the time I was 5 to 19 and I also danced tahitian from about 9 to 19.  

{Saturday Sprinkles} Of The Science Variety

Well, sadly my winter break is OVER!  Waaaaaaaaaah!  I cannot believe how seemingly fast 2 weeks went by.  But I really needed it and am glad it came when it did.  So, to help me get back into the swing of things, I am linking up with my buddy, my pal, my friendliest friend, She, over at Sprinkle Teaching Magic for this weekly linky party.

While I never really officially blogged about my National Board results, I did mention over on my 13 in 13 blog post here, that I missed it by a teeny tiny 6 points.  Argh!  So, I am retaking my Entry 3 (Science/Math) and 1 or 2 Assessment Center exercises (Science and Fine Arts) this year to make up those 6 points.  

Two weeks before winter break, I introduced our Levers & Pulleys (FOSS) unit to my students through exploration and very little information given by me.  Because I know my students learn best through exploration, I chose to have them jump right into working with levers through exploring with what they already know and understand, which helped them grasp on to the concept more deeply and peeked their curiosity way more than if I had just given them a vocabulary lesson and jumped right into the first experiment of setting up a lever to lift a load.  Do you see how I just threw a National Board explanation format at you?!  It comes at you in your sleep after working on them for 4 entries and assessment exercises for 2 years.  You're welcome.  

Here is a peek into our classroom during this 45 minute chunk of time where I had small groups of students gathered around me to help me open a paint can with their fingers while partner/trios gathered around our computers to explore and attempt a Simple Machines Brainpop game on how to build levers and pulleys to complete tasks (again, remember I did not give them any background information).  

While you can't see their faces, let me just paint the picture (LOL, see how I did that?) for you. They are staring at that paint can for about 5-10 seconds and thinking solo about how they can possibly open it after all trying to do so with just their fingers.  Right after this, we had a seriously insane conversation about what they could use to actually open it.  Many of them mentioned seeing their dads or uncles opening one with a screwdriver before, so I asked them, "Why do you think a screwdriver works instead of your fingers?"  Some of them wanted to try to open it with their pencils because they figured out they needed something similar to a screwdriver, but stronger than their fingers.  Of course, their pencils broke and I asked them to discuss why the pencil broke, etc. Through this, they were heading towards the idea of a fulcrum, but they weren't quite there yet...perfect!  It paved the way in such a beautiful manner for their first experiment.  See below ("I Wonder" in their notebooks) for their next step after what you see in this picture.

They had some fantastic exploration discussion going as they tried to play out ways to move objects and lift loads to win the game.  I definitely recommend giving your students a shot at this free game from Brainpop.  My students absolutely ate it up and wanted to play it again.  It was hard for me to shoot video (via my iPhone) while trying to listen in on their discussions, so I only got this quick 10-second video after I asked this pair of boys why they think their object they chose finally worked to lift the load (for some reason I also couldn't get my YT link from my page to work either, so there's that).

When students were finished with either the paint can or the Simple Machines Brainpop game, they went to their desks and began filling out their "I Wonder" page in their Science Notebooks.  All I asked them to do was write about what the two activities sparked in their minds.  These wonderings will pave the way to their experiments, including their two final inquiry-based experiments in which they design their own exploration and carry-out the building of levers and pulleys to accomplish a task.

There you have it!  This is what Science looks like in my classroom...at least at the beginning stages of a new unit.  I only took these pictures for my National Boards portfolio entry, so they aren't super detailed.  But I loved She's idea of looking back at what the week was made of and considering how successful it was.  Basically, I think this weekly linky party will be a really perfect way for me to reflect back on those bad weeks (really hoping they are fewer and fewer these last 2 quarters).

Thanks for visiting!  Definitely link up with She and other teachers each week.  This is a way for us hard-working teachers to share those successes we have more often than we realize.

Teachers of Instagram

Seeing as how I am an Instagram addict, I really wanted to link up with Kickin' It In Kindergarten to look back at some of my favorite Instagram pictures from 2013.  She asked linker uppers to pick 3, but I have quite a few that really stand out as mementos of an action-packed year.  Or perhaps I'll pick 3 categories and throw in the pics I loved most from those categories?  See?  I told you I am addicted to Instagram!!

