Decisions, Decisions

To be completely honest, I have LOVED not having a schedule or responsibilities (read: I have loved being unemployed). I selfishly have stayed up late watching movies, slept in way later than I normally would, read books for fun, and wasted hours on Pinterest. What I have enjoyed most is the fact that I can be a good daughter, sister, and friend to the friends and family in my life. Even these last few weeks, I have gotten so much quality time with Katie, Kirby, Felicity, Charlotte, my parents, high school friends, and Chattanooga friends alike :) Seriously a huge blessing...Definitely a silver lining during this time of unknown and transition.

Now that the move is over and done with (PTL!), I can refocus my thoughts to job hunting/life decisions.

The idea of going back to school has always been in the back of my mind, more specifically going back to school for either Marriage and Family Therapy or to get my Child Life Specialist Certification. The only problem is that both of those programs are offered at certain schools and with going back to school, I would plan on living at my parents' house to balance out some of the costs. And since my parents' house is a permanent fixture and so are these schools, it just might not match up. If I went back to school, I would plan on nannying unless I found another part time job that was flexible-ish and paid decently. Who would of thought I'd have to go through all of the schooling stress again? Not me, that's for sure, but I know it would be so worth it...and as nerdy as it sounds, I do love learning.

But then there's the other side of the coin; do I hold out for a full time salary job? I've been looking both in Atlanta and Marietta like I've shared with y'all before but I still don't know what I want to do and it's overwhelming and daunting to look at job websites day in and day out. Most jobs that sound appealing are the ones that require more schooling. Or do I just settle for an admin job (gag meeeee) or go back to the Riboon place (money is money...) or just look at nannying jobs. Which goes back to the question of where-Atlanta or Chattanooga? Oy...

Sorry this blog post has zero resolve and is complete and utter rambling...but like I've had to remind myself about before, this blog is for me to remember the ups and downs of my life and also something to share those ups and downs with all of you.

Some may say it's a flaw, but a quality about myself is that I don't know how to be private about 90% of the things that go on in my life...I'll keep other's lives private, but when it comes to me and what I'm thinking--I'm an open book. So I guess reading rambling rampages just comes with reading my blog posts :) Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Home Sweet Mountain Home

I am more or less officially moved out of Signal View and unofficially a Signal Mountain dweller now! I still have a couple of things that I need to go and collect from the ghetto, but last night was my first night staying in the Franklin's guest house. It's one big room, fully furnished and FREE! It doesn't hurt that I love it and I'm about 40 feet away from 2 of my favorite people.

I'm bringing in as little as possible because needless to say, I am so over all of this moving stuff! But I could not be more grateful to have somewhere to call home whenever I'm up in Chattanooga though. And no, I'm not here permanently nor am I in Marietta permanently. I just have 2 places to call home right now--it all just depends on the day that you ask which state I'm in....such is the life of a vagabond.

All My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready to Go

Welp. Here I am again, doing what I should do best: packing up and moving. Seriously if you count moving in and out of the dorms/sorority house, and apartments, plus "squatting" at the Liners, Taylor's and the Harwoods, plus summers at camp in Chattanooga, this is my 27th time moving since I was 18. Oh my Heavens, that was the first time I've really counted and that is just too much to fathom. This time has probably been the worst just because I have lived here for a full year and that's something I haven't done since high school! Plus, add in the furniture and that's a whole other level of stress. Luckily, Alex and Forrest let me borrow their couch and bed (mattress, bed, everything!) and they're even letting me store my other junk in their basement until I have a home of my own again! What a HUGE blessing! But after hours of packing this week, mostly today, I am almost all the way moved out and the apartment feels so empty right now! Here's just a bit of the progress from today--just to remind myself later on that I have WAY too much junk...that I refuse to get rid of...

Erin had to pack up my shoes for me because I tried to throw them all into that black trunk, they wouldn't fit, I got stressed and so she just took over for me--thank goodness! And yes, I know I have not enough way too many shoes (and that's not all of them...)

