WILW

I apologize for the lack of posting lately, I have quite the little busy bee juggling my student internship, graduate school applications and job applications. It amazes me how different my time was spent one year ago, with no worries, compared to now with lots of worries. I will admitt that I am a tad stressed and very busy but that hasn't stopped me from loving many things on this gorgeous Wednesday! Perfect time to link up with Jamie at this kind of love.

I'm loving that the weather will be in the 70's until Saturday!

I'm loving my fun Target finds that I meant to post about almost a month ago.

I'm NOT loving that all of my friends are going on Spring Break next week while I must stay here and continue to attend my internship. I AM loving that many of my friends will be heading to the Bahamas, can't help but be excited for them!

I'm loving March begins tomorrow! Where does the time go?

I'm loving the Banana nut muffins my grandmother sent me! yum!

I'm loving that Dr. Seuss birthday is this week!

I'm loving this quote. I have got to start remember this and stop stressing about things!!

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Just for kicks

Friday!!

It's Friday!!

Yesterday when I finished babysitting I had to head outdoors considering it was 70 degrees and gorgeous!! I met up with two of my girlfriends and we did a little "front porch sitting". As amazing as that was, it didn't leave me much time to put a post together for today. I think that's okay though because it's Friday and what more does anyone need to know. YAY!!

Have a great day!!

Back at it

I have had the past two days off from my internship and it was SO nice! On Tuesday I attended my first career fair specifically for education. It was three hours of non stop education talk and resume handing. I left feeling overwhelmed but also excited. I can't believe I actually am old enough to have a resume! All of the school districts I am interested in, with the exception of one, were in attendance so I was pleased!

my outfit

After my overwhelming day, knowing I didn't have my internship the next day and finding out that I PASSED PRAXIS II I couldn't resist celebrating Mardi Gras that night(:

Wednesday morning I woke up bright and early to attend the Mary Lois Staton Language Arts conference. It was an all day program that focused on literacy techniques for teachers. It was absolutley amazing! I'm so glad I had the opportunity to attend. During the conference we were given a one hour lunch break. To a second grade teacher who has to pack a lunch every day and rush to eat it while monitoring 24 seven year olds, an hour break is the best thing since sliced bread. I headed over to a bagel shop and got this delicious Veggie bagel! Yum!

Even though I was still busy both days, having the day off from my internship was very relaxing! I am not well rested and ready to finish off these next two days before the weekend arrives. Happy Thursday friends! .

Under The Boardwalk

Under the boardwalk, we'll be having some fun.

I am having an itch to escape to the beach..

I want to wear shorts

and relax all day on the beach

and eat fresh seafood

and do a little shopping

and go to bed tired from my slight sunburn

That is all.. it's not too much to ask is it? Anyone live by the sea that would like me to visit?!(:

Relaxing Weekend

Being in my internship this semester has made me take on a new appreciation for my weekends. I enjoy having days to spend however I please, laying around in the morning with a cup of coffee, waisting time on the web and catching up with family and friends. I'm pretty sure I say this every Monday, but I just simply do not understand how my weekends can go by so fast.

This weekend was absolutely perfect! Friday night I caught up with several friends at a local Mexican restaurant over drinks and cheese dip. I had debated staying in but when my friend called me and said Mexican I knew I had to go! That's my weakness! After catching up for a while and comparing internship stories we headed out to a nearby Tavern to listen to a band called The Remedy. They play "feel good music" meaning a little bit of everything that is perfect to dance to. I am a sucker for good music and absolutely love to shag. Lucky for me one of my good guy friends who is also an amazing dancer was there so I was able to dance the night away.

Saturday morning my sister and I headed to Lake Gaston to meet my family. I couldn't wait to get there because the weather was absolutely gorgeous!! Warm and sunny= the perfect Lake day! Ginny and I stopped in Rocky Mount on the way to run in a few shops and I got some fun purchases. When we finally got to the lake I decided it would be perfect to take a chair down to the dock, grab a pillow and a blanket and start my new book. So that's just what I did, and it was amazing. I may or may not have even fell asleep for a little bit(;

That night my family had a celebration for Ginny's birthday complete with cocktail shrimp, steak kabobs, baked and sweet potatoes, fresh salad and key lime cake. Yum!! We had so much fun catching up! Sunday afternoon we had to head back to school and I began working on lesson plans and getting things ready for the week. They are calling for snow tonight so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a 2 hour delay tomorrow!

