10 Fun Things About Me

Yay! I look forward to Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week every year.

1)  I just got a job as a Reading Specialist near Cincinnati, Ohio! I also have two years of experience teaching 2nd and 3rd grade and two more years of experience as a Reading/Math Interventionist. Until this year, I've always lived in Indiana. I'm excited to work with struggling kids this year- there is NOTHING like helping a kid catch up and learn to love reading!!

2)  I have been married to my husband for 2 years, but we started dating about 8 years ago. He's smart, cute, so good to me, and cracks me up all the time. (He actually used to do improv comedy like on Whose Line Is It Anyway.)

3)   I have been big on reading ever since I was little. I used to get in trouble for reading after bedtime or when I should've been cleaning my room. My mom had to set a limit that I couldn't check out more library books than I could carry (because I would try). I don't read as much anymore as I'd like to, but I still love it! These days I alternate between cool brain science books, fluffy young adult books, teacher nerd books, and deep, emotional books. My husband teases me because I love sad books about the Holocaust or dogs dying... but I have to admit, it's true. If a story pulls me in so much that it makes me cry, it's a great book!

4)  I'm a huge Green Bay Packers fan. They're a publicly owned team (the only one in professional sports), so I'm actually a partial owner. My mom's family grew up in Wisconsin and we are all huge fans... so YES, I own a cheesehead! Between my husband and me, Sunday afternoons are basically booked for football. Even our wedding had some football love...

5) I am extremely proud that I was chosen as a Scholastic Book Clubs (now Scholastic Reading Club) Teacher Advisor for the year 2013. Working closely with the company has been incredible, especially as they roll out some new changes this fall that I helped with! (If you got online code stickers with your Welcome Back pack, I suggested that!)

6)  I grew up in a town called Kokomo. Yes, like the Beach Boys song. No, it was not tropical... our only "Beach" was the city pool!

7)  My dad died when I was 11. He had a heart attack at the age of 42 and it was completely out of the blue. I miss him a lot, of course, but I think losing him when I was so little is part of why I have such a passion for photography and pictures now. I love capturing the everyday as much as I do the big, important moments- I think losing someone when I was young has made me want to capture as many memories as I can. Sentimental reasons aside, it's another way to be creative and artistic and it helps me notice God's beauty around me. I take pictures all the time in my classroom and it makes me so happy to watch the kids' faces when they get to see them at the end of the year!

8)  I started college as a Biology major and I'm still such a science nerd (and band nerd, and drama geek...) If I could go anywhere for vacation, it would be to Costa Rica. I have always been fascinated by the rainforest and wanted to see it for myself! If I wasn't in the field of education, I think I'd be doing some kind of animal study or brain research!

9)  I'm a dancer at heart! I took ballet, tap, and jazz from the time I was 3 til I was 16, but I also did winterguard in high school and swing dancing in college. Now, I'm trying to get back into Zumba- both to get off my couch for a little exercise and because it's a blast!

 10)  I love watching shows like Design Star, Project Runway, Food Network Star- anything where people have to be creative. The more ridiculous the challenge, the better! Some of my favorite memories are with friends who do improv or are just naturally random... my cousin and I taking a picture with items starting with every letter of the alphabet at Target, baking makeshift cookies out of brownie mix at 3 a.m. with an old roommate, or making Barbies "talk" on video for a Spanish project with my friends in high school. Having just left a college town, I knew a lot of people who would drink and act silly, but I love my friends that don't need ANY excuse for being silly and random!

(Yup... random, silly fun is a big part of why I love teaching elementary, too!)

I would love to learn a little more about you! You can link up here for today and the rest of Teacher Week!

If you're new here... I hope you'll stick around! :) Thanks for stopping by!