The Puppy Blog

We got a puppy dog!

 

This is Itchy. (Ten points if you know where that name came from.) I've always wanted a wiener dog. No real, heart-warming reason other than I think they're hilarious. Long torso, short legs--it's me in dog form! I don't know anything about dogs.

Thankfully, Catherine and I worked out a deal a while back. She would help me raise my pets if I would help her raise her children. Yep, I straight up stole this picture from her facebook. She's doing something to a cat, which proves she really is in vet school. So soon-to-be Dr. Moe has been on speed dial lately.


Here's what I've learned in my 5 days of dog ownership:

If you rescue a dog from the Williamson County Animal Shelter, they will give you the following for free:

• Dog bed
• Harness
• 3 leashes
• Bag of food
• Toys

The dog will cost you $65. Not bad for a pureblood dachshund. (I haven't had to look up how to spell dachshund every time for the past 5 days......)

Itchy is really cuddly. This was the day we brought him home from the pound. He was pooped.

Itchy's Story:

Itchy and his sister lived together with an old lady. She tripped over them and broke her knee and hip, so they had to go. The first day at the pound, his sister was adopted. He's been pretty depressed ever since. I don't think he slept the entire time he was there because that's all he did from the moment we got in the car to go home.

This was Itchy's bear that the animal shelter gave us. He slept with it, played with it, fetched it...until he decided it was time for the squeaker to die. If you look by the bear's leg, you can see the squeaker. Itchy did not rest until the squeaker was out. The bear is now stuffing-free, but apparently still cuddle-able.

My favorite thing about Itchy is that his dinosaur legs are so short that when he lays on his side, his top two legs don't touch the ground. He reminds us of kids when they pull their arms inside their shirts and just let their hands hang out. That's pretty much Itchy's life.

Okay, enough about the wiener dog. I'm sure we'll have more stories in the coming years. Apparently wiener dogs live for like 18 years. Definitely didn't know that...

Today was a big day for Chris and I. 

Chris started physical therapy school. He really likes it so far. He says they just had orientation and syllabus reading today, so I'm not really sure what he's been studying for the past 3 hours...

I had 2 interviews today at elementary schools in Rutherford County. I have a few more tomorrow. I'm very thankful for all the prayers and ask that you continue praying that God will open the right job for me. I can't wait to love on some new kids somewhere.

I got a Nashville library card today. When I was in high school, I went to the library all the time. I actually tried to get a library card in Knoxville one time, but they wouldn't take any of the proof of residency documents I brought with me, including a signed form from my dorm on UT's campus. I held a grudge about that for the next seven years...because I'm a grudge-holder. (Working on getting better at that...) The Nashville Public Library gave me a card on the first try, so we're friends for now. I got A Tale of Two Cities, because I am intimidated by the smart-looking librarians and feel embarrassed getting the trashy cheap novels that I really want to read by the pool. I think I saw a self-checkout device, though, so I'm going to look into that next time.

Okay before I go, one more mention of the puppy:

Chris and I apologize to Leslie and Terry for when our wiener dog attacked your pit bull mix. We are enrolling him in obedience classes at the end of June. We hope Tyson has recovered.

The Move to Nashville

We did it. We moved to Nashville. It was hard to believe it would actually happen. We've talked about it for so long, but as it turns out, the actual process of moving takes longer than a year of talking about it. I've been without legal internet for about a week, so we have a lot to catch up on.

Last Friday, Chris loaded up our Knoxville apartment into the moving truck while I partied with my kids on their last day. (BIG thanks to Kevin A. and CatMoe for taking the place of his delinquent wife.) We loaded up and drove to Murfreesboro, where we spent the night to rest.

Saturday was MOVING DAY! It started a little stressful when we were one of 5 move-ins at our new apartment. Apparently each move-in takes 1 and 1/2 hours. So we were quick like jaguars and snuck in before all the others. Total time in leasing office: 20 minutes. Muahahaha!

