Random Musings

The urge to write struck me today, so I sat down and decided to write what popped into my head. Nothing specific. Nothing crazy interesting. Just my random thoughts.

Powderpuff is approaching quickly. Find a t-shirt design that pleases very picky and opinionated teenagers. Check. Make sure all students have insurance so they can practice. Getting there. Schedule a practice date that works for the team. Practically impossible. Remember to put camping chair in car so I have somewhere to sit while I babysit cellphones and drinks supervise practice. Check. This is the one duty of being junior class sponsor I could live without doing.

Progress reports are due this Friday. As in students are taking them home this Friday. Which means I'm being bombarded by questions from students about where they currently stand. And what they can do to improve their grade. In just a few short days. Seriously? How about doing all of the required work when it is first assigned? Now I just need to get my pile of papers graded.... arguments can be made that grading is the worse part of teaching....

Why can't students simply read their textbooks like you ask them to? My sophomore AP students are driving me bonkers! Typically test grades improve as the year goes on because students start to realize that they can't simply rely on lectures and powerpoints to gain knowledge for their tests. However, this bunch of kids doesn't seem to understand that. They think that if they keep doing what they are doing they'll miraculously get different results.

We're hosting a casual housewarming party at our new place this weekend. The only problem? Our house still looks empty and like a bomb exploded all at the same time. The hubby and I have made a to-do list of everything that needs to be done. We've decided to focus on one room in the house each night, and we can't go to bed until it's finished. We'll see if our plan works. If not, people might be eating BBQ off of unpacked moving boxes Saturday....

Tomorrow is our third wedding anniversary. We don't have anything special planned. Dan already got his gift (a new grill) a few weeks ago. And he surprised me Monday with a massage. I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening at home cuddled up on the couch. After he hopefully gets off of work on time. And after we clean the designated room for the night. Then it's totally time for couch cuddles.

I feel like I'm in that weird in-between stage where I don't fit into most of my clothes, but I don't exactly have a baby bump. It's a little annoying. Went shopping last weekend to find some new clothes, and found plenty of shirts to work through the winter, but no pants. Do you know how hard it is to dress for cooler weather when all you have is two pairs of jeans and a bunch of skirts? Maybe I should just invest in some tights/leggings.

I swear my cats are like children. They whine when you don't pay attention to them. They will practically jump in front of your face to make you pay attention to them. They don't always seem to remember the proper way to go potty on their own. They make a mess when they eat. And heaven forbid you try to have a conversation on the phone without them all up in your business, nuzzling the phone in your hand, and meowing when you don't acknowledge them.

I'm starting to get hungry. I ate a snack after grocery shopping this afternoon and thought I'd wait for the hubby to get home from work before making something for dinner. I know we had planned on eating separately - thanks to his schedule we're never quite sure what time he'll be home. Well, he just called to say that he's on his way home (90 minutes after he's suppose to be off of work) and told me that their last call was at Pizza Hut, and they were given free pizza while there, so he's already eaten. Guess I need to start thinking about what I'm going to make for myself tonight....

Just Because

I feel like I need to get something off my chest. It's been bothering me for a little while now, but I'm not the type of person to just come out and say what's on my mind. But today.... Today I feel the need to rant.

Just because my husband and I have been together for nearly a decade....

Just because we've been married for two and a half years....

Just because I'm in my mid-twenties....

Just because you use to know me in high school....

Just because we're friends on Facebook....

Just because you see my photos on Instagram....

....doesn't mean you get to inquire about when my husband and I plan on having children. Especially if you're someone that I haven't spoken to in years. Because, if we had spoken, you would probably already know the answer to your question.

I mean, I understand the questions coming from close family and friends. That's a given. I can even understand the question coming from coworkers because I see them everyday. I even understand when my students ask because they are simply curious and they don't quite understand how personal a question that can be.

But I can't understand getting questions like that from people who I only converse with by hitting the "Like" button on a photo or status update.

Why is it that people feel the need to butt into someone else's personal life? I mean, do you really want me to discuss what me and my husband do behind closed doors? Because that's essentially what you're asking. No matter what the answer is to your question, it all revolves around sex, how much or little we're having, and whether its working or not.

