Here at Last OKI...Part II

Missed Part I? Go back and read it first to catch up.

After my mom and I spent a long weekend on OKI in mid-May, we had plans to end the month by taking my grandparents down and introduce them to where we'd be moving. The night before that trip, my parents got a call from Matt, and it wasn't a good one. He had an accident while helping a friend move and was at the ER in Chicago with a broken ankle. Hoping we'd find out the next day that the break wasn't too serious, and not wanting to disappoint my grandparents, we left for the beach as planned the next day. At about the time we arrived, Matt called with an update. His break was worse than first thought, and eventually we'd find that he'd require two surgeries and nearly 10 weeks of staying off his ankle completely. That's a whole different post though, and not my story to tell. What I will say is that during that trip to OKI with my grandparents, we fit in showing them around the island, delicious food, and beach time in around meetings with the builder my parents had chosen, looking at house plans, and making arrangements to get to Chicago to be with Matt for his surgery. It was a crazy start to June, that's for sure!

Our traditional "1st lunch" at Fishy Fishy

June continued to be crazy! The day after we all got back from the beach, my parents flew out to Chicago for Matt's surgery. My dad came back home after less than 48 hours there to take over dog duty while I flew out for a fantastic trip to the US and British Virgin Islands! Matt had his surgery while I was out of the country, and Echo had surgery on his leg to remove a cancerous tumor the day after I got back.

Jost van Dyke, BVI

My mom ended up staying in Chicago all the way through the summer, while Dad and I took turns visiting there and holding down things here at home. June was also when my parents decided on a house plan and we took care of the paperwork to officially divide their parcel back into 2 lots, with me buying the one they weren't building on. We all became accustomed to notaries and Priority mail, since we were taking care of everything long distance from two different cities! And about that house plan, remember when I said that my mom always had faith that I'd be moving too? Well they put together a house plan that would be perfect for the three of us to live together, with two Master bedrooms on separate floors. You know, just in case it all worked out for me to move. (And the whole time, I was thinking there was no way.)

I celebrated the 4th of July in Chicago with my mom and Matt, and by the end of my Chicago trip, even more changes were in store. What I haven't mentioned yet is that in the midst of all the craziness of May and June, there was even a little more going on. I happened upon a job posting that sounded pretty perfect- the description was exactly what I wanted to be doing, in the field I wanted to work in, and it was a full time telecommuting position- which means I could work from home. I couldn't pass up sending my application and resume in, but knowing how many applicants there were, pretty much forgot about it for nearly a month after I applied. So you can imagine my surprise when I received a request for an interview for that job. Well, that interview turned into three rounds of interviews, and in early July I was officially offered and accepted the job. Starting August 1, I'd be embarking on a new career and working from home...which meant there was nothing to prevent me from making the move to Oak Island. What's even more fitting? I got the phone call with the offer while I was in Chicago- out on a short walk with my mom, the person who kept telling me that it would all work out for me to move.

It wasn't the ocean...but Lake Michigan had to do!

So to finish July, and soak up what would end up being my last summer off, Echo and I took off to visit and explore Oak Island on our own the week before I started my new job. We spent tons of time on the beach, watched sunsets from The Point nearly every night, and checked out house progress. At this point, the lot had been cleared and that was it....but it was pretty exciting to see!

OKI lot is cleared!

Echo loved being a beach dog!

Best travel buddy

On August 1, I started my new Instructional Designer position. Writing this 5 months later, I can say that even without the upcoming move, making this career move was one of the best decisions I could have made. For the first 11 years of my career, I'd always been a teacher in some capacity and I'd always worked for the state of NC. As much as I loved teaching, this new position has showed me just how ready I was for a break. Also in August, my mom finally came home from Chicago- and the house construction finally got started.

In September, October, and November, we made several more trips to the island to check on things with the house. Not because we don't trust the builder, who is amazing, but because it is SO HARD to know your house is being built and not be able to see exactly what is going on daily. Most of these trips were just mom and me- because although my dad is excited about the move, he does not get excited about traveling back and forth. We feel pretty lucky that he tells us to go and that he'll be just as happy staying home and taking care of the dogs. One of those trips in September was special because we took my grandparents back to the see the house. At that point it was just framed, but seeing that only made us more excited!

OKI House in progress

In December, Matt came home and we made time to take him down to show him where he'll be visiting the next time he comes back to North Carolina! Having Matt see the house just made it feel "really real," and we were ecstatic at all the progress that had been made! It was also the first time since mid-October that my dad had been there in person! Also in December? My parents sold their house...without it even being listed! In another sign that everything was meant to be, our fantastic real estate agent called my parents to let them know she wanted to show the house to a couple- even though she knew the plan was that my mom and I would move when the OKI house was finished, and my dad would stay behind long enough to list and sell the house. We have three dogs and knew showing the house with them around would be way too much trouble! Well, in just another in a string of 2016 surprises, the couple loved the house and it was under contract the next week!