Fast forward 3 hours and this was the situation:

Our dining room.

Another BIG thanks to Britney, Bobby, Michael, and my mom for helping us move! I was being moderately helpful until I discovered this:

Our first ice cubes.

YES! Those are ice cubes! An ice cube maker! No more popping ice cube trays! I was too excited about this the rest of the day to be helpful. We were pretty pooped after 2 days of moving, so we took a nap and tried some Fat Mo's Burgers. Decent.

The next day, I had to go back to Knoxville to finish my last 2 days of school. I had the following items:

• Air mattress + pump
• Lawn chair
• Computer
• TV
• Suitcase of essentials

It was like camping.

School was pretty uneventful. And by that, I mean a lot uneventful. I came back to Nashville on Tuesday, but not before a little excitement. It was my job to finish cleaning the Knoxville apartment and return the Comcast equipment to Comcast. Simple enough. Except I couldn't get any of the cables out of the TV, cable boxes, or modems. And I had no tools. After 30 minutes of doing my best to twist the cables loose and fearing that Comcast would close (and I would have to spend another night on the air mattress), I found a solution.

Take ALL of the cables, TV, cable box, and modem into Comcast STILL CONNECTED and let them help me. Yes, I looked ridiculous carrying all of these things into Comcast. But you know what? They got it unhooked and I drove to Nashville. Problem solved.

This is what awaited me when I arrived in our *new* home:

My increasingly awesome husband had prepared dinner (in the crockpot, no less!) and bought me roses! You can all be jealous for a while.

Yesterday was busy. We bought a washer and dryer. Hello?! Are we old enough to buy a washer and dryer? It is not okay how excited I am about it, either.

The goods.

We did not buy a chair.

But Chris found a chair. He calls it his throne. This is on our wish list. When is the next opportunity to register for gifts? (just kidding)

Study chair? Or sleeping chair?

I decided that the best way to thank Chris for spending a week painting to make us some money, would be to ask him to paint our new apartment. Miraculously, he agreed! With conditions-- he would edge the room if I rolled the walls. The outcome? Not bad!

The walls match the pillows on our couches. We didn't take the pillow into Home Depot to have it match or anything.

Okay, we did.

Today was a business day at Tennessee State. Getting ID's, paying tuition (BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!), not getting parking permits, and being mauled by cicadas.

First dinner that I've cooked in our new home? Cheesy Meatloaf Minis. They were adorable and delicious.

That's about all the excitement for now. We have a little more than half of all the boxes unpacked. Those are my projects for the next week while Chris starts PT school.

I do have a prayer request, though. I have two interviews for teaching positions next week. While I am comforted in knowing that God is going to provide for us somehow during our time in Nashville, I would really appreciate a specific prayer that God would save one of these positions for me. Pray that the interview would go smoothly, I will be calm, and the schools will be open to my ideas.

Thanks, friends.

Funny Things about Teaching PreK

Tomorrow is my last day with my PreK babes. I'm going to miss teaching the little ones so much! They love you when you are not wearing makeup. (Even though they ALWAYS ask why you look ugly today.) They love you when you just chewed them out. They love you when you are not feeling good. And they love you no matter how bad your hair looks, and usually offer to "fix it" for you.

So here are a few things I have found to be really funny about being a PreK teacher...

Crumbs on Shirt

Kids. Are. Messy. I don't know how they can stand to walk around with that much stuff on their fingers. Now, when I say "Crumbs on Shirt" is a funny thing about teaching, I don't mean crumbs on kids' shirts. I'm talking about MY shirt. I tried to take a picture but it was hard to see. Every day, always, I have a line of crumbs, playdough, paint, and other mysterious substances in a straight line across the bottom of my shirt. "How does this happen?" you might ask. For a while, I thought I was leaning against tables that weren't clean yet. But then I began to notice that the crumb line is at the exact height that my kids always tap me to get my attention. (If you aren't around kids much, you may not know that children will tap you and say your name for an hour straight until you acknowledge them.) At the beginning of each year, my kids always tap me...let's say...a little "higher." After about a month, I train them that you are not allowed to touch women there, and they move their sights to my midsection. Hence, the line of finger prints on all my shirts.