I'm not prude, but I don't feel the need to discuss that over social networks. Especially on social networks where my mom, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews can read what I write. And especially with people who I haven't spoken to since high school or college.

Please understand that your question is a very personal question. And it's an awkward question to answer sometimes. So, if you think I'm just simply blowing you off or ignoring you, you thought right. If you actually thought that I would entertain your question with an answer, you thought wrong.

I promise, when I am pregnant, and feel comfortable enough to announce it, you'll see it along with everyone else on my Facebook or Instagram because I'm sure I'll have some cheesy announcement. A cheesy announcement, which will probably be totally unoriginal and stolen from Pinterest.

End rant.

It's Been A While

Life has been pretty crazy lately. Let's catch up....

The month of January was pretty hectic. There was rarely a night that I didn't have anything planned.

Suddenly I went from having 1 class of AP students to 4 classes of AP students. So a lot of my afternoons have been filled with teenagers staying after school in my classroom for various reasons. Besides that, I agreed to be the ticket-taker at both the girls and boys basketball games this year. At times that meant 4 games a week. As much as it was a huge time commitment, I'm excited to earn a little extra cash to put towards a down payment on a house

When I wasn't collecting ticket money at the school basketball games, I was holding Powderpuff practices with my Juniors. I never played when I was in high school, and had yet to attend a game since I started teaching, so it was all new to me. I wasn't suppose to be at the Powderpuff game - it was originally scheduled while I was away at an AP conference in Jacksonville. But it was rescheduled due to weather, so I got to watch. In the end, I'm glad I was able to go because we ended up winning!

After the Powderpuff game I had to rush home and pack my bags. Dan's grandmother passed away and we had to make the trip up to Connecticut for services. It was my first time to Connecticut, and Dan's first time back since he was 2 years old. It was also our first real road trip. We left the next morning and drove straight through. It was a great trip, despite the circumstances. I'll share more later, but for now, here's a couple of pics from the trip.

We just got back into town last weekend. Things are finally settling down. Now it's just a matter of catching up on all the grading that was piling up on my desk while I was away.

While we were gone, my mom looked after our cats. We're still waiting on our little fur babies to quit growling and hissing at each other and become friends...

It's definitely been an adjustment since we added Callie to the mix. We're hoping that in the next couple months they'll have worked through all of their issues. Fingers crossed!

We've been experimenting with some recipes I found on Pinterest. Some were good (like this and this). Some not so good (like this one). You know how that goes!

And since last night was Valentine's day, I guess I should probably share a little about our Valentine's. Since Dan had to work last night, he made reservations for Thursday night at a local spot. When we came home there were tulips, a card, and wine waiting for me. He went all out this year! I gave him his gift last night - a card and some Reese's cups with stickers on them that had things I love about him or inside jokes written on them (idea from here). All in all, it was a perfect Valentine's!

Oh, and I can't forget the little gift a student brought me earlier this week! Her church was holding a "Love Week" where they pick one person each day and shower them with love. This student decided to shower her teachers with love in the form of chocolate chip cookies and Expo markers. What teacher wouldn't love sugar & markers?

So that's pretty much what's been going on around here lately. Although things are winding down, our schedules are never quite clear. Besides school and family life, we've now added trying to buy a home to our list of things to do. There's already been a few bumps in the road, and I'm sure there will be more along the way. One of these days I'll get around to writing about it. But, right now, I've got a pile of papers calling my name that I've been neglecting.

Favorite Moments of 2013

It's crazy to think that tomorrow marks the start of 2014. Seems each year goes by faster and faster. I'm headed into Orlando this afternoon to celebrate my stepdad's birthday with the family (yep, he's a New Year's Eve baby). The Hubby and I don't have any major plans for tonight. He's working today, so it's hard to make plans when you're not sure what time shift will end. But, we're looking forward to spending tomorrow evening with friends watching UCF play in their first bowl game. :)

Before I head into Orlando, I thought I'd pop in and share my 10 favorite moments from the past year, starting in January and going through December.

