New Blog

Ok. I am starting a new blog to write about my first year teaching. Feel free to follow it!! Opener of Doors

Day 17 of 30 Day Blog Journal

An Art Piece. 

Ok, I don't know if this counts as art... but I'm considering it to be art. It is on currently displayed on my mantle. I love this thing!! 

Day 16 of 30 Day Blog Journal

Day 16- Song That Makes You Cry

Kenny Chesney- Who You'd Be Today

Sunny days seem to hurt the most
Wear the pain like a heavy coat
I feel you everywhere I go
I see your smile, I see your face
I hear you laughing in the rain
Still can't believe you're gone

Chorus:

It ain't fair you died too young
Like a story that had just begun
The death tore the pages all away
God knows how I miss you
All the hell that I've been through
Just knowing no one could take your place
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today

Would you see the world?
Would you chase your dreams?
Settle down with a family?
I wonder, what would you name your babies?
Some days the sky's so blue
I feel like I can talk to you
And I know it might sound crazy

Chorus

Today, Today, Today
Today, Today, Today

Sunny days seem to hurt the most
I wear the pain like a heavy coat
The only thing that gives me hope
Is I know I'll see you again someday

Someday, Someday


I know this is really a love song... but it makes me think about my (birth) dad. I do wonder what he'd be doing if he were still alive. Would he have a wife? Would he have other kids? What would their names be? Would he have lived out his dreams? ...

Awards!

I am so thankful for the two awards I received today!

Thanks to Ruth at Underneath His Wrapping!

Thanks to Tiffany at Tall Tales from a Small Town!

Now, down to the business of accepting these wonderful awards!

For "the Versatile Blogger" I am supposed to tell seven things about me. I'll try to do seven different things that were not in previous award posts:

1. I, like Katie from I am Wonderfully Made, HATE for my food to touch. It makes me want to be sick. I won't eat it.

2. I am petite. I am 5 ft. 2 (approximately) and weigh less than 100 pounds. People tell me that they would love to be my size. Really? It's over rated. Try finding professional clothing and then tell me you would like to be me. No one who sells clothes for less than $50 per article of clothing has anything professional looking that FITS. Gah! 

3. I say what I mean and mean what I say. 

4. I am a non-confrontational person. I know that may seem contradictory to some of you based on #3, but it's true. You can say what you mean and not be mean and confrontational about it.

5. I love waking up in the morning to Milly and Shelby's sweet faces. It makes my day.

6. I will begin my first year of teaching this year (finally!!). I am so excited! I'll be teaching second grade.

7. I hate the color purple. Strange, because I wear it, have things in the color, etc... but I, honestly, hate the color. (Maybe because it's a Clemson Tigers color??)

For "A Blog With Substance" I am supposed to sum up my blogging philosophy in 5 words: Tell it like it is.

I am passing these on to other bloggers. 

For the first one, I am picking 5 people that I think do an AWESOME job of using different blogging ideas in their blogs.

1. Katie at I am Wonderfully Made.

2. Tiffany at Tall Tales from a Small Town.

3. Rachel at Adventures of Klaus.

4. Laura at along for the ride.

5. Maxmom at Living Life to the Max.

I am passing the second award on to ten bloggers. Along with the first 5 I listed above, I am also picking:

6. Marlie at Southern Reflections.

7. Cheryl at doglovinteacher.

8. Rebecca at Rebecca... One Word at a Time.

9. Oxana at Tightwad in Training.

10. Amethyst Moon at Life, Music and Laughter.

Thanks everyone!!

My Wonderful Husband

I know you've seen some pictures of him before, but they're never very good. I thought this was a pretty good one. It was taken at my sister's wedding this weekend. Isn't he just precious?

Does anyone else ever have problems getting their husband to smile for the camera? Jake just hates having his picture taken! He didn't realize I was taking this one but I think it turned out well.

Day 15 of 30 Day Blog Journal

Day 15- Your Dream House

My dream house is pretty simple. I'll tell you about it and show you some pictures for ideas...

 

It would have dark hardwood floors. Wide plank. It would (unlike this picture) be one story. No stairs for this girl or her MilShelb.

It would have big windows that are low to the ground... for the MilShelb. I love natural sunlight whenever possible. 

It would have a huge backyard with beautiful plants.

It would be in the middle of nowhere... one of those houses where you can't see or hear your neighbors. It would be beautiful. More importantly, it would be comfortable and welcoming.

