Ni hao! Over the past few months, I have been working to sort and pack up my life. I have been looking at my life as: China, Storage, New Home (give away). This has caused a lot of thought and reflection on things that I have held onto for years, for what reason??? I look at some things and wonder why in the world they have been taking up space in my house. I am finding that I can live on a dramatically smaller amount of things than I have been collecting in my house. As I move from one section to another, one room to the next, I am leaving behind only "China items" that will be making the trek with us. It has left some feeling of bare-ness in the house; empty shelves, large open areas in rooms, but honestly, it is a breath of relief. I have for a long time been trying to organize and get rid of things, feeling suffocated in this materialistic life. Yes, like others, I have comfort and enjoy my "things," but honestly, it has felt good to clear out. In this particular situation, I have gathered a large number of packed boxes in the living room, which have served as a "box fort" for my son.
The other day I counted, only 67 days until we fly to China, which now is down to 65. I've thought quite a bit about friends, leaving, my past, and everything under the sun that would cross your mind when making a big life change. I've been thinking a lot about where I am, where I have been and where I'm going. I'm excited for this change and really am hoping to find my place in this world. I don't feel that I have been there yet, but know that I will find it. Everywhere I have been I feel has prepared me for where I am going, I just don't think I'm there yet. As I near the end here, I find myself recognizing more and more my love for this small town, but my dreams are too big for this place, my desires too wide. It's a freeing place to be, knowing that you are following your dream. This small step, these little actions, have taken me farther forward than I have been in a long time. And it feels good. I think I'm on my way. I am not sure where my place is, or how long it will take to get there, but the mere thought of where I am going and the possibilities of what that entails.....fantastic!!
These last two months are going to FLY by. My posts will increase as we make this journey and the next phase of my life starts. There are so many unknowns, so many adventures, and difficult times we will be going through in this phase, but we will be strong and will emerge resilient, well-rounded, and on the way to where we are meant to be. This world has so much to offer, and world, I'M READY!!
Until next time!
:)
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Dreams Come True!!!! (It's OFFICIAL)
I got the contract today!!!! What a great start to the day! After sharing this information via social networking, I was reminded of how long I have been talking about this as a final decision! One friend, Cindy, reminded me that last June after flying across the country to see Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney in Nashville, I had begun talking about this wonderful adventure. She said, "You did it, you rascal!" It reminded me of the man I met from Detroit, who is the vice president of a non-profit company in the city. After a casual conversation about life, travel, culture, and dreams, he had told me "go to China" as he boarded his plane. I was reminded of a conversation last fall with one of my long-time best friends, who told me, "way to go! I'm so proud of you Amanda! Way to make your dreams a reality!" There was so much support and excitment for us as we are heading to embark on this fantastic adventure.
There were so many steps that have gotten me here. SO many people who played a role in reminding me of my dream, and more importantly to GO FOR IT!!! With the fast pace of life, sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day that our dreams take the back burner, they get set aside because there is something that is SO IMPORTANT that needs to be done NOW. But when you think about it, what is more important than living your life?? What is more important than the relationships and experiences? I have struggled with this over the past year. As you noticed with my long absences between posting last year, I did not complete my Happiness Project as intended, though it awoke in me a fire for change. I have actively decided to make changes to my priorities, giving those most important to me the best of me. Don't get me wrong, I fall short sometimes, no one is perfect. But the reflection that follows helps me make better choices next time. I am an active, busy person, and looking around my home, there's always something that "needs to be done. But again, is it that important the it must be done NOW?? I have come a long way since last year with this, but still, there is room for improvement.
My next thirty years started with reflection of where I was, a reevaluation of my life, my dreams, and my goals. I have taken back my dreams. Taken steps to get there. And you know what? I'm almost there!!! In four and a half months, we will be in BEIJING, CHINA!!! To everyone who helped me get here, thank you!!
