Life as I know it

Day 7

Tonight and today I am thankful for a lot, so this post is dedicated to those things.

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1.  Grey.  I appreciate you more than I can ever express and I am so thankful for each and every minute we get to spend together.  You make living in Roxboro so awesome for me and likely all of the people around you.

2.  Far away friends, which now means 95% of them.  Although it is disheartening to know that you are physically far away, I take comfort in knowing that you are only a phone call away and that being far away in distance does not mean far away in heart.

3.  My children.  Moo, Cups and Atlas are such wonderful company and every morning that I wake up to fur in my face, I can’t help but smile.

4.  My family.  Although you are far away, I am so thankful to have a family that depends on and cares so much for me.

5.  A kick-ass principal and many, many amazing co-workers.  This makes teaching at North and teaching in general so much more fun than it really sometimes is.  And yes, there will be times (and already have been) where I will complain about some of these people, but it is still important to have a work family that treats you like their own, especially since I am not a native Roxboroian.

6.  Self-reliance, self-discovery, and self-discipline; the three things I am learning to fully take advantage of in my life.

7.  Books.  Tonight, namely the bible – I spent some time reading today and whenever I opened it, to whichever page it fell, I felt as though what I read was speaking directly to me.

8.  The purple of the Roxboro sky tonight.  The gleam of the not-so-distant booming metropolis I call home is lighting the sky in the most beautiful shade of purple throughout the front yard and field across from my house, and it is like nothing I have ever seen before.  For God’s creations of pure beauty, I am in awe.

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Sweet dreams, all.  Peace.

<3 Meg

Day 6

I am feeling quite accomplished today.  I went to bed last night at the decent hour of midnight, and woke up a little later than planned, at 10:30.  Some of you will shake your head at me in humor for this, but I had decided earlier in the week that my thirty-plus boxes of teaching supplies need to make their way back to school – this week.  The beginning of their journey was today.  Six boxes made their way into my classroom this afternoon, which means that I only have twenty-four to go.  This also means that if I use the next three days to transport, I will have to take eight boxes per day.  I’m not sure if my ’98 Pontiac Grand Prix can handle eight boxes in one trip, but I’m going to make sure she does, because this week I’m still free, so I will only be transporting – not unpacking.  I have also decided that I have way, way, way too many teaching supplies, so I am challenging myself to keep purchases this year to a minimum.  First of all, who on earth needs thirty boxes of random stuff for a classroom, and second, I plan to donate throughout the year to the infamous “Resource Room,” where unwanted items seem to congregate.  At one time, I had a principal who did not allow congregating at all, but this new one is quite awesome, so she doesn’t mind a bit.  If any of my co-workers are reading this blog they will shudder with disgust as I explain.  I mean, we could always give away our stuff or trade or share, etc, but humans were not able to congregate at all on school grounds.  So folks, this means a building full of women were not able to visit.  We took to secretly and viciously ‘congregating’ when said principal was not there, merely out of spite, and one time I actually took a picture of it and posted it on Facebook, just so we could all laugh at her stupid antics, but anyhow…that was random, so I’ll stop boring you non-teachers.

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Second on my list was an entertaining surprise phone call from Grey, who was out driving around, trying to take pictures for the newspaper which would represent and capture the heat of this ninety-four degree day.  She needed some ideas and invited me to come up with some.  My clever idea was to take some photographs of the railroad tracks near her house, where the heat was rising from the tracks.  We tried and tried to capture this, in the blistering sun, and I won’t know until later today or tomorrow if the photos were a success.  We did get a few really awesome shots of the tracks and some butterflies hoarding an onion chive plant that had purple buds all over it.  Then, as I was walking back to my car to check and see that it was still parked and running on the side of the road, a Sheriff’s car drove up to me with three deputies inside and asked whether everything was alright.  I quickly informed the three men that Grey and I were just taking pictures of the heat for the paper and that we were fine.  They bid me farewell and drove away, but that was also entertaining.  Hahaha, only in Roxboro would you see law enforcement roaming around the country roads.

