Allen's First Day of School Pics

Failed to share these... oops...

Ready to go!

Drink that 8 AM coffee! 

Taking the bike out

"Have fun storming the castle!"

Green Things

My Landscape Architecture boyfriend has become quite fond of plants. We started out with two - a half dead geranium (that is now totally dead) and bamboo. That number has now been quintupled. We have 10 plants! Want to meet them?

 

Bamboo

Sparkey

My flowers

Colorful guy

Sean

Aloe

Crocodile tails

Dotty

Hurricane (south of the equator ((note the direction of the spiraling)))

Paige's Plantie

I hope I am a better plant keeper than my mother Ms. Brown Thumb. :)

Bragging...

Okay so Athens Academy is awesome! The entire school is Preschool (age 4) through 12th grade. All of their graduating seniors go on to a college or university. That right, I said all, 100%. AWESOME! And their facilities? OH MY GOSH! Beautiful! They have a campus... yes, a campus! 152 acres to be exact. Check out this screen shot from Google Maps:

They have fourteen buildings. Three lakes. Six tennis courts. Two gymnasiums. I can't imagine what it would be like to be a student there.

All to say, I am STOKED  to get involved with this school. Lots of room to grow! :)

Yes, another job update

Well ladies and gentleman, I have more news about my employment. You came here to read, so I supposed I will give you the long version...

Sometime in May or June - I found Athens Academy. It is a great private school in the area. They have all of the arts (music, chorus, orchestra, art, theatre, etc.) but no dance program. I sent an email to some people in the administration asking if they were interested in starting dance at their school. Sadly, they sad no. So I thought that was it and went on with life.

Saturday - I woke up, checked Facebook (duh) then my email. I received an email for the enrichment coordinator at Athens Academy. They hold an after school enrichment program that offers several different types of classes for students 4 years old - 8th grade. Everything from yoga, to cooking, to creative recycling (omg... where was this class when I was a kid?!). She asked if I was interested in teaching a dance class for their program. DUH number two! So of course I emailed back saying I was definitely interested. We ended up emailing back and fourth all weekend and talked on the phone Sunday.

Monday - Work at Rocky Branch... same ole same ole... But after work I went to Athens Academy to meet with the coordinator. Let me just say, everyone I came in contact with was SO nice, SO friendly, and SO helpful. I took a tour of two of their 14 builds. You heard me right, 14 buildings. More on that in a different post. So here is the rundown on what I will be doing:

• Teaching a dance enrichment after school program for three different levels
• Three levels include preschool (4-5 year olds), lower school (1st-4th graders), and middle school (5th-8th graders)
• I will be teaching dance in a couple different ways...
• Preschool: Combining curriculum with dance. Creative movement.
• Lower: Same as above with a little splash of tricks and popular moves.
• Middle: Equal parts creative movement and popular movement.
• I will be teaching on Wednesdays (we think). Each level has a one hour class.

After much deliberation, I decided that I could not continue my job with Rocky Branch and do this program. My Wednesday classes will start as early as 1:30 so there is no way I could do both. I know I will be able to continue substituting at Little Prodigies which is really exciting. I am also going to begin substituting for  the Oconee County School System. I will have a lot of flexibility in my schedule which will be nice. I assume I will be working at least 3 days a week if not 5. So today I handed in my two weeks notice to Rocky Branch. They are disappointed to see me go, but happy for me that I get to work in my field. My last day will be Friday, September 7. I am not going to tell the kids until next week - even then, probably not until that day. No need to get them all worked up. 

Hopefully this will be my last change of jobs for a while. Maybe now I can get into a groove that feels right. 

Job offer #3... and in just 7 days!

I am sure you all now know that I have accepted a full time position, but this post is just for the background on how it happened and such.

