Summer Break and Looking Ahead!

Hello there! I hope you are having a wonderful summer break and not working too hard yet to get your room ready. ;-)

I thought I'd pop in and catch you up on my summer break and upcoming life changes. I know we've been pretty quiet here, but I'm hopeful that will change a little this year.

1. I finished my Master's Degree as a PreK-12 Reading Specialist and passed the Praxis exam! Whoop! Whoop! I am so thankful to be DONE. This will be my first year in my position as the Title I teacher that I don't also have homework on the brain.

2. I took up kayaking with a teacher friend. We ventured out almost weekly this summer, and I'm so thankful she invited me to try something new. I tend to want to be home all day, every day in the summer to recover from the busy year.

3. I started volunteering once a week at The Pregnancy and Family Resource Center. It was a little outside my comfort zone in the beginning, but I felt called to get involved beyond saying, "I'm pro-life." It has been a blessing to get to know new people who have a love for the Lord and a desire to help people.

4. Vacation to Chicago! I never would have picked the destination (I'm a small town girl), but my son is interning there this summer. We had a good time doing all the "touristy" things...Navy Pier, Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), Lake Michigan, Buckingham Fountain, Cloud Gate ("The Bean"), Lincoln Park Zoo, and of course, pizza. I personally felt that Auerilo's was the best, with Giordano's taking a close second. ;-) 

My favorite part of the trip, though, was getting to meet all the people at Sauk Trail Baptist Temple in Richton Park! Such a sweet spirit! It was a little overwhelming to meet this wonderful congregation who had taken in my son, took excellent care of him, and invested in him and his future in ministry. If you want to read more about that, you can click over to my author blog.

5. Writing. I've been working on my 2nd Bible study this summer. The progress has been slower than I would like because of finishing up my Master's, but I'm hoping to move a little more quickly now. Click here for my first study, There's a Fly in my Tea!

6. Trim Healthy Mama. I've been eating the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) way since October 2017. I lost 18 pounds by March 2018 and have maintained that. It has become a big part of me, so I had to share. I love the food freedom that I've found (remember I ate pizza twice on vacation--Ha!). 

The plan just makes sense to me. It doesn't cut out whole food groups (i.e. carbs). It is not a quick fix. It does take some effort and smart food choices. Going back to that pizza...if I had wanted to stay on plan, I would have just scraped the toppings off and ate that with my salad. When I do choose to eat off plan (which is rarely because I feel so much better eating this way), I just get back on plan with my next meal or snack. 

7. Now...looking ahead. I report back to work on August 19th. I will have three days of inservice before taking Thursday (the first day of school) and Friday off to take my youngest to college. Both my kids will be away at college this year. 

This year will be quite different for us. No kids at home. No more homework (YAY!). I am still coaching volleyball--chose to give up basketball to free us up to visit Chaz and Harley. I'm excited for a slower pace! 

I hope to share some ideas and information from the Reading Specialist point of view this coming year. 

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