Snow Days and Holiday Cheer

Good Morning All of my blogger readers,
Can you believe that this time next week we'll be two days away from Christmas!? I know it's crazy to think about. Where has the time gone, seriously, it feels like it was just Thanksgiving last week.
Today marks my second official snow day of my teaching career! I have to say that I am one of those teachers who does the snow dance (to which this year it is very similar to the motorcycle snap from "It's goin' down" and the words "snow, snow" are said). I am two for two thus far this year! My coworkers come up to me and say "have you done the dance today? Because you need to, let's see it!" Snow days for me are like mental health days. I mean, I wake up, get my coffee fixed, lounge in my PJs for the day, do odds and end jobs around my apartment, and enjoy the day. I can hear the chatter of little children outside my apartment making plans for forts and snowball fights. I'm personally hoping that the UPS man shows up with packages today, so I will actually be here to get them. (That is a long and complicated story that I will not blog about because it just gets my blood pressure level go sky high).
I am officially finished with Christmas shopping with the exception of 2 people and that will be finished when I get back to Cat-town. I went ahead and bit the bullet and fought the cold to go to Short Pump on Tuesday night to finish up. It wasn't crowded at all, probably because it was 20 degrees outside and it's not an indoor mall. However, it was perfect. I was able to get in and out of stores, relatively fast with now huge crowds. That's my kind of shopping! (Sorry Linds but I loathe having to shuffle through people to shop..LOL...you're a better person than me). Dad posted pictures of the scenery around the house. No doubt he probably has a huge fire in the fireplace. (yea, I'm jealous). It's a good thing I have my fireplace DVD to sit with my thermostat cracked up and pretend. If I was at Mom and Dad's right now, Mom and I would probably be baking and Mom Mom and I would be cracking up at life, giggling like little school girls. Ahhh....good times.
I'm so excited about getting to spend time with my family this holiday season, especially my S and J. Oh side note, did I tell you I'm going to be a little sister?! That's right, S popped the question, and she said yes! How exciting is that!?! I'm hoping that we all get in to Cat-town safely and on time.
I hope all of you are in the holiday spirit and getting to spend time with your loved ones. For all my fellow educator friends, enjoy this awesome snow day, and for those dealing with exams...please be careful getting to your destinations!
Until next time....
Here's to life!
Simply N :)

Highlights of Teaching Vol. 1

Today started as it always does, the kids filtered into the classroom, and I strolled around the room checking their agendas for signatures. One of the little girls in my classroom walked up to me and handed me an acorn. Now it's not an acorn that is shelled with the top on it, but the actual nut. Then she proceeded to say, "Here ya go Ms. Lee, I brought you an acorn! Now you can have an acorn tree in your backyard, if you plant it of course." I thanked her and she hugged me, sat down and began her work. The teacher that I co-teach with had to step out of the classroom for awhile, so I finished going over morning work and then had the students get out their song about Ancient Mali that is sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". So we're singing the song and get to the "five sacks of gold" and of course, I decided to add some flare, so now they drag it out "fiiiiiivvvvvvveeeeeee saaaaaacccccckkkkkkssssss of goooooooooooollllllldddddd." It's the funniest thing ever and they totally rocked it out! I was so proud of them!
One of my students has a broken collar bone so we have to do the majority of his writing and coloring. Today they had to design and color a scarecrow to use as their inspiration for a descriptive paragraph. Since the student I work with primarily wasn't there today, I sat down to help him color his scarecrow. As I'm coloring, I notice a few of the other kids stop and look over at me. Then I hear, "WOW Ms. Lee, you sure can color good!" and another say "she can stay in the lines". I chuckled to myself.
It's amazing some of the things that kids say and do. There is always something said throughout the day that sticks in your head and I am determined to write them down in a book, so if I'm having a rough day I can pull it out and laugh.

