Life in Durham

Hubby and I started school back in August. As you may know, there is a lot of newness in our life right now. We each just finished our first quarter of school a couple of weeks ago, and we are already deep into the busy-ness of Q2. Last week was my last full week of teaching before we come back from Thanksgiving break. We had a field trip and Veterans' Day this week, and have a half day next week with assemblies during the day, and then all of a sudden, it's Thanksgiving week. How does that happen? How does time just fly by like that? Wasn't it just August?

August

August was full of things like getting our new house in order. We are renting, so we didn't get to have to paint or anything crazy, but I was definitely in full nest-mode. Target is just around the corner, which is just plain dangerous.

Being in a new place, I had to get all new ID cards. In my first two weeks here, I got a new NC driver's license (that is still hard to get used to), a new teacher's ID through my new school district (or what I like to call my "teacher's discount proof"), and a spouse ID card through the university.  If that wasn't newness enough, I stepped into a brand new school with an empty canvas of a classroom. I will have to do a later post to update on all that has gone on at school and with the setup of my classroom. Starting from scratch in a new classroom definitely has its pros and cons. 

    

      
















And, of course, how could I forget those fun, college theme-parties that kept us out too late. During Orientation, the students throw themed parties for everyone to get to know each other. The first one we went to was a 90's party, and we went as Squints Palledorous and Wendy Peffercorn from The Sandlot, one of my favorite movies. The second one was a nerd party, and we grabbed a couple of my math teacher shirts, our fanny packs, threw on our glasses, and called it a nerd costume.

And at the end of August, we both had our first days of school--the true beginning to this new chapter in our lives. [pictured with our mascot, both the bluedevil and the bulldog]

September

With the month of September, came a bit more normalcy but also more new. We have now been "Food Truck Rodeo" attendees. Not that Houston wasn't, but we now live in a very "foodie" city, which we have been loving! I am still cooking on weeknights, but it has made exploring our new city so fun to try all of the new [and delicious] restaurants! We also have a new football team to cheer for. I'm not going to lie, being in blue was a little weird my first game. I've never cheered for a royal blue team before. I don't hate it, if I'm being honest.

    











I also have this other football team I've been cheering for... hubs is playing on a flag football team. Did I mention he is living the college life right now? No, it is definitely not all play, even if it seems like it. Poor guy works his booty off, and he definitely deserves a little flag football time. Avery LOVES sleeping through watching his games! 

September also brought our first visitor from home. Casey, husband of my good friend Caitlyn at Our Schaefer Stories, was in town for work for one day and came to have dinner with us. We LOVE the Schaefers, and we loved getting to spend time with him, even if for just a couple of hours.

The last thing that September brought was my first trip back to Texas. :) I left on a Friday after school, was picked up at the airport by my mom and sister, and it was non-stop family-time the whole weekend. It was awesome! It was a perfect way to celebrate my birthday a little early.

October

October was an interesting month here, for many reasons. One of those was the weird weather that seemed very familiar. It was anywhere from 38 degrees to 85 degrees on any given day. It also rained about 36 out of the 31 days. Yes, I teach math, and yes, I feel like that's what happened. I have worn my rain boots more in the last month than I have worn rain boots in my life... I think. However, October did bring the fall season. I truly love this season and all that it brings. It brings my favorite clothes; it brings cooler weather; it brings out the most beautiful colors in God's creation; and it brings my favorite holidays. We have family coming to visit for Thanksgiving, and I can hardly stand to wait!

Matt participated in one of Duke University's great traditions--he camped out with more than 800 other graduate students in an attempt to be drawn in a lottery for a season ticket to Duke basketball games this season. Well, he got one! He was thrilled, and he even took me to their pre-season opener. It was our first time in Cameron Stadium. I can't even imagine what it's like for a Duke v. UNC game. Wow-EE!

In the middle of October, we took a second trip to Texas. The trip was planned so that Matt could start recruiting for a summer internship during his fall break. I just tagged along, especially since it was his birthday! I left a day early, knowing that I would have to come back really early to go back to school. I did not have the week off like he did. Being there early gave me time to spend with my mom and sister at the Aggie game. I loved being back in College Station for a day! 

We celebrated Matt's birthday the next day with a lunch at my parents' house with some more family. He has been working so hard all semester, I was hoping he could just relax for a few days. It never ceases to amaze me how driven and motivated he is.

November has already been a great month, and I think the rain may have actually stopped for a while. We have so much that we are looking forward to this and next months. I can't wait!

Life Lately

Since we live in Houston and I am a teacher, I pretty much split the year into four main seasons: Fall, Christmas, Spring, and Summer. And maybe I'm the only one who feels like this, but Fall is always so busy with getting back into the routine of school and football season, so I always look forward to Spring with the intent of it being a much slower season, but it NEVER is. Somehow, spring time gets full, too. This year is no different.

I have some fun recipes to post this week that have been shared with me by a fellow BeachBody coach. She's wonderful, and we have been co-hosting a 21-Day Fix group for the last couple of weeks. So be looking for those recipes soon, but for now, here's what's been going on lately...

What I've Been Eating/Drinking LATELY:

[one]

I have recently changed my Shakeology flavor. I had been switching between Chocolate and Strawberry, but I decided to try the Vegan Chocolate, and I L-O-V-E my new flavor! No, I am not vegan, but sometimes it's just good to give your body a break from animal proteins. So yummy!