Awkward Positions

Why yes, that is me stabbing a pumpkin with a very large knife. And sometimes, with classrooms experiments, there's just no classy and professional way to get the job done. I also find myself squeezing in very small spaces, such as the 10-inch-wide chairs or when the kids "save you a spot" in the circle. The most awkward position? When the kids daily want to measure themselves compared to me. Just take a guess where all of their heads measure...



Snot, Poop, and Blowing Chunks
It doesn't bother me anymore. In fact, "Mrs. Laura! Come look at what I did in the bathroom!" is one of the most common phrases heard in my class.

The best bathroom story? When the boys decided to have a "peeing for distance" contest.


Awkward Books

I have found all of these in my classroom.

To be fair, all of them are appropriate at very specific times with only the child who needs it. Mostly though...just awkward. And funny when the kids find them on the shelf and ask you to read it.



Compliments I've Received...
"I like your ears."

"You are very tall."

"You look skinny today."

"You look better with makeup."

"I like when you yell at me with your inside voice."

"I have those shoes too."

"My dad thinks you're hot."

"My mom wants to know how old you are."

"I thought you were 47."

"Can I have your purse?"

"Your eyes look better with the sparkly stuff."

"I want big teeth like you."

"I'm going to steal your job when I grow up."

And finally...

               "Tell Mr. Chris to go home. You're mine."

S T R E S S

This might possibly the most stressed out I've ever been. For 3 reasons:

1. This is the last week of school.
The last week of school is notorious for kids who are DONE. Teachers who are DONE. And parents who are freaking out because they're not sure what to do with their kids for 2 months. This week's tasks include: finish preparing my little dudes for kindergarten, finish the last few parent-teacher conferences, assemble and organize assessment folders, prepare cumulative records, aaaaand this:

This is my classroom. You might be thinking, "Oh wow! What a cute little classroom." While you are correct, you are mis-informed. In about 3 days, this classroom needs to be EMPTY. Toys in storage. Nothing on the walls. Furniture stacked in the corner. Rugs rolled up. Electronics turned in. Normally, this isn't too bad. But this year, my final departure to Nashville depends on how fast this gets done. I am stressed, tired, and sore just thinking about it.


2. We are moving to Nashville this weekend.
This is pretty exciting, but the moving process is pretty un-exciting. I started packing last week. Chris has been home packing all this week. This is what is accomplished:

Poor Chris is almost lost in boxes.

 Now, we do have a LOT of boxes packed, but we're not done yet. Moving is a complicated dance of "How much longer do we need this?" And "Will we need this before Friday?" And "I completely forgot we had this!" And "Oh crap! I already packed that important thing I need right now!"

To be honest, Chris is handling most of the physical labor of the move. Probably because I can't even pick up the medium boxes. And I can't see where I'm going if I help carry furniture. I've been in charge of the business side. Canceling KUB and Comcast. Changing renters insurance and mailing addresses. Renting the moving truck. Finalizing plans with the new apartment. Finalizing plans with the old apartment. Finding things that still need to be changed to my new name....haha.

The fun side of moving:

We must clean out the freezer of foods that won't make it to Nashville. Let's take a tour of what was apparently in our freezer. On the left, we have shoestring french fries. Any surprise I have frozen potatoes in my freezer? No. Moving on to the upper middle, we have popcorn chicken. Again, no surprise. The bottom middle contains popcorn shrimp. Neither of us knew when this was purchased, but it smelled okay. The far right contains 9 bagel bites. We did throw away the hashbrowns that had "Laura" written across it. Mostly because the last time I wrote "Laura" on my frozen food was 2008 when I shared a freezer with 6 other girls, one of them being Leslie and neither of us could write "L" on our food. I'm a little embarrassed by the dinner we ate tonight, but at least it doesn't compare to the bridal shower my bridesmaids threw for me:

Potato skins, candy orange slices, candy corn, Chick-Fil-A nuggets, Swiss Cake rolls, pringles, and cheesecake.