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The next thing on my list was to rid my laundry/mini-sun room of the ten or so trash bags full of recyclables.  This pile had been accumulating since January when I moved in, so you can imagine the amount of stuff I had.  Luckily, my bottles and cans were already bagged because I handily purchased a trashcan for the sole purpose of holding empties.  I only had to bag the larger plastics and cardboard.  As I made my way to the Recycling Center in town, not really knowing where it was located and all I kept thinking was ‘These people are going to think I am a complete slob,’ but when I got there I was greeted by three men, all clearly from the Roxboro area who proceeded to flirt shamelessly with me while unloading my junk.  This entertained me as well, because the one guy was probably nearing the ripe old age of eighteen and I am twenty-six.  So even though I know that I do not look a day over seventeen, I was flattered that they even bothered to talk to me and then the young guy even invited me back!  Also, I wasn't even wearing make-up today!

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The last thing on my list to do today is visit D & V in Hillsborough.  This will likely be bittersweet, as I will not be doing any moving of boxes from house to house or from house to U-Haul for anyone, and I know you know how much fun I had doing that for a week.  D & V just arrived home from their honeymoon in Europe this weekend, and I get to have dinner with them and look at all their photos from the trip and they get to tell me all the juicy details of their escapades.  This is what I am most excited about – over-sharing.  I have had a lack of over-sharing in my life for the past two weeks, and I was beginning to go a little stir crazy because I hadn’t heard any stories about the two of them.  I am excited for dinner and great company though, so until later, enjoy the heat.  Peace.

<3 Meg

Day 5

Okay everyone, I posted the pictures of this weekend on Facebook for you, so if you are smooth enough to navigate your way to my page, they are available for viewing under the North Carolina Life album.

GUESS WHAT?!?!?  Danny and Vanessa have safely returned from Europe and I am going to see them tomorrow to find out all about the honeymoon and see all of their fabulous pictures!  I cannot wait.  I was feeling a little D & V deprived, to be honest, and I’m actually looking forward to some over-shares!

I think all the fun of July and August (so far) has me tuckered right out!  I suppose that this is a good thing though, because I report for duty at North Elementary bright and early at 7:30 next Monday morning.  Seven days of freedom left, so I’d better be ready for the long days to come.

We had the Mary Kay party today, which was a success.  There was plenty of food to be eaten and Tyson and Grey’s Mama made us a homemade cream cheese pound cake, which we topped with Nutella and Whipped Cream (from the can!).  It was almost as amazing as the cake from last night, but I’m beginning to get the feeling that Mama wants to fatten me up.  Oh!  We took before and after photos at the party, maybe I’ll post them later.

Remember how I told you yesterday that Atlas was so tired he just fell asleep underneath my chair?  Well tonight folks, I feel like falling asleep under my chair too!

 
And I just wanted to mention something I forgot about from last night.  Tyson found the coolest cicada hanging on the leaf of one of their plants.  It had just shed it’s shell (exoskeleton) and here is the picture.

 

I will blog at you again tomorrow, so until then, peace.

<3 Meg

Day 4

Alrighty folks, today was incredible for several reasons.  As T stated earlier this week, ‘get your party pants on and be ready to go.’  First, I got to sleep in way late this morning which was super amazing and wonderful.  Second, I got to go to a birthday party, which means that I got to purchase a gift for the birthday girl (who happens to be in 5^th grade), which also means that I got to buy school supplies, because the teacher in me decided to get her every single thing on her school supply list, besides a backpack (her mom got her that)!  Have no fear, I am not that lame and I did get her some cool stuff also.  Sheesh!  Third, I got BOOKS IN THE MAIL!!!  And fourth, I went to a cook-out at Grey and Tyson’s house with awesome people, ate a shitload of wonderful food, and, well, I’ll tell you the whole story in a little bit, as I chronicle the day in detail with relation to the order of these events.  Here.  We.  Go.  People.

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#1  I was up a little past my bedtime last night, partly because we stayed out in Carrboro too late, but also because I was talking with a really good friend from Michigan on the phone (we’ll call him Joe).  Joe has been ‘dating’ a mutual friend (we’ll call her Phoebe) for the last few months, and he is having issues mustering up the courage to get close to her because he feels like she is better than he is.  Let me tell you something, this guy is so sweet, he’s thoughtful and kind, and he has a really big heart so I told him ‘Go for it!!!’  If he knows what is good for him, he’d better get in gear, because I’ve threatened to march my skinny butt right up to Michigan and beat him to a pulp if he doesn’t.  You can do it Joe!!!  ;)