On Monday I had my first day with Little Prodigies. I was subbing in the 6 wks - 6 mos room. I totally loved it. I really enjoyed the co-workers, the administration, and the kids. While I was working, RBA called me several times. When I called back the assistant director told me about a full time opening they had in the 3-4 year old pre-school room. I told them before I could agree to anything I would want to experience the children and then daily schedule first. That is exactly what I did today. I met and interacted with the kids, learned about their schedule, and found out any details I didn't have already. I enjoyed the experience and felt confident I would be able to handle toe position. I talked over some details with the director and assistant director and told them I would have an answer for them by the end of the day. 

After careful consideration and many conversations with Mom, Dad, Allen, and Paige, I decided that it was a great opportunity and I wasn't going to pass it up. 

Here are some things I (think) I will be doing...

- Story reading

- Teaching colors, letters, shapes, and numbers

- Visual art

- Supervising breakfast, lunch, and snack time

- Communicating with parents daily about his/her child

- (My personal favorite): nap time!

This position will also give me some freedom about how I teach the material. That means I will be able to use my dance education training. Three and four year olds have a ton of energy. Wearing them out with creative movement sounds like a great plan.

I start first thing tomorrow. I will get home before rush hour and have the afternoon to decompress. I am very excited about that. 

Allen and I went out to dinner to celebrate. We were able to use the Longhorn giftcard that Allen's parents gave him. (Thanks Pratt parents!!!) Then he took me to Dairy Queen for a sweet treat. As a side note, can I mention how much I love the mini size Blizzards?! They are the perfect size! I digress... We are currently watching SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance). They have dedicated the night to Mia Michaels. Double excitement! She is my favorite current era choreographer and I had the opportunity to meet her a few years ago... SEE: 

So thank you everyone for your continued well wishes and positive support. <3

Getting Ready

We had a great weekend. It started a little early with a trip to Brevard. We needed to pick up Allen's car that we dropped off about a month ago. We took the most direct route which meant the trip was about 2 hours and 45 minutes long. However, it was a challenging drive. Not only did the roads hairpin turn every forty feet, but we were going up the mountain, at night, in the rain, in my little Corolla. Scary! That is not a drive I wish to repeat. While in Brevard, we visited with his Aunt, Uncle, Granny, and best friend Andrew. For brunch on Friday we stopped by The Sunrise Cafe. Allen's soccer team used to go there all the time. One of his teammates even has a sandwich named after him - "The Zach Melt". Of course, that's what we ordered. I can't say I know exactly what was in it, but here is what I deciphered: chicken salad, spinach cream cheese, bacon, provolone cheese, toasted open faced on focaccia bread. YUM! Each of us ate only half for brunch and the rest for a very late lunch. On the drive back to Athens we took the same route, however, it was much easier and much prettier in the daytime.

Saturday we had our first Aldi experience. Aldi is one of the grocery store options we have to choose from here in Athens. I know my mom has shopped there on several occasions, but neither of us had ever been. I think I am in love! Aldi really is cheeper than Wal-Mart! And much less of a hassel with a more pleasant clientele. What's not to love? We did two weeks of grocery shopping for $50! That's a big difference even from Food Lion! Needless to say, we have found our go-to grocery store.

That afternoon, we had our first overnight visitors. Our friends Brittney and Sean came up. They are both in graduate school at Georgia Tech in Atlanta which is just over an hour away. We had a delicious pizza lunch at walkable Little Italy (sorry, no website). NY size slices loaded with any toppings you want. The boys then walked around campus for the rest of the afternoon while Brittney and I took advantage of Georiga's tax free weekend at the Georgia Square Mall. She got a super cute dress for an upcoming wedding and I found some black shirts to wear to work at RBA. I haven't discussed the dress code with them yet, but when I was there everyone was wearing khaki pants and a black shirt. I figured that probably wasn't a coincidence so I went ahead and invested in them. I also got a pair or practical black work shoes. Cute, but appropriate for running around with kids. We all met back up for dinner at Taqueria del Sol which is also walkable. Each of us ordered something different and it was all delicious. They have a wonderful outdoor dining area with lots of fans so it was the perfect temperature.

