It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It really is the most wonderful time of the year! I love everything About football
Season... Tailgating, football, auburn, cooler weather( well in a couple of months) , something to do every weekend... I could go on and on.

Sometimes it's a little bitter sweet... We LOVE Auburn so much and would
Go to All the games if we lived closer, but being 5 hours away makes it a little tough to do! We make up for it (well not totally) by going to Gainesville to watch the gators play! It's the second best thing ... I just love College football!






Today is just the kick off of several months of fun.... Just hoping Auburn pulls out a better season than last year!

Sorry to be so short...but I'm off to see the Gators play!

                                               War Eagle!!!!
                                                     ~G

Back to School

Whewwwww...that's the sound of my deep breath as I finally relax after the first day of school. It is exhausting trying to stay organized amongst all the chaos...but in the end, it was exciting to meet so many new faces.

Today marked the beginning of my third year teaching...each year brings new experiences, new challenges and new triumphs; however, sometimes, it is really hard to 'see the forest through the trees' when you feel so out of it...today was one of those days. I was SO anxious! My mind was running 100 miles/minute and I never felt like I "got into the groove".

Today began many changes at our school and some of them really take getting used too. One major changes is the use of "block" scheduling. I have my students for double the amount of time, but only see them every other day. I'm exciting for this once we start labs and in depth content, but today was well...just different.
Fortunately, I know exactly where I need to change the way I plan and think about my classes.....and eventually, I know it will click.

On a positive note, I LOVE meeting new students!!! It is probably one of my favorite things as a teacher! Some students put their best foot forward, are eager and anxious! Other students like to show that they need to be heard and like that special attention. I personally feel like you can tell so much about students by their first impression. This year, I am going to have some many different stories than in years past, as I teach gifted/accelerated students...but I can promise you one thing...they will not lack excitement.

Regardless of all the chaos and anxiety, I am so thrilled to work with students! I know that I am supposed to be teaching...and middle school is just icing on the cake. I hope and pray that God uses me in a special way this year and that I can make a difference in a few of my students' lives!

                                                                       Happy Teaching!
                                                                               ~ G

Life Begins at the End of your Comfort Zone

If you know me at all, then you know that I come from a long line of runners. Actually, come to think of it, if you aren't runner in my family... Well, then you better start running! I think B learned that very quickly. I grew up going to races on Saturday mornings, learned how to see my family at different points of the race and even managed to get my siblings and I around Washington DC to watch mom and dad finish the marathon  (that's its own blog post some day).  Needless to say, for me to start running was partially my choice, but partially the pressure of being "that person" who didn't run.

I didn't really start running seriously(the word seriously is a relative statement) until I was in college. Yes, I ran some 5Ks in high school and even ran the River Run (15K), but never trained that much. In my years of running though, I've never really had much coaching or assistance with how I run. I just do it....no pun intended!

Lately, I've been running with a local high school cross country team a couple times a week. Let me tell you, they are FASSSTTTT! So to even act like I run "with" them is a flat lie, but I do go to the place where they meet and begin the run with them! :)) On Wednesdays, they run cross country trails in town, usually muddy, wet and humid. A normal run out there is around 5-7 miles (sometimes more sometimes less).

Tonight before we set out on our run, Coach encouraged the girls that tonight is about "being outside your comfort zone". He went on to explain what that meant in running terms but also in terms of conversation level. In other words, if you can have a convo while your running (hey thats me!!) then you're running too slow. Once we started the workout and got into our pace, of course, I ended up toward the back with a few other girls. However, during this time, I really started to think consciously about what Coach said...."Be outside your comfort zone!". This is harder than you think. It's really easy to stay in that place thats comfortable, managable, doable! It's not easy AT ALL to push your self to a place that's painful....uncomfortable....tiresome!

As I was running and thinking...because God knows I couldn't talk... I thought about how this lesson applies to our daily lives. How many times do we live in that bubble of comfort...where things are maybe not easy per se, but are just fine! No major challenge! I know I do this. As Coach expressed in his talk to the girls, if you don't get out of your comfort zone now, you will not get faster and stronger later in the season. This is the truth for life. Being challenged makes us grow...makes us learn more about ourselves and the world around us.

So, whether you are a runner, cyclist, whether this applies to your social life, professional life, whether this is spiritual or emotional...remember, that we grow by pushing beyond our boundaries! Get out there and challenge yourself!!!!

                                                                         Just Do It!
                                                                                                                 ~ G