So, here we are in January of a new year. In less than two weeks, we'll be moving to Oak Island. Not to our house- but to a rental for a month or so until our house is finished. And yes, as my mom and dad keep correcting me every time I say "your house", it is our house. At least until I move forward on the plans to build my house on that second lot.

Almost finished!

There is one more little  twist of fate, coincidence, kismet, or whatever you want to call it that I'll close with. Remember in Part I when I reminisced about that trip to the little beach house on Long Beach? Well, back in 1999, Long Beach and Yaupon Beach were consolidated to found the Town of Oak Island. So all these years later, we're returning to live in that sleepy little beach town where we had so much fun on vacation. We spent a while trying to figure out where exactly Aunt Sarah's house was on the island after we realized that Oak Island and Long Beach were one and the same, but could never quite nail down the location. A couple of months after the lots had been purchased and construction on the house started, one of my mom's relatives reached out to see if she realized that the house we'd visited before was on the very same street where we're now building a house. In fact, it was actually just a couple of houses down- but no one could remember the exact number and none of the houses looked like we thought they should.  While going through pictures last week in preparation for our move, I unearthed these. And it finally gave us the address we'd been searching for. In case you can't see those tiny numbers, they read "326."

Nearly 3 decades ago...who knew we'd live across the street one day?

So where is that house in relation to ours? To give you an idea, my address will be 331, and the house we stayed at? It was 326. The house is still there- but the numbers aren't on the front, and it is now painted a different color with a storage building out back....so of course we didn't recognize it.


I've never been much of a believer in signs, but how's that for it all being meant to be? I've always been a planner and I've never liked change, especially change that I wasn't in control of or driving. In all my life-planning, I'd have never guessed that 2016 could have brought the changes in my life's direction that it did. But I have to say, that if nothing else, 2016 taught me that sometimes, you just have to have a little faith and trust (and maybe pixie dust), because even though it may be hard to believe at the time, sometimes those changes in direction end up leading to something that you may have hoped for, but never really believed could happen.

Here's to finally answering the ocean's call!

Here at Last OKI....Part I

It's no secret that I have always loved the beach, a feeling that was probably passed down from my mother in the same way that I got my father's blue eyes.

Over 25 years ago, my parents and grandparents took my younger brother and me on a beach trip. We stayed at my grandfather's sister's house in Long Beach, and although the weather wasn't great for being out on the beach, Matt and I both remember that trip. We remember staying up way past our bed times to play Uno with the whole family and getting to take a ferry ride to visit an aquarium. Matt and I grew up being lucky enough go on many vacations, so it wasn't the vacation itself or even the beach that made this particular trip memorable, but it was the way that the 7 of us spent most of the trip hiding from the rain in a tiny little beach house just laughing and being together.

Late night UNO

Leaving the Ft. Fisher Aquarium

Twenty six years and a lot of life after that trip, in January of 2016, I made the decision to put my house up for sale. I didn't have an exact destination in mind, but knew that I wanted to move to a different neighborhood and the time seemed right for selling. I was lucky enough to know that I could move in with my parents for a while to give myself time to decide on my next step. Thanks to a great market and a fantastic real estate agent, I had two offers on my house in 3 weeks of it being for sale. I accepted an offer and a closing date was set for March 31. I worked on moving into my parents' house and moved my furniture into storage.

One weekend in February, the three of us went to dinner at Old Stone Steakhouse and were talking about the unbelievable quickness of my house being sold. My dad said, "Well, instead of you saving to look for a house in Belmont, why don't we just all move to the beach?" Moving to the beach is something my mom has talked about wanting to do for my whole life, so as great as the prospect sounded for them, I didn't really think much about it.

Until, that is, one day in March when I got a text from my mom that read, "Your dad says that you and I should go check out houses at the beach this weekend." You see, while looking for a house to rent for our summer beach trip, I happened across a house for sale on Oak Island that looked great in the listing (HA!....that's foreshadowing....). I sent it to my parents and jokingly told them we could all go in together and buy this house and make that move. The joke was on me, because that weekend, my mom and I set off on a 24 hour mission to check out a few NC beaches. We drove straight to Southport, stopping at Fishy Fishy Cafe for lunch, then drove all around different neighborhoods in Southport before going to check out the house I'd found on Oak Island. That house was definitely NOT the one, but we continued our trek, making our way north to check out neighborhoods in Ocean Isle Beach and Sunset Beach before returning the next day. The only decision that we really came to that weekend was that Oak Island just didn't seem like it was for us. To be honest, thinking about moving to the beach was still just a fun game to me, seeing as how I knew I'd be hard pressed to find a job in any of the areas we looked in.