And now here's the almost "after" shots...so so empty and disorganized right now! Stressful for a Type A personality like myself.

I will be splitting my time between Chattanooga and Marietta the next few weeks, mostly just dependent on my weekend plans...but it would be nice to have a job so I could move all of this junk into another home! Until then, I will just take advantage of all of the wonderful friends and family that have opened their homes to me :) Such a huge blessing to have so many people in my life that are so hospitable and willing to put up with me (and all of my junk!)

Blessed to be the Baby

If you're from Chattanooga and know anyone that goes to GPS or McCallie, or pretty much any school in Chattanooga, you've probably heard of Chapel Talks. And if you're not from Chattanooga, then I will tell you just what a Chapel Talk is; during Senior Year at both GPS and McCallie (the all girls and all boys private schools in Chattanooga) each senior is required to give a Chapel Talk in front the of school, as well as whatever friends and family they invite. Your Chapel Talk can be about anything and you can do anything you decide on stage. They typically are 10-20 minutes long, with a close friend of family member introducing you and then the stage is yours. I've heard Chapel Talks about smells that bring about memories, a dance that the girl choreographed herself, elaborating on a special quote or story in their life, and family.

Yesterday I went to Kelsey Keef's Chapel Talk. She went 2nd during the year because she is the Senior Class President (after class officers, you pull a number our of a hat to decide your order of presenting the rest of the year). Kelsey, Paige and I were the leaders of Dragonfly Den at Southwind this past Spring Break. I love both of these girls so so much and have loved growing a friendship with them, even with our 7 year age difference.

Kelsey spoke on her relationship with her sister who is a grade above her and has just started college at UT in Knoxville. She was eloquent, poised, and even kept her composure when she got choked up-something I know would have caused me to get tripped up. Kelsey spoke of her strained relationship with her sister and how it has affected her both while they were at GPS, during her sister's serious accident last fall, and now that she's left for college. Kelsey was able to say the things about and to her sister that she didn't have the courage to one on one. It's amazing how opportunities come up for people to be able to say what they need to say at the right time and place.

After she spoke, a group of her friends and guests (aka me!) were invited to a lunch at the Pavilion in Coolidge Park where they were serving Moe's--YUM! It was so fun to see Paige, Kelsey, and Babs again and spend time together just catching up! I am so so proud of Kelsey and cannot wait for Paige's Chapel Talk in April!

It all got me thinking how blessed I am to have great relationships with both of my sisters. Albeit very different relationships, I know that I can go to either of them for advice, a listening ear, or something as small as telling them a funny story (and most funny stories that I tell are funny because I did something awkward, let's be honest.) My relationships with Katie and Kirby are something that I so often take for granted and hearing Kelsey share her story just reminded me how big of a blessing it is in my life to have not one, but two! incredible, wise, and Godly sisters to look up to and respect. I love being the baby in the family and could not imagine where I would be today if it weren't for both of my older sisters molding me into who I am today. I could ramble on about each one of them separately and that could show up on here another day, but for today I want you both to know that you are loved and that speaks volumes in my heart.

Loooong Weekend

A definite perk of unemployment is getting to take a long weekend. It's nice to just enjoy time with friends and family, catch up on sleep, and especially have time to pack up my apartment. Side note: It is amazing how much it takes to pack up a tiny apartment. I have way too much stuff, but couldn't think of not having it so getting rid of it is not at option-oy!Okay, back to the point-my wonderfully long weekend in Marietta. I'll stick with bullet points and highlights for the sake of the sanity of those reading this because we all know I have a tendency to ramble and let's be honest, rambling + long weekend = super long blog post that 80% of you wouldn't make it through.

Thursday: Babysitting Felicity--Loved it as always, especially now that she is learning new words every week and figuring things out on her own!

Beat the Heat

I figure that if I'm going to be unemployed, then I might as well spend my free time getting in shape--and it definitely helps to give me some semblance of a schedule which I definitely need! I have a bad knee (and ankles and hips...basically I'm falling apart in my mid-20s) so running isn't always an option. I like to run when I've gotten back in the swing of it, but especially if it's really hot or really cold my knee will swell and become really sensitive.

