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Well, student-teaching got the best of the blog.

I will say, if something had to halt my hopes for a successful blog, this was a good interference. I spent four stressful, exciting, wonderful, confidence-building months teaching and learning in a second grade classroom. If it were up to me, I'd still be there. Alas, finishing my master's degree had to take precedent. Hey, by the way, I have my master's degree. That's pretty awesome and since I couldn't stay on another semester in second grade I was fortunate to find another great opportunity before I apply for actual teaching positions this summer. I'm now a teaching assistant in the 4/5 classroom at a local charter school. The initial few weeks were full with finalizing things for school and preparing to leave for Christmas with our families in addition to learning about my new position. I'm excited to challenge myself with this new job. It allows me to work with a different age group than in my student-teaching experience and in a school with a different set-up.

What I look forward to most though, is finally earning a classroom of my own. I get so excited looking at activities and projects on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. I think about all the magical books I have (thanks in huge part to an unbelievably generous aunt) for eager students to explore. Maybe I'll eat my words someday, but right now I can't wait to be busy going over student work and preparing lesson plans. I love that kind of busy.

While the blog has been silent, I've been busy with a few non-job items. We've continued planning the wedding. We have a date, a venue, a bridal party, and a continuing argument about the playlist. I found a dress over a trip to Kansas City for Thanksgiving. It's exactly what I hoped to find and didn't cost as much as a car! So far, wedding planning has gone very smoothly. I hope the planning continues to be this peaceful.

 I'm going to do my best to breathe life back into this blog.

Name Changes

I suppose there needs to be a small change made here in blog land. Boyfriend's title is no longer entirely accurate. The best way to describe him now is Fiance. That's right, after five years together, three states, a pup, and buying a house he and decided to make it official. We're pretty jazzed.

We'll be tying the knot (jumping the broom, getting hitched, and other assorted euphemisms) in Kansas City next summer. I'll have a brand new (easier for kiddos to pronounce) name just in time to be teacher all on my own. Hooray!

Green Thumbs?

So, when you buy a house in the fall and move in during the winter guess what remains a total mystery? The yard. The now-overgrown, not well maintained, chaotic mess of a yard.

Lest this get too rant-y, here are the things we really like about our outdoor space:

1. We have a nice deck. It's big enough to accommodate our patio furniture and grill with a little room to spare. It's in pretty decent condition too. A power-washing and re-staining should be all we need to do in the near future. 

2. The flower beds in our front yard. We have two well-established (albeit, overgrown) flower beds on either side of our front stoop (I have a love/hate relationship with that word, btw...stoop. stoop. stoop.) which are currently a disorderly mess of tiger lilies and crazed ground cover. What's great is that they're a good size, plenty of potential for changing up the layout in there and the boundaries are already well-established by pretty classic brick paving stones. 

3. We have a shed. We love our shed. Our shed loves us. Seriously though, we don't have to keep the lawn mower or the smoker or the grill in the garage. Win.

4. Lots of space! For a pretty typical neighborhood lot, we have plenty of open green space. For now, it's main purpose is as room for Arley to roam. We have dreams of a picnic table or even a fire pit, though.  

Here's what we're up against in our battle to achieve yard zen:

1. Random flowers everywhere. It's great that the previous owners planted a ton of perennials. It's not as awesome that they pop up next to the shed, along the fence, in the garden, next to the house, aaaaannnd in the flower beds. 

2. Weeds on weeds on weeds. No one was diligently keeping these rowdy little buggers in their place. We've been waging a weak uphill battle since the spring. It doesn't help that our opponents can grow about a foot overnight. 

3. Dead things. As far as we can tell we don't have zombies (whew). What we do have is a large dead bush in our front yard. I managed to hack the smaller limbs off so we can mow near it, but it still looms are gray and sad at the front of our yard. It's got a date with a chainsaw eventually. 

4. Bald patches. We're not yet old enough to experience these personally. Our yard is not as fortunate, though. Some of them seem to be of the long-term variety while others we acquired when someone else's movers may or may not have backed into our yard as they turned their truck around. Ugh.

This summer hasn't seen a lot of progress in the yard, but now we know what we're up to for next year! Any yard care secrets are very welcome : )

Would You Like a Boy One or a Girl One?

I was a little girl during the 1990's. I was the kind of kid who had Barbies, but wouldn't turn down a Nerf gun. Growing up, I thought it was rough that nearly anything intended for a girl came in the color pink. I had no idea how good I had it.

A short list of companies that have recently felt the need to market a girl-specific (read: pink) version of their apparently only for boys toys include heavyweights like Lego and Nerf. Lego Friends were released a few years ago to a barrage of criticism. Lego Friends are Lego kits marketed at little girls. Check these disasters out. Not one of the characters is even wearing pants! Most of the building has already been done for little girls who play with sets such as "Sunshine Ranch" or "Downtown Bakery". Nerf has a line of foam-shooting weapons for girls, Nerf Rebelle. My favorite product in this line is the "Heartbreaker Bow." Seriously, Nerf? Boys slay enemies and girls slay hearts? Ugh. Of course, the Rebelle products are decorated with white and pink swirls and stars.

