2012 was a great year!

I got this brilliant idea from this post at Single Dad Laughing, which is a blog I have been reading for a while now. Dan writes really thought-provoking posts - you should check out the blog. Anyway, I felt like I needed to do this - to get in the positive mindset for this crazy year coming up. I encourage you to do the same!

2012 was a great year! I knew there would be a lot to do, but everything ended on a positive note.

In January, I finished my senior thesis, which haunted me over the last year. It took a lot of hard work, but now I can say I have 60 finished, typed, original pages of thesis, titled: "The Mighty Man and the Victimized Woman: Traditional Gender Roles in Central European Holocaust Memorials and Their Potential Effects on Holocaust Memory" - sitting in the history department lounge, bound and ready to be opened. This was the biggest accomplishment of my college career (and, I suppose, all of my schooling), and it really transformed my writing and analysis.

January was also when I started student teaching, which was THE culmination of my entire college career. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was about three (along with a published writer, President of the United States, and a famous singer); this is the dream that stuck the most. I was finally in a middle school classroom, learning classroom management - something I've had trouble with as a new teacher. I also got to implement many ideas that I've had for projects and lessons. This is what I had been waiting for, in all those dreaded math and science college classes, waiting for the lectures to end.

Student teaching flew by, and I graduated at the beginning of May. My friends and I went on a short weekend trip to the shore to celebrate.

My awesome cooperating teacher and the experience I had at the school gave me confidence in the job search. By June, I was officially certified to teach K-12 in NJ and 6-12 in PA. I found a social studies job early on in the search, and it's not too far from my house.

The summer was wonderful. I already had a job by June, so I was able to enjoy myself and babysit most days. I substituted in schools nearby until the end of June. I quilted to my hearts content, finished preparing my wedding quilt, and came up with some new products for my Etsy shop. I continued to blog as well. I went to see my favorite band of all time - Coldplay - in August with Julie. I couldn't have asked for a better, more relaxing summer.

In September, it was with complete gusto that I drove to my first day of teaching. I'll never forget setting up my very own classroom in the couple of weeks leading up to the first day. While the first few months of teaching have been a challenge, I learn more every day, and I have a wonderful support system at home and at the school. And, I love the kids. I couldn't ask for more in a job.

On that note, Mike and I have been able to save a considerable amount of money this year. Mike moved into my house in August (before the craziness of school started) and we completely cleaned out my room. I got rid of a lot of clutter and I've never felt more relieved. It's also fantastic to be finally living with my fiance, even if we're not completely out on our own yet. We're planning to move around the time I finish my first year of teaching in June, so I suppose we'll start looking for a small house or apartment very soon - we haven't decided yet.

Our wedding in October was beautiful. Almost everyone we invited was able to come, and we saw people we hadn't seen in a long time. I was able to go DIY (do it yourself) crazy during the summer (under a budget, but still) - and I, along with my bridesmaids, made the perfect decorations. We enjoyed a fantastic day with everyone and we can't wait to go on our honeymoon to Hawaii this coming summer. I finally convinced him to leave the East Coast! ;) I just got all the documents changed to my new last name. I can't believe we're finally married!

The holidays just passed again, and even though I ate more than I should have, I plan to do what I did at the beginning of 2012 and modify my eating habits once again. I've gotten more exercise in since we got an elliptical as one of our wedding gifts... and I'm going to continue to use it at least four times a week. I'm in much better shape now than I was a year ago. Everyone in my family is doing well, too. My mom and grandmother are doing much better. We've been lucky to have good health this year.

Even though I didn't do any international travel like last year (which was the highlight), I had a fantastic year, and I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!

Well, that didn't last long. :)

Here I am! I said on my previous blog, 365 Days of Unexpected Delights (which technically ended May 15) that I probably wouldn't be blogging for a while. I needed a break. Blogging every day for 365 days straight tires you out - trust me. Plus I have a quilting blog, where I converse with lots of other sewers and quilters, but that is completely different. It's not about my personal life.

And then, a few days ago, I realized I missed blogging. Enough to start another blog.

It took about three days to come up with a good title. That is the first thing Blogger asks you for, and rightly so - "Title" and "URL." Well, great. At the Starbucks in Barnes and Noble, Julie (aka best friend from high school and future maid of honor) and I sat and contemplated. Should it be something serious, like "Teaching my Way" (looking towards my future one-year-away career) or something about the road less traveled, or should it be silly, like "The Quirky Wanderer" or "The Wandering Quirker?" (yes, that was one of my suggestions, which caused both of us to giggle profusely). Julie, after all, said one way she would describe me was "quirky." So I was playing around with that.

Then I had some other thoughts yesterday. Couldn't I name my blog after something from my two favorite book series - the Evenstar, or the silver doe? Nahhh. No way. What could it be?

The answer came while discussing this pressing issue with my lovable fiance, Mike. We discovered sometime while we were dating that we both watched the video "Disneyland Fun" as children and that we remembered most of the songs (and we even proceeded to watch it together a couple of years ago on VHS) (and we also decided we are buying the DVD for our kids one day, even though it was made in 1990). He suggested after 10 minutes of thought that I should name it after one of the songs. Then we got to "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah" and he said, "what about 'what a wonderful day?'" And I said, " Nah, I think I would RATHER name it Zip-a-dee-doo-dah…" and that was it. The name stuck. It describes me. I wanted something simple that says a lot. You can see some of the lyrics on my right sidebar, even though you probably know them already. It's fun. It's upbeat. It's optimistic. And I love Disney to pieces (at least a quarter of my DVD collection is Disney films from the '90s). My life is pretty much like that right now, and I really try to think this way. And I know Marisa, my adorable little sister who is over the MOON about me having another blog (I'm flattered), will love making me banners. ;)

All in all, I plan for this blog to last a long time - much more than a year, though a lot is happening in my life over the next year. I'm writing my senior honors thesis on gender in Holocaust memorials, which has to be finished by December (I expect there will be a little whining on here about that but I won't overdo it, I promise), I'm living with one of my best friends, Kristina, in the fall again, which can only mean shenanigans, I'm moving back home to student teach in the spring, and then I'll graduate. THEN, I'll be looking for and hopefully getting a teaching job, and I'll be moving out and getting married. All by next November. Crazy? I think so. But it's bound to be an exciting year. And I plan to continue blogging for a long time… but not every day ;)

You can still find me posting over at Quilty Habit if you are interested in learning about what I'm currently crafting. I'll probably post brief bits about that on here sporadically because it's such an important part of my life.

I already have at least three posts in mind so keep checking back this week! You can also follow me by email - all you have to do is type your address in on my sidebar and you'll get my posts when I post them. I know some people might like that. Or, you can just look back whenever, or follow me on Google Friend Connect (also on my sidebar). Thanks for reading and I'm really looking forward to blogging again. :)

-Jess