More Progress!

My house is steadily coming along! Woo Hoo!! I went out there again today and the framing has begun. It is so strange to see your house go up in stages so quickly. It just makes me even more excited. Here are the latest pictures!

New House

I am currently in the process of building my first house!! I am so excited about it. It has been a long process, but construction has finally begun. I moved back home after I graduated from Alabama to begin working on my masters degree at UAB, so living at home (with my parents!!) was the best option for me. It has definitely been interesting, but thankfully I have FUN parents! :)

After graduating from UAB last December, I began teaching in January at Clay Elementary. I worked there all spring semester doing a maternity leave and then taking over a retirement. This past summer I was offered a job at Irondale Middle teaching 6th grade and I absolutely love it! I have been patiently waiting,saving money, looking at houses with my realtor, and finally an opportunity presented itself!

I am building a house in Alden Glen in Moody! It is a cute, newer neighborhood and I absolutely love it. It just seemed like the best place for my first home. I am very close to work (just an 8 minute drive down I-20) and very close to my parents in Trussville (I couldn't move too far from them!).

Here are a few pictures of the (small) progress!

Looking forward to..

THANKSGIVING!!!

I absolutely love Thanksgiving. I feel like it gets overlooked every year because Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier! Don't get me wrong, I adore Christmas and everything that comes along with it, but give Thanksgiving a chance. You get to spend time with your family and friends, eat yummy food, and sit back as you reflect on how thankful you are for everything in your life. Sounds like a good holiday to me. 

Another reason to look forward to Thanksgiving....9 days off of work! Granted, I love my job more than anything in the world, but some time off to re-energize and gear up for teaching/giving final exams sounds lovely to me. My students need a break, too. Sooo, in conclusion...SAVE THANKSGIVING!!!

HOWEVER,

I will be putting my tree up on Friday after Thanksgiving because I do love me some Christmas!! :)

My Current Favorites

Taylor Swift's new CD is beyond amazing. Really. I highly recommend it! I rarely buy CDs at stores anymore, but this one is definitely worth it. Over the years I have bought all 3 of her CDs and each one is absolutely fabulous!

I am currently reading The Choice by Nicolas Sparks. Yes, it is an oldie. I am determined to read all of his books and I got a late start! So far, so good! 

I have lots of new TV favorites. First up, Giuliana and Bill's reality show. It is very honest and "real" as far as reality shows go. I think they are such a sweet couple and we actually met Giuliana at the Southern Women's Show recently! 

Another new favorite (and yes I realize I am about 4 years late on this one) FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!

What a great show! Drama, Southerness, Football, WOW! But, seriously,  I am currently hunting down this entire TV series on DVD! 

And, of course.....TEEN MOM!! Now, don't even get me started on this gem. I laugh, I cry, I get mad, etc. every time I watch it. So many emotions! Haha, but seriously I love it! 

Almost Halloween....

I can't wait for Halloween! It has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not to mention, the culmination of my birth month!! My parents always have a huge party for Halloween and I have so many fun memories from growing up in a festive house!!

The BIG 25

This past weekend I turned 25! It was lots of fun and I feel very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! :)

Fun Stuff

I have been so extremely busy lately! School has taken over my life and I absolutely LOVE it!!! Teaching is what I have always wanted to do and I could not be happier at my job! All of my 6th graders are so much fun! Besides school, I have been watching football. What a life.  Football starts for me on Thursday nights when my cheerleaders perform at the 7th and 8th grade games. Then, it continues into Saturday. I must admit, I have been loving Fall. Here are a few pics of what has been going on lately!

David and I at his brother's football game! 

Brian's sign for the game! :) 

Watching the Bama game on Bear Bryant's birthday!! 

Our yummy game day drink!

ROLL TIDE!!!! 

Thankful Thursday

I am a little late getting this week's "Thankful Thursday" on here because of all the craziness with school! However, we will just pretend that is is Thursday!

This Thursday, I am thankful for.....

WHITNEY!!!

I met Whitney my Freshman year of college in 2004! We both pledged the same sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, and we were both Public Relations majors. Basically, we had all of our classes together and were together for sorority stuff when we were not in class! We were destined to become friends. I literally do not have a memory from college without Whitney in it. She is the type of person who has fun no matter what we do and is funny without meaning to be! It is so refreshing to have a friend like Whitney because she would actually drop whatever she is doing to help you out. And she did this many, many times for me in college. We lived together our Junior year and had the cutest apartment at September Place!

This is our Christmas Tree!! We sent this picture out on a Christmas card that year. It was so cute!!

We went to lots of sorority parties together!

80's Party!

Barnyard!

Trip to the lake

We went to NYC one summer!!

Switching hair-do's!!

Alabama football games!

Talladega...cheering for Jimmie Johnson!

The Candlelight for Tiffany when she got engaged!! We had matching bridesmaids tank tops!

My 23rd Birthday!

Whitney's wedding!!

To sum it all up, I just LOVE this girl! It is hard to believe that we lived 18 years without each other! I feel very lucky to have such an amazing friend. LOVE YOU WHIT BIT!!!!

First Day of School

6th grade is a whole new world! The students are officially in Middle School and have lockers, change classes, dress out for P.E., etc! Today was a bit hectic, to say the least, but it was also a lot of fun! I had a powerpoint on my fancy promethean board to introduce myself and did a few activities to get to know the students. We played a game called "In my perfect world.." The students had to list 10 things that would happen in their "perfect world." For example: everyday would be Friday, water fountains would have Mountain Dew, bedrooms would clean themselves, etc. I got some really creative answers! 

This was all we had time for in each class because we were on a shortened schedule. The day went by really quick and I can't wait to go back tomorrow!! :)

Stay Tuned...

The first day of school is TOMORROW!!! 

I will be posting details tomorrow afternoon of how it goes!!!

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday, I am thankful for....

 DAVO!!!

I am so thankful for my wonderful boyfriend, David. We have literally been through it ALL and have made it through. We began dating in 10th grade when he was 15 and I was 16 years old.  He had just gotten his braces off and I was giddy/could not breathe when he asked for my phone number on an Instant Message on AOL. We had not known each other, despite going to the same school since Kindergarten. However, we hit it off almost immediately. He was the cutest/hottest guy I had ever seen, had such a funny personality and I remember thinking on our first date that he was the ONE!! Granted, most teenage girls think this about every guy they date, but I was so sure that I came home and told my mom "I will be with him forever!!!" Now, it hasn't exactly been forever, but 8 and a half years is a pretty long time!

We were both very involved in high school and practically participated in everything. After high school, things got a bit tricky. College is something that is not meant for high school relationships. We had a few rocky years, went through some challenging times, questioned whether or not we should even be together anymore, but thankfully we made it out of all that MESS!

I can truly say I am thankful for David because I cannot imagine my life without him in it. It is so special and rare to be with someone who you knew at such a young age. We always have a good time together and most of all, he makes me laugh!! Not to mention, there is never a dull moment with him around. He is always stirring something up, cracking jokes, and just being plain ol' David. He comes from a loving, sweet family and I love all of them as well!! I actually had Mrs. Gray as a teacher before I even knew David. It was just meant to be! I can't wait to see what the future hold for us!! :)

I love you to the moon!!!!