Five On Friday

This had to be the LONGEST week of my entire life.

Thank goodness it's Friday.

Here we go.

Number One

Cody and I must be getting old.

We are both ridiculously exhausted.

We're thinking our weekend trip to Knoxville did us in.

I literally fell asleep driving on my way to work.

Luckily, I caught myself and nobody was around.

This old lady will definitely be sleeping in this weekend.

I'll be in my bed if you need me.

Number Two

I know I'm way behind in the times regarding Chick-fil-a's new menu, but these people at Chick-fil-a know how to make a dang salad.

I got the Grilled Market Salad the other night.

For some reason, I didn't realize it had all this fruit on there - apples, blueberries, strawberries - and it kind of freaked me out at first to eat an apple and a piece of lettuce at the same time. But holy cow! It was AWESOME! 

PLUS! It's only 180 calories. (without dressing of course)

Number Three

MAJORLY stressing about engagement picture location.
Still completely unsure of where we're going to take pictures in 15 days.
I've been turned down twice, by two different people.
My dreams seemed crushed.
So the hunt continues.

via Pinterest, decoration from me - I'm obviously very bitter.

Number Four

I knew I wanted a thumbprint tree guestbook before I even got engaged.
With me being so close to my grandmother, and her being the expert painter that she is, it made complete sense for her to paint our thumbprint tree.

 She did an amazing job.
It looks even better in person!
I will cherish this forever.

Nannie, if you're reading this - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND EFFORT. YOU'RE THE BEST NANNIE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I LOVE YOU! :)

Number Five

Thinking back all this week about the Georgia vs. Tennessee game, I'm still in shock about the outcome. Lucky? Maybe. Destiny? Maybe. Time will tell.

But through all the uncertainty, one major uncertainty lies on my mind.

What would Larry have said?

If you're a Dawg fan, you know what I'm talking about.

If you aren't quite sure, watch this incredible video to find out more.

A Letter For Larry from Georgia Football on Vimeo.

 "Georgia legends are forever. The Bulldog spirit is eternal."

Sic 'em on Saturday Dawgs.
Show them what GROWN MAN FOOTBALL is all about.

VIA

---

Join the link-up with Darci over at the good life blog for Five on Friday!

Meet Hank

Many of you know my little babe, Maci.

I don't shy away from showing her off.

She's my pride and joy.

{Crazy dog mom right here}

Every once in awhile, my other, much larger babe sneaks into some pictures.

And that would be Hank.

A slobbery, chew everything in sight, hound dog.

Hank is Cody's dog.

Well, pretty much mine too now.

 Some days I don't want to claim him.

{like when he drug me through our yard on my butt because he saw a rabbit, dinosaur pooped on the floor, and the time he ate Gorilla Glue and pink acrylic paint}

But even after those unpleasant moments, he looks at me with those big brown eyes, throws his giant paw on my chest, and nudges me with his wet nose, I have no problem saying he's mine.

Hank was a pretty random purchase.

About two years ago, Cody came down to see me at school.

Where I went to college, selling dogs out of a Wal-mart parking lot was pretty common.

{I'm totally against this by the way. But I guess we contributed to the problem.}

We were headed to dinner when we saw a play pin full of puppies.

Cody always wanted a dog to call his.

Once we saw they were hound dogs, we stopped by to take a look.

Cody's eye instantly was drawn to the lanky, tall pup.

The one that towered over all it's siblings.

The look on Cody's face was pure love. 

We decided to go eat dinner, and if they were still there, Cody would consider getting one.

We talked it over at dinner, and sure enough, he was still there.

Next thing I know, we're driving away, hound dog in lap.

Hank has truly been a true test of patience for both Cody and me.

But we both love him, and wouldn't trade him for the world.

Despite all of his troubles, he will be the most amazing dog the older he gets.

He's grown up so much over the last two years, and continues to be just as sweet as ever.

Now if only we could get him to stopping banging on his pin to go potty at 4am. :)

 

 

 

 

 

And one of my all-time favorites...

 

Happy Thursday y'all!

One more day until the weekend!

 

The Difference a Year Can Make

October 9, 2012 

The day I had been waiting for and working towards for five years.

I knew I wanted to be a teacher my senior year of high school.

I student taught in the local elementary school with the most amazing and inspiring teacher I have ever met.

To this day, I still strive to be like her.

She shaped what kind of teacher I wanted to be, and encouraged me to continue my dream through her love and kindness.

 Where I went to school, we student taught in five different classrooms, our junior and senior year of college. 

It was a lot of work. 