Amanda :)
There were so many steps that have gotten me here. SO many people who played a role in reminding me of my dream, and more importantly to GO FOR IT!!! With the fast pace of life, sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day that our dreams take the back burner, they get set aside because there is something that is SO IMPORTANT that needs to be done NOW. But when you think about it, what is more important than living your life?? What is more important than the relationships and experiences? I have struggled with this over the past year. As you noticed with my long absences between posting last year, I did not complete my Happiness Project as intended, though it awoke in me a fire for change. I have actively decided to make changes to my priorities, giving those most important to me the best of me. Don't get me wrong, I fall short sometimes, no one is perfect. But the reflection that follows helps me make better choices next time. I am an active, busy person, and looking around my home, there's always something that "needs to be done. But again, is it that important the it must be done NOW?? I have come a long way since last year with this, but still, there is room for improvement.
My next thirty years started with reflection of where I was, a reevaluation of my life, my dreams, and my goals. I have taken back my dreams. Taken steps to get there. And you know what? I'm almost there!!! In four and a half months, we will be in BEIJING, CHINA!!! To everyone who helped me get here, thank you!!
Amanda :)
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The Waiting Game...
What has been the hardest thing you have had to wait for? It seems that the size of the thing for which you are waiting tends to be comparable to the time it feels like it takes for that event to come. I have made my choice, accepted an offer, and am waiting now for the final contract to sign. Before actually spreading the word to all, I want to make sure that it's all in place and lined up. It'd be a REAL bummer to have something happen and have already told everyone. So, now, I wait...The human resources department told me that I should receive it by Tuesday (China time) which will be Monday here. So, for now, I wait.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
"Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction, ends up being the biggest step in your life. TIP TOE if you must, but take the first step!"
OK folks! It has been about 8 months since my last post. Since I have not shared this site with anyone, it's really just for me right now. Well, me and whoever out there ran across this randomly, to which I say THANK YOU for reading! The past month has been an exciting blur for me. Last summer I decided (finally!!!) it was time to look into teaching overseas. In September, I signed up for a very inexpensive online recruiting site recommended by someone I know. I looked regularly at jobs that were posted, though never taking "the leap" to go that final step. In December I turned 31 and then 2013 started. I was rejuvenated with excitement and yearning for the next step of my life, which I felt was beyond where I am now.
Over the past few years, I have found myself again after removing myself from a toxic situation. I have gotten back to my desire for more. I've never really been one to be content with where I am, simply because I want to do, see, and learn more. My Daddy always told me I could do anything. Both my parents always instilled in me hard work and appreciation. My positive outlook on life paired with all these things fostered a desire to see the world. People and new cultures are fascinating to me. I have always wanted to go to China and this was my first choice of places to go and visit. As I began to think about the possibility of seeing more, I got more and more excited. At the end of January I was interviewed for a special education position three times at one school before they told me that they had already offered a contract to another person. They later offered me a different position, then a week later, took it back. I was DEVASTATED!!! But, I needed a new plan. Life is what you make of it. I found a quote a while back that said "Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction, ends up being the biggest step in your life. TIP TOE if you must, but take the first step!" Every little step has taken me a little farther. I then sent letters of interest for 6 other schools. I got two other interviews and two more job offers. Then another school sent me a letter of interest. So, at this time, I had four job offers!!! I weighed my options and finally made a decision.
So, that's where I sit now. I am awaiting the official contract to come and have realized that in less than 5 months, I will be in CHINA!!!
I am SO EXCITED about what this adventure is going to bring for us. It was a series of small steps that led me here, but it just has felt SO RIGHT each step of the way. People keep asking me if I'm scared...and no, I'm not. It feels really right for me, for us. NOW is the time. I honestly believe that God has a plan for us all and that we will end up where we need to be. I had been waiting for this, then realized that Life is what you make of it, I was tired of waiting for a door to open, so I built one.