If I wake up early enough I can avoid the heat, but let's be honest; it's so much easier to hit the snooze button than get out of bed to go for a morning run and it is WAY to hot in the afternoons to do anything outside besides sit with a glass of sweet tea. But I've found these great YouTube videos that I've used in combination with my running or as a replacement for the days I can't run. Go to YouTube and search "Pop Pilates" and dozens of videos will show up! She does everything from 10 minutes ab clips to 30+ minutes cardio videos. Pilates is gentle on my joints but I've definitely felt like I've gotten a great work out when it's all said and done. So if you're looking to change up your work out or just want to avoid the heat, try these videos, I've really loved the couple that I've done!

Mini Vacation

This weekend felt like a long weekend/mini vacation--restful, lots of time with family and friends, and lots of time in the car!

Friday afternoon, Kelly and I loaded up my beloved "Roxy" (aka my car) and headed to Marietta. Friday night was spent with my parents, Katie, Lee, and Charlotte. Kelly and Charlotte quickly became friends and the 3 of us were nearly inseparable the whole weekend; if Charlotte was doing something, she wanted us to tag along. After we took a family walk and read her bedtime stories; the "kids"--Katie, Lee, Kelly, and myself watched Lincoln Lawyer. It was a great Friday night in!

Saturday morning, Bonnie stopped by to get "teacher things" from my mom and she and my mom spent the better part of 2 hours talking about classroom stuff. Kelly was upstairs the whole time playing with Charlotte--they played with the Little People and Kelly's favorite part was the dance party to Charlotte's 2 favorite songs--"Jessie's Girl" and "Awww the Single Ladies". Chandler made me a CD senior year of college even though she has the choice of "I can show you the world", songs from Enchanted, and "Part of Your World" my niece choose those 2 songs! Hilarious! Kelly's favorite conversation of the morning went a little like this:
Kelly: Show me your favorite dance move.
Charlotte: Um, no.
Kelly: Why not?
Charlotte: I have too many!
That kid never ceases to keep my (and my friends) entertained!

Kelly and I made it out the door (Charlotte was distracted when we snuck out) and got sort of lost found our way to the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch--YUM!

Since Kirby and Daniel live so close to the stadium, we didn't even have to deal with parking! We caught up with Kirby, and of course Felicity, before going to the best seats I have or will ever have at a Braves game--22nd row from the 3rd base line! It was "alumni weekend"; Friday night they retired Bobby Cox's number and Saturday was the 1991 team vs. the legends team game before the actual Braves vs. Cubs Game. It was so fun to see baseball players that I remember watching in my childhood like John Smoltz and Tom Glavin!

Our seats were shaded so we were pretty comfortable the whole game, which was nice. I mean, it doesn't get much better than best friends, Braves, beer, and roasted peanuts on a late summer night.

We slept in on Sunday and sadly headed back to Chattanooga. I was only in Chattanooga for 30 minutes max because I literally got out of my car and into Becca Hart's. We headed to Young Harris, Georgia (just outside of Blairsville) for her college roommate's wedding...Since Matt is still in his critical period after his bone marrow transplant, weddings haven't been easy to go to, especially ones where she has to travel. I gladly accepted to be Becca's wedding date--she said I was the best wedding date she'd ever had :) The wedding was held at Brasstown Valley Reosrt which was so nice because the wedding, reception, and our hotel room were all within walking distance. The ceremony was sweet, personal, and beautifully decorated!