But do you know who is actually taking a step away from the completely unnecessary gender divide? McDonald's. I know, right? After a young girl contacted McDonald's about being asked if she wanted the girl toy or the boy toy in her Happy Meal, McDonald's will now be instructing employees only to ask which franchise toy children would like (i.e. My Little Pony or Skylanders). Three cheers for small steps!

Sure, there are still pretty obvious visual cues as to which gender stereotypes are being represented in Happy Meal toys. The My Little Pony toys are meant to be groomed and admired, while the Skylanders shoot and chop. And sure, the place that is taking baby steps toward eliminating gender-based childhood is the same place selling deep-fried, sugar laden, processed foods to kids, but McDonald's is a massive national company. Perhaps this a sign of bigger things. We can hope.

EAPEA #4

Yes, that's right! It's time for another addition of Exceptionally Awesome People of Exceptional Awesomeness!

This time we're singing the praises of fellow Hoosier, John Green. John Green is a social media rock star and a best-selling author. He is half of the massively popular YouTube series, VlogBrothers where he and his brother, Hank make jokes, discuss universal issues of humanness, and support general nerd culture. He will also be seeing his best-selling young adult novel, The Fault in Our Stars (TFIOS, to those in the know) turned into a film! The book was excellent, a great mix of thought provoking questions and teenage sarcasm. While I have unresolved feelings about books (especially those I've enjoyed) being turned into movies, Green has been very vocal on social media about his involvement and approval of this adaptation of his book. He has written several other popular books as well.

But what makes John Green worthy of EAPEA honors? He's a smart, clever, non-obnoxious presence on the internet. As I become more and more removed from teenage culture, I become more and more baffled at who and what are popular in the young people corner of the internet. The only frustration I have with Green is that he didn't have a YouTube channel when I was a teenager. Check him out all over the internet.

Finding All the Information

A couple months ago I caught the end of an interesting Ted Radio Hour segment on my way home from running errands. An interview was wrapping up and I heard the man's name but it didn't stick by the time I was home. But ho, the power of the internet!

Step 1: Look up the radio show on the station's webpage.
Step 2: Find that episode of the Ted Radio Hour (Misconceptions, if you were curious)
Step 3: Read the episode description that gives the man's info (Barry Schwartz)
Step 4: I can download the Ted Radio Hour episode, read his Wikipedia page, order his book online, and generally fall down the internet rabbit hole.

Isn't it wonderful to realize the bounty of information at our fingertips? Yes, there are a lot of cat videos and celebrity gossip, but there are also answers to a ton of questions worth asking. 

A List!

We're currently in Indianapolis for our annual weekend of Indy 500 festivities. Today, the rest of the crew is watching the greatest spectacle in racing while I get some veg time in the hotel giving the blog some much needed attention. First up, a little update on our new house.

So, we've lived in the new place for a few months now and of course, the ideas for making it our own are abundant. Right now changes have been limited to hanging our own pictures, replacing the kitchen appliances, and painting Eric's pale pink office a more studious blue. But what big plans (dream? delusions?) we have! Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love, I've made my own personal list of things we'd like to do to this house of ours. Clearly, this is more for my reference than yours, but if you're looking for an explanation when I'm staring off into space. These are likely the things I'm plotting.

Without further ado, here is THE LIST:

Living room:
paint
find art/make something to hang above the couch
add curtains to windows
reface fireplace
add mantle to fireplace
replace light/fan fixture

Dining room:
change light fixture/add one with a ceiling fan
replace screens on windows

Kitchen:
repaint/stain cabinets
paint walls
replace laminate floors with ceramic tile
add an electrical outlet to the island
move the island back a few inches
revamp shelving in pantry cabinets

Hall Bath:
replace linoleum with ceramic tile
paint?
frame in mirror
replace light fixture

Entry:
paint
replace light fixture
paint/stain bannister
replace carpet on stairs

Guest Room:
replace window coverings
fix one window from slamming

Second Bath:
frame in mirror
change light fixture

Offices:
paint
add blinds

Master Bedroom:
paint
change window coverings

Master Bathroom:
take out shelving in closet
install towel hook rack in closet
paint
tile around shower
frame in mirror
replace light fixtures

There you have it. The list we may never finish! I hope to update this as we make progress.

The Queen City: Revisited

I am absolutely itching to travel. It never really goes away, this itch. Fortunately, I was able to relieve it somewhat with a little weekend road trip. Boyfriend and I headed south for a wedding in our old stomping grounds, Charlotte, North Carolina.

The best and worst thing about driving to Charlotte from anywhere west of Charlotte is the time it takes to get there. Driving through the Appalachians is breathtakingly beautiful and arduously slow. Heading out from southern Indiana took us through Brown County, Indiana (beautiful rolling hills, picture-perfect farms, a postcard of Midwestern charm) Kentucky (the beginnings of mountains, Bourbon country, more beautiful rolling hills) , a corner of Tennessee (Branson East, river camping and rafting, even more beautiful rolling hills, seriously cute little towns tucked into the mountains), and a chunk of very western North Carolina (narrow highway twisting and climbing around green mountains).  For most of our drive it rained. Spring, amiright?

