Poetry Friday- Snow Day

Join Tabatha for this week's round-up of Poetry Friday!

SNOW DAY

Outside we have
     white-topped roads,
     boughs heavy with snow,
     a smooth sea of whiteness
     in our yard,
     wind blowing waves
     in the vast white sea.

Inside we have
     warm, cozy pajamas,
     fuzzy slippers,
     hot cocoa with marshmallows,
     a good book to read.
     Gazing out the window
     so glad for the comfort of home.

Krista Dendinger, 2015

Let's Celebrate! 1/3/15

I'm joining Ruth Ayres to celebrate some things from the past week.  Please visit her blog to read other celebrations.

Sometimes it's hard to take a look back at your week to find things to celebrate when only a few exciting things happened.  My first celebration is a huge one though!!!

1. Ohio State beating Alabama to go to the National Championship!!!  Wow! What a game! I am still somewhat in shock that we are going to the National Championship. This team has faced much adversity this season. It is evident they have worked real hard as a team to get where they are. Congrats to them! No matter the outcome of the game, I will be proud of them!

2. Ringing in the New Year with my little family. In the past, we usually go to a friend's house to ring in the New Year. This year we just stayed home. It was actually very nice to be snuggled on the couch together as the ball dropped.

3. Much needed rest. This past week I have gotten some much needed rest. It is nice to clear my head over Christmas break so I can come back to school with a fresh perspective and a relaxed mental state. I have been able to get some much needed organizing done and I am feeling good about going back to school next week.

Hopefully, you can look back at your week and find some things to celebrate as well! Happy New Year!

#nerdlution15

This year I am going to participate in Nerdlution. Last year was the first year for it and I watched from afar on Twitter. Nerdlution is 50 days long and each person sets his/her own goal/s. My goals for #nerdlution15 are the following:

1. Drink more water. I am terrible about consuming liquids. I can go a whole meal without drinking anything. I need to be much better about this, especially with working out like I do. My goal is to get in 4 big glasses a day. 

2. Run 3 days a week. I have been slacking with my running and I need to pick up the pace. I'm not going to worry about distance right now.  I just want to get back in the habit of running multiple times a week. Distance can come later. 

3. Read my devotions at least 5 days a week. I would love to say I am going to do this every day, but I am afraid I would fail. 

4. Read at least one chapter book every week. I have been in training to be a Literacy Collaborative intermediate coach and my reading has taken a hit with all I have to do. I think one chapter book a week can be manageable with all the other demands. 

Hopefully, on February 19, the last of the 50 days, I can say I was successful with all of these goals! Good luck with your goals!

2015-Looking Forward

I was going to look back at my goals for 2014 to see how I fared, but realized if I have to look back at them to refresh my memory on what they were, I probably didn't fare as well as I would have liked. So rather than looking back, I'm going to look forward. The only reflection I am going to have is that I know I need to do better.

Thinking about the new year, my goals for 2015 will be centered around faith, personal, and professional. 

Faith

I enjoy going to church but too often see Sunday spent in my classroom. My goal is to get to church at least two times a month. This will take some better organizing and time management on my part so school doesn't get in the way. 

I also want to be better about reading my devotional. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to read, but somehow it always gets pushed off to the side. I need to do it first thing in the morning or put it on my bedside table to read it before I go to bed. 

Personal

Health is always a big thing with me. I did better about getting to the gym last year, despite a setback in February with a stress fracture. I did well with getting in a workout before school. I like working out at this time because I am not taking away from family time in the evening. 

My goal is to get to the gym at least 4 days a week.  I am also setting a running goal with this. I will run three times a week and will participate in 5 races this year. One of those races must be longer than a 5k. 

My eating habits also need an adjustment. I have found myself snacking more on things that I shouldn't be snacking on. I am going to start the year with a cleanse and continue with cleaner eating. I need to get back into juicing. I need healthier snacks. I need to drink more water. I need to commit two days a week to meatless eating. 

Professional

This year brought many changes for me professionally. I am currently going through training at OSU to be a Literacy Collaborative intermediate literacy coach. This has been quite a busy journey for me. It's all good, but so time consuming! Because of all the time spent with this program, my reading has not been up to par this year. So my first goal is to read six professional books this year. I usually strive for one a month, but this just hasn't been manageable throughout the training. I also want to read at least one chapter book a week. If I get in more great, if it's only one, that's fine, too. 

I need to get back into blogging more consistently! My goal is to blog once a week. I am hoping this becomes more than once a week, but I also need to be realistic. I often think, "I should blog about that!" but it rarely becomes a reality. 

Well, it seems as if I have a lot of goals for myself. Hopefully I will be better about follow-through since none of them are unrealistic. Here's to a New Year!!!