Until next time...(sooner than 8 months from now)
Amanda :)
Over the past few years, I have found myself again after removing myself from a toxic situation. I have gotten back to my desire for more. I've never really been one to be content with where I am, simply because I want to do, see, and learn more. My Daddy always told me I could do anything. Both my parents always instilled in me hard work and appreciation. My positive outlook on life paired with all these things fostered a desire to see the world. People and new cultures are fascinating to me. I have always wanted to go to China and this was my first choice of places to go and visit. As I began to think about the possibility of seeing more, I got more and more excited. At the end of January I was interviewed for a special education position three times at one school before they told me that they had already offered a contract to another person. They later offered me a different position, then a week later, took it back. I was DEVASTATED!!! But, I needed a new plan. Life is what you make of it. I found a quote a while back that said "Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction, ends up being the biggest step in your life. TIP TOE if you must, but take the first step!" Every little step has taken me a little farther. I then sent letters of interest for 6 other schools. I got two other interviews and two more job offers. Then another school sent me a letter of interest. So, at this time, I had four job offers!!! I weighed my options and finally made a decision.
So, that's where I sit now. I am awaiting the official contract to come and have realized that in less than 5 months, I will be in CHINA!!!
Until next time...(sooner than 8 months from now)
Amanda :)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Happy Independence Day!!!!
Independence. Yesterday got me thinking a lot about this word. Last year I taught civics to a group of my students and renewed my knowledge of the basics of the creation of our country. I struggle with where we are now compared to what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they declared independence from the British. It has been challenging for me to listen to news and current events with this in mind.
Back to my goals. Yesterday was a good day. I got in some quality time wiht my son after giving myself permission to complete tasks that I was working on without feeling guilty (this was the 'do one thing for me'). I often get this feeling when I am cleaning up or doing things other than playing with my son. I don't know what makes this happen to me so often, but I have difficulty allowing me to do things for myself as well as things that needed to be done without this feeling of guilt.
Yesterday, the nagging task I completed was the cleaning of our pool. Honestly, thinking about nagging tasks, this is pretty recent and not really a high priority, but in order for full summer enjoyment, I needed to clean the pool. And it is ready to go!!! Today I have yet to complete a nagging task, but I have had a great day. We went to the park this morning, then did some more work to have our pool toys all ready. We had an afternoon swimming, went on a walk, and a bikeride.
I continue to work on restoring order in my house. I have been a little obsessive about cleaning throughout the day and maintaining order. My son and I completed the "evening clean-up" together these last two nights. I feel as I make more progress towards bringing my house in order, I feel better and better. I have a long way to go, but by doing a little every day, I am seeing progress.
Yesterday, it was evening before I got to a "clean my closets" task. At that point, I did not want anything to do with going through things, so in the interest of following through and creating a routine, I chose a stack of magazines that has been sitting in my room for about a year that needed to be gone through. Part of the problem is that I do not want to throw out magazines or other things because I "may need them someday," it is ridiculous and has created an overload of things I don't want to get rid of. Tonight I have done the same thing. I have a pile of magazines that need to be gone through. From what I did last night (and what I will do tonight) I have been pulling out my favorite article or two from the magazines. Now, I know this is not much better than what I was doing before, but to me it is. I have to start making steps that are managable enough to be continued and not set myself up for failure. This allows me to keep some things, but to get rid of most of the pile. With the ways I justify keeping things, I have found it helps me to take multiple runs at things in order to get to what I want to keep the most. My craft room is definitely the most overwhelming room in the house, mostly because of the reasons that I keep things that I tend not to use again. I had a friend who came over recently who (after I apologized for my messy room) told me that it was 'an organized mess.' Ok, that I can work with...
My level of activity has increased since beginning. I started with some exercises that I have completed three days in a row (counting today). I added some more in yesterday. Today, since the pool was ready, I had about a half hour of aerobic exercise in the pool. I have not gotten my run in yet, but today's aerobic workout was a step in the right direction.
I am really glad that organization and parenting are in different months, because of the amount of front-loading I have to do with organization in order to get to a point of maintainence. I feel confident though that in a few more days I will be far enough along in order to pull back a little.
Until tomorrow...
Amanda :)
Back to my goals. Yesterday was a good day. I got in some quality time wiht my son after giving myself permission to complete tasks that I was working on without feeling guilty (this was the 'do one thing for me'). I often get this feeling when I am cleaning up or doing things other than playing with my son. I don't know what makes this happen to me so often, but I have difficulty allowing me to do things for myself as well as things that needed to be done without this feeling of guilt.
