2022 in Review

 1. What did you do in 2022 that you have never done before?

Teach summer school. 

2. Did you keep your New Years Resolution(s) and will make one for next year?

I did not make a resolution last years but this year my resolution is to keep up with the cost of the tolls. There are a couple reasons for doing this. First, the toll cost is double when you pay by plate or do not any funds in your SunPass account for them to draw from. Second, every year I put myself in a precarious situation and have to pay off $300 worth of tolls before I can register my car. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Nope

4). Did anyone close to you die?

No, thank God

5). What would you like to have in 2023 that you did not have in 2022?

Financial stability. Sometime soon my pay should bump up by 6-8 thousand dollars with the governor's incentive to increase teacher's salary. Unfortunately, even though the incentive went into effect on September 1, at our school we are still waiting for new contracts. I expect the contract to include back pay to Sept. 1 so I will be able to pay back some debt.

8). What events from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory?

Unfortunately, not a good memory. In June Jon's girlfriend of 10 years ended their relationship. This devastated him for a while and later I found out she pretty much never told it was over but instead blocked him from all social media platforms and from her phone. I was disappointed because I always thought she was a sweet person, but that was the cowardly way out. Thankfully, Jon is doing better and has even begun seeing someone else. 

9). What was your biggest accomplishment this year?

I'd say my biggest accomplishment this year was another successful school year ending. My class last year knocked all of their final progress monitoring assessments out! of! the! park!!!!  Everyone of them ended on or above grade level in ALL Reading and Math benchmarks! I have never had a class like that. I expected so much of them last year and it was exciting to see that it paid off. 

10). Did you suffer illness or injury?

The first part of 2022 was wonderful. I had a tooth abscess at the end of February that knocked me off my feet for a couple days. 

The second part has not been good at all. November and December were extremely stressful for me financially (and still is). The stress has kicked my auto-immune disease into full gear and began attacking my body. The eczema that for years has only been on the bottom of my feet, has crept up legs and now they are both also covered with red, itchy patches.  

On a Friday in November I discovered a painful cyst under my armpit that eventually became an abscess...soooo painful. It finally broke on it's own and the cyst went away. 

And finally, I have had three fungal infections on my skin. 

11). Where did all your money go?

Why should this year be any different? I have THE WORST luck with cars. 

My car (a 2017 Nissan with only 50,000 miles on it) broke down at the end of October. I was on I-4 but thankfully was able to pull over to the shoulder and not impede traffic. The car was driving perfectly fine and then just...shut...down. Through a series of comedic errors and misunderstandings, I ended up waiting for almost 5 hours for AAA! They finally let me leave my vehicle unattended and my son picked me up and I had them tow it to my apartment. My biggest mistake - I should have had it towed to the dealership from the beginning but I wasn't thinking. I then paid $150 for mechanic to you direct and the only thing that money bought me was a diagnosis - my car needed a new fuel pump. I then remembered I had a 100,000 mile warranty on it so I paid $200 to have it towed to a dealership. I paid $50 deductible on the repair. 

I can't make this sh-- up. On Christmas Eve exiting off I 95, my car starting chugging and shaking horribly in drive. Another tow - another $200. This dealership charged me nothing to repair my transmission. 

So, if you're keeping track...that is $600. 

12. What did you get the most excited about?

The possibility of Tampa Bay Lightning winning a 3rd Stanley Cup in a row. I did not begin the playoffs excited. I mean, let's face it, this group had played a lot of hockey games the past two years. I just didn't think they had enough left in the tank to make another deep run. But as they inched closer and closer to the cup finals, I began to get excited. Sadly, it didn't happen. Maybe 2023 will be their year again. 

13. How did you spend Christmas?

At my parent's house as always. Just being real here -  it was not one of the better ones. My car was the first casualty but I really tried to put that out of mind and was determined to not let it spoil our Christmas. My mom's mood was horrible and she is going through such a deep depression right now so she got into a couple screaming matches with my sister. This almost interfered with our usual riding around to look at Christmas decorations. Thankfully, we all decided to put it behind us and all piled in the car. It was also freezing cold this Christmas (50* maybe) so we were not able to play the traditional shuffleboard either. 

14). What did you want and get in 2022?

Good overall health for all of us. 

15). What did you want and not get in 2022?

Financial Stability

16). What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Getting my new contract which would give me more financial stability.