26 by 26

It's my birthday!! I love birthdays. I think I get it from my mother.

Next year will be my magic birthday (turning 26 on the 26th) so I made a "26 by 26" list. 

26 things I want to do/accomplish this year. Many of them are things I have done before and want to do again, some of them are things on my "real" bucket list that I want to be able to cross off, some are just for fun, and others are of a more serious/spiritual matter. Some will take all year, others will be a one time thing. They are not in any particular order and I don't have any of them "planned out" yet.

I am going to report back here, post pictures, etc. I need you guys to help hold me accountable. I am also looking for traveling buddies and friends to do these with. They are always more fun with other people!! And a big thanks to everyone who contributed ideas when I got stuck! 

#my26by26
1) Go on a GOOD vacation (in other words- Logan, Tooele, and Fish Lake don't count)
2) Go to the zoo
3) Go horseback riding
4) Pay for the car behind me at the drive through
5) Watch the sun rise and set on the same day
6) Go to a NEW MLB park/game
7) Have dinner at a fancy restaurant
8) Pay off my car loan
9) Read the Book of Mormon again
10) Sing in a choir
11) Get my motorcycle license (so I can drive my mom's scooter)
12) Hike Timp
13) Take a big risk/do something way outside my comfort zone
14) Visit all the temples in Utah
15) Give a boy my number/tell him I like him
16) Have a water gun fight
17) Run a 5k (Let's be honest, this is probably going to be the hardest one. I don't run!! At all.)
18) Go camping
19) Slow dance in the rain
20) Take a photo every day (not necessarily of me, but of something legit)
21) Get my concealed weapons permit
22) Hike Deseret Peak
23) Read 10 NEW books  
24) Lose 20-25 pounds (this one incorporates the whole eat healthier, exercise more thing)
25) Actually start the teaching blog I have wanted to do for over a year
26) Do at least one random act of service each week

Bonus: Get a passport and actually USE it (I originally had this on my list and then thought about the fact that I was actually going to have to pay for all of this myself. Remember, I am a teacher. I'm not exactly making the big bucks. So I am adding it as a bonus. I still really want to do it, but I am not making it "list official.")

Ready. Set. Go!

Being "Miss Jensen"

My name is Jessica and I am a teacher-aholic. 

There I said it.

I once had a mentor teacher tell me the best thing I could learn early in my career is how to leave work at work and to save home for home. I feel like for the most part I have that down. Very rarely do I actually bring work home (grading papers, lesson plans, etc.) Every now and then I will but only when I know that it won't interfere with other things. 

However, as well as I do that, there is one thing that is harder for me. I may be able to leave the work at school, but I can't leave the teacher at school.

My friends often give me a hard time about using my "teacher voice" and "teacher look." Somehow all my conversations seem to come back to school or my kids. When I am with fellow teachers, we can't seem to stay away from school topics for very long. I can spend hours on Pinterest looking at nothing but school ideas. I actually enjoy teaching summer school.

And I am totally ok with that. That's who I am. Being a teacher is not a desk job. It's not a lock-the-door-and-walk-away job. It is engrained in every part of me. I view the world through "school-bus-yellow colored glasses." I love my job. 

My name is Jessica and I am Miss Jensen.

Sometimes I like to think I am a pretty cool teacher.

(I would have put a picture of my awesome kids right here but it's against the rules...)