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#2  Child’s birthday party.  Nothing makes me smile more than the birthday of a child.  I remember when I was a kid, and sometimes even now, feeling so special and loved on my birthday.  I still get a little nervous whenever someone sings me ‘Happy Birthday,’ so I was really excited to go to this event.  The party was held at the infamous Outer Limits skating rink here in Roxboro.  It is a place I had never been to, but had heard about on multiple Monday mornings my first year here because apparently it is the place for late-elementary/middle schoolers to be on a Friday night.  I’ll bet you can just sense the excitement I felt as I drove into the parking lot at 3:30 today.  Wow.  The next thing you need to know about this birthday party, is that this girl’s parents really love a local metal/scream-o band called Steryle.  I had never heard of them until this year, but I was told that they would be playing at the birthday party as a surprise to the birthday girl.  Well, when I got there all seemed pretty tame, I was visiting with Nana, entertaining some of the kids (because I am a teacher, and I obviously was not in school) and eating my fair share (and then some) of the refreshments.  Then, Steryle sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ which was also very subdued.  What happened next, can only be described as the bursting of my eardrums.  Holy moley, I couldn’t even understand what those poor men were screaming singing!  I felt like my ears were on fire, and definitely not in a good way!  I mean, more power to you if you prefer your ears to ring for three days from loud music and screaming, but this girl would prefer to keep her hearing, instead of purposely deafening herself.  I’m just stating my own personal preferences here people, don’t even get upset.  I did have a lot of fun visiting and celebrating though, so the afternoon was a success.

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#3  Books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, books, BOOKS, EVERYBODY!  In my head, (okay, let’s be honest, out loud…) I sing this to the tune of ‘Shots,’ very excitedly.  Because as much as I like shots, I love books even more and anyone who knows anything about me knows this fact.  Anyway, about seventeen people in the past five years have recommended The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger to me and sadly, I have not read it yet.  So I bought it online for seventy-four cents (half.com people!) last week.  Also, a fellow teacher recommended The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway to me recently, so I also bought that online for seventy-six cents (again, half.com people!) and am really excited to READ!!!

I mean, you know you’re a dork when you suggest to your principal that for the first day of ‘March is Reading Month’ the whole school should watch this YouTube video.  And she agrees.  So you submit it to the County’s video approval website, hope it gets approved and when it does, you use all of your Specials time that week (Specials are things like Art, Music, Guidance, Computers, Media and P.E., aka – planning time – which is a precious commodity in the minds of teachers these days, since there never seems to be enough time in the day for us, or me, to get everything done) to visit the Media Center and watch the video with as many classes as possible.  Over and over again and then watch it at home in your leisure, and post it to your Facebook.  I know what a nerd I am so there is no need to reiterate that point.  Anyway, I have exactly 8 days of freedom left, and I will use much of that time not reading Grapes, but instead reading Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Sun Also Rises.  So there, how do you like that for rebellion?

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#4  Cook-out at Grey and Tyson’s house where we made idiots out of ourselves and had so much fun we couldn’t help but laugh.  Atlas got to come with me today, and he had so much fun playing outside, that he fell asleep under my lawn chair and wouldn’t wake up!  It was pretty much the sweetest thing I have ever seen.  I ate a whole lot of food, as I usually do when the food is delicious, and as always, Dad made fun of the Yankee in me and asked me about my Polish ancestry.  To both of these things, I always give in, for a couple of reasons.  Grey and Tyson’s dad is the very bold, humorous, un-censored (and Grey and T say ‘rude’) version of my own dad, so I love bullshitting with him.  He always makes fun of my “accent” and that I’m from Michigan (as he says it Mitch-i-ghin), but he loves the fact that I am Polish, and we always end up talking about Polish food. 

