Last day of freedom and 3 things

Last day of freedom
    Today is my last day of freedom. Tomorrow I head back to "school". I say "school" because 1) I will actually be at a professional development lecture and 2) we won't actually have kids till Wednesday. I spent today with my daughter and a friend and his son. Aaron and I also spent some time together and took Z to Target after dinner for a "walk".

Here are the highlights from my summer:

1. NYC
2. Mexican Cruise
3. Copious amounts of time with my daughter
4. Said daughter is 99% potty trained
5. Got to hang out a lot with friends and coworkers
6. Attended my friends wedding
7. Baked a lot of good recipes
8. Re-connected with a lot of friends on Facebook
9. Started to re-align myself with God
10. Lost nearly 20lbs (granted I had gained 10 on my two week vacation)

Things I will do differently next summer

1. Instead of sitting on the computer during Z's nap time, I would like to read
2. Bake 3 times a week
3. Keep up with my garden more
4. See, in person, my friends more
5. NOT travel, as to save for our 10 year anniversary (we would like to take a 2-3 week vacation of Europe)
6. Invest more attention in Z
7. MAYBE not worry about the house as much
8. Get out of the house to do fun things with Z at least 3 times a week
9. Scrapbook, summers are the only time I get to, and I didn't at all this summer
10. MAYBE find a way to earn a bit of cash for the summer

This school year will be way different then what I've come to expect over the last 2 years. Why? Because I will be teaching 7th and 8th grade science. I've never taught 8th grade science. I really hope I can prove that this was the right desicion for the principal. I have a lot to live up to and a lot to imporve on. I am so nervous that I dropped being the "head" of a committee I loved because I want to be able to focus more on the "new" subject I'm teaching. We shall see how it turns out.

3 Things
1) Today I am thankful for having 8 weeks off every summer. What a great job I have.
2) Today I am thankful for Aaron getting done with work early and spending it all with us.
3) Today I am thankful for new friendships that will hopefully grow into a tight bond.

Who me?

Most of you don't know that I am a 7th grade science teacher. This year is my second year teaching science, my third year teaching junior high and my 4th year teaching. Last year was a huge struggle. The kids didn't like me, didn't want to learn and had no support at home. This year however, the kids LOVE me and some if not most want to learn/enjoy science.
So needless to say this year has been AWESOME! I have enjoyed my kids, being head of yearbook and the school social committee. It's been a lot of work, but I've managed to not take any "homework" home this year. I arrive at work at 7am and leave at 4pm. Definitely not that bad. So today, during our professional development I was honored by my principal for being "The-teacher-of-the-year". SO AWESOME! I was really not expecting it but am greatly honored to have received it. I do also feel a bit guilty as I know that a lot of other teachers work way harder then me. And honestly, we are all a team and work together to achieve one goal.

So, what a great day!