22, Yikesaroo!

So I recently celebrated my 22nd Birthday! (February 17th to be exact)

I have to say it was one of the best birthdays I've had in a while.

I am really into birthdays...pretty much everyones...and I like to do all that I can to make sure everyone has a fantastic birthday, and the past few years I've had a hard time accepting that not everyone will always do the same.

However, this year I got to celebrate with (just about) everyone I could've hoped to!

I like to think that my birthday celebrations began while I was in NC because my parents bought me the tickets for my birthday...and so refer to previous post- that was an amazing time.

Then on Tuesday night some of my friends from school and I went to a local bar to see a band play and rang in the midnight hour (my official birthday) singing and dancing to some sweet tunes.

On Wednesday I got to go out to lunch with my roommates and a couple other friends. It was nice that they all took time out of their day just to go to lunch. Then one of my best friends and I went to a pottery painting place called The Accidental Artist, because I have always wanted to go there and paint something fun. There wasn't a better person I could've wanted to go with- because we are equally enthralled by arts and crafts activities like that and both took it equally as serious. And even though we sat in almost complete silence carefully crafting our designs, we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

My pre-fired plate!Thennn on Friday night, I went home to my parent's new Pub to really celebrate! I had invited school friends, home friends, coworkers, old friends, new friends...pretty much anyone. I tend to keep my groups of friends pretty separate in my life and there was nothing I enjoyed more than having everyone I love in one place at the same time. There were some people I wish could've been there, but distance and age just didn't allow for that to happen. I am so thankful that so many people decided to come home from school or travel a short distance just to celebrate with me. I got to wear a fun dress, drink fun drinks, have almost an entire Pub sign happy birthday to me, and open such thoughtful gifts&cards. Overall...a successful 22nd!

And a BIG thank you to Holden and Nguyen for their kind birthday posts!! Love both of you very much!

These Are The Times To Remember Because They Will Not Last Forever

This past weekend I finally did something that I've wanted to do for the past few years...spent a weekend in Elon, NC!

It was sooooooo nice to get away from school and not do anything but relax and have LOTS of fun!

We covered just about everything we could in the few days I was there and my wonderful hostess made sure she gave us the ultimate southern experience!

We ate biscuits at Bojangles, cured hangovers at Sonic, fine-dined at a mexican restaurant with margaritas on the side, had a cozy and delicious home-made dinner, and celebrated a super fun weekend with chocolated covered...everything!

Aside from all the eating- we got a tour of the beautiful campus, fell in love with the Greek store, saw Valetines Day, and had the ultimate experience at the Cruz Thru!!

To put our final mark on Elon we got to find out the meaning of Bomo. =)

Overall, it was the best weekend ever with the best friends ever. I am so happy I got to catch up with friends I don't get to see nearly enough and meet new friends. It's weekends like these that make me never want to grow up and leave college!!

"You're going to miss this, you're going to want this back. You're going to wish these days hadn't gone by so fast..."

Savasana

I've been going to yoga every now and then since a new yoga place opened near my house only about a year ago. I am really not very good at it (although, I'm getting better!) but this past weekend I was there and I think I realized the REAL reason why I enjoy it so much: Savasana.

Savasana is a pose in yoga also referred to as the 'corpse pose'. At the end of every class for about 3-5 minutes we spend in this pose which is literally laying on your back with your arms by your side and your palms facing up. It is a relaxation pose and the goal is to stop your mind from thinking about everything and just focus on your body and relaxing.

This is the hardest part of the entire hour and 15 minute class for me. There is never a minute in my day that my mind isn't racing with the millions of things I need to be doing, things I've done in the past, or things I should do in the future. I hardly ever give my self time to relax and I feel as though I can justify those few minutes of pure relaxation because it is actually something I'm SUPPOSED to be doing!

I am trying this semester to be less stressed out and to, for lack of better wording, try not to care so much about every little detail of everything in my life. So far the opposite is happening...maybe I'll start adding some mandatory Savasana time into my daily schedule.

