Bored...

As I'm sure you have noticed I changed my blog- again! haha. I think I like this look better, but to be honest, I'm not sure. Any advice, comments, or suggestions would be helpful! What do you think?

All my life when I have gotten bored, I change something. When I was little- It was my closet. When I got a older- it was my hair style and then my hair color. When I got to college- it was my dorm room. I would rearrange and redecorate. In grad school- I rearranged my office. 

Now I dont care to do my closets because they are pretty much organized. I'm still mad my hair was cut shorter than I wanted (I REALLY want my long hair back). I'm not going to dye it because I'm starting to get gray hairs which means that soon I'll have to dye it for the rest of my life. And there isnt really a way to rearrange my apartment or office. So my blog is getting a new look. lol. First world problems right here y'all!

I really do need to find something else to channel this energy in to. I could be really productive with something if I put my mind to it :D 

Have a great day!

Contentment

If you remember back to the Spring, I felt a calling to give up complaining for Lent. It was important to me because it's something I do like it's my hobby. 

During Lent, I became pretty good at not complaining. However, as soon as it was over I am ashamed to say that complaining became apart of most of my conversations again. 

Today, I was talking with John on the phone and he joked that I was being boring. Mostly, it was just because I usually have a million things to say and was being rather quiet. I really didnt have anything new to share, as my day was actually boring. haha. When he said that, I jokingly said "well, I could think of something to complain about!" and wham. Is that really who I have become? I need something to complain about to be entertained or hold a conversation (not exactly, but let me exaggerate to make my point!). I realized that I do complain an awful lot again. John even said- you dont need to complain! Let's talk about something we are looking forward to. Duh. Why didnt I think of that? 

I need to be more content with my life. Let me rephrase that. I AM content with my life, but let me show that through my words and my actions. As I was thinking about all of this today, I happened to stumble upon an article about this exact topic! Coincidence? I dont think so, I think it was all God directing me to words I needed to hear. Thanks God and Pinterest! ;D 

The article was all about being thankful for everything. She talks about how hard it is to be discontent when she is actively being thankful. I need to practice this. When I really want to complain about something, I want to practice being thankful instead. 

For example, I'm really frustrated with phone. It's broken and it's irritating me. BUT instead of complaining about it- I really have a lot to be thankful for. I have an iphone. My job pays my bill. I am able to wait until the new iphone comes out before I purchase a new phone. A NEW phone. See. So much more to be thankful for than there is to complain about. 

I know this wont be easy. I know it's going to be extremely difficult. It's going to take a lot of practice and patience (ha!) with myself. BUT I believe if I pray for it, it's something that I can actively try to do and maybe even be successful at:D 

Here is the article I was talking about: http://gracefullmama.com/battling-discontent-with-thankfulness/

She has a lot of great ones- especially about marriage! I encourage you to read :D

Friday Favorites :D

Oh Friday, I am so excited you here :D I have some favorites and some not so favorites to share this week...

1) Tomorrow- Originally, I was supposed to work all weekend. Which would have meant no day off from July 30 till Aug 25th. Yikes. BUT since things are slow, my supervisor and I are going to split the weekend. SO I HAVE TOMORROW OFF! how should I spend it? hmm...

2) Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- It has taken me forever to get into this book! BUT I've finally gotten to a point where I can hardly put it down. :D

3) PUMPKIN BEER!- You all know my love/obsession with all things pumpkin and I found pumpkin beer in the store the other day. SO excited fall is right around the corner :D

4) Fantasy Football- we drafted our teams last night! Yes, there are still 3 weeks until games begin, BUT there is always room for a little football in my life and it means it's SO SOON!

5) Scandal- I love that UNC is going through an academic/sport scandal right now. I just hope the NCAA does something about it and they get what they deserve.

6) NC State Football- IT STARTS IN 2 WEEKS!!! 

7) My Mood today- HAS BEEN AWESOME! :D I hope I can keep it up :D

Not so great things:

1) Someone jacked our bank card information. UGH. We have no idea how it happened. We both have our cards, which is weird. The best we can figure is that it happened when John got gas a place in a not so great neighborhood and somehow they got the number. He'd never been there and it was the only thing out of the ordinary on our statement. It will always be a mystery. The jerk spent a couple hundred dollars:( I'm so glad I checked our account when I did- otherwise it could have been much worse. Wells Fargo is an amazing bank and reimbursed us for everything. The only condition is that we will have to testify if they catch the person. YES, PLEASE. You bet I will! You dont get to spend my hard earned money and get away with it! 