To sum up, moving is no fun. I'm tired of smelling cardboard all the time and not looking forward to carrying all this stuff to and from the truck. Also- this is an all-call to people in Nashville. We need some help!

3. Job Hunting
This has got the be the single most frustrating thing in the entire world. I know I am a good teacher. But that doesn't mean schools have openings. Or that my resume will come flying out of a stack of 500 and smack a principal in the face. (I haven't wished that or anything...) This is what I have been most stressed out about. I need and want a job. I am supporting Chris through grad school. I haven't quite figured out how to do that without having a job. Applying for jobs is time consuming and hard work.

However...I do have some promising leads. The job fair last Saturday gave me the opportunity to meet some great people and hear positive feedback on my resume. I have several people who asked me to e-mail/call them, and I've even received an interview request from someone who gave no feedback at the job fair. Yesterday, a principal asked if I could do a Skype interview today, since I'm too far away to drive in for an interview. I agreed, then quickly tried to create a Skype account and figure out this video chatting business. After some practice with Mark and Mrs. O'B, I learned that my favorite way to look at the camera is upside down from behind the computer, and I have a tendency to stare at everything in the room except the computer. This was going to be a problem when the interview time came. Fortunately, the principal didn't receive his "Skype computer" in time so it became a phone interview. I am very thankful that I've had some interview offers, because when I graduated college, I only received one call ever--the job I'm currently employed in. Apparently, having experience really does make a difference.






So there we go. Between finishing the school, moving, and job hunting/interviewing...all taking place this week...I've been pretty stressed. I'm so thankful God gave me a husband that remains calm at all times, lets me wrap around him when I'm freaking out, and works twice as hard as I do.



Adventures in Cooking: I mean, did you see the picture above? This was our last home-cooked meal until Nashville. The pots and pans are officially packed.

I love Chris because...: He goes to the grocery store with me to buy treats for my little dudes, then goes back out with me because I forgot something on the first trip. :-)

Person I'm Missing Today: Fellow UT Education friend Jessica Greer and our lunch/naptime breaks at Golf Range, and Panera dates to plan our life timelines.

Practicum Teaching Partners LC and Whitney

Bible Verse that Rocks Today:
Matthew 6: 27 "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Job Fairs and Viruses

I went to a job fair on Saturday. Here's what I learned:


Do's:

1. Dress appropriately.
2. Bring your resume.
3. Attach a picture to your resume. (There were 500 people there. How were those principals supposed to remember which resume belonged to the little red headed girl?)
4. Shake hands.
5. Don't ramble, but don't waste your opportunity to tell them you're awesome.

Don'ts:

1. Wear t-shirts and jeans.
2. Walk around with a can of Mountain Dew. (NO this wasn't me. ha. ha.)
3. Skip the lines you think are "too long."
4. Giggle and gossip with your friends standing in line with you.
5. Go home and post on facebook how rude all the principals were.

 Just a few things I picked up. I have no real news to report. I got some nibbles. Met a lot of nice people. Had positive feedback. Overall, I feel good about the day. I can't wait to see how some of these contacts turn out!


I have a virus.
A computer virus, that is. This is the second time in a month. It's called XP Anti-Virus 2011. It looks totally legit when it starts running. First, it closes the internet and begins a "scan" of your computer. Then it tells you there are several infections and the only way to correct this is by purchasing their software for $79.99. Here's a screen shot:

See. Looks like something Windows XP would actually run. It took 3 hours to remove it last time. This time, it's been a little bit faster since I already had the removal software downloaded. Very frustrating though!


