Almost Ready...

I want to share my list of 30 things to accomplish before turning 31, but I'm still trying to tweak a few ideas on the list. It's coming soon! However, one item on the list I want to start writing about on my blog. It's kind of personal, but this is a way for me to record my thoughts and to remember them! One thing on my list is to think of 30 reasons why I am proud of the last 30 years of my life. So I will be blogging about this randomly throughout the next year. Some posts will be more personal than others, but life is about opening up and sharing, so why not?!

As I was driving home tonight, the thought hit me that I am so incredibly grateful that I have such a diverse group of people in my life. I have people that are close to me that come from all walks of life. You name it, I can probably identify someone I know that comes from a particular culture, label or group. I seriously love that. This diversity among my most favorite people makes me a better person. I am constantly growing and learning from others. I love that I have such a wide difference of friends and family, that for any particular question or challenge that I am facing or have, I can choose with whom I trust about that specific thing. So for example, I can go to some people for some things, but others for different things. Isn't that amazing how different we all are, and yet what we experience and who we are is so beneficial to those around us?! I love that I am so open to having such different and amazing people be close to me. I think that says a lot about who I am as a person and that's definitely something I am proud of. I welcome all types of people into my life. I don't close off or judge someone just because they are are a particular label or come from a certain group. I don't want to put particular labels here and I don't need to. I just love and adore those in my life who are positive, who help me to grow, and teach me so much from the way they choose to live their life!

Guess Who's 30? This girl!

Last weekend, I hit a new landmark in my life...I turned 30! And I spent it at the happiest place on Earth, Disneyland, with my most favorite person on Earth, Bryce! He took all the pictures, so I will have to post them when he sends them my way. But let me tell you, I had SO much fun! It was the perfect vacation. We stayed at the Paradise Pier Hotel, so we could walk to and from our hotel to Disneyland and California Adventure each day. I got to go on all my favorite rides, some I went on 2-3 times! My favorites include: Soarin' Over California, Peter Pan, Finding Nemo (I've wanted to go on this ride for a few years now, but we've never attempted because of the long line. But since it was my birthday, Bryce was okay with waiting in line for me, and I LOVED the ride!), Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, and Midway Mania Toystory ride. I got to eat all my favorite Disneyland foods-clam chowder, corndogs, churros, and even ate at the Blue Bayou restaurant for the first time on my birthday. This restaurant is visible from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. In the words of Bryce, "the ambiance was amazing!" and the food was even better! Even after eating all that yummy food, I still managed to come home and lose a pound. Probably from all the walking around we did. I did get in one morning of the gym. My goal was two, but hey, it was a vacation AND my birthday weekend, so I don't feel guilty! I was able to sleep in, take a few naps, do some shopping, and just get away from my job, grad school and normal everyday life!
Bryce spoiled me on my birthday, and I was grateful to spend a lot of quality time with him. He sure knows how to make me laugh and forget about the stresses of life! And the Glover family knows how to do Disneyland, I highly suggest taking one of them along with you the next time you go to Disneyland. You never have to worry about what to do or where to go because they know the ins and outs!

Woohoo!

I'm down another 3.8 pounds, which makes a total lost of 11.6 pounds. So proud of myself! It's amazing what can be accomplished when you have the right mindset, even with a busy schedule. No excuses, and deciding what you really want can make all the difference!
On a random side note, I feel like watching Ellen, having a diet coke daily, and taking life a day at a time is helping me get through a busy time. I'm almost 30, peeps! I'm in the process of finishing up my list of 30 things I want to accomplish while I'm 30. Once it is finalized I will share! (I need to be held accountable).
And another random note, five things I'm so grateful for today:
1. Diet Coke (as mentioned above)
2. Working with amazing coworkers. Glad to know I'm not alone in the craziness, stress and fun in teaching!
3. POP chips-barbecue. I'm officially obsessed! Yummy and healthier than regular chips.
4. Modern Family-makes me laugh every time!
5. My cute students who make me happy every day. I laugh all the time in my job. I want them to succeed and I'm doing everything I can to make them even smarter than they already are. It's not easy but it's definitely worth it!

Down Three More!