Even though it kind of seemed like a far fetched dream, it started to get a little more real in mid-March when Matt flew down to spend a weekend in Asheville with us while I ran the Biltmore Half Marathon. The reason it started to seem more real is because my parents actually told Matt that they were thinking of moving to the beach....but it would probably be a long process. Or so we thought. At the end of March, I signed the closing papers to finalize the sale of my house.

My first house

The day after that, my parents and I drove back down to the coast to investigate a little more...but this time, with a real estate agent, which meant we are actually looking at houses, not just driving by. By this time, my parents had decided they were definitely going to move, but I was still in limbo. I was debating between moving with them (which meant finding a house we all agreed on and going in together on buying), finding something of my own, or just renting their house back in Gastonia once they moved and visiting as much as possible. My dilemma was that I really wanted to move to the beach, but I knew I couldn't do it without finding a new job. So again at the end of this trip, no real decisions had been made except that.....our search focus was now Oak Island. Yep, the one place my mom and I had already decided we didn't want to be. The thing is, after looking at nearly 20 houses over the course of 2 days in Calabash, Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle, Supply, Oak Island, and Southport, we all agreed that if we were going to move to the beach....we were going to move to the beach. And after spending time on the island, we ended up falling just a little in love with it, a feeling that seems to grow each time we spend more time there.

By April, it seemed that my parents or I were making frequent trips to the island. After looking and looking at houses, we finally decided we weren't going to find the "perfect" house, so we changed the search to looking at lots. It didn't take long to find a pretty perfect lot. By the end of April, my parents had closed on a parcel of land on Oak Island that was actually 2 lots that had been put together by previous owners. That meant that we could easily separate it back out into 2 separate lots and build 2 houses. Since I still wasn't sure that I would be moving, knowing that I had the option to build my own house when the time was right for me seemed pretty perfect. It's probably worth mentioning that although I was constantly in doubt that I would be moving to the coast with my parents or any time in the near future, my mom never looked at it happening any other way. Any time I said something about their big move, she made sure to correct me and tell me that she had faith that we'd all be moving together.

I celebrated finishing up my yearly contract at Cleveland Community College in mid-May by spending a long weekend in OKI with my mom, meeting with their builder, checking out the lots, and soaking up as much Vitamin Sea as possible. My mom was dreaming about the day she'd be moving to the island for good, and I was just thankful that if nothing else, I'd get to spend weekends and summers at the beach!

At this point, I was super excited for my parents but really had no clue what the next few months had in store.

What's Up Wednesday

I had the urge to write today, but no real topic in mind, so linking up for What's Up Wednesday seemed like the perfect fix! So here we go...

What we're eating this week....

This week is my break in between rounds of the 21 Day Fix, so meal prep hasn't exactly been the best! BUT I have had some pretty great meals, such as breakfast for dinner while we were snowed in followed by a pretty great Sweet Potato Hash the next morning. 

What I'm reminiscing about....

A month ago yesterday, I had to make the decision to say goodbye to my sweet Bailey. It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. A month to the day after that, this came in the mail from the vet clinic. Coincidence? 

What I'm loving....

My HyrdroFlask and Nuun! Drinking water has always been a struggle, but with the combination of being able to keep it super cold and adding a little flavor (but not sugar) and vitamins, it is getting easier and easier!

What I've been up to...

We were lucky enough to get just enough winter weather to keep us inside for a couple of days but not cause damage or power outages, and I loved it! I may be in the minority, but I LOVE having a reason to stay cozied up at home....and Echo may have loved it even more than I did!

What I'm dreading... 

This sounds pretty silly...but next week! Thanks to holidays and snow days, I've been spoiled by short week weeks since before Christmas! An actual five day work week next week is going to be rough!

What I'm working on...

This week was the start of the semester for online classes at the college I teach at. So it's been a busy week of making sure everything online is ready for students and answering messages and emails!

What I'm excited about...

The weekend! The weather is supposed to be better and I can't wait to get outside a little!

What I'm watching/reading...

Ohh...I watched the premiere of Lucifer last night. Did anyone else? I think I'm going to love it!

What I'm listening to...

I feel like I need some new music, so today I've been listening to Spotify's Spotlight on 2016 playlist.

What I'm wearing...

My workout clothes! I'm typing this in between my workout and getting ready for work this morning. Shirts and jackets with thumb-holes are the best! 

What I'm doing this weekend...

Hopefully running! Last weekend's weather meant my long run with my running group was cancelled, so I'm looking forward to getting back on track with 8 miles this weekend!

What I'm looking forward to next month...

Spending a night in the Asheville area! It's for a quick work trip, but hopefully we'll be able to have a good dinner out and enjoy a bit of the area the night before our meeting.

What else is new...

I made the decision to list my house! It's been a whirlwind and happened really quickly, but I'm looking forward to the next chapter!