But the reception-man oh man!! If I could copy everything about it, I would! It was outside, but under a covered pavilion with romantic lighting and plenty of space to dance to the live Motown band. There was a cocktail hour with waiters passing out Hors d'Oeuvres while the wedding party took pictures. They had the guest book out to sign and had a HUGE bottle of wine for guests to sign too! They served beer and wine, had a buffet line for dinner, yummy cake (the Groom's cake was cheesecake, which I LOVED!), and they even came around and poured champagne for the toast! The service was incredible, the food was delicious, and it was obvious how much fun the bride and groom were having with each other and all of their guests. The family makes their own raspberry jelly so they gave jars of that for the wedding favors, I'll let you know how delicious it is later :)

A highlight of the night though was when Caroline (the bride) threw the bouquet directly to Becca! ha! So that means you're next, right Becca?? ;)

Bonus, we got to just walk right back to our super nice hotel room-way better than dealing with a late night 2+ hour drive back. An added bonus, there was a light switch operated fireplace in the room! So fancy! Granted, it's still August and not quite fireplace weather....we turned in on regardless, just because we could! The whole hotel was incredible and I would die to go back there when the leaves are changing colors! Also, they had a squirrel shaped lamp, so how could I not take a picture?

This weekend was an at home and away from home vacation and so worth the hours I spent in the car! It was great to see friends and family and have plenty of rest and play time too! I'm excited about these next few weekends that I have planned and this was the first of many that I'll remember fondly.

38 years

My parents are nothing extraordinary. My mom is a 2nd grade teacher and my dad is an engineer and consultant. But something that is really extraordinary about my parents is their marriage. They wouldn't say so, but more and more I've come to realize that it really is something special. People don't stay married these days and yesterday was my parents 38th Wedding Anniversary. My parents really aren't the people to brag (unless it's about their children and grandchildren) but I'm going to brag a little bit for them.

When I was in 1st grade, my mom went back to work as a Special Ed teacher and my dad started working with some projects in Oak Ridge, TN after he stopped working in Marietta. Initially, this project was supposed to be a 6 month kind of thing, but after a while the project was extended. Then extended again. And before we knew it, it was absolutely normal for my dad to make the 3 hour drive up to Oak Ridge on Monday morning (after dropping us off at school) and come back on Friday afternoons and we were too invested in our lives in East Cobb. With 3 kids in middle and elementary school, plus a full time job, my mom was stretched for time like a single working mother is and I never gave her enough credit for all she did and still does. But when my dad came home on the weekends, he was 110%--mowing the grass, helping out with laundry, taking us on Daddy-Daughter weekends through Girls Scouts, anything you can think of.

By the time Katie made it to high school, band become a priority--for the next 10 years. Add on top of that that Kirby and I did Winter Guard, so my parents were full fledged band and guard parents for a decade. Nevermind that my dad traveled during the week and my mom was juggling a dozen things for the family at once...at least one of them came to most every home football game, parents' shows, and of course competitions. My dad even volunteered himself to get his trucking license so he could drive the tractor trailer and be the official "Tarp Crew Dad". During football season, he would bring me Subway on Friday afternoons and we would sit together in the band hall eating our dinners; It was his way of making sure we had time spent together. My mom would dedicate hours to sewing flags and painting props. It was the little things like that that make my parents special. Once I made it to college, they went out of their way to come to Parent's Weekends, Mother-Daughter and Daddy-Daughter events, and as often as they could to see Charlotte and now Felicity! They love their children so well (and maybe their granddaughters even a little bit better! ;) But they went out of their way to support and love their family and each other over the years.

All through this, I've never heard them complain about the distance and how difficult it made life at times. Our family has mastered the art of keeping in touch through phone calls and email. But every time my dad walks in the door, he'd give us a hug, play with the dog and give my mom a kiss; My mom cooks dinners on the weekends with enough for leftovers so he'll have a homecooked meal to eat on weeknights after work. It's little things like that that they show each other their love. So as rare as a lasting marriage is these days, a long distance lasting marriage is an even bigger blessing and rare gift. I know that it's worked because my parents love each other and are willing to make sacrifices for the family. It's worked because they've worked at it. And that is something that I truly admire, respect, and value about my parents. They aren't perfect, but that's what makes me love them more. Happy (belated) 38th Anniversary Mom and Dad!