I lost another 3 pounds last week! Yay! This week has been more of a challenge for me, with getting ready for Parent Teacher Conferences, and having them at night. I'm still working on working hard though! Next week will post more...Carry on!

Minus 4

My first week of weight loss resulted in four pounds off. Yipee! I'm working hard on adjusting my portion sizes, eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, writing everything down that I eat, and going to the gym at least 3 times a week for an hour. It's amazing how good I already feel, and the difference in what I'm eating has on my body, in a good way. I'm staying positive, staying motivated, and keeping busy! Here's to another great week of teaching first graders, attending grad school, the joy of getting to do homework ;), exercising and taking care of myself! (With just a bit of fun sprinkled in, with the right people who know how to keep me laughing and positive at a busy time in my life!)

New Year, New Changes...New Me!

I will admit it, I have NOT been a great blogger this past year. The lame old excuse that life got in the way can be applied here. 2011 was a good but challenging year, with a few changes. Here are the top five events that happened in 2011, in no particular order:
1. Cruise to Alaska, departing from Seattle. That vacation was 10 days of pure bliss for me! First cruise and I fell in love. I will be a cruiser for life! Who's with me?!
2. Starting grad school. Wow...love it, hate it. I've learned so much, I've challenged my brain to grow (what I always tell my first graders...challenge your smart brain to grow even bigger!), I've become a better writer, and teacher because of it. However, it is VERY time consuming with class, homework, research papers to write, articles and textbooks to read, projects and presentations to prepare, etc. Last semester was the hardest yet. I literally gained the grad school 20 pounds in one semester!
3. Moving to a new place. I LOVED the house I lived in before, I had the best roommate on the planet, but it was time for a change. My new house is HUMONGOUS, and I am in love with having my own bathroom and garage space. Every time I move to a new place (which happens about every year, sadly. One of these days I will find a permanent city to live in, and buy a house!) I gain new experiences with different roommates. They all challenge me in very different ways. For better and for worse!
4. Getting a new first grade class. Every school year, the group of students I get is so diverse and unique from the previous group. My last group of first graders was massive (26-that's a lot of them!) with a few challenges that I have never experienced in my seven years of teaching before. I loved them, and I learned so much from them, but they were an exhausting lovable group, and I was ready for them to move onto second grade. This new group has brought different challenges and strengths...plus I have 21 of them! Having 5 less students in first grade is a HUGE difference...those cuties are very needy! I love my new group as well, and I've learned a lot from them, and from a lot of changes I have made to my teaching this new school year.
5. Random trips that I took to Denver (two times-my favorite city on Earth!), Kansas (NFL game against Broncos-Broncos won!), and Las Vegas. Good memories, good times! No matter how old I am, and if I don't remain single for long, I will still continue to travel. It brings me joy to visit people I love, and see places and things I haven't seen before. That's what life is all about, building relationships and memories!

This new year, 2012, brings a lot of changes for me that I will be SO much better at updating you about. First new change that I will be honest about on here..because after all, this is MY blog! I am on a weight loss journey to be healthy again. I miss being active, healthy, and being happy with how my body is, so I am working hard on changing that. I am extremely motivated and excited so far in changes that I have made. It will be a hard but gratifying journey of change to be in love with my body again! So here's to a new year, new changes, and a new Tawna!

I spent a lot of time in 2011 with this guy! Bryce is the best friend I could ask for!

NFL game in Kansas with one of my favorite people on Earth, Jenna!

My new (and now old) roommate Kaylee at our goodbye dinner. I lived with her and Janae for 4 months and loved them both dearly!

My Good Friend Bryce is Amazing!

Bryce has a Christmas tradition in his family. Every year, they get together and exchange white elephant gifts. One gift has been in his family for 25 years, a statue of the Venus de Milo, who lost its head the first year of the gift exchange. Every year, it's regifted and someone in the family is the lucky recipient to watch over it for a year. Last year, his aunt lost the statue and his family was so mad at her! But luckily, she found it again, and Bryce made this video and showed it at the party. He is very creative, and amazing at his talents, one being video making. Watch and spread the word! (I helped take pictures for it, so I feel like it's kind of my video too :) ).