Other News

• This week is my last week of school with my little dudes. I'm gonna miss them like crazy but I'm so proud of my soon-to-be kindergarteners!
• Our apartment smells like cardboard boxes.
• This is also packing week. We're moving to Nashville on Friday.
• My mom and I got manicures yesterday. My nails are purple!
• Chris came home today. :-)

Adventures in Cooking: We finally had our date to Sunspot and relived our first date. No cooking this week, mostly because we just packed most of the kitchen.

I love Chris because: He always works so hard until the job is done.

Person I'm Missing Today: Liz and our trips to get snow cones and break into other apartments' pools. We lived together for 3 years during college and enjoyed many trips to Target and singing the classic rock song "Jessica" in the car. Yes..."Jessica" has no words.

We're trying to pose like our roommate Catherine. Circa 2009.

Bible Verse that Rocks Today: 
Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

The Story of Us (from My Point of View)

This has been the background of my computer since April 2009.

Almost everyone has heard the story of how we met. Or at least the version we agreed upon that was acceptable for public consumption. Chris is in Mississippi this week and I'm missing him a heck of a lot. So I thought I would share the story of how Chris came into my life. Not exactly a "how we met" story, but definitely a story of God's timing and ultimate control in my life.


We first met on October 5, 2007 at the BCM Barn Party. I had recently come through an extremely difficult break up, which was only made worse by the fact that my ex and I went to the same church, had the same friend group, and saw each other at every social event. I was looking for a fun night with new people so there wouldn't be an "ex sighting." The answer? Square dancing. The problem? My ex had the same idea. Needless to say, I was bummed. But my roommate Liz came to the rescue! I think her exact words were, "I'm going to find a hot guy to dance with you. Don't move." She came back with Chris. He offered me a pity dance, and we went our separate ways. Because this was not God's timing. I wasn't terribly fond of boys at the time, and Chris had a girlfriend.

--Side bar-- I didn't remember Chris had been my pity dance that night until he reminded me. I didn't believe him for a while, but then we found photographic proof:

The moment I met my husband.

Over the next year, Chris and I ran into each other 2 or 3 times. Never actually spoke. We both went to Jamaica for a mission trip in March 2008, but I only remember seeing him when he was with my friend Matt and the one time he sat behind me on the taxi bus.

Summer 2008 was an interesting time. I sort of accidentally went on dates with 4 boys in a 3 week time span. (In my defense, for 2 of them I showed up in jeans and a t shirt because I thought it was a casual dinner with a friend, only to find the guy dressed up and clearly in date mode.) I was very confused and this was so not like me, so God and I had a come to Jesus moment. I told all of them that I did not want to date anyone right now and completely swore off boys until my year long teaching internship was over.

God had different plans. Turns out, He was ready this time.

I went to help with Calvary's annual Operation Contact, a day where my church helps the incoming freshmen at UT unload their cars and carry all their stuff to their dorm rooms. My job is to saran wrap all their luggage onto carts so that nothing falls. Little did I know, Chris and his BFF Mark Jennings were watching me do this from the courtyard. Mark was a mutual friend of mine from Calvary, and he offered to officially introduce Chris to me--sans pity. After brief hello's, we went our separate ways again. I was committed to no boys.

The next Sunday, Chris came with Mark to Calvary. They stood awkwardly by my friends and I's pew for a while, so we invited them to sit with us. They crawled over all my friends, and Chris plopped down next to me. After the service, we were all discussing where we would eat lunch, and since Mark and Chris were listening to our entire conversation, we invited them. This led to an evening at Boom's Day together.

From then on, Mark and Chris just seemed to pop up everywhere. You know the rest of the story--the car parking scheme so that Chris would have to see me every weekend. One night after just leaving my house, he called me back to ask if I would go to dinner with him. Later that week, we had dinner at Sunspot then went to a bonfire. God started really speaking to me then. After much praying and asking God if he approved of Chris, I got a resounding YES. An actual excerpt from my prayer journal the night of our first date:

A few days later, we went to Guthries for dinner. Things got real, and we had a heart-to-heart than has never been equaled. We shared our past experiences in relationships, our hopes for future relationships, and how this might work.

