Day 365... the finale, but not goodbye!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to myself :) I have blogged each day for a solid year. Even if I didn’t blog that exact day, I made sure that I caught up. Wow, where do I begin? Well, I could start off by remembering back a year ago. A friend asked me, “Have you seen my blog yet?” She sent me her link and I began to be a “follower”. I never was one to do something like this, but I was interested in the idea. A couple weeks went by of me “following” her and I decided that I’d like to take on the challenge of blogging for a solid year. To be honest, I didn’t know if I was actually going to succeed at doing it, but somehow I did. Blogging turned into a part of my life. I actually looked forward to coming home and blogging for my followers to read.

Here I am a year later. I am about to reflect with you about my year. On the 100th day of school this year, this same friend recently did her top 100 favs on her blog that have stuck out in her mind this year. To go along with my 3-6-5 theme, it would be ideal to write my top 365 moments from my year, but there are a few reasons why I won’t… a) I don’t want to make you become bored and b) I don’t know if I can come up with that many in one sitting? SO… I will take yet another challenge she has thrown out there in her blog and I will do my top 100 moments (some good some not so good) from this year. In no particular order… here it is :)

100. Found keys I have been looking years for.
99. Traveled to Athens to see Ron Clarke speak/become his bff.
98. Discovered my love of the Big Top Cupcake with my sweet twin cousins.
97. Rock Band with L, Meg, and Gladys.
96. Learned a lot about my teaching styles being a mentor to a few interns.
95. Met my sweet little cousin Caleb for the first time.
94. Experienced the uncertainty of having a job.
93. Went to Charleston with some great work girls.
92. Shook Jay Leno’s hand.
91. Attended Easter services in the Hollywood Bowl.
90. Developed relationships with new people at work.
89. Realized Panera is my bff.
88. Experienced times when I knew I should be thankful for all that I have.
87. Step classes with Josh.
86. Heard about a zebra on the interstate in Georgia. So funny and random!
85. Three trips to LA!
84. Watched a child learn his alphabet, letter sounds, numbers, and begin to read.
83. Read a few twilight series books and saw a few movies.
82. Heard my mama got teacher of the month at her school—so well deserved!
81. Watched a friend get teacher of the year—well deserved too!
80. Witnessed a few friends get married.
79. Attended Dancing with the Stars in LA VIP style.
78. Coached two different squads in cheerleading.
77. Celebrated a few friends having babies.
76. Donated many bags of clothes to Good Will.
75. My favorite teacher as a child came to my classroom… TWICE!
74. Traveled to Napa.
73. Became aware that I don’t like talk radio—just give me the music!
72. Screamed when a few friends got engaged.
71. Went on a few beach trips.
70. Learned and fell in love with the “You Read to Me & I’ll Read to You” series.
69. Went to a real magic castle.
68. Met a wonderful family that I babysit for on a regular basis.
67. Attended the American Idol season finale in LA.
66. Roomie dinners.
65. Grandmommy and mommy came to see me at school.
64. Joined forces with Meghan in second grade… thanks, my mentor :)
63. Learned that collecting data isn’t so scary and easy if you’re organized.
62. Ate the spicy chicken sandwich and spicy chicken biscuit from Chick-Fil-A.
61. Became bff’s with the Lexus staff due to a few visits.
60. Attended weekends in Athens for the dawgs.
59. Bible study with some of my best girl friends.
58. 4th of July at Lindsey’s lake house.
57. Said goodbye to good friends that moved (Germany, Charleston, New York).
56. Discovered how much I enjoy games—Scramble and Words with Friends.
55. Hiked on a mountain in California.
54. Spent Christmas at home for the first time ever due to snow on Christmas Day.
53. Attended a Nutcracker performance for one of my students—2nd year in a row.
52. Revamped my classroom from the year before… I love new ideas!
51. Danced to Rihanna with Linds and watched her pup freak out many times.
50. Graduated from SIOP (well, not technically yet).
49. Sometimes it’s necessary to bring your laptop with you on a treadmill run.
48. Went to Doobie Brothers and Chicago with my family.
47. Learned about heart murmurs.
46. Got pied in the face for the very first time in my life. I volunteer this year too!
45. Nights out with friends (when I gathered enough free time).
44. Became spoiled with step.
43. Moved in with Lindsey, Laura, and Ottie.
42. Created a classroom community… love my little ones.
41. Realized how important it is to be thankful for the moment.
40. Studied Australia with my class & found out I have friends that will help me out!
39. Traveled to California… but this time… San Fran.
38. Drove on the Golden Gate Bridge.
37. Went to UniverSOUL with Lauren… an experience for sure.
36. Won tickets to So You Think You Can Dance.
35. Became reminded of how important differentiation truly is in the classroom.
34. Got a handful of students in the services they needed due to collecting data—thanks Dr. P for all of your help and patience with me! :)
33. Organized book buddies with a 5th grade class—simply precious to watch.
32. Studied the “cherry oh key” with my students.
31. Taught my beautiful grandmommy how to use an iPhone.
30. Each day, learned more and more why being a teacher is the best job ever.
29. Missed a day of CRCT due to strep. What????
28. Watched my best friend FINALLY come to school and interact with the kids.
27. Decked out our apartment for Christmas.
26. Downloaded lots of music to iTunes… some types I never thought I’d like.
25. Got to spend a lot of quality time with my brother due to both of us living at home at the same time post college.
24. Baked and cooked lots of yummy food.
23. Helped parents celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary.
22. Celebrated a friend’s 40th birthday...limo style.
21. Hosted and attended many jewelry parties.
20. Somehow managed to walk to the mall during the crazy snow/ice storm.
19. Learned what it might mean when someone is wearing a jacket while working :).
18. Got to know a bunch of work people through their blogs—thankful for that!
17. Raised my expectations for my students… I know they can do it, why hold them back?
16. Celebrated Auburn winning the National Championship—excited for my mama!
15. Met the Beach Boys with my family.
14. Hoped I’d see my cousin again.
13. Realized Nashville is a place I could eventually see myself living.
12. Spent many weekends in Auburn with my loving family.
11. Received an email that an old high school friend was going to be working with me.
10. Kept the same phone all year… huge accomplishment… let me tell you.
9. Received/gave the words, “I love you”, many times.
8. Learned a lot about different fonts and how to make professional worksheets.
7. Put my seven years of learning Spanish to good use.
6. Named Trader Joe’s my preferred grocery store.
5. Spent snow days with friends (snow angels, snowball fights, Cans).
4. Learned that dice can transform into sweet messages.
3. Learned that goldfish can transform into sweet messages.
2. Became a Starbucksaholic.
1. Experienced the joy of sharing my life with all of you. Thanks for listening!

I promise this isn’t goodbye, blog world. :) I won’t be blogging daily anymore, but I will check in with everyone here and there or when I have exciting news or just need to vent. Talk to all of you then!