#1 Discovering Geocaching

In January we were introduced to geocaching by one of my colleagues. We were hooked on it for a little while (as you can see here and here), but we lost interest as we realized that the GPS systems on our phones weren't the best. We're hoping to invest in a handheld GPS, like the one above, and get back into it.

#2 Snorkeling with Manatees

This was probably one of my favorite "dates" that Dan and I went on this past year. Dan's mom gave him a voucher to go swimming with the manatees in Crystal River for his birthday. We had to wake up really early and swim in really cold water, but it was totally worth it. Definitely an experience I won't soon forget!

#3 The Birth of This Cutie

Although I don't talk about my friend's kids on here very often for the sake of their privacy, I couldn't help but share a photo of Dan looking like a natural holding our "niece." She's grown so much in the past year and I can't believe her parents are already planning her first birthday party!

#4 Chaperoning Grad Bash

I didn't mention our trip to Universal on the blog, mainly because I didn't snap too many pictures while we were there (had to preserve the cell phone battery in case a student called). But the trip was awesome! We were asked last minute the day of the trip if we could chaperone. I was fine with it, but Dan was working in Orlando at the time and wouldn't be able to make it to the school before we had to leave. A couple of hours of scrambling, and we devised a plan to take all 5 buses on a detour to a rest stop on the turnpike to pick Dan up on the way to the theme park (and do the same to drop him off on the way back). Being a chaperone was great! Because the park is closed to everyone except the schools attending the event, the kids can wander the park freely without having to be babysat. Which means, we got to go where we wanted, ride what we wanted, and skip all the lines. We had such a good time, we're hoping to do it again this year.

#5 Visiting Friends in Navarre

In April we surprised our friend on his birthday by travelling 7 hours to visit him one weekend. It was great to catch up with them since we hadn't seen them since their wedding, see their new home, and explore a new town. We're talking about making another trip up to see them soon - maybe this will become an annual tradition?

#6 Our Trip to Savannah & Tybee

This was the first major vacation that Dan and I took, just the two of us, since our honeymoon. Although Savannah wasn't exactly what we thought it would be, Tybee made up for it. We're planning another trip to the area this summer for to watch my father-in-law graduate from college and I'm campaigning to stay in Tybee rather than Savannah this time.

#7 Celebrating the Hubby's New Job

We took a big leap over the summer and became a one-income household so that Dan could pursue a job closer to home. That risk paid off at the end of the summer when I got the call from Dan stating that he'd been hired on full time. We went out that night and celebrated. I'm so proud of all the hard work Dan has put into this career and happy that he finally has a job that he's happy with.

#8 Surprising My Sister

I won't forget the look on my sister's face when she first saw her new laundry room. It was priceless! I'm so happy that we were able to give her and her family something for Christmas besides a gift card that truly would help them in their day-to-day lives.

#9  Solar Bears Game

Just like last year, we went to an Orlando Solar Bears hockey game with Dan's family the weekend after Christmas. This is one quickly becoming one of Dan's favorite things to do over the holidays, so I'm sure we'll be doing it again next year. It's sort of becoming an annual family tradition.

#10 Bringing Callie Home

And, of course, I can't forget the newest addition to our family. Even though it's only been a couple days, she's already known for her headbutting and laziness. Seriously - this cat can sleep!

So that's it! A recap of 2013. I can't wait to see what next year holds!

Life Lately

Wow... has it really been nearly three weeks since I last posted anything on this little blog of mine? Where has time gone? Wait, I know what's going on - school started back up again. Yep, we've been in school for a little over two weeks now, and it seems like things haven't slowed down since the first bell rang.

So here's a quick recap of what's been going on lately in my world....

First, I'm another year older. Officially a quarter-century old. We went out for lunch like we had been planning. Then Dan had little surprises all week to celebrate my birthday - foot massage, washed my car, a little clothes shopping. The boy even baked a cake!

We signed our lives away to our apartment complex for another year. Although I'm ready to move out and get a place of our own, it's just not the right time. We're hoping one more year will be enough time to get our things in order so that we can start looking for our first home.

