Forgot a picture of Lily!

24????

I cannot believe I just turned 24! I had an amazing birthday with my wonderful family and friends. I worked during the day and came home to a new baby kitten! She is absolutely adorable and we decided to name her Lily because we thought that name flows nicely with our other cat, Lucy. Now we have the dynamic duo: Lucy and Lily. Equally spunky and cute! She has been so much fun so far until last night...she decided to use my bed as a litter box. Being the loving and forgiving mother that I am, I forgave her and have showered her with love just as I did before I almost rolled onto her urine.

The rest of the summer has been so nice! I have been nannying for two different families, The Nelsons and The Roths. I have known the Nelsons forever so it has been so much fun! Not to mention a really nice break from school!!

At the beginning of August, we will be heading off to the most magical place on earth! Disney World is definitely a family favorite so it will be nice to get our annual dose of Disney. Afterall, Lily's last name is Disney so we had to go this year to honor our newest addition! This year, my aunt Nancy and my cousins Sam and Abby are joining us. It is always more magical to be able to show the world to people who have never seen it before so it will make our trip even more amazing! Don't worry, I'll post pictures...post DW 2010.

I am still planning on running the marathon in October. A lot of my summer has been spent training for the marathon and has been such a gratifying experience. I am so proud of myself so far and can't wait to keep pushing myself more and more. I do a lot of my training runs with Emily (the mom of the kids I babysit) and being able to share that with her and become closer and closer friends with her has been so great. Even when the runs get hard, I know I can depend on her to keep pushing me.

I love summer and I don't want it to end!

A long week...

Well this has been a really tough week. My grandma Jean passed away last Monday morning. Anyone that has met her knows that she truly was an amazing person. She had the ability to make anyone laugh whether she was trying to or not. She had a deep love for family, Pi Phi, the Blazers and Duck football. I was so lucky to be so close with both of my grandparents and had such a special relationship with my grandma Jean. I find comfort in knowing that the pain that I feel during this time is a result of one of the most important relationships in my life. One that I always knew would be there and one that never changed. She was definitely having a rough time the last few months of her life so I know that she is in a better place. Plus, her anniversary with my grandpa is tomorrow so I know they will be having some popcorn and scotch together to celebrate.

It is through difficult times like these that I really try to make sure I appreciate the wonderful family that I have. We tried to make Janny's Mother's Day the best it could be. To do that, my sister-in-law Laura took some amazing pictures of my brother, sister, and I to give to my mom. It was the first time we have had pictures taken of the three of us since I was like 8 years old. My mom said that this Mother's Day was the best one that she has had :) here are some of my favorites.....

Time Flies

Wow! Time sure has flown by! It has been so long since I have updated my blog. I started this blog as sort of a journal for myself. Well I obviously need to be better about updating it!

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I started my solo teaching. I can't believe that I am in charge of a whole class! It has definitely been a challenging experience but I have loved every minute of it. Most importantly, it has shown me that this is the right profession for me. I look forward to seeing those kids everyday and love that I have the ability to make a huge difference in their lives. It has also flown by. I am already starting my fourth week of my solo tomorrow and I'm sure these last three weeks will fly by just like the first three. I am really looking forward to my graduation in June. I will miss school but I think it is a well deserved break!

I decided a few weeks ago that I am going to run the Portland Marathon next October. I was talking to my friend Nicole and she asked me to do it with her. I could only think of so many reasons why I should run a marathon and only a few "why nots". So I decided I can do it! It has been fun so far and the training runs have given me a lot of "me time" that I don't usually get. I am so excited to say "I ran a marathon"!

Life is busy as always right now but I am loving every minute of it!

Something Blue

Do you ever take your stress out on the people you care about the most? I don't know if I'm alone on this one but I definitely do. I don't hate a lot of things but I really hate that about myself. Why in the world would I be mean to someone who has supported me every step of the way throughout my life? Last night, my mom was just trying to have a conversation with me and talk about life in general. Instead of allowing myself to have a conversation with my mom about anything except school, I decided that I would snap at her. About what? Who knows? Does she deserve it? No way! My mom has been a constant source of support over the course of this year and she is also the person that I take out my stress and frustration on. It is not okay! I went to bed last night feeling pretty crummy about my decisions and went through my whole day thinking about how terrible I was to her. And what does she do this afternoon when I see her? She gives me a hug and tells me that she has missed me today. She is an amazing mom and I hope I remember how terrible I felt today. Afterall, the way that I felt today because of the way I treated her was a million times worse than the way that I feel when I am stressed out. I guess I can always read this if I feel like I need to take my frustration out on my mom.

On a lighter note, I am loving this weather! My sister in law and I decided to get together last week and take advantage of this weather. She has been wanting to do a "something blue" photo shoot for a while now and the weather finally cooperated with us. She is such an amazing person and I love every second I get to spend with her. My brother is one lucky guy! Here are some of the photos she took.....

Holly

Two posts in one day....let's not get too crazy Anne! But I do need to share something. My little sister Holly wrote a post about me on her blog If you ever need a smile, go to her blog. She is an amazing writer and I love reading about her life and seeing her in this light. I thought I would share what she wrote......

So, remember the weekly feature I began last week?

This week my fabulous, fascinating, friend is my big sister, Anne.

Well, She's actually my sorority big sister, but a fabulous big sister, nonetheless. She is the closest I will ever come to having a sister of my own.

I chose Anne this week because of some special memories that evoked wistful emotion this past weekend. It was sorority initiation and I couldn't help but think of my initiation memories and spending them with my new big sister, Anne. It was a wonderful memory that I know I will never forget.

Dear Anne,

You are an incredible woman. Your sincerity and friendship and beautiful soul inspires me, and your love for life, and those around you, teaches me to be a better woman. You are everything I could ever ask for in a friend. I believe, with all my heart, that you were the reason I never had a sister. Instead, God gave me you. And for that, I am eternally grateful. You are so special to me and purely irreplaceable. I cant wait to spend the rest of my life being your friend.

Holly you brought tears to my eyes.

.....Little does she know, I'm the lucky one with a friend and little like her!

Dear So and So

Dear Holly,

Thank you for giving me the idea to thank the people and things that affect my life. I just can't wait to see you soon!

Dear Mom,

Thank you for eating breakfast with me this morning and starting off my day with a smile. Even though I don't always show it, I love being able to see you everyday and I am lucky to have the mom that I have.

Dear Barista at Starbucks,

It's people like you that put a smile on my face everyday. You genuinely cared about my day and what is going on in my life even though you don't even know me. That 2 minute conversation reminded me how even the shortest of interactions can really influence an entire day.

Dear Cohort,

I missed you all! Thank you for being my support system during these 13 months of school. You make me laugh, you make me cry, and you understand the little things that I am going through.

Dear Megan,

I loved our little night together last night. You are such a treat and I'm saving a piece of zucchini bread for you even though you thought it was a bad idea to make it. Your taste buds will thank me later.

Dear Zucchini Bread,

You were delicious, thank you for inhibiting my weight loss multiple times today.

Dear Oregon,

It was good of you to not rain today so that I could get some exercise with Tara. We both needed it.

Dear Lewis and Clark,

Even though you are a constant source of stress in my life, you are providing me with a great deal of growth and strength as I learn how to become a teacher.

Dear Laura,

You are the best sister-in-law I could ever ask for so thank you for everything that you do for me.

Dear Reading,

Stop looming over my shoulder. I will get you done just stop pestering me.

Love,

Anne