Birthday Central

If you saw the post before this one you know it's my little sisters birthday! Happy Birthday Ginny!! Did you know there is another birthday to celebrate today?! This little ole' blog's one year old today! I thought my sister and my blog both deserved a post of their own(:

When I started this blog I had no expectations to have any followers or to meet anyone. It was simply a way to kill time and an outlet to talk about things that were on my mind. I didn't even tell my friends or family I had a blog for a while!

Boy was I in for a surprise!

This blog has opened so many doors for me. I have found amazing blogs to follow that have allowed me to follow along on all of your journeys through life. I have met actual friends. I have connected with other girls that I have entirely way too much in common with and learned more than I could imagine about myself through blogging. I honestly had no idea this little hobby would last an entire year!

Let's take a look where I was a year ago:

This picture was taken EXACTLY one year ago. I know because it was Ginny's birthday(:
Notice my bare legs? It was upper 70's that day!

I was a junior in college tackling way too much. I was taking an 18 hour course load, working two jobs: babysitting after school and working as an office assistant in the Business and Informational Technology building, serving on the Executive Council as House Manager for my sorority, Living with 22 girls in the ZTA house, in a serious relationship and completing all my duties as a Teaching Fellow. Looking back I know I was taking on way too much. I would often times find myself stressed and unhappy. I believe when I started blogging it made me put a lot of things into perspective and rearrange my priorities! (All for the better) oh and I only had ONE Basset Hound!

Let's take a look at how I have changed over the past year.

and if I changed so did my blog- it is a reflection of me after all!

My family got Charlie, our second Basset Hound!!

I learned to appreciate simple things like being home with my family for the Holidays

My love for beach music grew as I attended many concerts & festivals

I finished up my junior year as well as my two jobs and moved home for the summer. I was nervous to go from being so busy everyday to doing n-o-t-h-i-n-g. Living in a small town I didn't think I would be happy at all. Surprise, surprise! It was the best summer ever!! I learned to relax more than I had the entire past school year. I spent almost every day at the pool or the beach reading.

If that isn't the definition of relaxation I don't know what is..



My grandmother passed away. While this was a very heartbreaking and difficult time, it also allowed my mom, sister and I to grow spiritually together.

I turned 21- that was a fun and long awaited milestone!

I experienced a tornado, a hurricane and a campus lock down all while at school!

I started my senior year of college. Talk about a reality check! It hit me that time is precious and my college journey was coming to a close. I couldn't wrap my head around this and decided I was not going to waist one minute of this last year. This is also the time my boyfriend and I broke up. I think a big part of that decision had to do with school and timing.

I met some AMAZING people through my blog. Seriously, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for the friendships that have been created through this world of blogging.

I had a true realization that it is your decision if you want to be happy or not. It's as simple as: If you want to be happy, then be. If you don't, then don't. This realization has helped me to find true happiness in each and every day- even on my very worst day. I know my very worst day could be someone else's best day.

I normally pout all through fall and winter about how much I miss summer. Not this year! I embraced fall and loved every moment of the season. I'm still working on winter(;

I started second semester, meaning my last semester in college and began my internship full time. I can't say this hasn't crossed my mind:



and that leads us to here!

Where am I now?

I'm finishing up my last semester in school before I graduate. I'm in an internship in a second grade class and loving every single minute of it. I'm still babysitting the same girl. I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself in May when I enter the big girl world. And lastly, I'm just happy.

Not a bad year right?

Happy Birthday A Sweet Simple Southern Life

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Ginny

Happy 20th birthday to the sweetest girl and best sister I could ever ask for. I love you!

Favorites

I hope you all had a happy hump day! I had another observation with my university supervisor and am glad to report that it went great! Now that she has done two announced observations the rest will be unannounced. But any who, moving along..