Yesterday, the nagging task I completed was the cleaning of our pool. Honestly, thinking about nagging tasks, this is pretty recent and not really a high priority, but in order for full summer enjoyment, I needed to clean the pool. And it is ready to go!!! Today I have yet to complete a nagging task, but I have had a great day. We went to the park this morning, then did some more work to have our pool toys all ready. We had an afternoon swimming, went on a walk, and a bikeride.
I continue to work on restoring order in my house. I have been a little obsessive about cleaning throughout the day and maintaining order. My son and I completed the "evening clean-up" together these last two nights. I feel as I make more progress towards bringing my house in order, I feel better and better. I have a long way to go, but by doing a little every day, I am seeing progress.
Yesterday, it was evening before I got to a "clean my closets" task. At that point, I did not want anything to do with going through things, so in the interest of following through and creating a routine, I chose a stack of magazines that has been sitting in my room for about a year that needed to be gone through. Part of the problem is that I do not want to throw out magazines or other things because I "may need them someday," it is ridiculous and has created an overload of things I don't want to get rid of. Tonight I have done the same thing. I have a pile of magazines that need to be gone through. From what I did last night (and what I will do tonight) I have been pulling out my favorite article or two from the magazines. Now, I know this is not much better than what I was doing before, but to me it is. I have to start making steps that are managable enough to be continued and not set myself up for failure. This allows me to keep some things, but to get rid of most of the pile. With the ways I justify keeping things, I have found it helps me to take multiple runs at things in order to get to what I want to keep the most. My craft room is definitely the most overwhelming room in the house, mostly because of the reasons that I keep things that I tend not to use again. I had a friend who came over recently who (after I apologized for my messy room) told me that it was 'an organized mess.' Ok, that I can work with...
My level of activity has increased since beginning. I started with some exercises that I have completed three days in a row (counting today). I added some more in yesterday. Today, since the pool was ready, I had about a half hour of aerobic exercise in the pool. I have not gotten my run in yet, but today's aerobic workout was a step in the right direction.
I am really glad that organization and parenting are in different months, because of the amount of front-loading I have to do with organization in order to get to a point of maintainence. I feel confident though that in a few more days I will be far enough along in order to pull back a little.
Until tomorrow...
Amanda :)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Day 3:Energy & Organization
Well, I have to say that three days in, I am feeling good about what I am doing in my house. Today it sucked up a lot of my time, though I did use some of nap time for this task (though then I missed out on napping) and completed my time in the evening. I spent about 4 hours on things around the house today. At this point, it is not really looking spectacular, but I notice the things that I have done and it feels good. I have spent some time in the kitchen cupboards, the living room, bathroom, and the second bedroom. I have another pile of stuff that has to GO and am trying to make quick decisions about whether to keep something or not. I have this uncontrollable urge to "pile" things and save them "to look through later" and also to keep things (little, weird things that are meaningless) that I want to put in my scrapbook "someday." (think recpiets, tags, etc) I implemented this system of looking at things in my piles and making QUICK GUT decisions on whether or not to keep them because I have this uncanny ability to talk myself into keeping the strangest things. I have been successful with this area. I have tackled a BIG nagging task (it split over two days). I purchased an external hard drive and now have ALL of my pictures backed up!!! YAY! I have been meaning to do this for years, so it is nice to have checked off. :)
I held myself well today to the one minute rule and the evening tidy up. I actually spent more time and completed more this evening than planned, which got my mind wandering. I was thinking about things that I start (scrapbooks, journals, workouts) that I neve finish and began to wonder what it is that gives me such a strong urge and ability to start these things and how it is that my desire in them falls short and diminishes??? Cna I change myself so that I follow through with them? I guess this "happiness project" is really a BIG TEST on whether or not I do this. I am tracking my progress each day, so there is not really room to just fall off of this one, unless I tuck my checklist away and forget it. I feel this system may be really helpful to build these things into a habit before dropping them off. So far, the one that I have yet to hit on any of my three days is my "early to bed, early to rise" objective. I'm naturally a night person, this will be the most challenging for me. Especially since the evenings are my time and though I often do work or chores around the house, it is mine to decide what I do with. I really dont want to lose this, but hitting the hay a little earlier would be much better for me, I know.