So here's to life! :)
Simply N

Traffic Jams and a Wii-tastic weekends

Nothing beats a good weekend after a week of work, and the past two weekends have been awesome. Last weekend, my parents and grandmother came to visit and it was good to catch up and relax. Dad put a ceiling light up in my office room and Mom helped make some amazing cupcakes for a bridal shower lunch-in I volunteered to help coordinate. Mom-Mom hung out and of course provided a barrel of laughs and kept us on our toes. The highlight of the weekend was probably our karaoke moment on the Wii that I have recently purchased. We all took our turns, Mom-Taylor Swift's "Love Story", myself, "Gives you Hell," and Dad sang "Do you think I'm sexy?" to which Mom-Mom responded, "don't you have any other channels on this thing?"
This weekend was equally as fun, when a friend from home came to visit. I had planned on meeting my friend at the school and then together we'd drive to C-Ville to meet up with more friends that were in town for the weekend. Well due to car issues, I drove alone to C-ville, and what should've taken me 30 minutes, took 2 hours. That's right, 2 flippin' hours. So here I am sitting in my car, poor signal on my Ipod= so crappy music on the radio (which is enough to tick ya off), traveling at 5 mph, and people driving on the emergency pull off lane and then trying to get back into the line of cars, is enough to tip you over the edge. SERIOUSLY!?! Let's just say my nerves were shot and I was ready to be out of my car by the time I got to my destination.
After that the weekend was awesome! I got to talk to friends I hadn't in a while and went shopping to get a few professional outfits for the cooler months to come. I ate entirely too much this weekend, but have been continuing with my workouts.
Having a Wii has enhanced my workouts to include more of a dance cardio workout with the "Just Dance 2" which includes songs such as "TikToc," "Proud Mary,", "Hey Ya," "Jump," "Rockefeller Skank," and more. It's a good workout and you have fun doing it! Eating right, working out, and enjoying life is well worth the outcome!
Can't wait to see what all the week has in store for me!
So here's to life!
Simply N :)

Fall and other randomness

Well hello fall! I'm so excited you finally decided to show up. Nothing makes me happier than walking out my apartment door and being greeted with the cool crisp air, rather than being blasted by 95 degree weather in September. I love the smell, the colors, the spirit, and the change. School routines are in full swing, the folks around you seem to be happier, you start to see fall decorations- mums, pumpkins, scarecrows, gourds. I'm slowly getting my apartment decorated with festive fall flavor and pictures will come later. But fall brings about a lot of great things, football being one of them!
In the opening lines of Remember the Titans, the girl says, "In Virginia, high school football is a way of life, it's bigger than Christmas day." I am convienced that she was talking about football here. Now coming from a high school were you're lucky if you made one touchdown and maybe 100 people show up, let me just say that it's a huge eye opener. I'm talking about tailgating in the parking lot, not being able to find a parking spot 45 minutes prior to the game starting, and more than 200 people sitting in the stands yelling and decked out in their home team gear. Here each time the home team scores a touchdown, there is fireworks, a canon fired, a fire breathing lion, and who could forget a legit lion in a cage facing the field and opposing team. WHAT?! Talk about hardcore football. I've got it right here. I was seriously waiting for Enter Sandman to start playing and the crowd jumping up and down. What can I say, but FISTS UP!!

On a different note, I've come to the conclusion that Bill Cosby wasn't joking when he said "kids say the darnedest things". Here are some highlights from this week:
In response to the poem, "Aliens have landed"
Kid: "Ms. Lee, I've been thinking, and aliens can't come to earth because we can't breathe in space but aliens can, and since we can breathe on earth but not in space then aliens can't breathe on earth. So aliens can't really have landed on earth because it's not possible, they'd die."
In response to getting stung by a bee
Me: "Are you ok?"
Kid: "Yes, I got stung by a bee, but I'm taking it like a man."
In response to questioning about the Parthenon
Me: "The Parthenon was built in Greece and who remembers who's statue was in the middle?"
Kid: "Abraham Lincoln
Me: "No, not Abraham Lincoln. You're thinking of the Lincoln Memorial, which was influenced by the design of the Parthenon.
In response to writing a (group) letter to myself to put in the school time capsule that will be read in 10 years:
Me: "What should the closing to my letter be?"
Kid: "Love the Younger Ms. Lee
To myself: "OMG, how old do they think I'll be"

So here's to life,
Simply N :)

Sound of Silence

Have you ever walked into a room and it was completely (well almost) completely quiet? I had one of those experiences today as I arrived home from a long day at work. Today was a very eventful day, as we had our first assembly, in which I had to stand at the front of the stage and sign with most of the school there. This assembly was an interactive one, where the speaker used magic to bring books to life. There was a lot of yelling and a lot of laughter. It was a great assembly and the teachers and kids enjoyed it alike. When school was finished I had a faculty meeting, a new teacher meetings, and a mandatory PTA meeting to go to. Needless to say as I walked through the door of my apartment, dropped my bag at the base of my futon, I stopped and listened....SILENCE. Now those of you who know me, know that I am not one for complete silence in a room. I like to have the TV or radio on in the background, but to tonight....only silence. The muffled sounds of the kids playing outside is the only background noise on tonight, and I'm enjoying it. Who would've thought. Now I think I know why my brother sometimes just likes when it's quiet. I may just snuggle down with a book!

