Live a Little, Love a Lot: Back Again

Wow, it's been a long time. I can't believe I haven't posted since June. I could claim that I've been busy, which at times I have, but to be honest, blogging has been fairly low on my priority list. Here are some of the bigger things I've been doing in the past 8 months.

As I stated before, I started working part time at Bath and Body Works(BBW) in June. I have continued to work there throughout the school year just to have some extra cash. It's been fun and sometimes stressful. Sometimes I really love retail because it can be fun, but other times it's boring and people can be less than pleasant.
Over the summer I bounced around between Fairview, Jacksonville, and Chicago.
Turned 23. No big deal really. Now 24 is less than 6 months away and that for some reason seems a little more scary to me. I think it's because it's closer to 25 than 21. Sometimes I still forget that I'm 23 and then I'm 22 or even 21. Silly me.
Started my 2nd year of teaching at North Greene. I expected it to be a lot easier. Yes, it is in some aspects like classroom management. Yet I still have a ton of stuff to do, but I've also gotten a lot better at managing that time.
Went to a wedding in Destin....super fun! I really enjoy flying, but I'm terrible at it because I'm always worried about being late and missing layovers. Chris put up with me really well though, probably because our seats weren't next to each other for some of the flights. I'll have to learn how to book tickets the right way.
Went to Columbia, MO to visit Chelsea in October. We ran a 5K together and it was really hot and there were lots of hills. My time was horrible, but I hadn't trained, so I didn't feel as bad.
Played in a couple softball games for Julie. Fell during the first one and my knee is still a little discolored from that bruise. I got on base twice during the second game though and even scored a run!

That's all the big stuff that happened, don't worry, there will be a few pictures too.

Here's a major one....last February I posted about how I'd probably never own an ereader and how I was so devoted to books. Well when Borders finally tanked for real, I bought a Kobo ereader with my birthday money from my dad. I'm a bit ashamed to say that I love it! I still read all my "real" books, because I have tons and it will probably take me at least another 2 years to get through all of them. I find myself reading 2 books at once now. One on my Kobo and a paper one. These are some reasons I like my Kobo.

The Reading Life feature tracks how long I've been reading and how many pages I've turned. It makes it really easy to calculate how quickly I'm reading and how much time it will take me to finish.
It's really easy to buy books! You can just hop online and download a book in seconds. Unfortunately, ebooks are not all that much cheaper than actual books.
I feel like I read faster since I'm being timed so I concentrate more when I'm reading and can get through more books, or read the ones I want in less time.
Kobo offers cool little games that come with coupons. Unfortunately, some publishers don't accept promo codes, so I always have to watch those books if I don't want to pay full price.
I do feel like I'm being a bit more environmentally friendly.
It's easy to stock up on books if I'm taking a trip without taking up more space.

Reading has taken up a lot of my time since I've been away. My goal in 2011 was to read 25,000 pages. I only got to 18,560 so I'm setting the same goal again this year. Here were some of my favorites.
The Help (Written by a Phi Mu and wonderful)
The Luxe series (4 books, teen fiction, set in 1899-1900, one of my students told me about it!)
The Book Thief (I heard it would make me cry, but it didn't. I hate when people say things will make you cry because when it doesn't it makes me feel a little cold. I think it's because I expected it)
All of Emily Giffin's books. Something Borrowed and Something Blue are just the beginning.

I've also started getting into shows that I watch every week. I'm excited for a future that includes DVR so I don't feel like I'm chained to watching a show when it is on. Normally I don't get all up in arms about following shows, but it's something fun to do while planning and grading. My evenings also include job searching because Chris got a new job with his company! He applied and interviewed a few weeks ago for an accounting position and found out on Tuesday that he got the job and he will be making the transition starting Monday. I've been scrambling to find and apply for teaching jobs up north so that long distance will become no distance, because who really wants to do that? It's only February and I've got some time, but it's still a little scary.

That's about all that's been going on since my blogging black out. I do have some fun events coming up throughout 2012 though!
St. Patrick's Day in downtown Chicago! Chris and I met on St. Patty's Day so I kind of made a big deal about us seeing each other that weekend and we decided that we'll go downtown for the parade and festivities there. I've never been to a big city bash like that, so I'm really looking forward to it!
A much anticipated visit from Chelsea! She has a full week for Spring Break and I've talked her into coming to the lovely Jacksonville for part of it (assuming her schedule allows).
The Color Run...I've posted about this on Facebook, but it's a 5K(untimed), where you wear white and throughout the race they throw paint on you. At least that's the way it seems. It's in Chicago and I'll be running with Julie, Chris and Hailey. We expect that we'll be carrying Hailey for at least part of the run.
Weddings! Jonas and Erin in June in Rockton -- Phil and Anna in September in Denver -- Andrew and Amanda in October in Detroit.
Chris and I have also talked about taking a beach vacation somewhere. We really enjoyed our trip to Destin and I'm ready for some sun again! It's also a great motivation to work out, since I clearly have very poor self-discipline.