A few nights later, on October 1, 2008, he kissed me on front porch with all my roommates listening, so that we could discuss it mere seconds later. We've been together ever since.

And we lived happily ever after.


Things I have learned about what my life would be like without Chris...

Chris has been in Mississippi for 3 days. In those 3 days I have learned several things about myself:
1. I watch more reality TV than even I ever thought possible.

2. I have used the same pan, cup, and straw for dinner the past 3 nights. I've found the floor is the safest place to store these things.
3. I still close the door to the use the bathroom even though no one is home.
4. I put the chain on the door at 3:00 in the afternoon.
5. I cannot adjust the coffee pot for just one person.
6. I'm being selective with what I throw away so that I might avoid taking the trash out before Chris gets home.
7. I sleep on Chris' pillow exclusively.
8. I do not turn the light on to get dressed because just-woke-up-Laura still thinks Chris is asleep.

I think we can all agree that God foresaw this and knew that I would be better off with a husband to keep me in line.

I love you, Chris!!

Mother's Day and Lestic

Charleston, SC (2006)

Mother's Day 2011 (one day late)

I've known my mom for 25 years. Our relationship started a little rocky. Apparently I cried 28 hours a day and accepted nothing less than chocolate ice cream on my pacifier. Things got real when it took 3 people to hold me down long enough to give me Dimatapp. We reached a turning point after I watched my younger brother Mark receive a brutal whipping with a bubble sword. (just kidding...) After that, it's been pretty smooth sailing.

Reasons my mom is awesome:
1. Always willing to fry vegetables, meat, snacks, etc.
2. Gave me red hair.
3. Let me talk her into getting a cat in 7th grade. Said cat is still going strong...and still cared for by her.
4. Drove me to 19,237 softball practices and 8,373 softball games, most of which were 2-3 hours away.
5. Made me go to college away from home.
6. Taught me how to be an amazing teacher.
7. Did my laundry til I graduated high school.
8. Willing to overlook the first four years of my life.
9. Always kept the pantry stocked with Little Debbies, potato chips, and Cheese Nips
10. Loves me despite my faults, imperfections, attitude, and mood swings.


I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!


In Other News...
Applying to jobs is one of the most frustrating, humbling thing in the world. I hate e-mailing people and begging them for a job. Yet, I e-mailed 3 more principals today....

Chris drove to Mississippi today to help his parents paint their new cottage. He'll be there for the next week. I want to spend this week in my bed, under the covers, asleep until next Monday.

I won't be in my bed til next Monday, though, because I have 20 parent-teacher conferences this week. Yeah...

Chris has a very strict "no ranting" policy for my blog. We'll see how long this holds up since he's not here. I'm pretty angry...

 Happy Birthday to my BFF, Maid of Honor.5, College Roomie Leslie "the Lestic" Street!!

Jamaica Mission Trip 2008

Leslie and I have shared many hours of Friends, America's Next Top Model, and any show from Discovery Health about strange and deformed people. We have made many emergency trips to Marble Slab for healing ice cream, as well as "Bruster's Fridays" in our pajamas for lunch. I am looking forward to moving back to Nashville and spending every night knocking down her door because "I Am My Own Twin" is on again. Lurve you!

Bible Verse that Rocks Today: 

Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." 

Locks of Love 2011

You Know Your Hair is Too Long If...: You can donate it to Locks of Love for the fourth time!

Before.

After.

It's been three years since my last Locks of Love cut, so it was about time. Also, I'm going to a job fair next weekend, and I wanted to have a more professional, less hippie look. I wanted Chris to come with me, but he got off the hook at the last second with a paint sprayer emergency. (Boys...) Well, this trip to the salon was not without drama. They placed me with the Russian, non-English speaking stylist who couldn't understand what I wanted her to do. I asked for three things:
1. Layers.
2. Side-swept bangs.
3. No duck butt. (Super short in the back, long in the front.)