So the last time I was graced with his presence, he and I talked about The Andy Griffiths Show and he thought it really interesting that I have seen every episode.  I explained that my own dad is pretty much obsessed with the show, and that I grew up watching episode after episode on TV and also on VHS tapes that my dad re-recorded when he got tired of the episodes that were previously taped.  So basically, you never knew what you were going to get with dad, because sometimes, when one episode ended, you started in the middle of a different episode just because my dad particularly liked it.  I also learned last week that their dad bought a banjo and is learning how to play, which is cool, but what’s even more cool, is that he already knows how to play the FIDDLE!!!  This is how we ended up watching several segments of the show on YouTube and then later he tried convincing me that I should watch The Twilight Zone – The Hunt.  This is in three ten-minute segments on YouTube,

Part 1   -   Part 2   -   Part 3

and I wasn’t really feeling like it that night (and obviously haven’t felt like it any other night yet), but tonight as he and I were engaging in childish banter and foolishness, he asked me whether I’d watched it yet, and was clearly disappointed when I told him I hadn’t.  I suppose I’ll have to do that soon so that the next time I see him, I won’t let him down.  Mom made this amazing cake that is a Paula Deen recipe, which means that there is a lot-lot-lot of butter in it, which also means that it is fantastically awesome.  I will be getting the recipe for Busia, so that she can conveniently make it for me when I come home for Christmas.  Wowie-wow-wow, it was the best cake I have had in a long, long, long time.  After that, Mom and Dad left, and we were free to be goofy and do ridiculous things, such as take a million and one pictures of each other in our redneck attire, which I will post on Facebook at the close of this weekend.  Because my friends, it is not over yet.  There is more fun to be had tomorrow, while I purchase some Mary Kay eyeliner from Ashley that I am in great need of, and eat more scrumptious food that Grey and Tyson make.  So until tomorrow folks, peace.

<3 Meg

Day 3

Today was awesome!  I was up into the wee hours of the morning, so I woke up a little later than anticipated but I needed a little extra sleep to make it through the wee hours of this morning as well! 

I got online earlier this morning and ended up helping someone with a car ‘issue’ in a six degrees of separation kind of way.  It felt good, and kudos to my awesome brother Michael for his help.  So, I hope everything ended well for the car guy. 

Made some phone calls, pondered whether or not I should head into school to complete the website (aka: techie nerdy) stuff I needed to do.  School got the short end of the stick, as I did not go in. 

I cleaned the house some MORE (as though I don’t do this often enough anyhow) and got really pumped to hang out with the girls tonight.  Talked with Jess for a long while, this was really refreshing, as always. 

As I was on my way to Grey and Tyson’s house, I had an incoming call from a Michigan phone number that I didn’t recognize.  Now, the OCD in me usually never answers calls from numbers which are not stored with both a first and last name, but I decided that just this once I was going to take a risk and live on the wild side (exciting, I know).  It was my friend of a friend Shelly!  She is living in Fayetteville and is all alone, (sound familiar?) so we have made some tentative plans to meet up in the near future.  For this, I am really excited because I believe that it’s been about 4 years or so since I’ve seen her beautiful face, and it will be awesome to visit a fellow Michigander in the South. 

Anyhow, Grey, Tyson, myself, Tug, Lisa, Anna, Andrea and Daniel went to Elmo’s Diner for dessert and then to Improv tonight at DSI Comedy in Carrboro.  This comedy club is a venue we used to frequent, but haven’t been in awhile so I was really excited to get back.  The atmosphere is really laid back and it’s just a fun place to be.  I originally found out about it because Vanessa was taking Improv 101 there and her student showcase was on a Friday night, so naturally, I went with Nicole, and Danny and Don joined as well.  Nicole and I liked it so well, that we decided to invite Grey and Tyson the next time we went, and it kind of ended up being our Friday Night Gig for a few months.  I mean, who’s budget doesn’t support FREE Comedy?  And if there is a way to get this girl to do something, it is to tell her it’s free, with a capital F.  On most Friday nights, the free show is Mister Diplomat, where the club invites someone (this is pre-planned) to come up and share a few stories about his or her life and story by story, the comedians act it out.  One time, it was Sam Benjamin who was absolutely amazing, and Grey and I laughed until our stomachs ached with funny.  Another time it was choose-someone-from-the-audience, and Tyson was chosen to go up, but I will not disclose the story line from that night.  Tonight has proven a success, even if I cannot recall who the man was that provided the story line.  I promise that if you live in the Triangle area and have not been to DSI on a Friday night, you will not be disappointed if you do attend. 

After the show, we basically hung out in the Harris Teeter parking lot for about an hour and a half just talking and laughing and deciding when we are going to do this again.  I am excited to get the group together for another fun evening.  Maybe next time Elmo’s will have my key lime pie, because tonight I had to settle for blackberry pie and an Elmosa (hahaha, get it, mimosa from Elmo's?), and it just wasn’t the same.  But like I said earlier, I guess today was my day to go out on a limb.  Hahaha. 