I have hit the mark on two of my objectives each of the three days: "restore, maintain, organize" & "do something active." The latter is very vague and I am already thinking I need to refine it to be more clear, but since I have so many changes right now, I am going to wait until I have week one under my belt,then will change it to "run one mile." Again, this is because I want to build routine in what I am doing and if I try to do too much too fast, all at once, I will be setting myself up for failure, which I am NOT going to do.
Even in just these three short days, I have struggled with "doing one thing for me" & "priortize." I knew these were going to be my toughest, and I think that now I need to grab the bull by the horns and make a more concentrated effort to fulfill these because at the root of my struggles, lies these two things, which just snowball everything else.
All in all, summer has started with a wonderful bang and the time I have had with my son has been spectacular and MUCH more relaxing than before. Everything is on the right track. :)
Until tomorrow.
Amanda :)
I held myself well today to the one minute rule and the evening tidy up. I actually spent more time and completed more this evening than planned, which got my mind wandering. I was thinking about things that I start (scrapbooks, journals, workouts) that I neve finish and began to wonder what it is that gives me such a strong urge and ability to start these things and how it is that my desire in them falls short and diminishes??? Cna I change myself so that I follow through with them? I guess this "happiness project" is really a BIG TEST on whether or not I do this. I am tracking my progress each day, so there is not really room to just fall off of this one, unless I tuck my checklist away and forget it. I feel this system may be really helpful to build these things into a habit before dropping them off. So far, the one that I have yet to hit on any of my three days is my "early to bed, early to rise" objective. I'm naturally a night person, this will be the most challenging for me. Especially since the evenings are my time and though I often do work or chores around the house, it is mine to decide what I do with. I really dont want to lose this, but hitting the hay a little earlier would be much better for me, I know.
I have hit the mark on two of my objectives each of the three days: "restore, maintain, organize" & "do something active." The latter is very vague and I am already thinking I need to refine it to be more clear, but since I have so many changes right now, I am going to wait until I have week one under my belt,then will change it to "run one mile." Again, this is because I want to build routine in what I am doing and if I try to do too much too fast, all at once, I will be setting myself up for failure, which I am NOT going to do.
Even in just these three short days, I have struggled with "doing one thing for me" & "priortize." I knew these were going to be my toughest, and I think that now I need to grab the bull by the horns and make a more concentrated effort to fulfill these because at the root of my struggles, lies these two things, which just snowball everything else.
All in all, summer has started with a wonderful bang and the time I have had with my son has been spectacular and MUCH more relaxing than before. Everything is on the right track. :)
Until tomorrow.
Amanda :)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Month One: Energy & Organization
It has been a few days since I have posted, and it really amazes me how many things I have been working through in that short period of time. On the 28th I had a meeting with some other leaders across the district regarding our transition to the Common Core standards. I have been leading the elementary school grade level leaders (one per each school) in the area of math this past year. Given that we just adopted to transition this year, I have worked with only Kindergarten and First grade. It was really encouraging to hear how my colleagues were talking about my work. I got praise for what I was doing and heard what a positive thing it was that we were doing this. I also was told how well I have done leading the groups from others who had heard from teachers I have worked with. It was nice to hear these things at a time when I am trying to figure life out.
After that, I have spent the past couple days playing with my son and doing nothing in particular. We have been to the zoo twice, spent time with friends on a couple of occasions, watched movies, played games, and just spent time together.
I have been thinking a lot about what my plan is going to be and how I am going to approach this transformation of myself and my life to a more organized, less cluttered, happier, time-spent-on my actual #1 priorities-life. I have decided that I could sit here, pondering how to start this for months, years, but in the interest of starting I have decisions to make. Based on my 6 key areas, I am going to bundle them as "Energy & Organization," "Parenting & Relationships," and "Professionalism & Balance." Its almost a fast-track to get going, but if I dont make changes in a manageable way (and fast) I will fall back into my little rut and may never possibly emerge, risking future-me with a heart full of regret for things I never did. I am feeling that there may be another emergent "Follow your Dreams" month after the first three, but I need to get a jump start first.