Workouts and Old School Tunes

So I've discovered that it's imperative to have something to unwind after a long day at school. In an effort to get in shape, keep weight off, and just feel better, I've embarked on a personal challenge...daily workouts. Now, here in the small community that I call home, the nearest gym is about an hour away, and after being worn down with kids all day, driving an hour in the afternoon is not something I want to do. Therefore, I've invested in a Pilates video workout that I do two times a day (once in the morning and the other in the afternoon). What better way to get pumped at 5:00am for a workout than old school tunes? I know, you're probably thinking, Noie, seriously that early? Yes, that early, granted the majority of the time I don't actually get up until 5:15, but still, old school tunes are the key. With my Ipod strapped to my arm, the 35-40 minute workout occurs to tunes such as:

*It's Tricky-Run DMC
*Tootsie Roll-69 Boyz
*Push It- Salt N Pepper
*Jump Around-Beastie Boys
*Inside Out- Eve 6
*Blue-Eiffel 6
To name a few.


I've also started watching what I'm eating, but still eating what I want. I thought I'd try the Special K 2 week challenge, to which I'll eat the cereal in the morning and a snack bar throughout the day, but other than that, that's the extent that challenge goes. Sorry, it's just not for me. Instead, I'll eat breakfast in the morning, have a snack bar, eat a light lunch, and then a good dinner in the afternoon.

All in all this new outlook on working out and eating better is going well. I have now added a new workout routine in addition to the pilates in the afternoon getting my groove on with the "Pussycat Dolls Workout" DVD to which you "dance" and "lose weight", we shall see about that, and I'll keep you updated. All I know is this is day 3 of the Dolls workout, and holy moly my thighs feel like they are on fire. But I'm feeling great!

So here's to life!
Simply N :)

IT'S COMING

Ladies and Gentlemen, I realized today that in three weeks, college football season will officially begin. Now for some of you (aka my brother) you could care less about college football or football in general, however, for the rest of us, this has been the moment we've been waiting for since the final bowl game of last year. There's just something about college football that automatically makes me smile and ready to fire up the grill, create awesome tailgating finger foods, and get pumped for game day. The overall atmosphere of the fans cheering together, the players leaving it all out of the field, or the crisp fall air. There is no better feeling than the just the over all energy that you feel when the first song comes on, the crowd begins to jump, and the players charge the field. AHHHHHHH.... I'm getting excited just thinking about it!!

Although, Virginia is typically my team (I know a lot of you are probably rolling your eyes and saying completely inappropriate things), I am a little skeptical of how their season is going to go. It'll be interesting to see how the team turns around (if they do) from their challenging season last year. I am pretty stoked that Virginia will be playing FSU (ahhh takes me back to great memories of my first college football game ever), and hopefully the outcome will be the same. BUT I'm even more excited about the Virginia Tech/Boise State game that will be the season opener. To this I must say HECK YES!!! Boise State is pretty legit when it comes to football, so this should a great season opener and we'll see what Tech's team will be bringing to the field this fall.

Other teams I'm going to be keeping an eye on this year: Ol' Miss, West Virginia, UK, and Auburn.

So grab your favorite college football Ts and memorize those college fight songs 'cause IT'S COMING!!!! If you feel the same way I do, let me know! So here's to life!!

Simply N

You "speak" sign language?

Now I am absolutely positive that there are no classes in your educational career that will ever fully prepare you for the first day of the school year. Yes, there are some strategies and information that are helpful for the first 7 hours of the school year, but all in all it's more or less resorting to survival mode. This isn't just being taken from a new teacher perspective, but I've come to the conclusion that more seasoned teachers think this also.

Everyone has their first day smiles on but really each and every one of us are about to vomit with nerves and hopes that the day will go without a hitch, and most of all at the end of the day all the kids, especially the kindergartners, will get on the right bus. I walked into my classroom this morning with 3 cups of coffee already in my system and had already been awake 4 hours. I would like to say that everything ran without a hitch, but there were a few glitches, but all in all I'd say on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) it was about a 7.5-8ish day.

3rd graders are so inquisitive and eager to understand things or share their thoughts on things. For example, "Ms. Lee I have slim in my shoes", or "you speak sign language" or "why can't I run up the slide?". The questions kept coming throughout the day and I realized that this was something that I should be expecting for the remaining of my career.

