So here’s my new plan when solicitors come to my door…”Sorry, my mom and dad aren’t home right now?” So far this has worked twice. However, only time will tell how long I am able to pull this off!

Today marked half way through my summer school session. People think I’m crazy for teaching summer school, but it is really an easy way to make money during the summer, and I would go stir crazy if I wasn’t working. I work half days, Monday through Thursday for five weeks. So it’s twenty days of work, plus a few days for prep. I am teaching a similar class to the class I have during the school year, so the transition is easy for me. In my summer school class, I do have some students from my school year class as well as some other students from other schools. It’s nice to have some familiar faces, but the unfamiliar students provide a challenge, well at least for a few days until the behaviors settle. Overall, things are going extremely well and summer school is proving to be an easy summer job.

Part of my summer has been taking short trips, mainly on the weekend. This past weekend I was in Portland spending time with my family and friends. Friday night we had a wonderful dinner at Oswego Lake House with my family, my grandma and my aunt. We ate outside on a nice summer evening, sitting next to Lake Oswego. Saturday night we attended a wedding of one of my sorority sisters. It was amazing to see some of my sisters, as I had not seen some of them in years. Sunday was a baby shower for one of my high school friends. She was the first one in our group of high school friends to get married and now she is the first one to have a baby. Talk about growing up! With 20+ women at our house for the baby shower, I was a little overwhelmed with all estrogen flowing, but I have since recovered. Though the weekend was busy, I had time to spend time with family and catch up with old friends. Sometimes I get so busy down in Eugene that I forget to take time for people who don’t live in the same city as I do.

Many thanks to those who called, emailed, texted or messaged me on my birthday. I feel so thankful to have so many friends and family members who support me in all that I do. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.

Today I turn 26. My body decided to wake me up at 6:00am sharp, probably in anticipation of the first day of summer school. With my extra morning time, I decided to start off my birthday with an early morning walk, which Ginger was more than happy to accompany me. While she sniffed every bush in hopes to find some leftover food forgotten by walkers, I thought about the past year of my life. The 25th year of my life was the most significant year of my life. I feel that I have grown and changed more in this year, then any other year. Here are the experiences that have shaped my life this year. I don’t want to categorize them in positive and negative because no matter the experience, it is what I learned from it that counts.

• Starting my 2nd year of teaching
• Ending my first long term relationship
• Buying a house
• Learning to deal with personal issues at work
• Living a more active lifestyle
• Making healthier eating choices
• Entering the world of dating
• Training for a half marathon
• Playing the best soccer of my life
• Losing 20 lbs
• Feeling more competent, confident and skilled at work
• Injuring my foot and ankle
• Learning to deal with an injury
• A decrease in my soccer skills (post injury)
• Entering a new relationship

This year, I feel that I have grown more confident in my self, emotionally stronger, physically healthier, more willing to try new things, financially conscious, and have figured out who I really am as a person. Through this year’s, ups and downs I have learned more about myself than I ever imagined. With this year of growth, I can’t wait to see what next year will bring. ☺

For those of you who don’t know, I keep one secret from my students…I don’t like to read. Okay, well I don’t mind reading but it is extremely hard to find a book that I will actually start and finish. The books I do read involve education or behavior management, two things I am highly interested in. However, finding a novel that keeps me engaged throughout the entire book is hard. I have started and stopped so many books half way through because I became uninterested. For instance, I got through the first two Harry Potter books, and then I got bored. I’m not sure if it is my ADD or my poor reading comprehension, but finding a book I like is no easy task.

So I was completely amazed when I finished a book in two days. The book came from a list of recommendations for summer reading from coworkers. And I am absolutely in love with this book. The book is called The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. If you are a dog lover, this book is for you. The entire book is told from the perspective of the family dog through the good times and the bad. This book had me laughing out loud and crying. If you are looking for a great book to read, I highly suggest you read this book.