As you can tell, I avoided the duck butt, but I have no layers or bangs. I have a feeling this is because they offer Locks of Love cuts for free, so they place donors with non-English speaking stylists. No money out of pocket equals no complaints, right? Wrong. They got a complaint...or should receive it in 3-5 days rather.

Russian stylists aside, I was pretty happy to donate my hair. It grows an inch a month. (I'm not exaggerating. I sometimes worry that our children will inherit Chris' hairiness and my speed of hair growth. We will have wolf children.) As a redhead, my hair is one of my most identifying features. It's the number one thing I receive compliments on. I can't imagine losing all my hair, especially as a child. I hope this organization is able to continue operating for years to come! Consider donating your hair if you are blessed with insane hair growth genes!


Weird Stuff at the Knoxville Zoo:
1. Fighting rhinos. 3 against 1. There was blood.
2. Poop-flinging elephants.
3. A gorilla's butt pressed against the glass.
4. White alligator thrashing at the 4 year olds.
5. 12 elementary schools and not a single person who looked like they were in charge.

The animals were in a finicky mood for our field trip on Friday. The day started off crazy, as all field trips do. People are way too impatient. But as the day calmed down, it was so much fun to see my kiddos running around the zoo with their families. The best part? Even though they see me 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, running into me at the zoo still prompts squeals of "Mrs. Laura!" and hugs. I'm gonna miss these little ones.


Adventures in Cooking: We made spinach salads tonight. A little spinach, a little feta, throw on some popcorn chicken and bacon to make sure it's not too healthy...voila! Yummy!

 

Person I'm Missing Today: Matt Kennedy and endless hours of Braves games.

Circa 2010.

Bible Verse that Rocks Today:

Psalm 103: 2-5 "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

Nostalgia

I have been very nostalgic these past few weeks. Leaving Knoxville feels like leaving my first real home. Back in December, Chris and I started a list of places we wanted to go to one more time before moving away. This mainly included places that were important to us as a couple (Apple Barn, The Cupcakery) or famous Knoxville-esque places (Chesapeake's, Brazeiros). The list has steadily grown, but we've managed to cross off almost all of them. Tonight, we shared our favorite Stefano's pizza for the last time. When Chris lived at the BCM, we went to Stefano's after every TNT and ordered a whole wheat, white sauce, chicken and bacon pizza. So good.

I'm going to miss our cute little traditions that we began when we barely knew each other. Many of these have carried over into our married life, and I hope we can continue them with our own children. (The kids are going to LOVE Taco Bell date night.)

By the way, our first date was to Sunspot. I'm still waiting to cross that last one off the list, Chris...




Warning: The following is a small peak into Laura's soul. Turn around if repulsed by emotions.
This past week has been a really hard week. No real reason, either. Maybe it's all the upcoming changes. Maybe the knowledge that Chris will be gone all next week--our first time apart since being married. Maybe it's the hormones. Either way, I have been mopey and tired and prone to cry at Geico commercials.

This morning on the way to work, I heard Casting Crown's East to West. This verse pretty much summed up my life recently:

I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again
Your Truth is drowned out
By the storm I'm in


The Truth part is the kicker. I don't know if anyone else struggles with this, but I feel like I am constantly bombarded with worrisome thoughts and anxieties about what could happen. When nostalgia kicks in, like it has with the big move to Nashville, living in the past (a BIG struggle of mine) also kicks in. Then I worry about what did happen and what will happen because of it. These scenes are played out in my dreams. So I very much identify with Casting Crown's idea that waking up feels like starting the war all over again.

My prayer is that God will make his Truth louder than the lies. That I will only dwell on what God has shown me to be real. I am a careful planner, but I don't want to live too far in the future that it consumes me. "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) As I said earlier, constantly thinking about the past is probably one of my greatest sins. Well, 2007 called and would like their memories back. "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past." (Isaiah 43:18) I very much pray that God will eliminate these anxieties for both events that have already happened and events that have yet to happen. And because I always wish people did this more: I ask that you pray for these things for me too. "Carry each others' burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)


Alright, enough soul sharing. Back to the daily grind.