2)I stubbed my toe the other day and I didnt realize until later that when I "stubbed" my toe, the toenail actually ripped off my second toe. No wonder it hurt so bad. I've never actually lost an entire toenail. Gross. Luckily, it doesnt hurt anymore. I also learned through this experience that I will have to be the one to deal with all of our children's boo-boos. John freaked and had to leave the room. lol

3) Mold. UGH. It's been pretty bad in the apartment. We are definitely more sick when we are home. The good news is that they came and cleaned out our ducts yesterday! I really debated about whether to make that a favorite or not, but it's not. I'm glad they cleaned it, but I want to be better and all of this to be over. Hopefully, we'll be able to tell a difference in a few days. Prayers appreciated!

4) John finally had to go to court to testify about the accident he witnessed. Again, glad it's over (for now- an actual trial may take place- TBD) but what a hassle! Really makes you want to not help out when you see something like this. It's consumed way too much of his time. 

Anyway, Happy Friday y'all! Hope you have a great weekend!

RAs, Training, and Opening...oh my!

HAHA, see what I did there ;D I'm cracking myself up today. BUT I guess that means I am in a good mood right?  YUP!

The past few weeks have truly been a whirlwind of busy. Usually, I am dreading how busy this time of year is. BUT I decided to embrace it, be thankful for it, and enjoy it this year. And that I have. Hopefully, this will be my last year doing all this stuff, but if not at least I had fun. If it my last time, at least I had fun. So fun to be had either way. MUCH better than dreading it all. 

The RAs showed up bright eyed and bushy tailed on the 4th and we hit the ground running with training immediately. During training we always have one day to do staff development activities. This year the department decided to put a community service spin on it- FUN! (I am not being sarcastic, I like community service) My staff was assigned to dig up sand spurs and clean up trash from an island that children with disabilities play on. We had to kayak to the island, clean it up, and kayak back with the trash. It was interesting to say the least. They also took us on a kayaking tour for free! I swear, we kayaked against the waves both ways. I'm not sure how it happened, but at least I got an amazing arm/shoulder/back workout. haha

Anyway, training was long, but fun. I really got to bond with my staff and they got to bond with each other. I must say- I believe this might just be the best staff I have ever hired! They all get along so well. It's precious. In fact, they get along so well that they scheduled their own beach day together and all but 3 were able to go. That's 17 people y'all! I feel like a super proud mama :D

Throughout the week I had them do activities with each other and one of them had to do with strengths and weaknesses and how they would work together as a group knowing these. I always participate in everything I have my staff do and so I played along too. And guess what? I learned something very important about myself. Most of you all know that when patience was being handed out- I was clearly skipped. I just have no patience for anything. BUT I learned that I do with my staff. My staff was stunned that I wrote that down as a weakness. I laughed because I thought they were joking, but nope! So maybe my real kids will have some hope someday ;D

Fast forward a week and a half and now we are well into opening. I am very happy to have the routine starting back up, but not so much the crowded parking lots and traffic. haha. Opening has been pretty steady, which is why I am able to post today :D We finish up with opening around Monday/Tuesday and classes start Wednesday. Crazy how fast August has gone by. I really do need time to slow down!

Some of my staff at our banquet

 some of the guys on staff- the left two both either lived in Raleigh or have parents that live in Raleigh. Pure coincidence! I had no idea when I hired them :D 

 My staff is the best :D

 Their beach trip! I had to work :( But l wished them a good time :D

Here is to a great year, with an awesome staff :D 

Friday Favorites

This week had been a whirlwind! And it's only going to get busier. My staff has been in the process of moving in yesterday and today and we already have students checking in- CRAZY! Training starts tonight!

1) 10 Years- Obviously this is a favorite :D See previous post. John made me an amazing dinner :D 

2) New Clothes/shoes- I was able to go shopping some this past week to get some new clothes for work. I didnt go crazy, but it will be nice to throw out some old stuff! plus, shopping is always FUN!

3) HEELS!- I have a favorite pair of heels that needed to be fixed for the past two years. Yes, I have seriously been that lazy. BUT I got them fixed and I am SO excited to wear them again!

4) Relaxing- I was able to relax a lot this past week after work, which is great because things are about to get cray.

5) Desperate Housewives- I am totally obsessed. I love the show. It's amazing. I dont want it to end. lol

This isnt really a favorite, but it's not bad anymore either. I mentioned we have a mold issue. Well they finally came out to look and found that our entire duct system is very damp and probably full of mold. They have already hired a contractor to come clean them out and it should help TREMENDOUSLY! I also went to the doctor's and she was able to give me some medicine to help with the symptoms from now. She said it was definitely an allergen and since I'm only sick in the apartment it had to be something in the apartment. When maintenance came to look at it and found it, it was so bad that they started to feel sick right then! Since it's so bad they are acting fast. I am SO glad they are responding so quickly. Pool Carter is sick too and he is always in the apartment. I hope the long exposure didnt do something permanent to him :(.  I hope the long exposure didnt do something to us either. The doctor said she wouldnt be able to treat me anymore if it comes back after this medicine is gone, because then it falls under workman's comp. I dont want to deal with all of that, so I hope it goes away!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend!

