Happy New Year!

Love from Mr. UpCyclist, Miss O, Jedi (not pictured because they do not allow dogs at University of Maryland basketball games...go figure ;) and me!

Let's do this, 2019 -

Jen

Holiday Photos + Happenings

Greetings, friends!  Have you had a good holiday break so far?  We have!  Here's what we've been up to.....Christmas Day Evening with my sister and her family.  This is three generations of us!

The husbands jumped into this photo.  I love this crew.

Can Miss O and my two nieces be anymore grown up?  They all look like college students even though just one of them attends Penn State. Fingers crossed my other niece gets into her first choice, University of Colorado (one of my alma maters!).

Daddy's girl...and mama's girl, too!

My mom sings in a 55+ group called Encore Chorale.  They sang at the Kennedy Center over the holidays.  Isn't that so cool? We are very proud of her!

Miss O, Mr. UpCyclist and I are literally on our third puzzle over the holiday break.  Jedi keeps buying them for us and he's been choosing some hard, 1000 piece ones lately. Don't let all those colors fool you into thinking this puzzle was easy.

This one was an easy one.  It was just 300 pieces.  We completed this one pretty quickly.

We visited Georgetown Glow and enjoyed the light displays and adorable holiday vibe of Georgetown.  Plus, it's a great way to get exercise.  I think we walked three miles that night.

This selfie of me is from the bathroom at Oki in Georgetown.  How crazy is that bathroom?  It's so fun you just make yourself go.  Ha!  There is a black light in there so wear white or neon so you look fantastico.

Oki, in general, was fun and eclectic.  Look at this dining room?!  It's filled with so much stuff - my eyes were delighted.  The ramen was decent - not as tasty as our new favorite Jinya - and we'd go back to Oki nonetheless as the ramen was still good (plus, they have some different flavor profiles of ramen there).

Master Jedi requires at least 1-2 walks, hikes or runs a day.  Luckily, we live right near a trail system and gorgeous river.  Jedi is not afraid to swim anytime of the year.

We went to the new-ish Guinness Brewery over break with my mom and to meet Mr. UpCyclist's best friends.  The food, vibe, and beers were all thumbs up to us.  Plus, there is so much space and natural light there.  In the summer, the outdoor area looks fantastic.

One of our friends is now a granddad.  How cute is baby Nolan?  Miss O loves babies and cute kids.

What have you been up to this break?

xo,
Jen

Season's Greetings

XO, dear Upcycled Education friends + family. 

Have a superb holiday season (if you celebrate) and whose ready to have some brave fun in 2019?!

(Me, me!)

Lots o' love,
Jen

Year in Review Activity

If you are like me and like to wrap-up the year with a review, see below for an activity I riffed on from this post.  I think it's a great way to celebrate and/or bring closure to 2018 while thinking gently ahead to 2019.

Download the template here; Share with your circle of friends, family and colleagues.

xo,

Jen

10 Things Update

Hello, dear friends.  What's going on in your neck of the woods?  It's been a while since we connected, yes?  I'm curious. What have you been up to?


1.  I'm addicted to Peanut Butter Powder.  I bake with it, lace pancakes with it, and sprinkle it onto plain yogurt.  It is sooooo delicious if you like peanut butter and has much less fat since the fat is pressed out of the peanuts.  I hear it is also great in smoothies.

2.  See those mala beads in the photo above?  A dear, camp friend made them for me this summer and I love 'em.  I never used to like long necklaces; now, I do!  I'm going to experiment with making my own long necklaces since I have stockpiled so many beads over the years.  Wish me luck.

3. With slightly cooler temps in Maryland right now, I must say, I'm excited for long sleeve shirts, cozy pullovers, and for the first time ever, I'm buying myself black, tall boots.  I know, I know....some of you can't believe I don't own a pair yet.  My neighbor who likes fashion told me, every woman is entitled to several pairs of tall boots.  You don't own any, Jen?!  I love that my neighbor used the word entitled.  Like tall boots is a natural born right.