Tubac, Arizona Working Retreats

These 6 shots are all from 2 weekends I spent away from home and work to do some hard core work on my National Boards entries and lessons.  Tubac, Arizona is in southern Arizona and is beautiful!  The Tubac Resort was one of those places that scream serenity.  Can you see how awesome my resort room was...and I had it all to myself!  I woke up one morning to rain on the skylights and was able to sit and read my book in front of the fireplace before I had to work for 8.5 hours straight on Boards.  There are so many pictures I took from these 2 weekends that hold all sorts of interesting moments and memories.

National Boards Journey

I documented my entire 2-year journey, so there are a ton of Instagram shots!  Basically, almost half of them have to do with my view...whether it was out a window, across a table, or staring at a computer.  

Friendliest Friend Moments

I love my friends!  I love that we have crazy and random moments together.  Thankfully, they play along with me and I was able to capture much of it on Instagram.  I noticed towards the end of the year, I wasn't capturing as many moments...so that is something I want to make sure doesn't happen.  

Join in on the Instagram linky party with all the other teachers on Instagram and share your favorite 3 pictures (or in my case, 3 categories).  What can I say?...I'm indecisive.

January Currently

Hellooooooo 2014!  I'm in denial that it is already time for another Currently, even though I really enjoy linking up with Farley each month.  But the true reason for this denial?  My winter break is almost over!

Listening

If you were a fan of rock in the 90s, you should most definitely get yourself the Slacker app!  They play songs on this particular station I haven't heard since high school like Korn, Stone Temple Pilots, Rob Zombie, and more.  Talk about walking down memory lane.  We were playing it earlier while we took down Christmas decorations and my hubby was laughing because of a Pantera song playing...he mentioned something about it being an anti-Christmas song to the core.  LOL.

Loving

I feel like I need to do a separate post on all the goodies I grabbed up the couple days after Christmas via all the sales, and well, non sales.  But one of those is a really nice hair dryer I picked up on clearance for $15 at my local Beauty Brands.  It is a $65 hair dryer!  Whoop whoop!!!  The hairdryer I have been using the past 8 years or so worked just fine, but it was time to get something different.  I can't believe how soft and less frizzy my hair has been these last 2 times I have used the new one. Score a point for me and my hair!!

Thinking

This morning I woke up ready to finally sit down and get started with my lesson plans for next week.  For the last several weeks before break, I was in that mindset (happens every year) in which I didn't feel like spending much time on them.  So, they were vague and lacked the details I normally put in them.  Hopefully, I will sit down here in a little while and feel more invigorated.  I also need to work on my next Teachers Pay Teachers extension menu for prefixes and affixes that we used months ago!

Wanting

Last week especially went by in the blink of an eye.  It was a whirlwind of cleaning the house, getting the last of the Christmas presents wrapped, and trying to enjoy my first week.  Before I knew it, Christmas was over.  Thankfully, the week has slowed down, but I can't believe there is only 3 more days left.  Waaaaaaaaah!!  I've had a seriously rough group this year and I don't know if I'm ready to go back to them yet.  Did I mention my stylist found my very first gray hair (she knows my hair after these last 8 years) last month?  She told me it had 3 months of growth...AKA, my seriously trying group. Yep.

Tradition

My mom and I have been going shopping the day after Christmas for many years now.  It is just one of those things we have always done.  We usually stop somewhere to get decorations on sale.  But then the rest of the time is spent spending those gift cards or cash we got for presents at the mall.  I look forward to it every year!  

13 in 13 {Linky Party}

I'm joining The Colorful Apple and several other teacher bloggers for this fun little 2013 wrap-up linky party...better late than never!!

Crud!  This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.  Favorite. Article. Of. Clothing. 2013. Got it!  I fell in love with wearing button up blouses this past year, mostly to work, but in general...you will find a lot of button up blouses with sleeves, without sleeves, embellished collars (see my above Instagram photo), plain collars, high-low in my closet. You name it!  I actually just bought 2 new ones for my return to work after vacation.  There's something about wearing new clothes out after Christmas that I've always loved.  Weird.  I know.