Memorable Moment Monday

Well, it's "Memorable Moment Monday". Here's my moment...

My Mom, My Grandmother, and Me Thanksgiving 2009

I love Thanksgiving. It is a great holiday. It fits me. I love food and I am also a very grateful person. I enjoy spending this holiday with my family in Georgia. We don't get to see them nearly as often as I would like! This picture was taken last Thanksgiving by my Mom's cousin, Nadine, whom I call "Aunt Nadine." We were about to leave and she told us she wanted a picture of the three of us. So, we posed for the camera! :)

If you want to join in on Memorable Moment Monday, click the button above and follow the directions! 

Have a wonderful Monday.

"Somebody Said It" Sunday

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.

~Mignon McLaughlin

(The picture is of my husband, Jake. He is an amazing man... with (as I'm sure you can tell) a great sense of humor.)

Day 14 of 30 Day Blog Journal

Day 14- Nonfictional Book


Um, nonfiction. Really? One word for ya- YUCK. Ok ok. If I HAD to pick one...

It would be something like this. Something useful. 

Camels and Fallen Trees

Well, I woke up yesterday morning later than usual because we did not get home from my sister's wedding at the beach until late. I am a person who goes to bed by 10... so 12:30 really threw me off. Anyhow, Shelby has been sick for the last few days (potty issues). Saturday morning after hand feeding her some of her food she threw up. (yuck.) Of course, I know this is not good and I quickly called the vet. They said they could work us in. So, I threw on some clothes (since I was still in my night gown), grabbed Shelby, and ran out the door. 

As we backed down the driveway I noticed that the big beautiful tree in our front yard was half way laying on the ground... hmmm... aren't trees supposed to be vertical? I think so. I called Jake and told him to look at it and continued on my way to the vet.

Once there it was awful. We waited for a long time... which is fine, really, because we did not have an appointment and I understand how all that works. As I sat there I saw a man who had clearly been crying carry out a box. I nearly cried myself. What a sad day for him. Later, I saw two men come in with a kitten (that did not belong to them, but they found on their church grounds) that had been attacked (by what they think was) an owl or a hawk. After some discussion about costs and likelihood (or unlikelihood rather) of the cat recovering after the infection and having to have it's leg removed they decided to put the cat to sleep. My heart broke for that poor little kitten. As a lady in the waiting room said, "this is exactly what happens when people do not spay and neuter their pets." So true. Irresponsible human behavior no doubt caused this issue in some way. Poor little kitten.
Well, they called Shelby back and back we walked... with a heavy heart. After all of that I just wanted to grab her and run out the door! Of course, I needed to know what was wrong. So, after some discussion and a test it was decided that she has a bad upset stomach due to us changing her food. I am not sure I completely agree but we will see if she is better Monday after using the medication they gave us. Hopefully that is all it is. They also said she was dehydrated and gave her fluids. Well, me, being the dumby I am, did not know what this meant. The vet tech came and got her and when she came back he said, "here's your camel" and he was not kidding! That's what she looks like. Poor kid. 

My Sister is Married!

Danielle and John's wedding at the beach.

June 26, 2010

Danielle and John

The Kiss!

Jake and Me

Jake and Me

Day 13 of 30 Day Blog Journal

Day 13 is "a fictional book". Now, I ask you, what exactly about a fictional book? Just any fictional book? One I like? One I don't like? One I saw once? What? Who knows. Since I don't know I am going to go with favorite.
My favorite author is Nicholas Sparks. He makes these books I could live in... until the last part of the books which always makes me cry! My favorite is probably The Notebook.

What a great love story. What a sweet man who loved a woman with all of his heart. Noah, in this book, said "I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough. " I love that quote!!

Day 12 of 30 Day Blog Journal

Day 12 happens to be something you are OCD about. Well, I'll tell ya... nothing. I am a pretty random person. I don't have much in the way of a routine and I don't do things the same way from one day to the next... I have nothing that has to be a certain way. Sorry. I know... boring!! 

Award For Me!

I received an award from Katie at I am Wonderfully Made. I love her blog! She does a great job and has very interesting posts! :) Thanks, Katie!!

I am supposed to say where I see myself in ten years and then pass on the award. 

In ten years, I will be sitting in a house owned by my husband and myself... on a couch between Milly and Shelby. I will still be teaching and doing well at it. I will have all of these stupid student loans paid off!

So, who gets this award??? 