Finding Balance

Monday and Tuesday of this week was my college's Fall Break. That means that students were off, and since students were off and most of our systems were down for a big data center move, I decided to take those two days off as well.

For a lot of the working world, taking a couple vacation days probably isn't that big of a deal. You have them, so you might as well use them, right? In fact, a lot of companies force employees to use all of their allotted days each year. The thing is, no matter how many times I tell myself those two statements, I haven't learned the trick of not feeling major guilt when I take vacation. Maybe it's a teacher thing, maybe I have issues....but I find it really hard to turn my brain off. It always seems like there is something MORE I should be doing, and I feel like I'm being a bad employee if I actually take any vacation days.

I was thinking about this over the weekend and on Monday while I was off. I spent Monday hanging out with my newly retired mom, and I can't tell you how many times I checked my email or checked in on work things while we were out and about (the blessing and curse of smartphones, I guess).

And then Tuesday came, and I was faced with the reality that the day was going to be spent attending one funeral while other family members were attending a second funeral that was being held at the same time. Suddenly, as I was riding to the funeral with my parents, I realized that there has to be balance. It is so cliche, but we really aren't promised tomorrow. And it just made me think that the most important thing is to actually be present.  While I definitely wish the occasion hadn't been what it was, I was so thankful all day for the mid-week time I got to spend with my parents and grandparents. I heard stories from my dad I'd never heard before, explored out in the country a little bit, and had lunch with my grandparents. And during the whole day, I think I only used my phone to find a place to eat and get directions.

Not exactly where or what I had in mind for today, but figuring out how to find the bright spots every day. Today's bright spot includes hearing stories from when my dad was growing up and having extra time with family.

A photo posted by Leslie Noggle (@onegirlandtwodogs) on Oct 6, 2015 at 8:46am PDT

So what does being present mean? When I'm at work, focus on work. Be there, be productive, and do my best. It's not realistic to think that I'm never going to have work to do at home and that it won't ever bleed over. But- it's okay to take time off. At the end of the day, as important as my career is, it's work, a career, but it's not what my life is. Although I like my job, I don't live to work. I live to enjoy time with my family, pursue interests, and all of those things. While the paycheck that comes with work enables me to do those things, I don't live to work. So this is just me reminding myself that it's okay to take time off every once in a while, and in fact, I'll probably be a better employee for it! And then when I'm at home or with friends and family, be present. Soak it up. Realize that it's okay to take a drive, linger over dinner or a drink, or even take a night to be lazy with a book that's I'm just reading for fun.

Here's to finding balance.

Taco Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers

Last week, I made this recipe and shared with my parents. It was so good that my mom requested I make it again the next night! Not only is it pretty simple, but is also reheats really well, so it's a recipe that I'm sure I'll be making more once school starts back! It would be a pretty appetizer (just ignore my horrible photograph), but we loved it for dinner as an entree. As written, this makes about 4 servings. I can take or leave regular bell peppers, but LOVE the sweet ones! This recipe is based on this one from  The Girl Who Ate Everything.

What You'll Need:

• 1 lb bag of sweet mini bell peppers
• 1 lb ground meat (I used ground sirloin, but any ground meat would work)
• Homemade Seasoning (adjust to meet your taste preferences)
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1.5 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 3/4 cup water
• A handful of fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt 
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Brown ground beef (or other meat). Once fully cooked, drain beef.
3. While your beef is browning, cut peppers in half length-wise and deseed. Basically, you're making little pepper boats. Line a baking sheet or dish with pepper boats.
4. Sacrifice enough of your pepper halves to create about 3/4 cup of diced pepper.
5. Once meat is browned and drained, add in diced pepper, seasoning mix, and water. Stir and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, or until water is soaked up and peppers are soft.
6. Fill pepper boats with ground beef mixture and bake for about 15 minutes. During the last 5 or so minutes, sprinkle on cheese and allow it to melt. (I like a little crispiness, so I turned the oven to broil for the last few minutes.)
7. In a food processor or blender, process your cilantro, greek yogurt, and lime juice to create a sauce to drizzle over finished peppers. You can adjust your sauce ingredients to your taste preferences. (Don't skip this....it is SO delicious!)
8. Serve peppers with cilantro yogurt sauce for drizzling or dipping!

Things I'm Loving About Summer

My full time job is a 9 month faculty position at a community college. Not only do I love teaching, but I also am totally in love with having summers off. Now anyone who has ever taught knows that "summers off" is kind of a misnomer, as you're always tweaking units, researching new curriculum, and other things. It's also not completely off for me, since I'm still teaching a class online and doing some part-time work. But- it feels like it is completely off, since I don't have to be anywhere at a certain time, I'm not going to campus daily, and all that.

