No More

Morgan le Fay (my goldfish) died. End of story. Sad day.

We Landed on the Moon!

Some may call this crazy, but I love it!! I have always been fascinated and intrigued with space. Now, I'm not talking about the space that you search for as you try to cram something else in your closet or the space that you sometimes need from people with whom you have spent a considerable amount of time. I'm talking about the real deal, outerspace, universe, galaxies...Space!

From a young age, I can remember my uncle teaching and quizzing me about planets and stars and showing me different constellations through his telescope (even though the only one I can point out today is the big dipper!). From then on space has always interested me. I'm a frequenter of cnn.com and even to this day if a space related article is there, I just have to read it. I watched the movie Apollo 13 earnestly. For a speech in high school, I even chose the topic of space. So, I guess it makes sense that on today, the 40th anniversary of the day man walked on the moon, I awoke elated, as I had planned a party in honor of this great achievement! Yes, it was a party that featured tang, moon pies, the original newscast of July 20, 1969, and music made popular in 1969 (which I hope you are enjoying as you read this!).

Anytime one mentions landing on the moon, there is often a mentioning of the conspiracy that perhaps we didn't really land on the moon. That we (as Americans) needed a moral boost and NASA officials staged the landing. I like to think that we did land on the moon, and I believe that we did. However, the arguments posed from both sides are intriguing and make one think and question the validity of space travel. Nevertheless, Happy 40th Anniversary to all of those involved with the Apollo 11 mission!

As John F. Kennedy said, we choose to go to the moon not because it's easy, but because it is hard. Landing on the moon, a great feat, shows us that with hard work and perserverance, we can accomplish the unthinkable.

Adventures with Friends

The theme of this week could best be expressed with the words friends and dancing! I am blessed with so many wonderful friends, and this week I spent all sorts of time with friends. Friends that I have known since kindergarten, college friends, friends that live in small towns, friends that live in the city, and friends that I met in England. To kick off the week, my sister and I decided to go rock climbing!! After we convinced the people working there that we actually were over 18 so that we could climb, it was really fun! However, we learned that rock climbing is a little harder than it looks...we could only master level one!

Adventure number two: Rodeo Dance

Where I'm from, the Elks Rodeo is the social event of the season. Directly following the rodeo is the rodeo dance. It is held in the county fair barns and features live country music. When I heard my friend was going, I put on my cowboy boots and joined the fun! Because the dance is the social event of the season, I also got to visit with several classmates, all of us had attended kindergarten through twelfth grade together. It had been about a year since I had seen them and it was so fun to catch up with each other's lives. In school, I was on the livestock judging team; our team consisted of the same four people 4th grade to 12th grade, and the majority of us were at the dance. Last summer, one member and I had our kareoke singing debuts together at a bar. I learned that his kareoke career has taken off and he is performing...he even has some video's on youtube...check it out "Daren Miller." The end of the night was the best part, as we drove to "the cliffs" and watched the stars. I had forgotten how they populate the sky in NW Oklahoma and how calming the sound of nature is...truly wonderful!

Adventure number three: Emily's Wedding

Student teaching in England allowed me to make many friends. Maybe it was living in such close proximity, seeing unforgetable places, having limited internet connection, renaming ourselves with travel names, growing as individuals, relying on each other, or surviving hostels and subways. Whatever it was, I have some great friends from this experience. One of the members of the "Feltwell Crew," Emily, got married this weekend. She was beautiful and the wedding was wonderful. All of the girls of the Feltwell Crew were there; we gave an Irish toast and danced the night away.

I have had a great weekend being with friends. Here's a toast for all you friends out there!

A sunbeam to warm you, Good luck to charm you.

A Sheltering angel, So nothing can harm you,

Laughter to cheer you, Faithful friends near you,

And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.

Expect the Unexpected

You know those sayings that your mother always tells you growing up..."If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," "Elbows off the table," and "Mind your p's and q's." Living with my parents this summer, I have learned that "mom-isms" still exist; they have just changed a little.