1. Marlie at Southern Reflections. Love her and her blog!

2. Laura at along for the ride. She currently has a great challenge going on that I am participating in... and failing miserably (but that's another post some other time lol).

3. Puddles and her Mom at we 3 doxies. It is a great blog! Especially if you need a laugh!

4. Oxana at Tightwad in Training. She has really great ideas!!

Day 11 of 30 Day Blog Journal

A Photo Taken of You Recently

Ok, it said recent... didn't specify "good"... this was about 2 weeks ago at the beach. I look rough. lol

Thank You Very Much

I am now obsessed with this "Thank You Very Much" blog post thingy. It is just so great!! You should join in. Go here.

Thank you very much...
1. southern weather for being above 90 nearly every day this week and basically killing all of my plants. I love that.
2. my dear husband and myself, who keeps everything in the universe. I love packing and unpacking CRAP we never use every single time we move... which, for the record, has been at least once a year for the last 6 years.
3. wonderful neighbors. I don't understand why you feel the need to open my mailbox and leave it open. It is not yours. It does not belong to you. There is nothing in there for you. Why, may I ask, are you even touching my mailbox????

Ok, short and sweet this week...

and on a serious note- Thank you, Mom and Michael, for the things for my new classroom!!

For Katie

It is the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.  ~Marlene Dietrich

I don't know how many of you are blessed to have a best friend. I am very blessed in that regard because I have four best friends. This isn't about all of them though... it's just about one. Katie. She's that friend that when you see us you wonder what we could possibly have in common. Even people who knows us probably wonder. The thing is, we don't have so much in common... but we balance each other out. Katie is soft-spoken and sweet. I am loud and I say what I mean and mean what I say. Katie is a free spirit. She goes with the flow and doesn't have to have a plan. I'm a planner. I hate not having a plan. It stresses me out. Katie is always telling me, "Maggie. Just go with the flow." Katie is tall... like maybe 5 ft 9 or 10. I don't know. I'm super short. I think I'm about 5 foot 2. Katie has long hair. I have short hair. She's very smart. Never has to study. I have to study my rear end off and still don't score as well as she does. Katie is very social and I tend to be a home-body. She loves parties and crowds and I like to be with a small group of people. We both have brown hair. We both love the sunshine. We both love music and reading. We both teach (she teaches first grade and I will be teaching second this year). We both love God and believe in Him to guide us but we are both firm believers in the "faith without works is dead". We both work hard to get what we want and we are not easily deterred. I love my Katie. She is my best friend. When I find something out she is the first person I call (after my Mom and Jake, of course... well, depending on the news. lol She may be the only one who would care.)  So, to Katie- Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for loving me no matter what. Thank you for caring about me and supporting me. Thank you for being you. I love you!

Us at Come See Me a few years ago

Katie and me at the tailgate for the USC/Clemson game a few years ago

Christmas (not sure what year)

Ready for Carolina Cup

Hahaha! Gotta love her!

At the beach

Hanging out in Charleston

At my wedding

Day 10 of 30 Day Blog Journal

A Photo Taken of You Over Ten Years Ago

YIKES! I was looking ROUGH!

Yes, that's me on the right. lol I think I was around 12... Yuck.

Here's one of me in Spain right around 10 years ago.

Day 9 of 30 Day Blog Journal

A Photo You Took

I took this, and besides the fact that it is of my beautiful child... it is also a pretty neat photo... if I do say so myself! :)