So, since 1 month of my time off has officially gone by (sad face), I thought I'd list a few things I'm loving about summer so far:

1. Disney with my mom! We took off for a girl's weekend to Disney for the last weekend of Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival as soon as I was finished with the school year. It was great to get away for a little while, especially to our favorite place! 

   

   Mom and I in Epcot.

2. Lots of time with the pups! I love nothing more than spending time with my two dogs, and over the summer I've been keeping my parents pups for a couple nights each week too. It has been great! 

   

   Sweet Echo!

   
   
3. Running! Before the semester ended, I finally got into a pretty good routine of working out 4-6 times a week, by going to Boot Camp classes. One thing I really wanted to get back to was running- especially since I'm running my 2nd Tower of Terror 10 Miler in October! Being off has given me plenty of time to start training for that (and keep up with Boot Camp too)! 

   

   Run is done!

4. Fresh fruit! My two favorite fruits are finally in season! Watermelon and cherries...I could live off of those! It's not nearly as hard to eat healthy snacks with those two fruits around. 

   

   Cherries!

5. Pool time! This is only my second time (as an adult) having summers off, and I promised myself that no matter what else I have to do or work on, I WILL enjoy some pool time each week! So far, this has meant spending an hour or two at the pool a couple times a week...but that's more than I used to get, so I'm soaking it up! 

   

   Pool time

What do you love about summer?

Blogger Challenge

I couldn't decide whether to post this here or on my professional blog....so I'm posting in both places!

So a while back, I saw the #11questions thing going around Tumblr, then I started seeing my friends being tagged on Facebook. If you're reading this, you can thank Kyle Wood for asking questions that made me answer with extremely verbose answers! Seriously though, I've been a horrible blogger, and what better shove in the direction of getting back to it than this challenge? So here goes...

 The Guidelines of Your Challenge:

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.
4. List 11 bloggers, excluding the blogger who nominated you.
5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you have listed to answer.
6. Let the bloggers know you have nominated them.
7. Post back here in the comment section a link to your post.

11 Random Facts About Me

1. It is really hard for me to work or be in silence. I can read in silence, but nothing else. It's rare that I don't have TV (or something on the iPad) on just for background noise at home, or earbuds in listening to music at work. Both help me focus.
2. Breakfast is my favorite. I have breakfast for dinner a couple times a week usually, and I love the days when my dad calls to say he's cooking breakfast so head over, or we go out to breakfast.
3. I used to make fun of people who treated their dogs/pets like children. I totally am that person now. Sometimes, I wonder if I'd be able to love my kids as much as I love Bailey and Echo.
4. I can't handle watching ASPCA commercials or news stories of animals being abused, abandoned, or mistreated. I have to turn the channel, close the browser, whatever because I just can't deal.
5. I have never ever been as proud of myself as I was when I finished the Tower of Terror 10 Miler. I was so scared in the days before, and kept thinking, "I'm not a real runner, what am I doing here?" If it hadn't been for my dad traveling with me, I probably would have found an excuse to not even start (sorry, Amanda! I was scared!). But actually doing it, and finishing? The best feeling in the whole world. Also...that whole silence thing in number 1? I ran the whole thing by myself with no headphones. So basically, alone with my thoughts...and it was really pretty great to have to push myself through something hard like that.
6. Disney is my happy place. As a kid, I liked it, but as an adult, I absolutely love it. Everybody does Disney differently, but for me, it's all about staying on property and immersing myself in that Disney bubble. It's the one place I can forget reality exists for a few days at a time. We have just as much fun trying out resort restaurants and just soaking up the atmosphere as riding and being in the parks.
7. That being said, if I could afford to move to the Outer Banks and had a job waiting for me there, I'd be gone in 2 seconds or less. Sometimes I crave the ocean...just sitting and being.
8. As a teenager and in my early twenties, all I wanted was to get away and be on my own, away from my hometown. Now, I can't imagine not living close enough to my parents to visit just for a walk or to head to Target with my mom.
9. I really, really, love music. What genre depends on my mood, and I'm not ashamed to admit (anymore) that sometimes this just means really liking popular, Top 40 stuff too.
10. I miss my brother. Now that we live so far apart, I really hate that we weren't closer in high school. I wish we could go back in time and get along with each other back then like we do now.
11. I don't mind random people on the internets reading what I write, but it freaks me out sometimes to think that people I know read it.

Kyle's Questions for those Accepting the Challenge...

Of your current interests or hobbies, which could you trace back farthest in your past? This would have to be reading. Sorry if that's kind of a boring answer! The thing is though...I have so many memories tied to books and reading. Back in elementary school, I remember hiding my open book inside of desk and straining my eyes to read just a few sentences or pages at a time when I was supposed to be listening to a teacher or doing something else, and sneaking my book into bed under the sheets way after I was supposed to be asleep. In middle school, when my parents were building our house, I loved laying in what would become my room when the house was nothing more than a frame, reading my book while my parents were going over details with the contractor. In high school, I could sit on our front porch or by the pool for hours reading, and there were plenty of nights when I actually looked forward to coming home and crawling in bed so I could finish whatever book I was in the middle of. My love of books and escaping in them stayed with me all the way through high school and college...and reading is still one of my favorite things to do, and one of my favorite ways to relax.

