The "Awesomenest" Job

Today was such a fun day!  First let me tell you a little about what I do everyday....  I work at a daycare pre-school called Primrose that happens to also have a Private Kindergarten.  I am the Kindergarten teacher.  Now working at a "daycare-type" facility, means I don't have the benefits most regular teachers have: paid breaks throughout the school year, health benefits, sick time, etc.  So while most teachers have a nice 2 week break around Christmas, I'm working with the after-school program at Primrose.  We try to make it as fun as possible while they're on break (we need a break too) so we plan field trips and fun activities during the break.  Today we went rock climbing!!!! Of course I planned this field trip, since rock climbing is my favorite "sport", but I had no idea how much fun I'd actually end up having.  But my favorite part of the day was, hands down, when one of my Kindergarteners came up to me and said, "I hope I can be an awesomenest teacher like you Mrs. Bates!" Shut the front door! My heart almost came bursting out of my chest! So even though I had to work during Christmas Break while most regular teachers had some time away from their kids, I would have never had the experience I had today if I hadn't been working.  So all in all, I am very happy that school starts back up again tomorrow and I can get back to doing what I love... helping children realize their potential and watching them discover they can move mountains!

Happy New Year 2013

Well here we go again... the beginning of another year.  A time to start fresh, set goals, and change/create habits.  Back in 2010, the last time I actually had a blog, my New Year's Resolution was to become a runner; and I actually did! (Well for 6 months at least)  Now I find myself running once again after hurting my back, training for a half -marathon 10K I will RUN in February.  I think what I have learned from having my blog and putting my thoughts and personal thoughts out "there" is that even if I fail or struggle with something, I might just be encouraging someone else in the process.  For instance, while I may not have ran much after June 2010, due to my back injury, I had a friend who read my blog and completed a TRIATHLON because I inspired her to run.  I also have people on a daily basis asking my how to loose weight or eat healthy, when little do they know, those are usually the days I'm struggling the most.  All of that to say, one of my goals this year is to blog... put my thoughts, ideas, struggles, inspirations, concerns, etc. out "there" to hopefully inspire someone else.  And even if that doesn't happen, I'm going to continue to live this life God has blessed me with, through the good, the bad and the ugly.  

Start fresh: I literally cleaned my house from top to bottom yesterday in attempts to literally start fresh.  Hopefully I can keep that up with a weekly cleaning schedule.  I plan on organizing every room by the end of the month too!  But we'll see about that....

Set goals: My biggest goal this year is to push past the 2-year plateau, weight loss-wise, that I've been on.  I know weight loss resolutions are so cliche, but it's my biggest goal.  And keep up with this running thing.  As much as I HATE it I know it's good for me, and who knows maybe I'll actually run that half-marathon this year.

Change/create habits:  Obviously I want to blog on a regular basis.  I also want to get into God's word on a daily basis again. I often find myself sitting around bored and reading His word would be an excellent way to occupy my time.  I also want to change the habit of negative self-talk I am guilty of doing.  It's crazy how encouraging and positive I can be to other people, but not myself.

Well here goes nothing! Wish me luck!