i've been working on continuing my list, and I figured I'd share with you how far I've gotten. Also, I found a girl who apparently will be touring with Selena Gomez (who I featured last Monday), and though it isn't one of my favorite songs, she does an awesome cover of Katy Perry's new single, "E.T." Give it a listen, and look her up on YouTube if you like her--she has a ton of covers and some originals, too, as I understand it.
Enjoy! I'll post the next ten from my list under the video.
31. Be a mentor.
32. Get a really random, fun summer job.
33. Go to a spa.
34. Go on a trip to Europe with Shannon.
35. Take some friends up to Plattsburgh for a vacation.
36. Spend some time in NYC, really taking in the sights.
37. Go on a completely spontaneous road trip with friends, packing only bare necessities and just driving until we get "there."
38. Get fit enough to go hiking without feeling like I'm going to die.
39. Gamble in Vegas.
40. (Attempt to) repay my parents for all that they have done for me.
Feeling like continuing my list. Not really feeling like doing much else, honestly, but that's okay...there are times when silence is sufficient, you know?
21. Visit Sara Yasin while she still lives in England. 22. Spend a week or two in DC, really getting to appreciate the history. 23. Win Teacher of the Year. 24. Have kids. (Preferably after the getting married thing.) 25. Raise a kitty. 26. Go to the Hershey's Factory in PA. 27. Host a Thanksgiving dinner for friends and family. 28. Visit Ireland. Take a plethora of pictures. 29. Find a beer that I like. 30. Host a foreign exchange student.
This continues to be a really introspective activity for me. I really encourage you to give it a shot, even if you don't decide to go all the way to 101.
That's it for now, kids. Got stuff to do! Have a great evening, and if I don't get to tell you beforehand, happy Friday!
So today was a pretty decent day, all things considered. I've been thinking about my list and wanting to add to it, so I figured I would try to come up with the next ten things. Here we go!
11. Spend a birthday somewhere exciting and different. 12. Go on a cruise. 13. Go to a taping of Ellen. (Take Lesli?) 14. Spend a summer somewhere I've never been before. 15. Learn to cross stitch. 16. Be an extra in a movie. 17. Learn Italian. 18. Take a course at a community college on something that's just for me, for fun. 19. See the pyramids of Egypt/ride a camel. 20. Enter a cooking contest.
This is getting surprisingly hard. I'll have to put some thought into the next few. Have you started a list for yourself? Share some of your goals in the comments section!
I think that's gonna do it for today. Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this weekend. :)
Today I was in a staff meeting where a colleague was sharing her experiences at a recent professional development she attended. One of the things that she shared had to do with making a list of the 101 things that I hope to accomplish in my life. The idea is that it gives you some perspective, and it's also a great challenge to give your students so that they can give some thought to their own goals in life.
Anyway, I was inspired by the idea and decided to give it a shot. Obviously, coming up with the whole list in one sitting is a bit ambitious, so I figured that I'd shoot for coming up with the first ten today. I'm going to keep this list in my journal and that way I'll have the whole thing to look over and hopefully check off for years to come.
So, let's get thinking. Here are my first ten things to accomplish in my lifetime:
1. Get debt free. 2. See Europe. 3. Get married. 4. Develop something groundbreaking to make education even better. 5. Give back to education by teaching teachers. 6. Teach high school English, even if it's only for a year. 7. Attend the graduation of one of my students. 8. See the west coast. 9. Write a book. 10. Read the Bible cover to cover.
Wow, that was a little more intense than I thought it would be. I'm excited to see where the rest of the list takes me. Take the challenge yourself and see what you come up with.
I leave you with a song that seems fitting for this reflective mood I'm in. Enjoy.
Because I'm posting this from the iPad, you'll have to click the link to check out the song. Do it--it's so worth it.
So today was a big day at school. We had parents and students come out to help us clean our classrooms and hallways and really spent time on making our school a more beautiful place.
I didn't wind up having much help, but to be honest, I really didn't mind that much at all. Sometimes it's just nice to sort of be left to your own devices, ya know? It gave me a chance to tackle things my own way.
So, anyway, this brings me to today's activities. I'll be spending this evening over at a friend's house for dinner, but I don't have to be there until six. So what's my plan for the next few hours?
Let's just say I'm in a cleaning mood now...
I decided to give myself about an hour of down time, but I already have a plan of action for the hour or two following my down time...and those plans involve my kitchen, doing some laundry, and running my vacuum before this day is done. I'm almost a little ashamed to say that that I'm kind of excited about this.
Almost.
Anyway, friends...enjoy your Saturday and I'll see you back here soon!
Hello, and welcome to my recently redesigned blog! :)
I didn't want to do too much tinkering, but I wanted a bit of a change. What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments--I'm always looking for helpful suggestions.
Well, for today's Thoughts on Thursday, I thought I'd bring you an array of thoughts all radiating positivity. I don't know about you all, but I'm getting to that super stressed time of year, and a good beginning step to destressing lies just in changing one's attitude. So let's start with some thoughts on happiness:
"'Well,' said Pooh, 'what I like best,' and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called." ~A.A. Milne
"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost." ~H. Jackson Browne
"Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one's self?" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find."