You are in a convenient store. Describe your most likely meal for the next leg of your 10 hour drive. Well, this depends on a couple of things, 2 of which are the time of day and the season. If it is morning...I'm having coffee of some sort, hot or iced depending on the weather. I'm also probably grabbing a water, a granola bar, and Chex mix. (I mean..10 hours is a long time and you've gotta cover salty and sweet, right?) If it is afternoon, switch the coffee out for a fountain drink (Coke or Dr. Pepper depending on my mood) and something chocolate and Chex mix.

If you had one sentence to describe your personal philosophy what would it be? Be true.

You get to read one more book, hear one more song (or album), eat one more meal, and hug one more person. What/who are they? Welp. I guess I'd put on the Avetts, eat a huge country breakfast, get out my Bible, and hug my parents (is a group hug cheating, cause I can't just pick one).

What qualities made your favorite teacher so great? A willingness to be human. When I think about any of the teachers I've loved, I think that is what it all comes back to. As teachers, sometimes we are so afraid to be seen as anything other than "teacher." My favorites have stayed professional, but not been afraid to form relationships with their students or even mess up every once in a while.

What is the most embarrassing fashion trend in which you have participated? I tried to do the whole "grunge" thing in middle school. Which was a complete joke and waste on this shy, preppy girl. My interpretation of grunge was baggy-sh cords and a shirt that was a little bit more loose than the skin tight cropped shirts everybody else was wearing with their low-rise jeans. I think the phase lasted for like 1.5 weeks.

You have become a billionaire rap mogul and have to assemble a "crew" because all of the other billionaire rap moguls have one. (These people don't rap; they just go with you everywhere.) Who are your first five picks and why? Okay so truthfully...I don't know that I can think of 5 people I'd want to be in a "crew" with all the time, everywhere...because I really kind of like and need my space. I mean, this isn't a homework assignment so I can answer without really answering if I want to, right?

If you became independently wealthy, what cause would you choose to support most? Why?  Most definitely some kind of pet adoption or rescue organization. Animals can't take up for themselves, and don't ask to be put in abusive homes or bad situations.

Two movies are made about you. Who plays you in the comedy? in the drama? Kristen Bell. I just finished re-watching all 3 seasons of Veronica Mars and I just love her. I think she could pull of the comedy and the drama...and add just enough of that Veronica Mars snark to both.

What is the coolest place you have ever visited? Why? I think Vancouver, BC. It was just so freaking clean and beautiful, and there's the juxtaposition of huge city right there with wilderness of the mountains and sea all together. I'll never forget going for a run along the sea wall. I want to go back, rent bikes, visit all the parks, and take the ferry to Victoria Island and have a picnic.

What is your favorite word? (Thank you, Lisa Montgomery and James Lipton.)  Still. Because I'm trying to remind myself to take moments every day to be still and relax, and be in the moment instead of constantly thinking about what comes next.

My Questions for You 

1. How long can you last without checking some kind of social media (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc...) 

2. What's the one tv show you always have to catch? 

3. What's your dream job/career, and do you think you'll ever be working it? 

4. Do you have a mantra or philosophy you live by? What is it? 

5. What's one place you've always wanted to see but haven't yet? Explain. 

6. If you could pick the words someone would use to describe you, what would you choose? 

7. Once you retire, how do you hope to spend your days? 

8. Do you have a favorite movie? What is it and why? 

9. You have to choose one meal to stick with for the next year...breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Which meal do you choose and why? 

10. Are you doing what you saw yourself doing when you were a kid? 

11. What are most excited about for 2014?

#sunshine #photoadayjuly #blogger (Taken with Instagram)

#sunshine #photoadayjuly #blogger (Taken with Instagram)



via Tumblr http://onegirltwodogs.tumblr.com/post/28100618372

Addicted

New addiction...Mad Men. Being able to stream on Netflix? Not good.

Random Thoughts in Bullets

• I am not a morning person. But when the district goes back to regular working hours this fall being at work at 8 will feel so late as compared to 7am now- so that is good.
• 10 hour days are looooong. And in case you haven't noticed by my random posts lately, leave me brain dead. But- having Fridays off? Winning.
• Food was good, good, good today. Until dinner. Which consisted of chicken nuggets. From Chick-fil-A. At least the waffle fries were resisted?
• I was going to run outside after work. Because I managed to sleep through 4 alarms even though I went to bed at 10ish last night. It was raining, which I though oh well at least it won't be as hot...but then it started lightning like crazy. So no outside run. But that just means I'll get up early tomorrow to do it instead of sleeping in.
• Sleeping in? Who am I kidding? As if the puppy would ever let me sleep in.
• 4 months from now I'll be on vacation. In DISNEY. At Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. My first Disney trip as an adult. Hurry please!