Like I mentioned, school started back up. So it's been a bit of a whirlwind lately. I'm still waiting for things to settle down. I think the fact that I had to go to a week-long conference the second week of school still has me a little discombobulated. That, and the fact that it seems as though things are continuously being piled onto my already overflowing plate. #lifeofateacher

The week-long conference was about our state's end-of-course exam in US History. I attended a similar conference two years ago in Jacksonville (you can read more about that here and here). I was (again) the youngest teacher there. And for some reason, the people from the Department of Education were surprised (again....) that I was able to hold my own with the teachers who had many more years of experience than I do. Hey, I do what I can. But, in all seriousness, I did love the opportunity to meet with other Social Studies teachers and get an behind-the-scenes look at what goes into the standardized test making process.

Dan has officially moved to day shift. It's been nice having him home at night, even though we're still eating separate dinners now. But the poor guy is bored on his days off. I think he's waiting for the weather to cool down a little more and the stormy season to pass before he gets back into riding his bike. In the meantime, I told him there's a teacher that I know that would love to have some extra help with filing and grading in the classroom.... 

We're buying a new couch and loveseat. Well, new to us anyways. See, when I got back from my conference I realized that one of the cats decided that our green loveseat was the perfect place to relieve themselves. I don't know if you've ever tried to remove the smell of cat urine from anything before - but it is near impossible. And since we've never been fans of that couch anyways, it didn't bother us to get rid of it. So, I decided to do a little hunting around on Craigslist. Normally, Dan and I have a hard time agreeing on furniture. I go for style, he goes for comfort. There has only ever been one couch that we've agreed we could both live with, and it just so happens to be this set from Ikea. And there just so happens to be a couple about 2 hours away from us who are selling their set. We're still crossing our fingers that we'll be able to fit them in our tiny living room. But I'm determined to make them work! It'll be so nice to have an actual couch instead of two loveseats.

Other than that, things haven't changed a whole lot around here. We're still chunking away money at our debt snowball little by little. We were really hoping to have everything paid off before Christmas, but it's looking like January will be our last month of payments. Hey, we'll take it - it'll be a great way to start off the new year!

This is where I promise to be better about checking in and writing posts, but if you've been around here long enough, you know that once the school year starts, promises don't stand a chance. So until next time...

Scary Things

Since first hearing the news about Boston on the way home from work yesterday, I've seen this quote pop up a few times in my news feeds:

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I had not heard this quote before yesterday, but it makes a lot of sense. And it got me thinking....

A lot of large-scale tragedies have happened in my relatively short lifetime. Many while I was a kid. I never realized how many until I was teaching a lesson on the Clinton and Bush administrations the other day and we were talking about the different attacks that had occurred during those 16 years.

Although I don't remember it, the first World Trade Center bombing happened when I was 5 years old. 

I can recall the Oklahoma City bombing. I was in 2nd grade. Students in our school wrote poems and drew pictures to send to the families affected by the event, and our words and images were turned into a book. 

In 5th grade, the shootings at Columbine happened. I remember the news reports. I remember the atmosphere at school changing in the following days. But I don't remember being scared. Maybe I was still too young to understand? 

September 11th, 2001, I was sitting in my eighth grade English class when our principal came over the intercom and announced the attacks. None of it made sense at the time. Why would people do something like that? Now when I look back and watch the footage from that day, all I can focus on are the faces of the first responders as they headed towards those towers and wonder if they ever made it home that night.

West Virginia Tech. Fort Hood. Aurora, Colorado. Sandy Hook Elementary. And now, Boston.

I've started to lose track of all the crazy things that have happened in our world. I fear I'm starting to become desensitized to it all. Yes, I hurt when I see these things on the news. Please, don't misunderstand me. But I'm starting to notice that with each event that happens, those feelings of shock and raw emotions don't last nearly as long as they use to.

I think what scares me the most, though, is that these events and all their craziness will start to become "normal." I think about my students - they were only in kindergarten or 1st grade when 9/11 happened. I think about how much they've witnessed in their 15-16 years on earth. I wonder if events like Boston, or even Sandy Hook, are just another news story to them. They didn't even bring it up today in class... I wonder if they realize that it wasn't always this scary out in the world - you weren't constantly looking over your shoulders or suspiciously eyeing the person next to you. Or maybe it was and I was, again, too young to realize it.