Saturday also brought a bit of sad news. My last great grandparent, Grandmother Grace, passed away. She has been unwell for quite some time, so I do not think any of us were taken by surprise. I will not be going up to NC for the funeral since I start work tomorrow. Send some happy thoughts and positive vibes to my grandpa (it was his mother) and the rest of my family.

Today we are getting ready for the week ahead. Allen begins his first day of graduate school tomorrow!  He is excited to get back into a daily schedule, but not looking forward to those 8:00 AM classes! I also have my first day of work tomorrow. I will be substituting at RBA for the After School program. Wish us both luck on our new adventures!

I got a job... two actually!

Well ladies and gents, your well wishes worked!! Within the past 24-ish hours I have been offered two jobs!! That's right, two! Let me catch you up on each one...

Job #1: I saw a Craigslist ad for a substitute teacher position at Little Prodigies on Friday night. LP is an arts based child care center that has kids from 6 weeks to five years old. I sent an email right away. I waited and waited and waited for a response. Nothing. So I decided to stop by on Tuesday to drop off a hard copy of my resume and my Philosophy of Education. Unfortunately, I just missed the director by abut thirty minutes. So, the woman I was talking to said the best bet would be to come by the next day. I did just that on Wednesday! I went in, met the director and assistant director, gave them my papers and had a little chat. The director was interested right away and said that as long as my background check came up clean, that I was in! Today I dropped off my clean (duh) background check. So now I just wait for a call. Most of the time, I will know a week in advance when they need me. But because I live so close, they may also call me the morning of asking for my help. She said that while I was around, I may even be able to do some dance and creative movement with the older kids. Hooray!

Job #2: The same day LP posted an ad on Craigslist, Rocky Branch Academy posted one too. I printed off an application and took it to the academy on Tuesday. I met with the director. She said she would pass my information along to the assistant director and they would call me the next day to set up an interview. I did get a call the next day and was able to do my interview that afternoon. The interview, which was not very interview like went well. She had me go into the infant room for about thirty minutes to learn more about that position. About an hour later, the director told me to expect a call from them either that night or the next day. Today I got a call from the assistant director. They asked me if I would be willing to substitute for them starting immediately. I, of course, said yes. I start on Monday with their after school program.

I am excited about each position. Although neither of them will be a consistant job with a steady schedule, it will still provide me a chance to either move up within each company or see what else is available.

Jobs in the work: I have sent in all the paperwork needed to become a substitute teacher for Oconee County Schools. Everything should get there in time to allow me to attend the September orientation. I'm excited to make a connection with a school system. After I see how busy or not busy I am with the LP and RBA jobs, I will then decide if I want to put in my substitute application for Clarke County.


Right now I am enjoying a fabulous Georgia thunderstorm. Allen and I are headed to Brevard for the night. We will pick up his car and head back to GA on Friday. Our friends who go to school in Atlanta, Brittney and Sean, are coming up for the day on Saturday. The girls may take advantage of tax free weekend and the boys may take advantage of the Athens bars. Thank you again to everyone that sent me good wishes throughout the week! <3

Stretching our Social Bone

Today was a very productive day! 

Allen had his first day of orientation. "It went swimmingly" - yes those are his words. He met with the entire incoming class of the College of Environment and Design. This includes people majoring in Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, and Environmental Planning and Design. All three are Masters programs. There were also three "hosts" that have already completed at least a year in their respective program. He met with his advisor and figured out which classes he will be taking. They are as follows:

- Studio based on ecology

- Landscape Construction

- Lanscape History

- Research Methods (pre-requisite for his thesis) 

He's excited about the classes, but was really hoping he would be able to take one to learn about different kinds on plants. However, he will have to wait until next Fall for that one. 