And, that's all I've got!

I'm Boring Today

I have no food or running pics, but who can not like this sweetheart of a spoiled dog?

I think I’m going to be thankful for working 10 hour days on Friday when I’m off, but for now I’m brain dead! 

Today was another Paleo friendly day, and it does feel good! Tomorrow I go straight from work to a meeting to help plan my high school reunion. We are meeting at a local coffee shop, and I know I’m going to want an iced coffee with cream soooo badly! We shall see….and now I’m headed to bead! 5am runs are early! (The alternate title for this post = how many unneeded exclamation points can be used in a post?! )

One girl, 4 dogs

Since I've been lucky enough to have a short little break from work this week (and last), I offered to give my parents a break from getting up early enough to walk, feed, and take care of their two dogs for a couple mornings. So for about 48 hours, I had not just my 2 (crazy) adorable dogs, but I had their 2 as well. Since the weather has been great (ie miserably hot and humid) and I finally have a fenced in yard I thought it would be easy just to put the dogs outside and let them play until they were worn out. What I didn't count on was that none of the dogs would want to stay outside for long in the hot, hot, Southern summer weather. Even though they didn't want to stay outside, they all behaved and had a great time playing together.

All four tuckered out and resting!

Bailey spent most of the day hiding from not one, but two puppies!

Action shot!

Let us in! It is way hot!

Wanna be back here...

July Goals

Fitness

• I will work out 3 times a week. No matter what, no exceptions. More is okay, less is not.

Food

• No eating crap! Make a meal plan each week and stick to it as much as possible. With working 10 hour days, failing to plan really will be preparing to fail! Paleo really does work for my body, so go back to that.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate with water!

Sleep

• Being at work at 7am is going to be tough- in bed by 9:30 at the latest Sunday - Wednesday (work nights).

Organization

• Work on organizing home office- especially getting filing cabinet cleaned up!

Miscellaneous

• No matter how busy and stressful life gets, take time each day to be thankful.

Weekly Gratitude - July 1

Life gets busy, bad days happen, and time flies. Sometimes I need to remind myself of all that I have to be grateful for, and all the blessings in my life. Sometimes the smallest things are the best things or the most important things. This will serve as my weekly reminder to myself that I'm a lucky girl!

This week's things I'm grateful for:

• I was reminded of how lucky I am to have parents who have not only always been there for me and supported me, but who also taught me about love and responsibility.
• I've had two weeks off from the real job. I've had the chance to be lazy and do nothing that is on my to-do list.
• I have two dogs that drive me crazy, but who brighten each and every day in some way.

Day 1

So this is my new blog. I've tried blogging in the past, well several times in the past to be honest, but I've never really stuck with it. But this time I'm going to stick with it- I think. My life isn't particularly interesting- unless you think dogs, work in the field of educational technology, and going to school for an EdD in Curriculum is the stuff that coolness is made of. Probably not right? But that's okay, because I have a feeling that this semester I'm going to need somewhere to decompress...so this is it!

He wants attention. He usually gets it.

I try not to be one of those really soppy I love my dog more than life itself people, but I mean come on. Look at this face.

What I've Learned From Being Sick

I've been sick all week. Today I feel like I'm alive, which is a huge improvement. I'm getting tired of being at home, but people keep telling me to stay home and get completely well. I've learned some things about myself these past 3 days though:

1. A girl can only eat so many milkshakes. It has felt like thousands of tiny pins have taken up residence in my throat, and every time I swallow or talk or cough (and there's been a lot of coughing going on) those pins are like tap dancing or something. Cold stuff makes this feel better. Hence, the milkshakes. Thanks to my wonderful Mom and Dad, I've had milkshakes from CookOut, Arby's, Sonic, and who knows where else. I never would have thought I'd get tired of milkshakes...but hell has frozen over because it has happened. I'm sick of milkshakes. But I'm still drinking them, because those pins in my throat haven't left yet.

2. There is only so much Lifetime Movie Network you can handle. I know, this sounds CRAZY right? But trust me- I've done nothing but watch TV and movies since Sunday afternoon, and well- yep, I've reached my Lifetime limit. (And Netflix- where is the Wii streaming I've heard so much about?)

3. No more alone time! All those times I've been surrounded by people or scheduled out the wazoo and have wished like crazy for just some "me" time? Well forget that! I've had more than enough "me" time- mostly because no one, not even my parents has wanted to be around me while I'm contagious. So my as before mentioned wonderful parents have been great...bringing me my prescriptions when I was too sick to wait, bringing lunch and dinner and the milkshakes, coming to take the dogs out, etc...they have come in my house, put whatever they're bringing down on the counter, asked me to open the canister of Clorox wipes and walked out the door by grabbing the knob with a wipe in hand. I'm tired of my own company. I think my dogs are tired of my own company too.

