Will-POWER!

I keep making to-do lists in my head. I usually start them by saying, "I really need to..." or "I will remember to..." Since this blog is a publicly viewed, no excuses way to document my thoughts and goals, I thought I would share some of my "I will" statements on my growing to-do list.

I Will...

Start running more. Every time my friend Julie talks about how much she ran that morning, it makes me feel guilty that I'm not living up to my goal of running before school every morning. I have to kick it into gear, but it's so hard when I'm working, taking graduate classes, and house-hunting, which consumes a lot more time than I realized. I ran four out of the seven days of last week and felt AMAZING afterwards!

Continue holding my head high at school. This summer I made a resolution that I would keep my circle close and not get caught up in the "drama" that seems to circulate middle school teachers. It has been wonderful concentrating on my work and talking to the people who bring me up, not down. :)

Cook more. Thanks to Pinterest, I've actually made some recipes that my husband likes! I want to try more crock pot recipes this fall.

Reward myself. I work really, really hard. I need to remember to reward myself sometimes, whether it's stopping to grab a salted caramel mocha at Starbucks in the morning before work every once in a while, or putting down the laptop and taking a nice bath instead, it's important that I stop and smell the roses every so often.

Show my gratitude. I've been blown away by the amount of generosity shown to me this year. I still can't believe how lucky I am to be teaching this amazing group of kids this year. I feel as if I've won the teaching lottery. I wish I could repay all of the people who have shown me so much kindness this year, and I plan on continuing to try to recognize all of the wonderful people in my life.

What is on your "I Will" list?