When I discover a new favorite "thing" I tend to obsess over it until something new comes along. For example- When I find a new song I like I listen to it on repeat all day/everyday. Have you ever seen an Oprah's favorite things episode?! I want to share some of my favorite things.. currently of course! Because they tend to change frequently(:

Favorite Song:

Woman Like You by Lee Brice

Favorite drink:

Chocolate Milk

Favorite Food:

It is girl scout cookie season and lucky for me, but unlucky for my waistline, I have lots of girl scouts in my class.

Favorite Pinterest Find

Favorite laughing material

(My friends thought I was crazy, I laughed so hard when I saw this!)

Favorite Show

Seriously, l-o-v-e

Favorite upcoming event:

I'm meeting my parents at the lake this weekend!!

Favorite Moment:

Right now(: I'm sitting on my couch wearing yoga pants and an over sized sweatshirt, blogging and relaxing because I know I have nothing that needs to be done!

Valentines Day Recap

Did y'all have a fabulous Valentines day? I hope so!!

I am of course living the single lifestyle, although that s word is a little harsh... I prefer just not dating currently(: This little tid bit did not stop me from being excited for the holiday however! Even with no significant other It is still the perfect opportunity to send out Valentine cards, wear a little extra pink, indulge in extra chocolate and best of all, craft with my second graders!! My day started by waking up to the sweetest note from my roommate before I headed off to school. Once I got there, I think I was more excited for my math lesson than the students were. I thought it would be fun to make "Valentine Fraction Pillars" and do a candy heart fraction sort. The students loved doing something out of our normal routine and I loved that I was still sneaking in fractions. haha, teacher mindset obviously.

While I thought my one hour math lesson made my valentines complete, little did I know I had many more surprises waiting on me! I expected a few small valentine note cards from students but was not prepared for the enormous amount of goodies I would receive. I am convinced I have the sweetest class of second graders ever! I received so many goodies I had to get a separate bag just to carry them all home!! I am so grateful to have a class full of caring/sweet ..perfect? (when they want to be) students.

seriously, oh my goodness!

Leaving the Elementary School I had decided it had been the best Valentines day yet. I didn't realize I had another surprise waiting on me. When I came home from babysitting I was greeted with roses, a bottle of wine, a fuzzy teddy bear and the s-w-e-e-t-e-s-t note ever.  I 100% did not expect to receive anything from ANY guy, especially the one who sent this unparticular. I was and still am completely shocked but also flattered. Seriously, how sweet?!

I hope you all had just as nice of a Valentines day as I did. You can tell from the candy picture above that I will be on a sugar high for the next month, haha.

Oh Monday..

There isn't much fun in a cold Monday morning but I'm trying to make the best of it. I had a great weekend that went by entirely too fast, as always. Saturday I spent all day running around town running errands and trying to find a necklace to wear to my Valentine Cocktail. Of course it is just my luck that I did find a necklace in the first store I went in but waited to purchase it until I returned that afternoon, only to find it had just been sold. I guess me and the gorgeous pearl necklace weren't meant to be, haha.

That night we had Valentines Cocktail. It was a little sad to know it was the last one I will ever be attending!! A few friends got together before we headed out. It was a very fun night but freezing cold. I'm talking bitter cold.. to say I'm ready for spring is an understatement.

Sunday was spent relaxing and writing lesson plans. I was so tired form the night before and dreading going out in the cold but also dying to hear the start of a new series at church. I found a solution by streaming in the church service online and watching from my couch curled up in a blanket. Not something I would proudly do every Sunday but defiantly a win win for just this one time! I even snuck in an hour nap and went to a movie. Those two things are normal to some people but finding a spare 30 minutes much less 3 hours is non existent in my life these days. I was very happy to not do much of anything(: I went to see The Vow with my sister and a friend Sunday night. I have been wanting to see it for a while and couldn't wait any longer. It was GREAT and so sweet. Although, I do wish we would have seen more at the end. I wont say any more in case you haven't seen it yet.

Now, it's off to another week in second grade full of Valentine festivities