4. Being sick and not being able to talk is not a good thing ever- but especially when you have a 15 week old puppy in the house with you. And the dogwalker is one of the people who doesn't want to get sick. I'm sure the puppy has loved me being at home for the past 3 days. Probably mostly because the most I could do for most of it was whisper the word "no." And I probably didn't even sound like I meant it then. And when I say whisper, I should probably say mouth, as not enough sound came out to warrant it being called a whisper. So he's gotten away with lots. Um yeah.

5. Being sick doesn't make me a better blog writer- but it does make me a more frequent writer. Quality over quantity you say? Well sorry, but the girl who has been cooped up in her house by herself with 2 dogs for the past 4 days isn't really caring about that. So there.

God's Sense of Humor

I was a lucky participant and presenter at the 2010 NCTIES (North Carolina Technology in Education Society) Conference last week. It was a great conference full of lots of sessions and lots of tweets from even more sessions. I came back home from Raleigh energized and excited about putting into practice a lot of the things that have fallen to the wayside lately. I was ready to share ideas and realizations with the people I work with and couldn't wait to get to work Monday to get started. Then, on Sunday, I woke up feeling not so great. I told myself it was just allergies, so I got up, walked the dogs, got myself ready and headed to church. Well by the time I walked out of church, it was all I could do to even hold my head up and I suddenly had a fever. So, Sunday I did nothing but sleep and woke up Monday feeling even worse. I went to the doctor Monday morning and was told I had a respiratory infection that was definitely contagious and I needed to spend at least a couple days at home. So- my excitement and my plans for the week? Scrapped (at least until tomorrow). Am I any less excited? No, not really. But what have I been forced to remember? We can plan all we want, but we also have to be prepared for the unexpected- because sometimes that is exactly what happens.

Burned Out...but making a comeback

So, I follow some amazing people on Twitter. The reason I follow most of the people who I do is because they constantly (and I mean like every 2 minutes) post great ideas and resources. The thing that bothers me about this is that I gain so much from these people, but I give almost nothing in return. Every once in a while I post something I find or use, but not nearly enough. There are definitely excuses that can be made for this...since Twitter is blocked in my county I have to post from a mobile device (which is great but not the easiest way to post links, etc) if I want to tweet during the day, by the time I get home I have so many other things to take care of with a new house and 2 dogs that I don't have time to tweet, working a part-time job plus a full-time means that I really don't have time, etc...

I can use all of those excuses (and more), but what it boils down to is this- they are excuses. The real truth is that if I had known or thought about using Twitter a few years ago when I was in the classroom, I would have been one of those people that constantly added thoughts, ideas, and resources of value. The truth is that instead of becoming burned out in the classroom, as so many people talk about, I have become burned out by being OUT of the classroom. I loved being a teacher- I loved planning and I loved teaching. I was that teacher (as many are) who put my heart and soul into everything I did in the classroom and spent every spare minute looking for and creating new things to do with my students. I wanted to do everything and anything that was engaging and fun- which often meant incorporating technology, whether it was Skyping with classrooms near and far, creating collaborative podcasts and movies, blogging everyday with my students, and whatever else I could come up with. I stayed up way later than I ever should have not occasionally, but often creating ActivBoard lessons and surfing the Web for fresh ideas. I was the teacher that those in my school came to with questions or when ideas were needed.  I devoted my nights and weekends to pushing myself to becoming better. And that is exactly why I jumped at the opportunity to become an Instructional Technology Facilitator...I thought well great! I can spend my days doing the things I love (finding and creating tech integrated resources and projects) and skip all the stuff I didn't love so much (dealing with some parents, high stakes testing, etc)!

The truth of the matter is- that's not so much how it's gone. Part of that is because I took the job at a time when the job title was going through a transformation from NC Wise facilitator to Instructional Technology Facilitator, part of it is because I had to spend that first year trying to figure out exactly what I wanted the focus of my job to be and what my boundaries were, and part because I went from being a proven pretty good teacher to being the newest and youngest in my new job and I was too afraid to speak up when I had ideas. Put all that together, and I just got burned out and lazy. Instead of working as hard as I could at work and coming home and continuing to work as hard as I could until bed time, I started just working as hard as I could at work and then not opening my laptop for anything work or school related once I got home.

All of that rambling stuff being said, the whole point of this post is to say that I want to be a contributor, not just one of those people who lurks and gleans information from everyone else and never gives in return. So, with the start of this blog and the start of my new mindset, it is my goal to act on that wish- we'll see how it goes!