While he was busy getting oriented, I dove deeper into job searching. Today I worked on the following four applications: Trader Joe's, Rocky Branch Academy (assistant teacher), Clarke County Schools (substitute), and Oconee County Schools (substitute). The first two applications - no problem! Easy to fill out. Going to turn them in in-person tomorrow. Now, the later two - a bit more difficult. Both of these included tax forms. Ugh! Mom and Dad - I will probably call one or both of you tomorrow to figure out how the heck to fill them out. W-4's, withholding certificate, umm what? I don't know? So tomorrow's plan is turning in two applications, finishing the substitute applications, and any online applications that I can find. 

With all of that productivity, we needed to let loose. Luckily, one of the hosts from Allen's orientation set up a social event at a local bar - Little Kings. Little Kings is apparently too cool for a website, otherwise I would link to it. From the outside it doesn't look like much, a simple concrete building, but inside there is old wood and exposed brink. Super cool looking. Drink prices are cheap which is even better. Apparently it is a "hipster" and "townie" bar. "Hipster" being a trendy, vintage-y person. A "townie" being someone born and bread in Athens. All and all, I really liked it. Not to mention Allen's classmates. There is one guy who is pursuing his Masters in Landscape Architecture that used to dance for the Mark Morris Dance Company. Umm what?! How cool! We talked a little bit about dance studios in the area. The most exciting event of the evening was our undefeated run at Corn Hole. No idea what Corn Hole is? Check out THIS VIDEO for a basic "how-to". 

So today we had a little play with a little work. A good balance! Fingers crossed that I have a fruitful job search outing tomorrow! 

The Weekend in Review

Two words... Couch Potatoes.

We did a big fat zippo, zero, nothing this weekend. Well, that's not entirely true, but it's pretty close.

Saturday we slept in late and then sat on our butts. We did have two short outings later in the afternoon.  We took another bike ride through the Boulevard section of town. We rode down out street and easily located the train tracks (Dad, I know you're proud). Our second outing landed at Target (for our second trip this week). The old wireless router finally bit the dust, so we picked up a new one. We then successfully set up our internet.

Sunday we again slept in late, but did venture out in the afternoon. Allen's old MacBook Pro stopped working. Although he has his new MBP, he still wants to keep is old one working as best as possible as a backup machine. Here's the bad news... Athens isn't big enough to have an Apple store. Here's the good news... Athens is a college town so it has PeachMac. It is an authorized Apple Specialist store. How handy! Luckily, after the computer nerd, I mean computer expert looked at it, we discovered that it was only his power cord that had died. We picked up a new one right then and there. What a relief! So to celebrate, we drove across the parking lot and looked around Trader Joe's. It was here we learned that you cannot buy alcohol on a Sunday in Georgia. Not that it was a problem for us because we weren't planning on buying any. I swear! We weren't! But the point is, we have learned now that if we plan on having any alcoholic beverages, it's best to buy them before Sunday. However, if you are at a restaurant on a Sunday and you're looking for a nice glass of wine, you might want to check with the township before hand. Some can serve you alcohol on a Sunday, some cannot.

Allen has his first day of orientation tomorrow (Monday). He will get to do things like register for class,  have a UGA ID card made, and meet his fellow landscape architecture classmates. I know he's excited and I am excited for him. While he is doing is architecture stuff, I will begin the job hunt. I have found a couple of really promising leads online, but I don't want to jinx myself so I will just for happy thoughts to be sent my way. On that same note, Allen's Granny isn't doing great, so if you could send some happy thoughts her way that would be great too.

But for now, I will leave you with other dumb laws in the state of Georgia (CLICK ME). My favorite is "Donkeys must not be kept in bathtubs." Whoops... better get ole Bessy out of the shower!

Exploring Athens by Bicycle

Today we went for our first bike ride around the city. All said and done it was an hour long excursion. I was exhausted! Now, there is something I need for you to keep in mind. I am from Eastern North Carolina. That is the flat lands. No hills, no inclines, no slope at all. Athens, however, is not the flat lands. By no means is it a mountainous region, but it is considerable more steep than what I am accustomed to. So yes, I was exhausted.