I'm so thankful that I have a wonderful mentor who not only has helped me with getting acquainted with the procedures and tidbits of the school but also for just the friendship that comes along with it. During the worst part of the day today, I walked into my classroom to find a note of encouragement and a basket full of goodies that will help me throughout the first few weeks and the year (sticky notes, sharpies, award badges, trail mix, chocolate, and yes, a screwdriver because "you never know when you'll have to repair something")

Not only am I blessed to have my mentor, but equally blessed to have a great Co-teaching partner that I can bounce ideas off of and we have a similar teaching style. She's amazing and I'm so thankful for her.

So here's to a great first day of my professional career, here's to getting all my students to their right places in the afternoon, and as always here's to life!

Simply N :)

So It Begins.....

"A penny for my thoughts, oh no I’ll sell them for a dollar"-- If I die young, The Band Perry.

I have come to the conclusion that as much preparation and educational classes you sit through, you'll never know what is coming next when you enter the workforce and "real world" of education.

As I write this, I am sitting on my couch enjoying the last Saturday before my first year as a teacher begins. I have sat through orientation meetings, met a lot of great people and have gone through the routine beginning of the year meetings that I've heard would happen when I was going through college. I even won a gift card to the local coffee shoppe and a book titled "Why didn't they teach me this in college" which I have a feeling will be very helpful throughout my first year.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I would have an actual classroom instead of a hallway to work with my students and equally excited to get it set up and ready for open house. I share the room with another teacher and we both agreed to go with a farm theme for the room to bring in the culture that the majority of the kids we'll be working with know. Now I've collected some things over the years that I was in school to start setting up a classroom, but when you're expecting a room that's pretty much only a 1/4 of what you are given, my little collection seemed very tiny. Now don't get me wrong, I'll take the bigger room, and with that spend more to try to get it looking nicely before my kids come. I laughed with a seasoned teacher the other day saying you can tell who the new teachers are because they are the ones walking the halls looking diligently at the items on the "free take me" tables that the seasoned teachers have put in the hallway. Yes, I was one of those people, and the good news is I found the materials the other Deaf and Hard of Hearing teacher left (which I get to inherit). The dollar general store in town and I have formed quite the relationship and most of the employees would probably know me by name right now if I would tell them. Some of my favorite purchases have been a 5X9 rug, 12 plastic blue bins, composition books, and file folders (3 in a set)! Mom and Dad have always said I'd spend most of my leftover money from paychecks on things my students need, and I'm starting to believe they were absolutely right.

For now, I'm making a list of all the things I still need to add to my classroom and last minute check lists that seems to be growing. I have a feeling that will never end.

So a penny for my thoughts, oh no I'll sell em for a dollar....if you think you're fully prepared to go into whatever job you have straight out of college, you're wrong. You'll have those "holy crap what did I get myself into moments", but you'll find that you are more prepared than you think!

So here's to life..
Simply N

"Live in the Moments"

Any movie lovers reading this blog? If so let me tell you that Redbox is one of the best things ever invented. It's simple to use, easy, and unless you live where I do, lines are null and void. After waiting five minutes, it was my turn to check out the movie selection. Now, I am not a one of these Robert Pattinson obsessed fans, mainly because I haven't been that impressed with his acting in the Twilight series movies (which makes me a little mad because I'm a huge fan of the books), and quite honestly, he's not all that hot. However, I rented the movie "Remember Me" starring Rob Pat. and I thought, maybe, just maybe the acting wouldn't suck and it would be a decent movie. To my surprise Rob Pat can indeed act and there is a slight possibility that I actually find him somewhat hot now. But that is besides the point, "Remember Me" is a really intriguing, emotional love/drama that will leave anyone shocked by it's ending. The movie score is amazing as well.

With that being said, if you have not watched this movie and think that in the near future you will want to watch this movie, stop reading now...because I'm about to throw out a lot of SPOILERS and rant just a little. So if you don't want to see it(even through you really should), keep reading. But if you do STOP READING NOW

"Remember Me" takes place in 2001 and we are introduced to Tyler Hawkins (aka Rob Pattinson) whose life has been struck with the tragic loss of his older brother. He has an amazing relationship with his sister, Caroline and often is her backbone and main supporter. He has a loser for a father who really doesn't want anything to do with Tyler or his sister and is a workaholic businessman in New York. Tyler has his issues and gets involved with an altercation with a police officer. This throws a kink in his life, and his best friend convinces him to ask the police officer's daughter, Ally, out on a date. Well as you can guess, this date turns into a serious relationship and the poo hits the fan when she finds out why he asked her out in the first place. Now here is where I get mad. Throughout the whole movie, the father has nothing to do with the daughter or his son, but recent events has apparently made him have a change of heart and wants to be present in their lives. So Tyler and Ally have made up, their relationship is good, and Tyler leaves to meet his Dad at the office, and the dad is going to be late meeting him because he is taking Caroline to school. Long story short, his office is in the one of the Twin Towers and the last scene we see of Tyler is standing at the window of the South Tower. We see a clip at Caroline's school with the date September 11, 2001 written on the chalkboard. Now you can all guess what happens.

