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!?

Friday Favorites

I know this is early, but tomorrow I'll be gone all day on a retreat with my department. Then, Hutch is here visiting, so I doubt I'll blog at any point tomorrow. 

1) New Purses! Yes, that's plural :D Charming Charlie had an online deal where their sale items  were buy one get one free! So I got TWO purses! If you know my obsession with purses, you know I am one happy lady. I got a white/grey one and a red one! 

2) Such's visit- DUH! See my previous post :D I have enjoyed staying out late on school nights. haha. Makes me feel like not such an old lady. However, it's catching up with me. I'm pooped!

3) Hutch- He got here yesterday, so I am very much looking forward to his visit :D We have plans for the beach, Schnebly Winery, and the Everglades- I just hope the rain stays away!

4) Carter- He caught his first Frisbee this week! Then caught a pigeon. lol Proud of him for catching the Frisbee, not so much the pigeon. haha

5) Keurig- we got one for the office! I see a lot more coffee in my near future ;D

6) Nordstroms Cafe- We had a lunch meeting on Monday and went to Nordstroms cafe. I had the best French Onion Soup in the world. I may or may not be addicted. It was so good, it seriously deserves it's own favorite post. haha

On a not so favorite note:

• I think we have a mold problem in our apartment. We got some dehumidifiers and I have to change them about 1 1/2 times a day. Ridiculous. Not really sure what we are going to do about that. I'm pretty sure it's been effecting my eyes- they are so dried out and blood shot :( 
• RAs come back next Saturday, which means this is my last weekend of freedom until Aug 25th. It's going to be a long month! I foresee that Keurig working in overdrive.

Happy Friday tomorrow y'all!

Steve Such comes to visit!

John and I LOVE to have guests :D It's like having a little bit of home here. This past weekend, we were fortunate enough to have another friend come to visit- Steve Such! WOOT!

Saturday Such got in around 3:30pm. After checking out our place and changing we took him to Savor Miami- YUM. We took Krystal and Josh there when they were here and fell in love with it. It was TONS of food and all very very good! Such decided that after dinner was nap time. haha. He hadnt gotten a lot of sleep lately, so he crashed and I took advantage of the time by watching Desperate Housewives :D After some relaxing time, we took him out to Titanic for drinks and to hang out. They had a live band, but the place was pretty empty. I guess because it's summer? Who knows. 

Appetizer at Savor Miami- It came in a pyrex dish and was enough food to fill us up before the entrees came!

Sunday we had planned to get up and go to the beach. BUT of course it down poured ALL day. The rain broke for maybe an hour, in which we took Carter out for a bit, but then back to down pour. We took advantage of the rain and did a marathon of the Batman movies. We watched both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight at our house and then made plans to go see the new one. I was SO excited! We did sushi for dinner and then got tickets to the 10:45pm IMAX showing. I felt so guilty being out so late on a school night! haha. The movie was really good though and totally worth it!

Sushi!

Monday we had to work, but when we got off we had plans to go to the Braves v. Marlins game! John and I had not been to the new stadium yet, so we were excited to check out the new stadium/field/whatever it's called. It did not disappoint! Rain was threatening once again, so the new stadium had it's roof on and the air conditioning. It didnt feel like a balll park at all! We got there super early and walked around the entire stadium checking everything out. We had really good seats too! So watching the game was a lot of fun. THANKS STEVE! The Braves lost :( but we still had a good time. The entire game there was an old lady sitting behind us and she was beyond obnoxious. To the point where I'm sure she knew she was bothering us, but just didnt care. At the end of the game we went to the row in front of us to get a picture and she stole our souvenir cups! The picture seriously only took 15 secs and when we looked up she was already up the stairs. She had to have hustled to grab them and then scurried up the steps. When we looked up at her, her entire group was looking at us. Guess who was irritated enough at this woman to go get them back? This girl! Poor John. haha. She saw me coming and handed them back saying "oh, I thought you left"- YEA RIGHT LADY. She's lucky I didnt share what was on my mind with her. haha :D Anyway, despite the crazy old lady, we enjoyed ourselves for sure!

Ball Park!

:D 

 From our seats

 View of downtown from the park

 Another view of park

 Marlins Park was built where the Orange Bowl once sat. I can now say I've been to the Orange Bowl! Well, sorta ;D

 Braves coach was ejected from the game. The call was actually really stinky. 

 YAY! Husby :D This is also the picture where the thief jacked our cups

Tuesday we had to work again and Steve had plans to go to the Braves game again. I was exhausted. I dont usually stay out so late every night! I took a 2.5 hour nap and it was amazing. We picked Such up from the game and took him to Wet Willies since we didnt get to go Sunday. We had a really good time and then crashed when we got home! haha. 

Love these guys!

Wednesday, we were sad to see him go. :( The thing about Steve is that we didnt really get to know him until right before we left for Miami. Sad days because he is awesome. The neat thing though is that we click so well with him, that it's like we have always been friends! He is so easygoing and we just had such a blast with him. I cant wait till we move home so we can hang out together all the time! 

As he said: Operation get the Martins back to Raleigh. haha. I like that operation! ;)