Fit Camp

Holy. Moly.

This week I started "Fit Camp". It is an 8 week, 2 times a week, workout 'camp' with a personal trainer and a group of about 10. Every Monday and Wednesday night we work out together with the trainer for an hour and then we have 'homework' every other day of the week. Along with the workouts she has given us different diets to go by.

This is probably going to be more difficult than any of the classes I am taking. We just started this week and I am finally feeling motivated and ready to go. This is exactly what I need and I am so ready to have someone kicking my ass into shape.

I am just hoping I can keep this motivation going through all 8 weeks and keep up with the homework/dieting along with my other crazy schedule.

So far, so good...I'll keep you updated. Today was camp day #2 and I can barely walk. YIKES!

"Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End"

I'd like to think of this as 'the beginning of the end'. Today was the first day of classes of my second semester senior year.
It's a crazy thought that this is it, these are the last classes i'll be taking in my undergrad experience. I haven't been able to wrap my mind around it since this year started.
I am now done with student teaching and back on campus.
I have very mixed feelings about everything in my life right now. Everything I feel contradicts eachother.
I am excited to be back on campus for my last semester and enjoy the actual 'college life' but I miss teaching and doing what I am passionate about. I am finding it hard to be interested in religion and music when all I want to do is be infront of the classroom. My classes aren't terrible though, today went well.
I am excited about the thought of graduation. I am excited about being a teacher and starting a new chapter in my life. I am excited to go back to living in Massachusetts. On the other hand, I am terrified of the unknown and the possibility of not finding a teaching job come September. I'm not sure that I am going to love living at home again and not in an apartment on my own. And I will miss the people at Salve.

I'm a planner and an organizer. I like to have thing in order and done ahead of time. I like to know where I am going and what I am going to be doing well in advance. I have never not known where I am going to be the following year. Right now I have no control over my life next September and that scares me. I'm just lucky I believe in 'everything happens for a reason'. I'm really hoping, however, that 'everything will happen exactly as I want it to'.

Only time will tell! For now I am going to make the most out of the next 4 months!

7 Semesters Down, 1 To Go

Fall semester is officially over and I'm now on break! I'm always a big fan of this nice long break from college but this year it was a little bittersweet.
It was hard leaving my little guys at my elementary school. I had such a great semester doing my Student Teaching, I couldn't have asked for a better experience! Now I just need to worry about finding an actual teaching job post-graduation!

My family's new Irish Pub is now open so i've basically spent all my time in there since I got home. I'm starting to learn the ropes and actually be helpful while i'm there instead of just being in the way. It's still very new/strange/weird to me that we own this restaurant and these real people come in to eat and drink there. And I have the ability to just go into the kitchen or behind the bar and that it's just fine. I'm proud of my family for creating something so successful.

With all this pub-business I am finding it difficult this year to find the Christmas spirit and it's making me a little sad! Usually I come home to a beautifully decorated house that is bursting with Christmas spirit...and this year no one was even planning on buying a tree! My family has been very busy and I get that...so I took it upon myself to buy a tree. But I guess for my last time coming home from college for Christmas I was dissapointed in the lack of enthusiasm for the holidays. Oh well.

Anyways, I am looking forward to seeing all my friends that I don't get to see enough, grades being posted, our staff Christmas party, Secret Santa swap, making money, and numerous lunch dates! This will be a wonderful last winter break, I am sure of it!

Crunch Time!

We're in the home stretch of first semester!
Last observed lesson tomorrow...phew! I'll be glad that I surived all of those.
Licensure Defense Presentation a week from Friday...not sure that I'm actually going to survive that!
2 weeks and 2 days until Student Teaching is done. YIKESEROONI!
Who knew I wouldn't even have enough time to update this blog on all my amazing expereinces?! Wasn't that my original point of starting this?? Bummer!

Well...this decade is just about over. My new life motto...TIME FLIES. that's all. I guess I can't make it slow down, so I'm just going to try to enjoy this crazy ride!

On stress overload...back to work!