Now I know life isn't all roses and candies and thus not all love stories end with "happily ever after". I get that. I'm not that naive. But here's my issue, here we have a young boy who dearly loves his sister and has an amazing relationship with her, and yet he's the one that dies at the end. What the heck? I couldn't help but ask why in the world the father is the one that survives after the whole time in the film he's been a jerk and doesn't want anything to do with his kids. In my perfect "Remember Me" movie world the father would have died and Tyler would have lived. Because in my perfect movie world, Tyler was the one that was the supporter for Carloine and Ally, he was getting his life back after dealing with his brother's death, and he was the one that deserved to live. This movie had a bittersweet ending because like in many of the movies like this one, the father seems to turn his life around and you see him spending time with his daughter. So the overall outcome was meaningful...but still...really?....really? Tyler was the one who had to die? REALLY?.

This movie made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think about a lot of things in life we often take for granted. So make the time to spend with those you love, or care for. Make the time to call and talk to them, even if it's been years, months, or days. Don't leave things unsaid.

"Remember Me" will probably get added to my collection at some point and perhaps the movie poster on my wall...we shall see.

So here's to life.....
Simply N

Domestic Goddess

After working in my soon to be hobby/craft/work room for pretty much the entire day. I decided to actually cook a meal tonight. Now, this may have something to do with the fact that my parents are coming this evening to help move around some heavy things, but genuinely I had planned to fix meatloaf at some point and I figured today was just as good of a day as any.

I began to get everything together and as I started mixing the ingredients, I realized that I didn't have the onion soup mix or the oatmeal that typically (if I were at Mom and Dad's) would go into the mixture. Determined to make this work, I remembered that I had purchased an onion yesterday and had several packets of maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal. So I improvised and threw in the instant oatmeal and chopped up a little onion and tadah.....I had my meatloaf mixture.

What goes well with meatloaf? Mashed potatoes!!! So I boiled some potatoes, drained, added some milk and mashed them with my awesome hand-held mixer, added some cheese and TA-DAH!!!

It's delicious and very little clean-up was necessary. In the words of the ever so blunt Rosanne (even though I not a huge fan of that show) “I hate the word housewife; I don't like the word home-maker either. I want to be called Domestic Goddess.”

So here's to life! :)
Simply N

Walmart, Neighbors, and Boxes

Have you ever woke up, jumped out of bed with the momentum that "Today is the day I'm going to get things done."? Very rarely does this happen to me, most of the time, I like to take my time and wake up slowly, watch some TV and snack on something. Thus this is why I like to wake up about 30 mins earlier than necessary on school days. Today was one of those motivated mornings with the mission of venturing out to Walmart to by groceries. Now, I'm the type of person, most of the time, that takes my time, looks at my options at things I am buying and compare prices. However, since I've moved in to my apartment and my money is being spent on food, no comparison was in order. I went for the simplest, cheapest, off-brand products I could find. Now, I did not do this on everything, cereal, chicken, beef, and jello are not things that you compromise and buy the cheaper brand. Laugh all you want, but some things are just worth the extra dollar or odd change. I took my time, went down the isles and pretty much stuck with my list, and left $150.00 later. Holy Moly.
I come back to my apartment and put away my groceries, fix myself some lunch, because I refuse to grab something in town after spending so much on food at the store. While I'm enjoying my lunch, I hear a knock on my door. Looking out the peep hole, I don't see anybody, but decide to open the door anyway and take a look. It was two of my neighbor's kids who for some reason have been fascinated with the fact that I've moved in. They asked me endless questions, which I answered nicely, and then told them I had to go and they scampered off down the sidewalk. The next thing I know, I see one of them run past my window wearing a Burger King crown and the other chasing closely behind them. This made me giggle.
Now for an update on the box situation. Most of them are unpacked but now their seems to be an explosion of stuff all over the hobby/craft/work room. I can't wait until everything is organized! I feel a trip to Michaels coming on to get a few more photo boxes to use as storage. That will probably wait until Monday when the bff comes to visit :) Can't wait! So here's to life....
Simply N