Adventures in Cooking: I have been eating whole wheat bagels with peanut butter every morning for breakfast lately. You may ask, "Why, Laura? Why are you eating foods that do not contain sugar or artificial flavorings? That seems so unlike you." Well--my doctor banned me from poptarts. That's right. Apparently, eating a poptart every day for 2 years will give you a sugar rush that results in diabetes-like symptoms. Who knew?

You Know Your Hair is Too Long If...: You buy dry shampoo to avoid the 2+ hours it takes to wash, comb, dry, and style hair that is long enough to tuck into your belt.

Greatest invention ever.

Person I'm Missing Today: My dad and his random phone calls when he's driving.

The day before my wedding.

Bible Verse that Rocks Today:
Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

My Glasses Came from the Kids' Section...

I'm currently watching Wheel of Fortune, so this could take a while. I'm awesome at Wheel of Fortune. Like, solved the puzzle with no letters showing awesome. I'm also awesome at Guitar Hero, but that's a different story. For now, laugh at my Wheel of Fortune geekiness and I'll explain the Guitar Hero later...



Yes, the title of this post is true.

So this week is Teacher Appreciation Week across the nation. I'm not gonna lie...I'm pretty jealous of all my teacher friends who have posted on facebook all the flowers, chocolate, gift cards, fruit, and even flip flops they have received. My school doesn't celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week...mostly because it would be up to me to inform my parents that this is Teacher Appreciation Week, and I'm not that conceited. But I remember Teacher Appreciation Week when I was at Farragut, and it's a pretty sweet week that almost makes up for everything teachers do during the whole year. One day was "Flower Day" and I came home with several bouquets of flowers. One day was "Fruit Day." That day was a little awkward because I think people sent in fruit they found lying around their homes, but it was a pretty display for a while. We had a potluck lunch one day. Everyone was so nice. I wanted to do a Parent Appreciation Week afterward.

Working at a low-income school has been a huge change from Farragut. Perhaps more rewarding in a less obvious way. When I taught at Farragut, I received over $200 in gift cards for Christmas alone. In the past 2 years at my current school, I have received 3 candles, a handful of chocolate, and one pair of white socks. This has meant more to me than any number of gift cards ever could. Families in my classroom struggle for daily needs. Why would they spend money on a gift for me? They tell me everyday with their hugs -yes, parent hugs- that they appreciate me. This is my Teacher Appreciation Week.



In other news, we're going on a field trip to the zoo this Friday. I'm tired just thinking about it.


In other, other news, I am not okay with the amount of change taking place at this current moment in life. This is my last weekend in Knoxville. [tear] Sunday is my last Sunday at Calvary. [sob] I am about to enter the world of the unemployed (hopefully temporarily). I will consider blogging about this, but I'm not sure my emotional health can take much more reminiscing right now.


Adventures in Cooking: Yesterday, Chris invited our community group over for dinner. I found out at 3:30 when I got home. We embarked on an adventure to cook everything in our kitchen without having to go to the grocery store. The result? This recipe consisting of chicken, rice, cheese, and pretty much all the spices we own. Chris made mozzarella-crescent roll puffs (delicious). Sides included peas, carrots, and cucumber. It was so good, we had it for dinner again tonight! (Read: "We were lazy tonight.")

 

You Know Your Hair is Too Long If...: You wash your hair at 9:00 pm and decide to let it dry over-night. When you wake up 9 hours later, it is still wet...

Circa 2008.

We switched pants one day. She's a foot taller.

Person I'm Missing Today: Heather and our old room at the Fellowship House...with the line of crap (mine) separating our sides of the room.

Bible Verse that Rocks Today:
Psalm 112:8 "His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes."