Five Things

Inspired by Katie's "Five Things at the Bottom of the Bucket" post, I thought I'd share five things from my bucket list. Five things that I think I'll do some day. Five things that are always in the back of my mind. Five things that, if money and time were no issue, I'd dive head first into.

Five things.

RUN A 5K

Some may laugh at this, but a 5K sounds like a daunting task to someone like me. First of all, I'm no where near being in shape. Regardless, even when I was at my best physically, I could never run a mile without stopping. I was always considered a sprinter. I guess playing softball and only have to run 60 feet at a time will do that to you. So to run 3.1 miles....nonstop....sounds near impossible to me. One of these days I'll be able to do it. And when I can, I'm hoping that these 5Ks are still around.

LEARN HOW TO SEW

My grandma can sew. My mom can sew. Me? Not even close. I can thread a needle, but that's about it. I seriously regret not paying more attention when mom tried to show me how to sew a button. That's a skill I've come to realize living on my own that could come in handy. But its not just simply sewing a button. I want to learn how to create things. I've been pinning a lot of cute DIY projects that require a sewing machine and a basic knowledge on how to operate one, and I'm sad that I can't even attempt these amazing ideas.

TRAVEL

About a year and a half ago I shared my travel bucket list. Dan and I made a pact at the start of this year to travel and explore new places. One new place a month. Twelve new places this year. Even if those places were right in our backyard, if it was a new experience to us, we'd count it. So far we're doing pretty good. Some months we haven't been able to travel and other months we're able to go to multiple locations. But I'm including this bucket list item again because it's something I always talk about when our conversations drift off to our future. Sure, I'd love to visit Europe. Sure, I'd love to visit some amazing island paradises. But, really, I know those are long shots. What I really want to do is travel around the United States and learn about the history of our country first hand.

GO BACK TO SCHOOL FOR MY MASTERS

This is something I've been debating back and forth. Not so much the fact that I'd like to go back to school. Its more about what I'd being going back to school for. Do I study History? Social Science Education? Educational Leadership? School Counseling? Whenever I think I've made my mind up, I change it again. There's no rush on the decision - we'd like to be debt free and in a home before I even consider cash-flowing graduate work. But it puts a smile on my face to think about going back to this beautiful campus and continuing my education in the place where it all began.

{UCF College of Education - source}

GO TO THE OLYMPICS

Obviously not as an athlete. But every other year when the Olympics roll around, I always dream about being at the opening ceremonies. It'd be even cooler to travel to another country and experience a new culture all at the same time. There's only one dilemma (besides the obvious of having the money to go) - winter or summer Olympics?

So that's it. My five things. What are your five things?

Ringing in the New Year

Happy New Year! I know a lot of bloggers out there are posting their New Year Resolutions over the next couple days, and I guess I'm jumping on this bandwagon once again.

First things first. We need to revisit last year's resolutions and see how well those went.

• Help friend plan her wedding. Success! Her wedding turned out absolutely beautiful. You can see pictures from that special day here.
• Learn to live with a roommate. Although the friend we were initially allowing to move in with us figured out other arrangements, we did take on a roommate in November. We're doing it to help out an old friend of ours who moved from the panhandle and is settling in at a new job before finding a different living arrangement. So far I think things are going well, so we'll mark this one as a success as well!
• Purchase a new car for hubby. Again, another success! We weren't able to save up enough money to pay for the car outright like we were initially hoping, so we did have to take out a car loan. Luckily, we should be able to have the car paid off before the end of this year.
• Work on our debt snowball. Wow, we are on a roll - this is another success! It was slow going at first, but we've made some major headway these past couple months. Even with the holidays, we've managed to pay down my car loan to within two months of being paid off. There are no words to describe how good that feels!
• Have another successful year of teaching AP. And the ball keeps on rolling.... This past year we did have a higher pass rate, only by 3%, but still a higher pass rate. What makes me feel good is that the AP program at our school currently ranks the highest in our district. So even though I was hoping for a slightly higher passing rate, I'm still really proud of what the kids accomplished last year.
• Get into better shape. And this is where the ball stops rolling... Yeah, total fail. I actually weigh more now than I did last January. And that 5K I wanted to run? I trained for all of 3 weeks and gave up. Yep. Epic fail. Oh well. There's always this year, right?
• Try more foods. I started out doing really great on this one with my recipe resolutions. But then I lost steam and stopped cooking them completely.
• Stress less at school. Again, this one is so-so. During the Fall semester, I think I do pretty well at maintaining an appropriate level of stress. But when it comes to the Spring semester, that whole idea goes out the window.

On to this year's resolutions...

• Swim with the manatees. This one is already in the works. Dan received a voucher for his birthday to go swimming in Crystal River with the manatees. Hopefully within the next month or so we'll be checking this one off the list.

• Go Camping. We just found a little camping facility a few miles away from home that looks like the perfect place to camp. The only problem? We don't have a tent. Or sleeping bags. Or basically anything that you need to go camping. But we've been talking about wanting to go camping for a while.

• Travel to Key West. Or anywhere really. But we're hoping for Key West. I've been in the past, but Dan's never been. We've been talking about going on a vacation for a little while now, and the Keys seems like the perfect place to escape and relax.

• Pay off both cars. As I mentioned above, we're so close to having my car paid off. And we're hoping Dan's car should be paid off by October/November. And once that's done, we're planning on...
• Saving up 3-6 month emergency fund. This one probably won't be done before the year is over, but we definitely want to get a start on it. The Dave Ramsey plan says this is the next step after paying off all of our debt. Technically, Dan will still have a student loan in his dad's name to pay off. But, we're making the choice to put that on hold (basically only make minimum payments and save everything else) because of our next goal...
• Get pregnant. When we got married we said that we'd wait until our debt was paid off before getting pregnant. And then we bought another car, which pushed back that plan. But we'll hopefully be starting that crazy journey before the year is over. We have no idea if we'll have problems conceiving (I've been told in the past I might have difficulties getting pregnant), but we're excited to start the next chapter in our family.

So that's it. I'm definitely looking forward to 2013!

What resolutions have you made this year? Or maybe you've chosen not to make resolutions at all. Would love to hear about them!

Dream Job

So, I know I have been dragging this thing on for going on, what? 3 months now.... Who does that? Takes a 30 day challenge and stretches it out for 90? Well, I guess I do, huh? Oh well. I'm going to keep on keeping on until this little challenge is done. I feel like I've started it, and I can't stop now. Sure, I've got a small pile of grading waiting for me on the coffee table. And I'm about 3 days behind on my devotional. But I just needed to take some time away from my daily "stuff" and write a little bit. I'm sure you feel that way sometimes too.

Onto today's question:  #7. What is your dream job, and why?

Well, growing up, I always thought I'd be a teacher. And I've managed to accomplish that. And I'm happy to say that I'm pretty happy with where I'm at in my career. But I've been asking myself lately if I'll enjoy teaching for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving what I'm doing right now. But sometimes I wonder if I can last 30 years, at which point I'm allowed to retire. Sure, it might be nice to retire at the age of 52. I just don't know if I'll be happy doing what I'm doing for that many years. Plus, I don't know if we'll be financially capable of me retiring that early.

So, this question got me thinking. If I wasn't a teacher anymore, what would I want to be? I tried to follow this diagram when narrowing down my decisions...

{source}

• Photographer - I love taking pictures of events and people that I love. I'm sure with some practice and a lot nicer camera I could be pretty good. But good enough to make a living off of it? And do I really want to spend that much time in front of a computer screen editing? Not to mention, I'm the type of person who likes to stick with her plans, so rain ruining a photo shoot would annoy me to no end.
• Principal - It's the next step after being a teacher, right? I'm just not sure if the even later hours and dealing with legal mumbo jumbo is up my alley.
• School District - I enjoyed going to different workshops this summer and learning about all the new, inventive teaching techniques that are coming down the pipe. I think I could do that full time. But do I really want to be one of those people? (Fellow teachers, I'm sure you're catching my drift on that one...)
• Financial Adviser - Ever since I found out who Dave Ramsey was and his money philosophy, I've been hooked! I want to share that knowledge and system with everyone I know. Sometimes to the point where they're tired of hearing it. But, I don't have a finance or business degree, and I don't really want to go back to school for that, so that one is probably out of the picture.
• Medical Office Manager - This was actually my "plan B" if I couldn't find a teaching job. I don't want to be the CEO or anything, just someone who helps run the place. Maybe even do Human Resources. In my previous job, I was always the one training the new people and I actually enjoyed it. I think if teaching ever fell through, I'd probably still entertain this idea.

All of those are great. Some more realistic than others. But I still don't think I'd be passionate about any of those jobs. Then it hit me....

{source}

Being a mom. A stay at home mom. I could do that. I would love to be able to stay home and raise my kids rather than having a daycare worker or nanny with them the large majority of the day. Please don't take that the wrong way. I was raised by a single mom and went through day care all throughout childhood. And I think I turned out pretty okay. This is something that everyone has an opinion on, and I'm simply sharing mine.

I struggle sometimes with juggling work, being a home maker, and a wife. I think if I lost the work aspect of that puzzle, and replace it with a kid (or the plural form of the word) that I could manage. I'm good at multi-tasking throughout the day. It's when I'm locked into completing certain tasks within certain time frames that I get stuck and struggle. I've babysat my niece and nephew day-in-and-day-out over a summer, and I always managed to get my to-do list finished. This summer, when I was home all day, the house had never been cleaner. But when I was working, all of the housework sat unattended. Don't think I'm naive in thinking that a kid will be easy to juggle. I just think it's more doable for me.

I love to teach. So why not teach my own children? I don't think I'd do homeschooling. Mainly because I think I'd want my children to experience the social aspect of school. But I could teach them throughout their toddler years - to read, write, etc. I always loved working with my niece and nephew on puzzles and reading books. It's something I'd be good at and something I'd love doing. But I wouldn't be getting paid to do it. But you know what, I'm okay with that. As long as we can get by financially, then that's okay with me. But there in lies the problem...

I just don't know if we'll ever be at the point financially where this will even be a serious consideration. Right now if I were to get pregnant, we couldn't afford for me to stay home. Maybe in a couple of years once we've paid off all of our debt? But right now, it's not plausible. But I guess that's why I'm calling it a "dream" job. 

Now it's your turn. What do you want to be when you grow up? Or, if you could switch careers, what do you think you would do?

Greatness

17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

{source}
 

I really wish I was artistic. I feel like the things I try to create are never "good enough." I haven't taken an art class since elementary school, so maybe that has something to do with it - maybe my skills are just rusty. Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better about my lack of artistic ability.

If you want something abstract, like a finger painting, then I'm your girl. But if you ask me to draw and/or paint something specific... there is a high probability that it won't look anything remotely close to the original.

When I draw on the board for my students, I forewarn them about my drawing skills, and tell them they aren't allowed to make fun of me. I usually draw stick figures. I think my favorite classroom drawing is when I show them how Germany was split up after WWII. My Germany is perfectly round.

{source}

See? Germany looks exactly like a circle. You see it, right? Yeah, I don't either. But it gets the point across in class. And because it is so unlike the actual map, my students actually remember how Germany was divided. A couple of my AP kids actually asked me to use my "map" to sign their yearbooks 2 years ago. Yep. My students are awesome!

If I could choose one thing to be better at, I think I'd love to be a better artist. Or at least to be someone that believes more in their capabilities. Maybe that's it... Maybe what I really wish I was great at was believing in myself.

{source}

What do you wish you were great at?

Super Power

I thought it would be nice to start this week with a fun question from the challenge:

#21. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?

Immediately I thought about the stereotypical super powers: flying, xray vision, super strength. But then I thought those were too boring...too typical. I wanted something different. And something useful. Plus, I like the idea of having a super power that wouldn't have to necessarily hide from people.