New Momism: "Don't buy the first couch you see."
I will soon be moving into my first house after college, and I have been looking for furniture to have in my new house. I found this pretty creme colored couch that I really liked, but it was huge, heavy, and a little too pricey. Driving back home, my mom could tell I was a little bummed that it wasn't the perfect couch, and she offered this advice of don't buy the first couch you see...her new mom-ism for this twenty-something. I took her advice and a few days later found the perfect couch! It is even better than the first one.

New Momism: "Expect the unexpected"
Not to be a "Debby Downer," but I was scheduled to work the entire 4th of July weekend. I was not happy about this, mostly because the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. Before I left for my first shift on Friday, my mom, trying to cheer me up, said "expect the unexpected." I think she meant that work might be better than I was anticipating it to be. Work was absolutely crazy and unexpected this weekend! Once again...Mom was right!

Friday at work, we had a main water line break and it shorted out the electricity. The fire alarms were going off, then the air conditioner broke, then the electricity went off in the kitchen. It was madness in the restaurant, and I got the pleasure of informing the guests waiting for tables about the problem. We were not seating guests for 2 hours while people were fixing the problem. Once we opened back up, everyone was a little upset. Usually, I am never praised for being a hostess. In fact, I usually leave feeling like the worst hostess ever. I constantly get in trouble for not handing guests the menus, not washing the windows correctly, not walking fast enough, not standing up straight, not holding the door open for guests, not offering a bag for to-go boxes, talking to the other hostesses, etc. Basically I feel like Cinderella...sometimes I even sing "In my own little corner, in my own little world" to myself. Okay so enough feeling sorry for myself. In our restaurant, you can be "caught giving exemplary servce" by the managers. Now, I've never been "caught giving exemplary service," but on Friday night I was! I was so happy! Definetly Unexpected!!

Saturday at work...more unexpecteds! I enjoy speaking in Spanish; we were not busy, so the bussers and I began talking to each other. I would ask them what words were in Spanish and they would ask me what words were in English...pretty fun! Then a storm came through, and once again I was at the restaurant working. It was so windy and the rain was coming down in sheets. The restuarant began leaking in numerous spots. Then, a guest informs the hostess stand that there is water standing in between the front doors. I opened the first set of doors to find about 6 inches of standing water. I got the pleasure of squeegee-ing the water from the front doors. I had never used a squeegee before, so another unexpected. Because of the rain, several of the firework shows were cancelled. This means that I still get to see fireworks tonight!!

Expect the unexpected...so true! I have learned that your plans never go as expected, and I have learned that that is the fun part of life! Sometimes what may seem like a bad thing can turn out to be great!

It's Official...I am a Teacher!

It is true...I have a job teaching high school English! I wrote the following poem from the perspective of walking into my classroom for the first time.

Clank! Rattle! Click!

As I open the door with my new key,
I am greeted by darkness and warmth.
I see shapes and begin to guess the structures.
Running my hand along the wall,
I give light to this room.
And I see for the first time,
where I will teach.

I see carpet and dry-erase boards.
I see a large desk and filing cabinent.
I see a bookshelf and 23 desks.
I see a Smart Board and podium.
I see textbooks and teacher guides.

Then I see it.

The
ONE
poster
hung.

And I know I have made the right decision.
A map of England, marked with Lakenheath and Mildenhall.
The very area I lived for 3 months
And embarked on this journey of teaching,
Already living in my classroom.

Satisfied, I turn off the lights
And lock the door.

Clank! Rattle! Click!

New Orleans or Bust!!!!

Let me preface my saying that I LOVE the South!!! I love Southern hospitality, crepe myrtle trees, magnolia trees, Southern literature like William Faulkner, Flannery O' Connor, Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Nora Zeale Hurston, Mark Twain, and I even love the contemporary Southern settings of Nicolas Sparks' novels! I love the Southern dialect and hearing some genuine "please," "thank you," "yes ma'am," "no sir" phrases. I'm a fan of Paula Dean, pink lemonade, sunshine, warm weather, and wrap around front porches. I am not a fan of Nascar, the rebel flag, or the stereotype that Southerners are slow and ignorant.

