In Four Years

In order for this idea to fly, I have now planted the seed with the people who need to say yes in four years:

• Mr. UpCyclist
• Lil O
• My department chair
• My director
• My dean

If you are looking for me in 2017, I will be taking a leave of absence for one year.  Mr. UpCyclist will be graduated from his doctoral program.  Lil O will be graduating from her awesome school.  And my family and I - Mr. U, Lil O, Jedi and my excited self - will be piling into a trailer (maybe an RV) and traveling North America for a year homeschooling (or is that trailer schooling?).  We will be enjoying life, seeing the sights, being a family, and living on the road.

I can barely contain myself with excitement, but I have plenty to keep me busy for the next four years and much money to be saved.

Here's to big dreams!

Jen

PS - See those pins above?  Aren't they divine?  I found them in Breckenridge this summer and knew Lil O and I needed them.

In Every Molecule

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw I was at a coaching class all weekend long - Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  If you are totally confused or just curious about "coaching," you might want to get acquainted with my blog post here about it.  Or here.  Or here.   That last one, by the way, was a heavy day of coaching.  Sue earned her money coaching me that day.  It's insanely crazy what can happen in one, 30-minute session.  In-sane.

Which brings me to right now.  I am just four hours after my 3-day coaching class completion and I am certain.  Call me clarity.  There are things I know.

I know.....

• I will never, ever be the same person I was on Friday morning.
• I am stronger than I've ever been in my entire life.
• My confidence in myself is Richter scale worthy.
• I am not playing it safe anymore.  It doesn't serve me or others.
• There are things I want in life and I will get them.  
• I will get all. of. them.  ALL.  OF.  THEM.
• "Them" pertains to every important aspect of my life - family, parenting, marriage, work, projects, dreams, and interests.
• I would kick myself for just now realizing "they" were right in front of me.  I won't be kicking myself anymore.  The days of being my toughest critic are over.  I've said things to myself that I wouldn't say to the most hardened criminal.

You know what else I know?

I know every parent and teacher needs a coach.

I know that every molecule in my body has changed.  

I am eternally grateful.

There is so much more to come.  I'm shaking my head because it is unreal and yet so very real.

I am a class five white-water rapid and I am clearing the path.

Jen

Celebrating the Passing of Perfect

It's been over a year since Perfect passed away.  I must say.  I don't really miss her.

~ Jen

PicMonkey for Halloween {& for Tech Tuesday}

Considering the photo below was once a lovely, sweet mother-daughter shot, shows you how much fun PicMonkey is for Halloween (and pretty much any holiday or regular day of the week).

To get the vampire-zombie-demon-witch effects used above, go to PicMonkey, upload a photo for free, and use the pumpkin icon (bottom left) to access all the Halloween effects.  If you hashtag your creations #PicMonkeyBOO, you might even win a year's subscription to PicMonkey's premium features.  Click here for details.

Now, to get that blood splat off my arm.....

Jen

Hello, There....

Oh, hello.  Long time no see.

It's official.  This has been the longest blogcation I've taken in three years.   Evidently, I needed it and didn't even know it.

I'm feeling slightly refueled and oh. so. busy.  Here's the skinny.

• I've started back-to-school.  I don't know how it keeps happening, but I have an amazing group of college students, again, this semester.  I'm totally pinching myself.
• Hiking, hiking and trail running.  That's the story of my free time with Jedi.  For most of September, I was fighting off a running injury - plantar fasciitis.  PF does not feel good, but check out my new, bright blue running shoes above.  Those do feel good, make that GREAT.
• You know that online course I was developing over the summer?  Well, it's officially created and it passed its Quality Matters review with flying colors.  The reviewer said he couldn't find anything to critique - in a negative way - and said I'm "clearly an online course developer."  Clearly?!  I love that.
• Lil O is back-to-school, too.  She didn't go back to school until post-Labor Day.  I want to blog about the parent-teacher conference I attended this week at her school.  Any parent-teacher conference that opens up with talking about interpersonal skills is my kind of parent-teacher conference AND my type of school.  Again, I love well-done Montessori Education - just in case you miss me talking about it.
• See that funky laser light pyramid above?  Oh, yes, I was totally grooving at an Earth, Wind and Fire concert in DC.  The concert was on a school night and the next day, I felt sluggish and worn-out.  Gone are the days where I could go out on a school night and feel useful.
• Mr. UpCyclist, my sweet hubs, is busy doing two things - riding his bike (as evidenced by the Team Upcycled Education photo above) and cranking out all kinds of crazy engineering homework.  I keep laughing as he keeps telling me how he is the oldest student in his graduate class. Ha!  I won't mention hard numbers, but Mr. U is five years my junior, which might make me a grandmother in his grad class.
• True fact:  Working at a college means I get to sport my cap and gown more than an ordinary citizen.  I actually have nothing else to say about that observation.
• I seem to be spending more time in cities like DC and Baltimore (see elevator shot above).  My favorite activity, by far, are the life coaching classes I'm taking.  Talk about transformative.  Next week, I take the second coaching class (second out of five) and I am fairly certain both classes will contribute single handedly to how I move forward in my life - personally and professionally.

And on that note, I say, hello!  Welcome back!  I've missed you and I've missed this special space.

Cheers,

Jen