Enough Already

Ok. I know what you're thinking- you're going to un-follow me because I'm posting like 10 billion times today. I don't know what it is but I have really been doing a lot of thinking about a lot of different things. Probably because there is a lot of change going on in my life right now... some of it is exciting and welcome and some of it I'd rather skip... but, the point of this post is to talk about marriage.
I know I have some followers that are newly weds (and some people I follow that don't follow me). Jake and I will be celebrating our first anniversary next month. It is hard for me to believe we have nearly been married for a year. We have been together for over 4 years. Crazy. You know, I think the craziest part is thinking back to my life before him. I really can hardly remember it. Maybe it's selective memory. I don't know.
Some days I feel like I have always known Jake. I feel like we were just meant to be and we really do compliment each other very well. We are not very alike, but we are not too different either. It's hard to explain. It's like it's the perfect balance of each.
Some days I feel like I don't know him at all. He will say something or do something and I think to myself who is this man? He just surprises me. lol
There has never been a day when I questioned marrying Jake. I cannot imagine my life without him. I know with all of my heart that I am a better person because of him. He is my heart. He is my best friend. I have never doubted his love for me. I have never questioned anything he says or does. He is an honest and sincere person. He has a good heart and he amazes me every day because I have never seen a day when he thinks of himself first. He simply doesn't.
You know, I know I am not an expert at marriage. I can look back on this first year and laugh at many things. Jake and I were talking today about our relationship and how we don't fight. We really don't. I used to think that if you didn't fight you didn't really love the person... but I have learned that you don't have to fight with someone to love them... you just have to be willing to fight for them. I am pretty sure there will never be a day when I would not fight for Jake. I will fight for his happiness, his love, his life, his wants and needs. I know I would because I know he'd do the same for me.
You know, I recently accepted a job in another part of the state and we will be moving soon. I may have mentioned this before but I'm not sure... I just wanted to express my gratitude for Jake's support. He has been there for me the entire year of ups and downs and interviews and rejections. He has believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. He has told me it would work out and though I didn't believe him at times, he was right. What you may not realize is that Jake has given up a lot for my dreams to come true. He knew how important teaching is to me and he knows that my whole life that is all I have ever wanted to be. He simply would not let me give up on my dream and he has given up some of his to see mine through. He is the most amazing person I know. Jake, I love you. I choose you every single day. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for giving up things for my happiness. You are truly the most unselfish person I know. I love love love you.
In marriage (this is where I was originally going with this post) you have to learn to pick your battles. You learn quickly that little battles are not worth it. Laundry on the floor doesn't matter. Dishes in the sink are no big deal. If he overlooks your shoes all over the house, you can overlook things, too. In marriage you also have to learn to say things nicely. It's hard to say what you think sometimes, but if you feel strongly enough about something to speak up- you'd better say it nicely. Remember, you have to live with that person for the rest of your life. Don't fight over stupid stuff. It's not worth it. Mostly, in a marriage, you have to love that person all the time. You have to love them more than you love yourself and you have to put them first. You have to be there for them. You have to be dependable. You have to be responsible. You have to be willing to give up some things. You also have to accept it when they give up things for you. You have to learn to be grateful... for every little thing. You have to take notice of things done and said. You have to live for that person. Be a better person because that's what they expect. Do the right thing because they deserve it.
I love Jake. He is the cheese to my macaroni. I am looking forward to many many more years with him.

Jake, if you actually read this... just know that I am forever grateful to you for everything you do for me. You are the most amazing man I have ever known. I love you. I choose you. I do. Every single day.

Can't Do It Anymore

Have you ever known someone who makes rude comments about things that they know nothing about? I have recently found myself around people who do just this. It makes me angry. Normally I would just not be around this person/these people... however, I don't really have an option. I find it difficult to bite my tongue every single time something inappropriate is said. I'm tired of it. I know I need to give it up and get over it. I know that. But, I can't. I simply cannot overlook someone's ignorance as an excuse to be mean. That is not ok. Hasn't their mother told them that if you don't have anything nice to say they should just keep their durn mouth shut??? Apparently not. I know I need to move past this... so that is why I am writing this blog post. I just want to say my piece and let it go. So, here it is: Don't be mean on purpose. Don't say something jokingly if it may offend someone even in the slightest way. DO NOT ever talk badly about my family... this is including but certainly not limited to Milly and Shelby. Don't be rude. If you're about to say something rude, just do us all a favor and shut up.

Ok. I am done.

Just so that I am clear on this, I will forever and always stand up for Milly and Shelby. It may sound dumb to some people, but they mean more to me than most anything else in this world. They are the ones who are happy to see me when I walk in the door. They are the ones who follow me to the door when I leave. They are the ones who are happy and wiggly and giving me kisses when I wake up. I am sorry that not everyone can experience this in their life. I am so lucky to have them. 

Ok. I really am done now.

Meet Me On Monday

Click the button above to join in!!

Questions:

1. How many brother and sisters do you have?
I have 2 step-sisters. No "real" siblings. lol They count though! :)
2. What is your favorite thing to do?
Cuddle with the MilShelb!
3. What countries have you visited?
France, England, Spain, Mexico
4. Are you a morning or a night person?
Neither. I am a good mid-day person. lol When I have my choice I wake up late and go to bed early! lol I function better as a morning person if I have to pick one. 
5. What's your favorite cereal?

Well, I only eat cereal dry and I really don't care for it too terribly much because of that- but LIFE is probably my favorite because it is also good without milk.