Yesterday was my 28th birthday.  I have to admit that I find that quite frightening, as 30 is only two more years away.  I know I'm still a "spring chicken," but I don't know that I feel like it a whole lot.

The past year has been wrought with change.  I spent most of last summer in Minnesota with my mom, sending out resumes and waiting on another job offer.  I received one in late July of last year, and we moved to our new town in August of last year.  I absolutely love teaching second grade and I love my new school.  Lots of changes await this upcoming year, but I'm excited, because I'm staying first of all, and second of all, I feel like I've stepped up to the plate professionally.  I don't have all the answers by any means, but I'm more than willing to work with my colleagues to find positive solutions for kids and adults at our school.

My health has changed the past year, too.  I was plagued with HORRIBLE headaches for a couple of years, at a very high rate of frequency.  In October I was diagnosed with diabetes, and as my blood sugars have fallen, my headaches have pretty much disappeared.  I feel relatively wonderful.  I'm still battling the weight, however, and losing that battle, really.  I need to lose 70 pounds before we try for a baby.  So...I guess I need to get going on that.  The doctor told me to ask myself "Do I want to eat this, or do I want to have a baby?"  Unfortunately last night the trip to Cold Stone Creamery won out.  But it was my birthday.  lol.  I think the mental health has been relatively under control, too.  I know if I get to feeling crazy, I need to talk to my doctor about it, because I don't like feeling that way.  The summer is weird, and I guess I just feel more myself when I'm busy and around kids.  Summer school has been a good thing.  I had a rough couple of days a week ago, and I think this is just what I needed.

This past year, Ryan and I have gotten ahold, somewhat, of our finances.  We're budgeting.  We're paying things off.  I'm teaching summer school and bringing in a couple thousand extra dollars this summer.  The plumber will get paid off, and today I paid off a medical bill.  It feels good.  Ry thinks that if we continue down this road, in about two years we should be completely debt free.  I think we've finally gotten relatively rid of the trailer, so that will help immensely.  Yay!  And, I guess I can't really take any of the credit here...Ryan took the bull by the horns and said "stop this crap!," and I have.  He really stood up to me, and I appreciate it.  It's really liberating to pay stuff off.

This past year I've taken lots of trips.  I've been to Minnesota 3 times since my last birthday.  My mom buys my plane tickets for presents because I really don't want a birthday gift or Christmas gifts (how would I get them home?), so a plane ticket is exactly what I want.  I miss my family.  But the teachers at my school kind of envelope me like a family would.  The sharpness of the ache of missing my family is taken away, and I'm left with a dull ache for the most part.  I've also went to Salt Lake City a couple of times for school-related learning, and I've gone with Ryan on his route lots of times up into northern Utah, and I guess we go so far I kind of consider that a trip, too...lol. In May I also went to Reno to see my sister compete in the Business Professionals of America national conference.  She did SO well, and I've very proud of her, and I hope she's proud of herself.  She needs that.  She's such a good kid.  It's weird that she's getting married in just a few days over a year.

This past year I've come that much closer to completing my Master's work.  I finish at the end of October/beginning of November, and I can't wait.  Not only does it mean a bump up on the pay scale (again--my third in a year at the current job), and the M.S. title behind my name, but it means that I worked hard and finished!  I'm at the critical burnout point right now, and I can only hope that my next classes are a little more interesting and the professor a little more normal.  I guess that's what you get when you do everything online.

So, all-in-all, 27 wasn't really that bad.  Parts of it didn't really go the way I wanted, but I'm okay with that.  It's probably better that I didn't.  So I'm moving headlong into 28.  My hope for this year is to continue to be a leader at my school, improving my own instruction and helping other teachers to do the same, and also helping to improve morale at my school, as it's pretty crappy right now.  I hope that Ry and I can continue to grow as a couple, and I hope that we can continue "negotiations" about starting a family.  I hope to see my family more, and push more outside of my comfort zone to try new things and go new places and meet new people.  I hope I can lose this weight quick (the right way, though), and continue to build my health.

Life is just too short.  I'm so thankful, though, for good friends and family.  I have been very blessed in these past few...you know...decades.