My hubby and I have been chatting about this for the last couple days actually.  We are movie buffs and always have been, so we always see a lot of movies each year.  But this one, by far, was both of our favorites.  We saw it in 3-D, so I don't even know if it will be as amazing when it comes out on Blu-Ray.  It was a nail-biter and a major tear jerker.  Fantastic!

We just started watching Big Bang this year...I know, I know.  Yes, I have been living under a rock.  But, we (my hubby and I) are GIGANTIC fans and were since the first minute of the very first episode.  My favorite is Sheldon of course...must I even explain why?  Have you seen my shirt I got recently (it's a bit of a combo with Grumpy Cat too).

One would think this would be a hard choice for me. I'm a Yelp elite, so I like to try all sorts of different restaurants around town, especially homegrown varieties.  LOLOLOL.  I'm fairly certain my Chicagoan friend would agree when I say my favorite restaurant I discovered this year would be...Portillo's.  It's not exactly a restaurant, but it works and I'm obsessed with it!  I have never been to Chicago (have always wanted to go though), so being able to have the real deal Chicago-style dog and a few other bites that are famous there is seriously awesome!  I've already been 3 times and it's more than a 30 minute drive from my house.  It's soooooooo worth it.

Hmmmmmm...this is a tricky one.  I would have to say my outing for my birthday this year to Art of Merlot (in Scottsdale, Arizona) with a large group of really good friends was something new and it was definitely fun.  Apparently, I can paint when someone else tells me how to do it and gives me the basics of what I need to paint.  Ha!  Yeah right.  Have you tried one of these types of places before?  You get to bring your own wine and they basically give you the supplies and step-by-step directions on how to paint your own canvas.

Oh goodness.  My favorite gifts were those that I didn't ask for.  This Christmas, even though I did a wish list for fun, my husband and family got me things that weren't on the list.  I especially loved that my hubby took some things he remembered me mentioning during the year or already knew I liked and grabbed those up for me.  He even went to Charming Charlie's and picked out a necklace he thought I would like since he knows my favorite color and that I like statement necklaces.  I don't have pictures loaded from the holiday yet, but there are two Instagram shots (above) that show slippers that I really love and the game my hubby got me on his own accord.  I loooooooove any sort of dancing game.

I couldn't even begin to tell you, but my LOLOLOL board is one of my favorites.  Here it is in case you'd like to look at the pins and grab them up yourself...for a good laugh!

Well, since I technically just started up a blog again (after several years of not keeping one), I don't have a ton of posts quite yet.  But it seems my most popular on the Internet is my first Stitch Fix post here...it's kind of crazy to see how many views it has received.  It even made its way on to the official Stitch Fix review blog.  On the other hand, I really love my blog post from the Day In The Life linky party where I got to take pictures of my typical day at work and post them.  What's cool is, I used those photos I took to enter myself in to a Stitch Fix contest...and I won a runner up prize!  I cashed in my $50 credit last week on my 2nd fix (that post will be up soon).

Well, by far would be my shining moment of completing and fully submitting my National Board Certification portfolios and assessment center exercises.  While I missed it by 6 teeny tiny points...it was a HUGE accomplishment to even take on the process and to complete it as well.  I am retaking this year and hope to make up those 6 points through a retake of 1 entry and 2 assessment center exercises.

Along with my National Boards journey, I got some really amazing pictures as I documented my 2-year process.  But this one, which I took during a weekend working retreat was by far my favorite picture of the year.  It is one of those pictures that shows clarity in more ways than one.  It was taken in Tubac, Arizona.

Oh my.  This is way too hard.  2013 was an insanely memorable year.  But then again, so is every single year.  There is no way I can pinpoint a single memory except to say that a lot of the above mentioned and show pictures tell a lot about it.  I had a lot of really amazing moments with friends and family this year, so there isn't really one thing I could choose.  Sorry...I'm chickening out on this one.

Hmmmmm...I would say I want to definitely get healthier and I actually want to participate in the 52 week money saving challenge!  By the end of the year, it will be nice to have an extra $1,300 saved up.

Relax.

Easier said than done.  But with having to do my retake for Boards and dealing with one of my hardest and trying group of students, I am being way more mindful of relaxing in my work life and home life.  It's something that takes a lot of work though, so it will be tough.

So, how was your 2013?  What is your favorite memory?  Pick one of the categories and let me know what your answer would be.  I'd love to hear from you!