~William Wordsworth, 1806
"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." ~Abraham Lincoln
And now some thoughts on attitude:
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995
"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book
"If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want." ~Oscar Wilde
"Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats." ~Voltaire
"Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left." ~Hubert Humphrey
And we'll wrap up today's thoughts with a few on optimism/pessimism:
"The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser - in case you thought optimism was dead." ~Robert Brault
"A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them." ~Leonard Louis Levinson
"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties." ~Harry Truman
"If an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator, he might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice, 'Well, this isn't too bad. I don't have my left arm anymore, but at least nobody will ever ask me whether I am right-handed or left-handed,' but most of us would say something more along the lines of 'Aaaaah! My arm! My arm!'" ~Lemony Snicket
"After 5,000 years of recorded human history, you wonder, What part of 2,000,000 sunrises doesn't a pessimist understand?" ~Robert Brault
Alright, kids, I'm off to chill out on the couch for a while. Have a good evening, and as I always tell my kiddos--make it a great day.
Let's just be honest with each other for a minute, okay?
I have this habit of starting things (especially blogs) and then getting bored and dropping off the face of the earth, so to speak.
That isn't what is happening here, I promise.
I've simply had a really kind of stressful couple of days for a couple of different reasons. Yesterday, I was stressed for reasons that have to do with the behavior of my students--specifically one student. I love all of my kids so intensely that it kills me when I go through rough patches and I can't nail down what's wrong or how to fix it. I had one of those days yesterday, and when I got home, I just needed to take a hot bath, read some poetry, and crawl into bed early.
Today, I've had a day filled with abdominal pain. No joke. It made me almost miss work, and it gave me a pretty horrible afternoon. But, now that I've taken a couple of helpful little gel caps, I'm feeling much better. It's just been a long day.
So please, please, please don't think that I'm getting lax for reasons having to do with laziness. Also, understand that we're are a mere 12 school days away from SPRING BREAK, so things are stressful for a variety of reasons across a number of planes. If I get a little sloppy over the next couple of weeks, I promise you I'll pull it back together soon.
I will do my best to post daily. I hate making a schedule like this and not sticking to it. But my hope is that you all understand that my job and my health (both psychological/emotional and physical) has to come before the blog every now and then.
It's my intention to resume my regular schedule tomorrow with our next round of Thoughts on Thursday, however, I think I'll be switching up the titles to my posts to better indicate the focus for the day's post. Keep your eyes ready and be sure to tell me what you think.
Have a great evening, guys.
Thanks so much for reading, and for those of who have taken a minute to tell me that you follow me and read my writing. It's so humbling to have people compliment something that I love to do like this.
I'll see you tomorrow, k?
♥ Marlee
PS - Had a post conference for a total surprise observation last week, and it was overwhelmingly positive. I feel so good about my job and where I'm at right now, and that is such an awesome thing to be able to share with you. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me over the past year and supported me through the turbulence. Your support means the world.
I apologize for officially missing my first post. Friday was a busy evening for me, and I had to prepare for a weekend away with friends for my college roommate's bridal shower. It was way fun, and unfortunately amidst the preparations for said trip, I completely forgot to post on Friday.
Forgive me?
Anyway, I'm back and I've been really kind of wracking my brain trying to come up with a good song to share--I've had this one song stuck in my head, and I blame my students. Although I'm a Disney nerd to the core, these new kids who are up and comers in the Disney world seem like a dime a dozen. We've seen so many of them crash and burn, and it's hard to be excited about a new, young artist these days.
But despite that, I'm sharing with you a song called "Who Says" by the lovely and talented Selena Gomez. The lyrics of this song are pretty awesome, and I kind of love the video, too. I thought you'd enjoy it, even if it is just another little Disney girl. I will say that Ms. Gomez has thus far done nothing to bring question to her character (barring her "involvement" with a certain Mr. Justin Bieber), and she's actually pretty active in working with nonprofits and other charitable organizations.
Enjoy the song! Hopefully it'll brighten your day.
I wouldn't want to be anybody else.
You made me insecure
Told me I wasn't good enough
But who are you to judge?
When you're a diamond in the rough
I'm sure you got some things
You'd like to change about yourself
But when it comes to me
I wouldn't want to be anybody else
I'm no beauty queen
I'm just beautiful me
You've got every right
To a beautiful life
C'mon
Who says?
Who says you're not perfect?
Who says you're not worth it?
Who says you're the only one that hurting?
Trust me
That's the price of beauty
Who says you're not pretty?
Who says you're not beautiful?
Who says?
It's such a funny thing
How nothing's funny when it's you
You tell 'em what you mean
But they keep whiting out the truth
It's like a work of art
That never gets to see the light
Keep you beneath the stars
Won't let you touch the sky
I'm no beauty queen
I'm just beautiful me
You've got every right
To a beautiful life
C'mon
Who says?
Who says you're not perfect?
Who says you're not worth it?
Who says you're the only one that's hurting?
Trust me
That's the price of beauty
Who says you're not pretty?
Who says you're not beautiful?
Who says?
Who says you're not start potential?
Who says you're not presidential?
Who says you can't be in movies?
Listen to me, listen to me
Who says you don't pass the test?
Who says you can't be the best?
Who said, who said,
Won't you tell me who said that?
Who says?
Who says you're not perfect?
Who says you're not worth it?
Who says you're the only on that's hurting?
Trust me
That's the price of beauty
Who says you're not pretty?
Who says you're not beautiful?
I'm just saying...I want all of my third grade girls to listen to this song and write it on their hearts. Wouldn't you want your own sisters/daughters/granddaughters to do the same? Positivity is so rare now, and it shouldn't be.
Here's hoping you'll share this song with a special girl in your life.
