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!
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...)
There are so many things I want to say today, but nothing all at the same time. So, as usual, I am copying Elise and going with #jessbrain today.
It's been raining on and off for three or four days now. Not a hard rain, but a light steady rain. I love it. (So much more than I love the snow.) I know we need the water and the snowpack and blah, blah, blah, but I am pretty content with this whole snow in the mountains, rain in the valleys thing.
Work (school) was really good this week. I even feel this way after parent teacher conferences! I think it is because we didn't have any mandated testing this week. I have a special group of kids this year. I don't know if I am just becoming more comfortable, getting into a groove now that I have done this for a few years, or if it is just this group, but we get each other.
Boys. Why is dating so hard? I don't like the game of dating. I like boys. I like dating. I just don't like the "game." Maybe it's because I am not very good at playing it...? One of my friends wrote this blog post over at West Hawthorne Place (You should really check her blog out. It is pretty awesome.) I totally connected with it.
My Ags have done well the last 2 games at home, but I am worried about them going back out onto the road. It has been a rough year. I never thought I would see a year that football would be more successful than basketball. I have been slightly disappointed in the Spectrum and students lately. I keep having to remind myself that it will probably never be the same without the dream team when you had to be in line for hours to get a good seat and the student section was full every game. It was pretty dang close last month again SDSU, but not really the same.
I have the best best friend in the whole world. She's pretty awesome to listen to my crazy ramblings, psychotic dreams, and put up with me complaining about dating (or lack thereof) all the time. Who would have thought that after only knowing each other 9 months and moving 120 miles apart we would stay such good friends over the last 5 years.
I have been in the same church ward for almost 4 years (unheard of in the YSA scene.) I kind of feel like I need a change, but I REALLY don't want to move. I am so grateful for the Bishop I have right now. He and his sweet wife have been exactly what I have needed the last 3 years. He will most likely be released this year and I am totally dreading it.
Spring training started this week for a lot of MLB teams. Pitchers and catchers have already reported. Games start in a little over a month. This is good. Very good.
If you haven't seen this video you should watch it. I just about died laughing. And just in time to Valentine's Day.