I knew a trip to the deeper south was in store when my friend, Brandi, moved to Louisiana and a favorite music artist was playing in New Orleans. My friend Emily and I roadtripped to Lafayette, Louisiana, where we met up with Brandi. We ate Indian Food and had some yummy daiquiri's. Surprising fact: You can order daiquiri's from a drive-thru window! The next morning we left for New Orleans. We drove through the swamps and Lake Pontchartrain (I love saying that word!) before we arrove in N'awlins! It was the world's hottest day in the "Paris of America!" We walked around the French Quarter and Bourbon Street and ate beignets and then got ready for the Thriving Ivory/Brett Dennen concert at the House of Blues! The concert was great, and the great music continued throughout the night. We enjoyed Bourbon Street after the concert, where the live jazz music billowed into the street.

A road trip cannot be complete without waiting in traffic for road construction, and we encountered that several times. We ventured off the beaten path a few times, laughed a lot, and enjoyed the trip! Here are some pictures!

Hello to the New!

All I can say is "Wow!" This past week has been crazy and full of new experiences!

New Experience #1:
I am still in the search for a "real job." By the end of this week I will have had NINE interviews! I really didn't think it would take 9+ interviews to find a job (am I doing something majorly wrong?!?..haha!) Looking on the positive side, I have seen 9 very different schools, and with each interview, I gain some tips on answering a question a little bit better.
Craziest Interview Location for a teaching position: at a Starbucks (I'd like a Chi Tea...and a job please!)
Busiest Interview Day: this coming Friday...two within 2 1/2 hours...eek!

New Experience #2:
I was getting bored and felt unproductive, as I love being busy! So I decided to find a summer job. I had done my research in the newspapers and had found a few places to apply. I first tried a bakery (because I secretly want to have my own someday!), but they needed someone year round, not just for the summer. Then I tried a bridal shop that was hiring, because I thought that would be fun...right? Wrong again! I filled out the application and then had an immediate interview with the owner, who I found out was not the nicest man! He didn't understand why I was applying because as he put it "I do not have any experience in this field." And I will not be gaining any in the near future either! After he finished explaining all of the knowledge one needs for work in a bridal shop (i.e. knowing what size a girl is when she walks into the store, what style of dress will flatter her body type, what invitations go with certain wedding themes, etc., etc., etc) it was exhausting, and I didn't think that was for me either! I walked out of the shop jobless, but I was determined to find a summer job.

Next on the list, a restaurant. My grandparents owned and operated a steak house for several years. They still have the building (it is just storage now,) but when I go in the building, I always think about and picture what it must have been like when it was open. My mom and her brothers and sister worked in it along with my grandparents, and they tell stories from working in the steak house. This old family steak house was the inspiration to apply at a restaurant. So I applied at one and found my summer job! They hired me as a hostess! I was excited; however, after working several shifts, I have realized that it gets a little crazy sometimes! I never realized all of the information hostesses need to know...phone numbers, how to give directions to the building, memorize table numbers, problem solve to mix and match tables for large parties, and a nice demeanor to deal with all the "happy people" in the world! Okay...so the job is not rocket science, but I was surprised with all of the technicalities that it entails. There are even hostess tests that I have to take...and pass!

New Experience #3:
I have always enjoyed working out and running, but have never understood lifting weights. I always like learning new things and trying new things, so I asked one of the trainers at the gym to help me develop a weight training program! He helped all right...helped make my arms sore...haha! I am working some muscles that I didn't know existed...and am hoping for some Michelle Obama arms!

Learning new things like hostessing and lifting weights and being turned down for jobs, has taught me life lessons. First, learning something new is humbling. Second, I have realized that there are many things that I do not know. I do not know how to manage a fast-paced restaurant, I do not know how to run a school, or even a bridal shop. Third, I have learned to stay positive, hopeful, and patient when it comes to interviewing and hearing back from schools.