So, I decided to look it "list of super powers" online. Realized there are a whole lot more super powers out there that I never considered. Having the ability to stretch? Would make a lot of things easier. The ability to heal myself, like Wolverine? That'd be pretty cool. Or what about being able to breath under water? Sort of like Harry Potter in the 4th book/movie. Would definitely save us a ton of money on getting scuba lessons.

As cool as all of those sound, I narrowed down my choice to omni-linguism. What is that? Well, it would give me the ability to understand any form of language; basically a natural polyglot.

{source}

In comparison to the other super powers, this one doesn't sound as impressive. But I'll tell you what, this ability would make many teachers envious! I have many students who speak Spanish, and I have no idea what they are saying. My first year teaching I had a foreign exchange student from Germany who struggled with English. By having the ability to communicate with them, or at least understand them, it would help me help them.

Besides omni-linguism helping me in my job, I think the coolest feature about it would be the fact that I would know if people were talking about me in their native tongue. Come on, you've been there. I'll give you one of many possible examples. You're getting your nails done, and the ladies who are doing your nails are talking in their native lanuage. You immediately think they are talking about you. I can't be the only one who has every thought or felt this way. Please tell me I'm not alone! Even if the super power wouldn't give me the ability to communicate with them in their native language, it would give me the ability to understand them.

What about you? If you could choose, which super power would you go with?

Dream Home

It feels so good to be home after being gone for 5 days for a teaching conference. And the coolest part about it was on the drive home actually realizing that this little town and our little apartment is finally feeling like HOME. Having spent time in Orlando, my old home, I now realize that I don't miss it all that much. The hubby and I have set up our lives in this small rural community, and I finally feel like it is us and this is where we are meant to be. I wish I was better at putting it into words exactly what this shift in thinking feels like, but I don't think I'd do it justice.

So, I figured I'd wrap up this week with another Thirty Things post. For this topic, I'll be answering...

#19. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

How fitting, right?
Initially I thought about all the exotic places around the world that I would love to live. Europe. The Caribbean. Austrailia. But then I realized a couple things. First of all, I'm really crummy at learning a new language, so I'd have to go somewhere where English is the primary language spoken. Secondly, I'd eventually miss my family too  much, and plane tickets are expensive, so I needed to shift my focus somewhere stateside.

And then it hit me... North Carolina. I actually thought about moving to North Carolina for college back when I was in high school. Then I realized how much out-of-state tuition cost and I decided against the idea. But North Carolina is a place both the hubby and I have talked about living in. Ideally, we'd love to purchase a home up there and turn it into a vaction rental. But that obviously is way down the road from where we are now.

We've been to North Carolina twice now as a couple. Once to a summer camp in Andrews after our senior year in high school. And most recently on a trip in 2010 with a group of friends to Maggie Valley.

But why North Carolina? Mountains. Coastline. Rivers. Seasons (the seasons here in Florida are Hot, Hurricane, Rainy, and Humid). And it's not too far from either of our families. I've always loved living in the South. Although Florida is probably the most northern southern state thanks to all of the snowbirds. And I love the tradition that is down here. It's definitely where I want to raise a family.

I think the biggest bonus to the state is that it offers so many outdoor activities. Hiking. Biking. Kayaking. White water rafting. We've both been white water rafting down the Nantahala before with a summer camp, and we'd LOVE to do it again.

I think what I would look forward to the most is scuba diving and exploring all of the ship wreckage off of the Carolina Coastline. Ever since we went scuba diving on our honeymoon, we've been looking for an excuse to go again. The hubby and I can't wait until we can afford to be scuba certified. I know the beach and the mountains, for the most part, are on opposite sides of the state, but I don't care. Just the fact that one state can offer so much is exciting.

Dan after our scuba diving trip in the Caribbean

But probably the biggest selling feature of the entire state is the fact that it is simply beautiful! I mean, check out the scenery!

  from google images

from google images 

Seriously. Who wouldn't want to wake up every morning to a porch view like that? But in all honesty, I think that as long as I'm with my husband and our little family, I'm going to be happy no matter where we set down our roots. Realizing that on the way home today has given me so much comfort.

Now its your turn. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?