Setting Up House

It's official, I am a proud renter and occupant of a two bedroom, one and a half bathroom townhouse. I was quickly welcomed by one of the neighbor kids who was very concerned when he looked in the back of the loaded trailer and couldn't see the TV. We assured him that I did have a TV, and he was also amazed that and I quote "you're going to have a trashcan too?!".
So after all the boxes were unloaded from the trailer and carried to their prospective rooms, I began to filter through and try to find the essential things I needed to have help put up and hung on the wall. It's amazing what you forget you packed when you moved. For example, I've found kitchen and cooking gadgets as well as books and other odds and ends that I probably really don't need, but look great in the places I have put them.
Although I've got a whole lot more to do, aka my office/craft/hobby room that will I'm sure take a few days, I've gotten a lot done in the short 24 hours that I've been moved in. The living room and kitchen/dining room are finished. So the main goal today, is getting the bathrooms organized and set up, and even possibly my bedroom. Ambitious? Yes, but I've got my Ipod charged and ready to get started! So here's to life!

Simply N

Fighting Gravity

Ok so I'm not a huge fan of America's Got Talent, but I have to say that the following group got my attention after reading an article from the Roanoke Times. That's right people, not only has Franklin County gotten on the map, (not because of moonshine, but with the Wright Kids), now Blacksburg, VA has been represented as well.

A group of Fraternity brothers from Virginia Tech have formed a group called "Fighting Gravity" that have not only made it passed auditions, but are now contenders in the Semi-Finals for America's Got Talent. Check out the video below, it will amaze you.

So now on Tuesday nights you can watch America's Got Talent and show your support, whether you're a Hokie or not (I mean it's not like it's football or basketball season yet), and let's get Virginia Tech on the news for something POSITIVE and help vote these guys to the finale!




So here's to life.....
Simply N

Packing Up and Moving Out

Boxes, boxes, and more boxes---this is the story of my life. I have come to the conclusion that in my 23 years of life, I have acquired entirely too much stuff. Seriously, I had no idea how much stuff I had in my room. Just to give you an idea, 1/2 my living room in my side of the house (at my parents' place) is full of loaded, heavy boxes. Boxes from everywhere including the ABC store, which I'm convinced, will make my soon to be neighbors think I'm an alcoholic.

Because I've known I would be moving for over a month, and being the eager person that I am, I decided it would be a good idea to start packing the day I signed the lease (June 15th) for the two bedroom apartment. Now, some of you are probably thinking, that was a good idea, she'll pack the things she won't need and then only have the essentials to pack closer to her move-in date. And this is what I did, but I didn't expect the minute that I packed the things I never use on a daily basis, I would have the desire to get out and use.

For example, some of my DVDs, which I haven't had the desire to watch in over a year, but yet the moment I pack them up, what do I want to do.....WATCH the DVDs. Needless to say this brought on about an hour search through boxes to find a particular DVD that was in a box labeled CDs and not DVDs.

In four days, these boxes that are taking up my living room, will be scattered throughout my new home and it will be just like Christmas looking through and sorting all the things I had forgotten I had packed over a month ago. Here's to life....

Simply N

Here's to Life

So as most of you know, I graduated from Radford University this past May with a degree to teach Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children PreK-12. I graduated on a Saturday, had an interview the following Monday with a school in Mississippi, and was offered the job the following Tuesday. Now most of you are probably thinking that Mississippi is a long way from my home, which you are correct, a whole whopping 11 hours away. So I went to check it out and was really excited about this new adventure I was about to accept.
While I was visiting the school, I got a call from a school district in Virginia wanting an interview. Suddenly life became complicated. Why you ask? Here I was certain that I was suppose to accept a job 11 hours away from my home and comfort-zone and now had the possibility to stay in Virginia. Life isn't as complicated when you only have one choice, but now I had two. I was so concerned and scared I was going to make the wrong decision. I wanted what so many people want and that is a clear sign, a voice to speak and tell me, YOU NEED TO BE HERE or THERE or SOMETHING.
So I interviewed the following Wednesday and was offered the job on the same day. It wasn't a loud voice from the heavens, or burning bush experience, but I'm pretty sure I got my answer.
The point of the matter is life doesn't have just one choice. Life is harder than it was when I was younger and I can't hide behind Mom's skirt or Dad's jeans. But the most exciting part about life, is the new beginnings and new experiences that are waiting when life gives you choices. So here's to life......

Simply N