13 for '13 - Happy New Year!

I can't believe that 2013 is almost over. It's been quite a year! I am excited to link up with Kristin from A Teeny Tiny Teacher, Hadar from Miss Kindergarten and Traci from Dragonflies in First for their annual year in review. :-)

 

This year, my favorite new piece of clothing is something I thought I would NEVER EVER EVER NOT EVEN ONCE try on, let alone purchase.

This person is skinny...but I am not and I LOVE skinny jeans.

Did you know you don't have to be SKINNY to wear SKINNY jeans?? I think I am behind the times because my friends kept saying that I would love them but I thought they were crazy. But...I LOVE them. They are so comfortable. And pretty cute.

I know this is one that a bunch of people have said, but I have to agree:

I thought this one was the far better of the two movies...

I loved this show so much and I was so glad to have Netflix to watch it! I learned some things.

1. I would NOT do well in prison. Not. At. All.

2. See number 1.

This is not the restaurant that we go to the most, but they just reopened after moving locations and being closed for about a year! They have the BEST homemade spaghetti and meatballs. And garlic knots. And spicy marinara. And garlic bread. Shall I go on? 

Scuba diving!!! Best experience of the year, for sure. :-) I know it's cliche, but I think diving may have changed my life.

'Nuff said.

I LOVE this recipe. I would eat it every night if I could. We like to cut the chicken up into chunks and then mix it up with some mini bowtie noodles - because how cute are mini bowtie noodles?

My post with the most views is this one:

This was the first product I posted in my TPT store...I love doing this activity with my kiddos. Hopefully, I can make it work for the third graders this year!

My favorite post is this one:

Can I say the same thing twice? Because learning how to dive was a pretty big accomplishment. So that's my number one.

My number two accomplishment is going to my very first professional conference out of state! My good teaching friend and I went to New Orleans for an NCTM Interactive Institute...it was such a blast! I learned a lot and I can't wait to go to another one.

Wow. This is a tough one for me! I have a terrible memory. My husband cannot believe all the things I can't remember.

But I think this is my favorite. I don't have a picture of it, so I hope I can describe it well enough.

Getting ready for our first dive in Cozumel was exciting, but I was super nervous. My stomach was in knots and I thought I might have a little panic attack coming on. The boat ride was smooth, but I felt like I was going to throw up. Even though the dive master explained everything, I was sure I wouldn't be able to remember it all when we got in the water. I also was sure that I wouldn't get my gear together right. Even so, we were getting closer to the dive spot, and I knew I was going in the water. When we got to the spot, I took a giant stride off the back of the boat and stated hyperventilating - but just a little and I got myself back together pretty quick.  We had a beautiful dive. We worked through all the hiccups and saw tons of underwater life. Pretty soon, we were low on air and ready to ascend to the surface.

As I pulled myself onto the boat, emotion took over and all the fear, excitement, panic and awe took over. Once I got seated, the tears started to fall. This is my favorite moment. The enormity of what we had just done completely overwhelmed me and I couldn't be in control of the moment. That doesn't happen to me very often. It was a moment I will never forget - and I will remember it each time we dive!

My goal for 2014 sounds simple when you say it, but I know it will be difficult.

I want to focus on what's important, and let all the little, insignificant, won't-matter-in-20-minutes-let-alone-20-years yuckiness GO. This goes for the classroom and my personal life. Life is far too short to worry about those little things! (I'm looking at you peer evaluators and end of year evaluations!)

BALANCE

WHEW! There you have it. Happy New Year everyone!