March 25, 2025

I'm So Proud of Myself

finally acknowledging my own progress

It’s Tuesday! Another chance for me to pop in and share something that’s been on my mind …

This week that includes a few things I’m proud of lately and a reminder about where to stay up to date on all of my middle grade and young adult reads.

I’m So Proud of Myself

I have found myself acknowledging myself lately, recently leading off a story to a colleague with, “I’m so proud of myself!”, and generally just (finally) publicly recognizing that I was never perfect in the first place and am fully okay with sharing my growth milestones on my journey.

What have these epic accomplishments been, you might ask? Let me share a few!

• only letting myself agonize over a sticky discipline situation at school for less than a day, and then actually doing something about it - I talked to a few people and then took action according to policy, which resulted in administrative support and student consequences for the situation I was so upset about. No more agonizing!

• finally listening to my body, and when my plantar fasciitis started acting up again recently, MAKING AN APPOINTMENT as soon as I could for dry needling on my calves. It helped so much in November that it will now be my first line of defense.

• actually taking time off work for said appointment

• investing in a few key items (casual sneakers and dresses) for my spring / winter again / spring again transition wardrobe that will help me feel comfortable with my ever-changing body and needy feet. These shoes, which I had a version of years ago, are EXACTLY what I needed and well worth the investment. LOVE THEM. And this dress, which I used my REI co-op rebate to buy! I also found three more dresses at a local resale shop on Saturday, one of which is J.Jill with tags on - SCORE. I’ll keep you posted on the other dresses I ordered, since it has been a fit-finding journey!

• sticking with a professional commitment I was so tempted to back out of ~ I know that at this time next year I will be even MORE proud of myself for growing through the challenges

• and also, holding myself back from volunteering for about ten other professional things that seemed amazing but I would definitely regret later

• reprioritizing my screen time at home and honoring my 7:00 laptop screen time limit. My laptop “stops working” then and yes, I could override the screen time block, but that wouldn’t be honoring my commitment to making my last few hours before bedtime screen-free.

• Using my early release day due to the snowstorm last week to devour Abby Jimenez’s forthcoming release (SO GOOD) and taking a loooooong nap. Might be one of my favorite afternoons ever!

• getting ahead on all of the things so I could have an absolute blast with my sister, niece and friend on Saturday ~ random errands, thrifting, dinner and a comedy show. The highlight? Us sitting around trying out all the patio furniture (and massage chair!) at Menards. Seriously ~ friend and family time is often at its best in the most random of moments.

I’m so proud of myself.

What are you proud of yourself for these days?

Staying Current with My MG and YA Reads

I have finally gotten my Recent Young Adult and Middle Grade Reads Bookshop collection (just for premium subscribers!) updated with my most recent middle grade and young adult reads ~ sorry for slacking on that for the past monthish! Please do go take a look at the entire collection.

I definitely didn’t read as many in this area as I have in other months, but I think I have grown to accept that I’ll go in fits and starts, with big surges in June, when I’m reading the next year’s Battle of the Books titles and December, when I’m reading the Newbery and Printz contenders. That December surge was definitely why I backed off a bit in January and February!

My year-round goal, though is at least one MG and one YA every month. By that standard, I’m doing great this year! There were two more YA titles that I did not include in the Bookshop collection since I didn’t love them and am not recommending them to you, although I do think some of my students might like them. Not every read is a hit for me, and that’s okay!

Up next: I have the rest of Rex Ogle’s memoirs checked out now and hope to devour them all soon ~ his life story, starting with Free Lunch ~ is vital reading. And my 7th grader handed me her copy of The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith (YA) and told me to read it, which I will.

Thanks for stopping by!