4. What are your binge watching recommendations?  Mr. UpCyclist and I have now binged:  Downton Abbey, The Crown, Jack Ryan, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  I must say, I am waiting over here in bated breath for the Downton Abbey movie that is being released Fall 2019.

5.  I still use paper calendars/planners.  This is my current one.

6.  My favorite social media platform is by far Instagram.  I follow very few people and this one is probably one of my favorites as she is such a super creative mom and her adoptive daughter, Nova, is flipping adorable.  Plus, I've learned so much about albinism, which I didn't even realize I had curiosities about until their adoption of Nova.

7. Our family wants to take a spring break trip somewhere international in 2019.  So far, we've been to Lisbon, Portugal and London, England - both areas of the world we loved.  Got any recs?  Please message me if you do or leave any suggestions in the comments below.  If Miss O had her way, we'd head to Greece.  I'm unsure what the weather is like for Greece in March.

8.  I just remembered...the first long necklace I might try to create might look something like this or at least I'm inspired by this look.

9.  I'm experimenting with an idea that has been on my mind for about two years now.  What's fun about it is I'm getting to explore different technologies while I decide how to make that idea-dream into a reality.  So far, I've experimented with Facebook private groups, Livestreams, and Eventbrite.  I love learning new things, don't you?

10.  Speaking of learning new things, I've been taking the Undefeated Kickboxing class on Daily Burn for a month now.  You should see me in our basement. I'm a sweaty mess in just 30 minutes (thank goodness their classes are nice and short like that; maximum sweat in a short amount of time) If you want to try Daily Burn for a month free, use this link.  I think I even earn a month free, too!

What have you been up to lately?

Cheers,
Jen

Best Places to Find Research on Coaching

Before I share the top places to find research on the impact and benefits of coaching, let us enjoy what I believe could be the movie poster for an action-thriller starring Miss O and I taken here.  Or perhaps, we look too smiley and friendly.  What do you think?

I am asked frequently about the science and research surrounding coaching. Years ago, I don't think I could have said, "There is so much research and scientific discoveries out there touting the benefits and impact of coaching."  Alas, I can now.  There really is so much.

If you like data, hard core studies, dissertations, and case studies, please enjoy the following:

• Harvard's Institute of Coaching - They especially do a great job of sharing the neuro-effects of coaching on performance, engagement, and productivity.  And, it's Harvard.
• The International Coach Federation (ICF)- Besides being the gold standard in coaching and the largest accreditation body for coaches and coaching programs, ICF maintains a ginormous database of research.  You will feel like you hit the motherlode of coaching research here.
• Case Studies and Award Winning Programs - The Prism Awards (given by ICF) are another great place to see coaching case studies (and be inspired).  Though the case studies are not hardcore research, per se, they all do provide evidence of the impact of coaching on an organization.
• Blog Post on Coaching at my College - Yes, I snuck this one onto the list.  I wrote this blog post to explain how my college got into the business of training coaches.  It has some research and is more about describing the journey of our program as it is unique for a community college to offer an accredited coach training program.
• Learning Objectives for a Coach Training Program - Sometimes people want to know what coaches learn in coach training. Check out my college's Engagement Coach Training Program and you will see all the learning objectives for the program.  You really can teach this stuff - coaching!

I will add more resources when more are available.  If you have any questions related to coaching, please reach out.  At this point, I think you know...I could talk about coaching all day.

Smiling,

Jen

Hello, 2018!

And just like that, 2018 begins!

I'm looking forward to....

• Training more coaches at my college and beyond
• Traveling to London for the first time this spring
• Keeping in shape throughout the winter
• Using my core values to guide me as to when to say "no, thank you" or "Heck yes!" to invites and opportunities
• Making my immediate family and BFFs a priority (I'm going to return to my coffee dates as one way to support this goal)
• Trying out a new style of coaching on some select victims clients open-minded friends

What about you?  What's on your 2018 list of awesomeness?

Happy New Year's,

Jen