Real, Not Ideal

In contrast to pretty much every other month, January did NOT fly by. I don’t know what it is about coming back to school after Christmas that makes everything feel like it’s going by in slow motion. Everyone’s starting to feel the drain of never seeing daylight, and after spending Christmas break grazing on cookies and chocolate, your eating pattern is way off. Nevertheless, it has had some nice moments. I’ve been to see a lot of movies (what else is there to do in the middle of a wet British winter?), and I’ve really been focusing on myself as I start my new goals . Here are my highlights: 1.       Being with my Family. As usual, seeing my family was incredible but I was also very sad when I had to say goodbye. The one thought getting me through is that it is the last time I’m going to be leaving them. However, seeing them over the break, ringing in the New Year with them, and skiing with my dad and sister (until she broke her thumb, of course) was the best re

I’ve never been someone to make New Year’s resolutions. However, I’ve always been someone that wants to change and be better (as you can tell by past goals update posts) . I’ve never really been able to accomplish that. I’ve put too much pressure on myself to drastically change and then rebelled when I inevitably fail. I cannot let that happen anymore. This year, it will be all the more important to have routines that are tools in being the best person I can be. It’s going to be a year of ups and downs. At the end of the school year, I’ve decided to leave the UK and my amazing job and move back home. It has been a difficult decision, but it’s the right decision. With this in mind, I’ll have to deal with the highs of celebrations with friends here; growing in my teaching ability; having birthdays; going on more trips; and being in the same country as my family and friends again but then also deal with the lows of leaving what I know and love here; the challenges of moving back

Hello friends! Happy New Year! We’re just going to skim over the fact that I haven’t done this in forever. I really want to stay connected but also reduce this to one post a week for this year. It is simply more manageable. Stay tuned for next week’s post when I discuss more on that topic. Anyway, I think one of the best ways to catch you up is to do a photo post. I haven’t done this since March of last year but these used to be some of my favourite posts to create. Now, instead of a monthly post, I’ll do a seasonal post to catch you up on the big events in my life! 1.       Trip to Goathland with Matt. Before school really kicked up, Matt and I went to Goathland to see some real steam trains! I mentioned back in my September favourites post, but it’s worth mentioning again. I still think about it and actually, it led to one of my favourite moments with my friend’s toddler where I showed him my video of a “choo choo.”  2.       Surviving Ofsted – and getting