We need to remember that there is still good in this world. There are still "helpers" out there. Extra prayers should be said today. Not just for the victims of Boston and their families. But also for those firefighters, police officers, EMTs and paramedics who helped. For the bystanders who put others before themselves. For the nurses and doctors who cared for all of the hurt and wounded. We need to remember them in our prayers as well.

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!

Life Lately

So I knew come August that this blog would take a back seat to all things school. I just didn't realize how true that statement would be. I love being able to catch up on my blog reading over my lunch break or while waiting for the Hubby to get home from work. But I simply have not found the motivation to write anything. Maybe because school has started to encompass everything I do - but by the time I get home, I don't want to think. Well, think too hard anyways. So composing and editing a blog post seems like a daunting task to someone who simply wants to veg out.

But, I thought I'd give it a shot tonight and see what happens. Much last the last time I posted (nearly a month ago!) I figured I'd fill you in on what's been happening lately. I apologize if it seems a little all over the place - I'm just adding stuff as it comes to mind.

First off, this is the first time blogging from my new school-issued iPad. I wasn't sure how I'd like the thing. And I'm definitely still learning the ropes. To make things easier on myself, I decided to purchase a bluetooth keyboard out of my own pocket (this one to be exact). I tried using just the touchpad features, but after a couple weeks, I was still struggling with it. I type so much faster, so I'm really glad I decided to invest in a keyboard. I'm excited to see how I can incorporate this new technology into the classroom next semester. Let's just hope I have this thing figured out before January! 

I should also mention that due to the fact that this is the first time blogging from the iPad, I'm not sure I'm up to tackling inserting and linking images tonight. So please forgive me for the boring and bland post.

I mentioned last month that the Hubby had a couple interviews lined up for EMT positions. One of them fell threw. Luckily that wasn't the one we were crossing our fingers and saying prayers for. That interview went well, but the Hubby made some simple mistakes during the practical exam. The examiner asked him how long he had been out of school - over 2 years - and said that his skills just need some practice. But they liked Dan enough to offer him a Volunteer position to work on his skills with the potential of moving to part- or full-time in the future. Althought it isn't exactly what we were hoping for, at least this means he's got his foot in the door and can refresh his knowledge from hands-on experience rather than simply from his textbook. This place that he's working with seems great - the people really seem to take an interest in their employees. We're both really hoping that in the not-too-distant future Dan can quit his current job and work solely on EMT stuff. Not only would he finally have a job that he loves, but it would bring him closer to where we live too, which is a big plus!

I tried a new food! Its not too far of a stretch, but it was still enough to impress my friends and family! My best friend has become a Pampered Chef consultant and has hosted a couple of parties. At the party, she showed us how to make chicken fajitas (with onions & peppers) using only a stoneware dish and a microwave. Let me tell you, it was delish! The fact that I requested it as the dish at the party that I hosted floored her. Hannah, asking for onions and peppers?! Insanity!

In other news, we've officially lived in our apartment for over a year. It's kinda weird since the last couple of years I've become accustomed to moving, but its also sort of nice not to have to worry about boxing up all of our stuff. I think the cats are grateful too.

Speaking of cats... we're battling fleas again. We have tried everything to get rid of these things. Is it legal to shave your cat?? I wouldn't. I'm not that cruel. But believe me, it has crossed my mind.

Anyone else loving the new fall season on tv? There's nothing worse than the months between seasons when all you have to watch are reruns. Grey's Anatomy. Revenge. Once Upon A Time. Castle. DWTS. NCIS. Hawaii 5-0. Bones. Glee.... Love them all! Know what new show I'm loving too? Revolution. It's interesting. I'm curious to see where they are going with it.

Ok... iPad update. Something wonky happened and it wouldn't let me view what I was typing anymore... weird. So I've officially switched over to the desktop. Like I said, still learning. But, that means I can add links to stuff without accidentally clicking on the wrong hyperlink. Hooray!