10 Years!

10 years ago yesterday, John asked me to be his girlfriend. I can still picture the moment right now. It was the first week of junior year and it was after school. We were in the great hall and John was getting ready to head off to soccer practice and I was headed to work. We only had a few minutes before he had to go and during those few minutes he asked me. Of course I said yes, and 10 years later we are still together!

10 years. 10 YEARS!! I think back over the years and think about all we have been through together. It's amazing how much we have changed and how much we have stayed the same. I am beyond blessed to have had this amazing man in my life for so long. There are SO many stories I could share. So many pictures. Dont worry, I wont. haha At least not now ;D Maybe one day. 

All I know is that these past ten years have been amazing and it's been incredible to be able to grow and change and develop with my best friend for so long. I cant wait until the next 10. I'm interested to see where we will be in 10 years compared to where we were 10 years ago. Then we were 16! In high school, had silly jobs, didnt know what we were doing with our lives, life seemed complicated and easy at the same time. Now we are 26 (yikes!), in professional jobs, married, adults, have a puppy, live in Miami, and still trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives. haha. Life is wonderful. Life if fabulous. My life is beyond blessed. 

John, I love you so much. Thank you for being my best friend, my boyfriend, my husband, my rock, my everything over the past 10 years.

Just a few pictures from back in the day;D 

This is John and I on our first anniversary!

 Senior Year- Homecoming

 One of John's soccer games 

 Junior prom

 One of my all time favorite pictures :D My senior picture! I used John as a "prop"

Here's to 10 more years!

The Hutch Visits!

Hutch was able to come and visit again! YAY! He actually flew in the same day and almost time Such flew out.


Unfortunately, John and I had to work while he was here but we were able to make the best of each evening and the weekend :D. During the week we took him to three different places to try: Shake Shack- YUMMY, Gables Pizza and Salad, and Scotty's Landing. They are always great places to take guests and the food is always so yummy at both.


Saturday we slept in and then headed out to the beach for the day. It was a beautiful day. The water was warm though, but I guess that's what ya get when you go in July and August. lol. Saturday night Thomas, a friend that lives in Boca, came to visit and hang out. We were all so tired from the beach that day, but we still had a good time hanging out in the apartment. 


Sunday we had made plans to go to the Everglades. We wanted to do an airboat tour this time. The place we went had a tour, some trails to walk, and an alligator show. The airboat ride was neat. Honestly, I thought we would see more alligators, but I guess it was just the time of day we were there. And it was HOT. After the ride we walked around the trails and saw a bunch of alligators. Most places had fences up to keep them from walking on the sidewalk. However, one HUGE guy got around the fence was really close! Next was the alligator show- there wasnt much to it :( but it was neat to learn about them! We ended the trip by getting some gator bites. They tasted like chewy chicken. lol

 Airboat!

 Soft Shell Turtle

 We couldnt sit until we had been moving for a little bit- the seats were too hot

 Some of the sights

 Thomas and Chris

 Alligator!!

 Look how many there were...scary;D

 This is the one that got too close

 John was brave enough to get a picture, so we all did. We just watched the gator closely...

Monday Hutch had to get up early and John took him to the airport on his way to work. Sad to see him go. I love having guests! At least we'll get to see Krystal and Josh at the end of this month. FOR FOOTBALL! WOOT! Can't wait :D


We had a great time with you Hutch!!! Miss you already!

IT'S AUGUST?!

Ummmm where did the ENTIRE summer go? I'll tell ya where, it FLEW by. And now we are in August, probably one of my least favorite months of the year. 

Why? It's probably the hottest and because it's probably my busiest month at work and school starts back. I love having a quiet campus all to myself. There are not as many people to drive reckless on campus, the place isnt covered in trash from the students, they dont take my parking space, AND there are not people waking us up at 4am by yelling in the parking lot because they are drunk. This is how I know it's time to move off campus soon. Living on campus for going on 8 years is crazy. Mostly I just dont like August, because I hate not having time for myself or John. Oh well, such is life and I am very thankful to have a job. :D (Just dont expect many blog posts after Saturday)

There are things I am excited about though. My staff returning. A regular schedule again. AND OUR FIRST FOOTBALL GAME! Who isnt excited about that?! I feel like the summer just vanished. It was a great one though and it will be greatly missed. haha. 

But seriously, how did August arrive so fast!?