A lot of sleepless nights. 

And a lot of lesson plans.

I worked with a few good teachers.

But more importantly, I learned what kind of teacher I didn't want to be.

I took a little bit here and there, and eventually determined my teaching style.

With every project, lesson plan or supervisor observation, I longed for the day when I had my classroom.

 Some days it seemed extremely far off.

Like it would never happen.

And adding on the extra pressure of hearing there are no teaching jobs even available, was extra gut wrenching.

But nevertheless, I applied. And applied. And applied some more.

Tons of counties. Letters to each principal. Whatever I had to do, I was doing.

So when I graduated college, with no job and no interviews set up, I was extremely distraught.

Honestly, I had a difficult time appreciating the accomplishment of graduating college because there was such a big unknown ahead of me.

Starting college, I didn't expect to graduate and not have a job. 

But that's what I did.

I was terrified.

I worked hard all summer, continuously applying for jobs, but I heard nothing.

Eventually desperation set in as the beginning of the school year approached.

I began applying for very small private schools and daycares.

The dreaded 'd' word - daycare.

My favorite interview was when I was told I wasn't qualified to teach pre-school.

Luckily for me, the state of Georgia thinks otherwise.

At this point, I wanted something to keep me busy. Something to bring in money. And something to help me gain experience. 

By the end of July, I found a job at an upscale daycare/school.

I applied for the Lead Teacher position, but was given the Assistant Teacher position due to lack of "experience." I took the job, knowing it wasn't my dream job, but knew it would lead me to where I wanted to be. When I would get there, who knew.

The Lead Teacher I worked under had just graduated college like me.

{Somehow she was more qualified - think about that for second will ya.}

She was a nut.

And that's saying it nicely.

Working for someone who was unappreciative of my effort and unaware of my abilities, made me push even harder to become the teacher I worked so hard to be.

A HUGE break came about a month into me working as an Assistant Teacher.

I had an interview at a school close to mine and Cody's house.

It would be perfect.

As I'm sitting in the office before my interview, I hear the girl in there before me.

They knew her personally.

They said they'd be calling her soon.

And guess who was next.

Little ol' me.

No chance.

Of course I still interviewed, but knowing I had no chance of getting the job, was disappointing. Especially after getting all worked up and excited that I may have had a way out. I drove back to my school after my interview, crying the majority of the way. 

About a month later, kinda forgetting about finding a job somewhere else, settling into my assistant teacher salary (that 40 cent raise was pretty enticing), I got the call.

The call for a teaching position in the hardest county to get into.

THOUSANDS apply, a few hundred get in.

And they wanted to interview me!

I thought I bombed the interview.

I figured I had no chance.

They said I'd hear back by the next day, Friday.

Nothing.

The longest day of my life.

And now I had to wait through the weekend!

Talk about nerve wracking.

Monday morning came, and I kept my phone on me all day at work.

I received a call around 9am, from an unknown number.

Voicemail.

My break wasn't until 1 that day, I couldn't leave my kids.

The longest four hours of my life drug on, and finally I had my chance.

I remember sitting in my car, calling the number back, and hearing the words, "We would like to offer you the fifth grade position."

Instant yes.

But also, instant tears.

My break.

I did it.

I made it.

My classroom.

My rules.

My plans.

 

 

 October 9, 2012

One year ago today exactly, I became a teacher.

A day I'll never forget.

Engagement Picture Bust

If you've followed my blog for awhile now, you'll remember my wedding day nightmares that I suffered quite frequently during the summer.

Sounds so cheesy, but I really did.

Well, we've hit a bump in the road.

But this time, it's not a dream.

I wish it was.

Throughout our engagement, I dreamed of having our engagement pictures taken on this beautiful piece of land behind Cody's parents house.

Rolling hills. Gravel road. Adorable barns. Horses.

Beautiful fall trees, and falling leaves.

The whole nine yards.

I had it all planned out.

What kind of pictures I wanted.

What they would look like.

Too bad we waited to ask the land owners 18 days before our scheduled pictures.

Because they gave us a BIG, FAT NO.

I guess I shouldn't have assumed.

Stupid on my part.

I honeslty didn't think it would be a big deal.

So now we're scrambling.

Trying to figure out where our pictures are going to be.

My vision may have to change.

I'm completely bummed.

And a little embarassed.

Embarrassed that I assumed I could just walk onto someone's property, and they would have no problem with us taking pictures.

I don't understand why, or what the big deal is.

But I have no choice, but to accept their choice.

Wish us luck in finding a new engagement picture spot.

Cue the engagement picture nightmares!