The first 9 weeks of school is officially over. Students are getting their report cards tomorrow. I'm anticipating phone calls and emails from parents. Yay me! Luckily, I've gotten better about taking daily notes about most of my students so that I'm more prepared for parent conversations in regards to student performance. It's time consuming, but it's definitely a CYA maneuver, if you catch my drift.

Also in regards to school, I finally signed off on my evaluation from last year. That's right. A whole nine weeks into school and I'm finally being told how my performance from last year measured out. It's a good thing that my job doesn't rely on this evaluation or anything. I'm only an annual contract teacher. So it isn't like they can just turn to me one day and tell me they would prefer not to renew my contract. I'm not going to get all political, but I'm just going to say that this new evaluation system (which is based on student scores for students I've never even laid eyes on) is whack. Hopefully they iron all the kinks out of it soon. There's nothing worse than being evaluated on a system that your administrators and district personnel don't even fully understand and being told that your job and paycheck depend on it. Someone remind me again why I got into this profession... cause it certainly wasn't for the money. And it certainly wasn't for the political malarkey that we have to navigate.

And while we're on the topic of politics - anyone else sick of the ads yet? Living in a "battleground state" its been nonstop since before the primaries. Even my Facebook seems to have taken a political side. I don't know how many times I have clicked to remove the political ads, but they still seem to pop up in my newsfeed. And always for the same candidate. Seriously? Why not show both sides? Heck, why not talk about the fact that more than 2 people are running for president and there are many different viewpoints out there?

In happier news, the Hubby's student loan has officially been paid off! Wahoo! That's the first check off our debt snowball list. Next up, my car. We're anticipating it only taking about 5 months. Then we'll move onto his car, which should take another 9 or so. After that, we think we'll save up some in anticipation of starting a family before starting to pay off the student loan that was taken out in his dad's name. Even though we still have a long road ahead of us, we're definitely starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately the fact that we have a plan is what is the most reassuring. Even if the plan changes from month to month in terms of specifics, just having a goal in mind is what keeps us going.

It looks like the instagram feed in the sidebar has officially bit the dust. So I'm just going to take it down for now until I have time to look for an alternative replacement. In the meantime, you can follow what's been going on with us - my username is @hannahco11.

I really wish I could join in on the Pinterest challenge this time around. I love being able to link up with everyone and meeting new bloggers (you can see my old challenge entries here, here and here). But honestly I don't think I'll be able to get a craft done this season. But I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with.

Well, I just heard the door open, which means the Hubby is finally home from work. Time to start making up some dinner - my stomach is growling! So until next time...

Weakness

#13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have. 

Over Planning I can't just do something. I have to plan it all out. Spur of the moment trips or activities give my anxiety. Much to the dismay of my husband who is a little more free-spirited than I am. This is usually my outlook when it comes to planning:

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Health I know I need to eat better. I know I need to work out more. I know I need to take better care of myself. And I'm not sure why, even though I know all of those things, I just can't seem to get motivated and stay motivated. I'll do it for a few days, or even a few weeks, but then I loose steam and give up.

Keeping in Touch In this day and age, what with all the social media and technology, you'd think keeping in touch would be simple. Sure, I know when people start dating or break up. I know when they get engaged, married, or start having babies. I see all the photos from their most recent travels and life events. But sometimes I feel like a cyber stalker. I haven't actually spoken to many of these "friends" in ages, yet I know a lot about their personal lives.

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Negativity I've been told for years that I tend to be very negative. It sometimes hurts my relationships with other people, especially my relationship with my husband. But it's definitely something I've been working on. And I think I'm making some major progress.

Trying New Things This one is true for both food and activities. I'm a creature of habit. So I feel really uncomfortable in new situations. Although I try not to let it show, I can definitely feel the anxiety building inside. And when I do complain and voice my anxieties, the hubby is usually my sounding board (sorry hun!). But I'm also one of the pickiest eaters you'll ever meet. No joke. I could probably count on my fingers and toes the things I eat on a regular basis. This is another one I'm getting better about. My anxiety level when trying new foods isn't as high as it use to be. But its still something I'm working on.