Today is a special SPECIAL Monday, because it’s the last first Monday of a new quarter this school year!! WOOT WOOT! Bittersweet to think this school year is in its last hoorah, but definitely leaning towards the sweet side right now :) (And yes, I realize the whole “last first” thing sounds like it doesn’t work…but it does. Promise :) )

ANYWAY, I can’t believe Spring Break has come & gone! This year was a lot different than previous Spring Breaks, with the biggest difference being that it was my first one as a teacher and not a student! In college, Spring Break meant fun road-trips, frat tanks, beaches, junk food, and lots & lots of sun…

Freshman Year: Chicago trip with K-Swan :)

Sophomore Year: VA Beach & DC trip with the future hubs (So crazy!!!)

Junior Year: Frat Laudy with some of the best girls in the world :)

…and then Senior Year I had to do this little thing called student teaching…so of course I was stuck in B-town by myself with a bunch of 7th graders & research project essays. Oh the things we do to be teachers :)

BUT it all paid off because Teacher Spring Break is pretty awesome, let me tell you! Not only did I get to still throw a little road trip action in with Chris for Lauren’s wedding, but I also published my first wedding blog of 2014! Dave & Amanda’s wedding was the perfect way to start off a new year of bizz-ness: lots of fun, laughter, & romance — some of my favorite things! Plus there were lots of girl dates with teacher friends, plenty of netflix watching and book reading, and of course the never-ending grading & lesson planning!

But the BIGGEST event of SB2014 by far was saying goodbye to my wisdom teeth!!!! Those bad boys were supposed to come out pre-wedding…but I was super nervous, so I put it off as long as possible! So silly thinking about it now, because it was a BREEZE! Seriously, I am so thankful for great dentists & great drugs — ya feel me?! :) Unfortunately the hubs didn’t take any videos of me post-laughing gas, BUT I hear I was very expressive over the deep separation anxiety and pain my other teeth were feeling over the loss of their best buds: Wisdom 1 & Wisdom 2. Also, I wanted to make jewelry out of them? Definitely a new trend for sure :)

And that is my Spring Break in a nutshell! Lots of friends, lots of recouping, lots of love…AKA a perfect week :) How did you spend your first week of spring? Any other fun wisdom tooth recovery stories out there??

And, because I love leaving ya with a good thought or two…here’s some Monday soul food for you:

A great reminder for me in all things life right now — we all gotta start out somewhere! If there’s anything I’ve taken away from my pal Mark Batterson in his book “All In” (the book my church home group is going through this semester), it’s that the first step is ALWAYS the hardest. Our dreams and goals may seem impossible when viewing them from the beginning, but just remember — even the best had to start out fresh :) So here’s to taking first steps, skips, jumps, and even LEAPS — what are you waiting for?!?

Happy Monday! :)