After our beautiful but pokey drive, we made it to Charlotte, checked into our hotel, and promptly thanked Priceline for providing us with a beautiful view of the city. Then it was off to meet Charlottians past and present. We were walking distance to all of our downtown destinations for the weekend (Seriously, Priceline was killing it.) The wedding we'd come to town for was beautiful despite a cozy (although I'm sure unwelcome) grumble of thunder and afternoon rain shower. We ducked from awning to awning on our way to the reception in a restaurant above the city, Bentley's on 27. Cocktails should always be accompanied by panoramic views. This is my new rule. Walking just a few blocks back to our hotel was a great way to end the evening. We did venture out of downtown for two very good reasons during our stay though. Cabo Fish Taco and Zada Jane's. 

Cabo Fish Taco and the wonderful weather are the top two things I miss about living in North Carolina. I can't control the weather, but I can control where I eat lunch. Barbecue Mahi Tacos. This midwestern girl cannot think of any lunch not improved by the addition of barbecue sauce. These tacos are one of my favorite meals and it was so nice to enjoy them with some of our buddies from our Charlotte days. They also made sure we made it to a restaurant we'd never been to when we lived in town. We were missing out, you guys. Zada Jane's was our last Charlotte meal of the weekend and it was a wonderful choice. Awesome giant breakfast on the patio for the win. It will be added to the "When in Charlotte" list for next time.  

While I'm still itching for more travel, I loved being in Charlotte for the weekend. It may never be our forever home, but it'll always be fun to go back and remember our couple of years there.

New House Tour Part 2: Less Chaos

So...this is way overdue. Better super late than never? I hope so! Here is what our house is looking like these days. We've lived here a little over a month now and have managed to get a few little things done.

Our individual work areas are coming along. I think they say a lot about us. Here's mine:

Believe it or not, I find all that color and chaos comforting. I love having somewhere designated for all of my school stuff. When piles of binders are toppled over and my backpack's contents have spilled across the floor, I can shut the door and walk downstairs.

Boyfriend though, has a very professional dusty blue and dark wood office. It's sophisticated- even the Rage Against the Machine poster. He's got a menacing bookshelf, heavy with academic miscellany, baseball bobble heads and empty space. Something about not getting distracted, I guess. Huh.

Our guest bedroom is pretty bare, but the bed is made!

The dining room has taken on a multipurpose life much like it had at our old house. The dining room is where more bookshelves go (so many, so many) and where game nights happen, where Boyfriend works when his office won't do, where projects get laid out, and where dinner rarely happens. Here it is:

Our backyard, you ask? We haven't done a single thing...because it has looked like this since mid-January. I know, I know, it's pretty, right? Nope. Three weeks ago it was pretty. Now it's just
a sick joke. Melt.

And because I am that pet owner, here's a cute picture of Arley enjoying our new digs.

Elsewhere!

Quick update: If you just can't get enough of my writing I have wonderful news. I'm blogging for my K-3 Literacy class this semester. It's much different than the writing I do here (academic, coherent, etc.). I discuss articles, books and podcasts about reading and literacy techniques for younger elementary school students. That blog also doesn't include any identifying info (the course requires that we stay anonymous on the web since we're students) which means I'd appreciate if you didn't comment there with a list of everything you know about me. Here's the link.

I do have a couple non-school related posts in the works including a completely out of control list of things we'd like to do to this house while we live here and details about an adventure I had yesterday involving dissecting an old set of curtains for throw pillow fabric! Stay tuned! 

New House Tour Part 1: Chaos

We're officially moved! During finals week last semester we finished (...pretty much started) packing and moved everything to the new house across town. Moving+ finals week= we've had better ideas. Anyway, we survived the moving process with the help of some great friends and a lot of caffeine. We then fled town for the refuge of Kansas City and our families. Who knew that arriving home in an ice storm would be the least of our weather problems this holiday season?

Chapter 2: The Polar Vortex sabotaged our return to Bloomington!
Our original plan was to head back on Sunday but when we found out that I-70 was all snow-covered car accidents, we decided to wait. Tuesday morning we left Kansas City and made it as far as Vandalia, IL before the highway was so icy that we thought better of continuing. Boyfriend, Arley, and I spent the night at the Days Inn in Vandalia. Wednesday we took a little over 6 hours to get from the middle of Illinois to Bloomington. Along the way we saw dozens of cars off the road, overturned semis (one blocking our access back on to I-70 after a coffee stop), a train stopped in an intersection, and beautiful snowy southern Indiana.

But we made it! In the last few days we've made pretty decent progress but it's still pretty crazy around here. Have some evidence of the madness:

There are books on the floor in every room.

Yes, that's a box spring in the living room? Why?

Stay tuned for a more moved-in tour of our progress!