[two]

I made some Chicken Tostadas that just might make my "Top 5 Favorite Dishes I've Made" list. And, definitely hubby approved! Recipe coming soon!

[three]

We had this Sweet Potato Hash at my parents' house for a family dinner, and YUM! This recipe will also be hitting the blog very soon!

What I've Been Reading LATELY:

[one] 

My family started a book club in 2015. I dropped the ball on the first book of the year. I started reading it, and I just never got into it. However, I very quickly got into the second book that was chosen. The first Harry Potter book. I never read the series when I was a kid. I guess I really wasn't much of a reader at the time. But, after seeing all of the movies when they came out, it has been so fun going back to read the books. I really enjoyed the first one, and I am now onto the second. I also love that my students also have read/are even currently reading them. They are so excited that I am reading them and love talking to me about the books. 

[two]

I have been following a blog called SheReadsTruth and going through the last few of their studies: the book of John and then Esther. This blog is written by some wonderful ladies who very clearly love the Lord and who, I can guarantee, are blessing lots of women every day. 

What I've Been Doing LATELY:

[one] 

                                                 

Hubby and I celebrated another wonderful Valentine's Day together. When I was in high school, I always painted my fingernails black on Valentine's Day being a "rebel" for whatever reason. Well, those days are very over, and I love having this day to celebrate love. We enjoyed a delicious brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Brennan's. And then spent the day with our sweet puppy (who I am finally coming to realize that at three years old, she's really not a puppy).

[two]

It is spring in our house! As stated earlier, I don't really consider winter a season in Houston. I like to go from Christmas to springtime :) Of course, I decorated for Valentine's Day, but I've now decorated our table for Easter, one of my very favorite holidays! I can't help but smile whenever I walk by the table. 

[three]

It was plane rides, Ubers, and a fabulous wedding for me this weekend. I just got home today from Richmond, Virginia where one of my sweet college roommates got married. Richmond was perfectly covered in a blanket of wintery white, and just look how beautiful that bride is?! And her sweet new hubby photo-bombing. 

Lots of other things have been happening around here, and some fun posts are lined up for the next few weeks, as well as some yummy recipes to share! 

Hope you all have a great week!

2014 in Review

2014 was a big year. So many fun things happened this year, and I loved getting to look back and re-live many of these moments. So here's to bringing 2014 to a close...

January

On the 19th, my mom and I ran the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon. This was my third half-marathon and by far my favorite one I've ever run. I loved sharing this experience with my mom.

February

 Our Family Fitness Challenge ended with a bang and a Brennan's Dinner Celebration. 

Matt and I enjoyed a mini Texas road trip and vacation. We went to my favorite resort, The Hill Country Hyatt and celebrated Valentine's Day there and then in Austin.

March

On the 14th, we celebrated Pi Day at school. Being a 7th Grade math teacher definitely has its fun days! And this was one of them.

 For Spring Break, we took our first trip to the East Coast. We visited Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello while we were there. 

March also brought Rodeo season! One of my closest friends joined our Mutton Bustin' committee this year which made it even more fun. 

April

We took a little weekend vacation to Boston to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. It was Matt's first time there, so we did all things Boston tourist- Freedom Trail, cannolis, Red Sox game, etc.

May

Bayhouse trips galore! I feel like we were in Galveston pretty much every weekend in May. Mom's birthday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day...

June

Summer Softball. Matt and my brother, Chase, have been playing in a summer league for at least three years. Avery loves watching her daddy play ball.

July

 We spent the Fourth of July at the bayhouse in Galveston. Matt and I took on a little project to help celebrate the 4th!

We participated in Mission 1:8 with our Sunday School class. We helped put on a small Vacation Bible School for some refugees, most of which had never heard about Jesus before.

My roommates from college and I had a reunion weekend. It is so rare that we are all together, so we took advantage of the time we had together. 

August

 On the 1st, we celebrated the wedding of our friends, the Debayles, and we got to spend time with some of our favorite people.

The weekend before school started, we visited Matt's family in Fort Worth.

On the 26th, I started my third year of teaching middle school.

September

On the 24th, many of our students gathered for See You at the Pole. I will never forget listening to their sweet voices singing songs of praise to our Heavenly Father at the flag pole of our public middle school.

October

 The fall brought Aggie football season, so we traveled to College Station for tailgates quite a bit throughout October and November.

Since I can't post pictures of my sweet athletes, here's a selfie of me before our big volleyball tournament, in which my team won 1st place!

November

 On the 4th, we made our voices heard by voting in the midterm election.

In the week before Thanksgiving, we took advantage of my time off of school, and we traveled to Washington D. C. for the first time. We loved it!

December

 On the 21st, my grandparents got baptized in the same church I grew up in.

We spent Christmas traveling around Texas and visiting all of our family :)

It was such a great year. I cannot believe it is now over. We learned so many things this year, especially me. I am constantly working on trying to be the best wife I can be to Matt. I have learned to be patient with God, that things are perfect in His time. I have been continually reminded of how abundantly blessed we are. God is so good! I know He has really big plans for 2015. I can just feel it. I pray that we continue to keep Him at the center of our marriage and trust Him in all things, and I pray that we cherish time we get to spend with family and friends.

Here's to 2015!