I have decided that my first month will be "Energy & Organization." A friend of mine has been raving about this cleanse that she did, claiming to feel more energetic afterwards. Since I am looking for improvements that are outside the realm of my routines, I am going to give it a shot. There could be so many things I could fit under this umbrella, but I have decided to look at clearing out my clutter, tackling nagging tasks, organizing, the "one minute rule," evening tidy-up, doing something active, do one thing just for me, prioritizing, and 'early to bed, early to rise.' I may move prioritizing to month 3, I will have to see how it plays out this week. Now, today, being July 1st, I did not full-heartedly start this with a full mind. This evening looking at my goals, I did make a few of them. I went through a bookshelf and removed books that I have not read (ever or would not ever read again) to send on, and I shared with my son that we will begin going through things to get rid of them. I actually told myself while between playing activities today, "one mintue rule" and made myself clean up a little mess that took less than that time. I finally purchased an external harddrive to back up all my files...I have yet to actually do this, but one nagging task down! This evening we went on a little walk, and today in order to prepare for "my next thirty years" I bought a nice, new set of uni-ball pens. I really, really, really love office supplies and spent an hour in office depot today completing my task, looking around, and purchasing myself this this little set of pens along with a panda bear folder (my favorite animal) to hold all of my resolution sheets.
I feel that today, I am off to a good start and I hope to continue to feel as strongly about my goals. As in the book, I am using a simple check/minus system for tracking in order to not overthink things (I often do). I would like to have good routines by the end of the summer so that going into the school year, I can focus on the "Professionalism & Balance" which is going to be a real challenge for me.
Day one. :)
After that, I have spent the past couple days playing with my son and doing nothing in particular. We have been to the zoo twice, spent time with friends on a couple of occasions, watched movies, played games, and just spent time together.
I have been thinking a lot about what my plan is going to be and how I am going to approach this transformation of myself and my life to a more organized, less cluttered, happier, time-spent-on my actual #1 priorities-life. I have decided that I could sit here, pondering how to start this for months, years, but in the interest of starting I have decisions to make. Based on my 6 key areas, I am going to bundle them as "Energy & Organization," "Parenting & Relationships," and "Professionalism & Balance." Its almost a fast-track to get going, but if I dont make changes in a manageable way (and fast) I will fall back into my little rut and may never possibly emerge, risking future-me with a heart full of regret for things I never did. I am feeling that there may be another emergent "Follow your Dreams" month after the first three, but I need to get a jump start first.
I have decided that my first month will be "Energy & Organization." A friend of mine has been raving about this cleanse that she did, claiming to feel more energetic afterwards. Since I am looking for improvements that are outside the realm of my routines, I am going to give it a shot. There could be so many things I could fit under this umbrella, but I have decided to look at clearing out my clutter, tackling nagging tasks, organizing, the "one minute rule," evening tidy-up, doing something active, do one thing just for me, prioritizing, and 'early to bed, early to rise.' I may move prioritizing to month 3, I will have to see how it plays out this week. Now, today, being July 1st, I did not full-heartedly start this with a full mind. This evening looking at my goals, I did make a few of them. I went through a bookshelf and removed books that I have not read (ever or would not ever read again) to send on, and I shared with my son that we will begin going through things to get rid of them. I actually told myself while between playing activities today, "one mintue rule" and made myself clean up a little mess that took less than that time. I finally purchased an external harddrive to back up all my files...I have yet to actually do this, but one nagging task down! This evening we went on a little walk, and today in order to prepare for "my next thirty years" I bought a nice, new set of uni-ball pens. I really, really, really love office supplies and spent an hour in office depot today completing my task, looking around, and purchasing myself this this little set of pens along with a panda bear folder (my favorite animal) to hold all of my resolution sheets.
I feel that today, I am off to a good start and I hope to continue to feel as strongly about my goals. As in the book, I am using a simple check/minus system for tracking in order to not overthink things (I often do). I would like to have good routines by the end of the summer so that going into the school year, I can focus on the "Professionalism & Balance" which is going to be a real challenge for me.
Day one. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)