I apologize for not having a picture to go with our journey, but by the time we got home we were soaked in sweat. I figured you all did not want to see that. We are going on another ride tomorrow through the Boulevard section of town. Tree lined streets, plantation homes, and best yet - relatively flat! If we can do a bike ride everyday we will be in such great shape! I realize that is dreaming big, but why not aim high? I'll be impressed if we stick to three time a week.

A Yummy Dinner

Tonight we had dinner at the Big City Bread Company. It was delish! We shared a Bleu Cheese, Crisp Apple, and Baby Spinach salad. It had the most delicious bacon! Yum! Then we each got a pizza that had three different kinds of cheese and arugula. Even more yum! The outside dining area was bigger than the inside - my kind of place! But the best part about dinner is that we were able to walk from our apartment. It is a five minute walk from door to door. We can't wait to go back and try their brunch! The desserts looked AH-MAY-ZING, but we had birthday strawberry cake to finish. We will definitely be going back to the BCBC!

Holy cow! We moved to Georgia!

Well I can't believe it, but we are 100% moved in! I feel like I should catch you up on everything that has been happening. So here we go...

Sunday, July 29th: With help from some fabulous friends in Charlotte, Allen and I packed up everything, yes everything, into our 16 foot Penske truck. We had our last NC dinner at Cook Out since we knew there wouldn't be one in GA. After all the packing was done, Allen and his roommate Steve sat in their empty apartment drinking beer and eating ice cream. Neither of us slept very well that night. I think we were both anxious for the next day.

Monday, July 30th: We woke up early and loaded the final boxes, bags, and miscellaneous items. We tried waiting around for the mail person to come to check out mailboxes one last time, but were too excited to get on our way. Around 11:30 we said our final goodbyes and left the Queen City.

We got into Athens around 3:30. Picked up our keys with no problem and headed to our new place. Allen's best friend from home came to help us load things in. He was a life saver! There was no way we could have gotten everything out of the truck and into our apartment without him. Before he left, we went to Athens Sushi Bar. It was delicious! That night we were up until midnight starting the unpacking process.

Tuesday, July 31st: Unpacking, unpacking, unpacking, unpacking. That is all we did all day. Until we got hungry. We had dinner at The Taco Stand. My burrito was yummy, but Allen's nachos were only okay. You live, you learn. We located the Wal-mart. Now I must say, I am not a fan on Wal-mart by any means. But this one is really nice. It is huuuuuuge and and well kept. Perfect for getting apartment supplies as well as groceries. 

Wednesday, August 1st: It's August?! When did that happen? The summer flew by! Today was "hanging day" in the apartment. We got a majority of the pictures hung up. We also had the cable/phone/internet installed. Turns out, it is cheaper to have all three than just cable and internet. Who would have thought? The bad news is, there is only one cable hook up in the entire apartment. Which means we will only have the living room TV hooked up. We are still going to keep the TV in the bedroom for moving watching and such. We did our big grocery shop and got all the essentials to have on hand. I cooked dinner for the first time! Pasta with salad. I finally got to make Allen a birthday cake. Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. We finished the night by potting our new plants. Oh, but I failed to mention the most exciting part of the day - we located a Bojangles! We didn't think there were any around us, but there is one about five minutes away from our apartment! Hooray! 

Thursday, August 2nd: The final touches! I finally hung all of my clothes in my closet. Allen finished hanging the last few pictures. And we are done. Here is a brief rundown of our place:

Utility closet (L)     Bathroom (R)

Guest room

Living room

Living room

Living room

Dining room

Kitchen side A

Kitchen side B

Front garden

Mom, Dad, Mimi, and Pop: I know you guys probably want to see every angle of every corner in the whole place. So, for those of you wanting to see the rest of the pictures, click on this link: Apartment Pictures

I am completly in love with our new place. It is a perfect size for us and a perfect location. We are in a very safe neighborhood. We've met a few of our neighbors and they seem really nice. I am not sure what the weekend has in store for us. Maybe some more exploring.