Tomorrow however, the real fun begins.  Grey and Tyson are having a cook-out at their house and the theme is “Redneck.”  I am certain that I do not own any clothing to support said theme, but we shall see what I come up with tomorrow!  I’ll post all the pictures when the weekend is through, and you can be the judges of my redneck style.  Well ladies and gentlemen, until next time, peace.

<3 Meg

Day 2

Hey ya’ll, today was a less intense day than yesterday, because it rained again, but this time it was all day.  We did have a pretty fantastic lightening storm this evening.  My camera is not good enough to take photos of this type of thing, so I have no documentation. 

As for my day, here’s the scoop…I got up at a decent hour and went into school because my principal wanted to meet with me about the website.  That was pretty anti-climactic, but it needed to be done.  Got the school laptop back and the website is ready to be changed, but unfortunately I can only do that from non other than, school.  Guess where I’ll be venturing tomorrow?  Boo-hiss.  Next on my list was coffee with Brittany, which proved to be a whole lot of fun.  We drank our joe and chatted for a really nice chunk of the afternoon, which I really enjoyed.  I see some really interesting pieces of myself in her, and I sort of feel like a bit of a big sister to her.  Mind you, she’s only three years younger than I am, but it felt really good to be able to talk with each other and share some bible verses along the way.  Thanks to Grey for her immense knowledge of the good book and for sending some useful and thought-provoking tidbits my way.  As I was driving home from Durham, I felt, accomplished almost, and impressed with my listening ears.  As most of you know, I enjoy engaging conversation, and I will not partake in small talk if I do not have to.  I like a meaty, pensive discussion and that is exactly what I got today.  So thank you Brittany for a great time.

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When I got back to Roxboro, I did some work around the house and played with the children…here they are in all of their glory.

 

Here are Moo and Buttercup lounging in the sun.

And here, is the baby - Atlas.  I don't know if I've mentioned it, but Atlas Shrugged is by far one of the most amazing books ever, and that is how this boy got his name.

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I started a new sewing project, since I semi-cleaned out the spare room of teacher supplies yesterday.  I was looking at a book in Jo-Ann Fabrics when I was home in MI, and I saw this really cool idea in there that doesn’t look too difficult.  I’ll post some pictures when I finish it and the perfectionist (as I like to call it) in me is satisfied.  I am now off to attempt the practice of self-control and read The Grapes of Wrath, but I am almost certain that I will fail at this.  I will talk with you all later.  Peace.

<3 Meg

Day 1 - Truly Embrace Life Cont'd

Today ended up being the best day of this week so far.  I took a pretty long cat-nap when I was done blogging and taking those photos earlier, and then I finished My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, which cracks my shit up.  Seriously, that is the only way to describe the book to you.  It was absolutely hilarious.  I am determined to finish The Grapes of Wrath before I start Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang so we’ll see how that turns out.  I don’t know whether or not I have enough self-control to not read Chelsea’s book first.

Fast-forward to 7pm.  Atlas was getting sleepy, so I decided to take a little joyride by myself, if you will.  I drove out to Chub Lake and later decided to visit my favorite Roxboroians, Grey and Tyson.  These two girls are always up for a good time and they pretty much indulge my every whim.  We ended up watching snippets of The Andy Griffith Show with their dad, which cracked me up and then played outside before this lightening storm took over the evening.  Grey taught T and I how to look for spiders in the dark with this light that goes on your head, and we found many, many spiders.  After that, we went inside and since we are going to DSI Comedy this coming weekend, I decided to show them some Improv Everywhere.  I’m not sure the girls were as entertained by this as I was, but you should probably check it out for yourself.  I first learned about this wonderful form of entertainment from Meg and Ev, on some trip back to NC after being in MI.  We were highly entertained, so I am really curious to know what ya’ll think.  Here are the links to some of my favorite improvisations.

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Grocery Store Musical

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnY59mDJ1gg&feature=player_embedded

 

Cell Phone Symphony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKbCGV8aH4&feature=player_embedded

 

Subway Yearbook Photos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIvi6WtN3A8&feature=player_embedded

 

and my personal FAVORITE…Frozen Grand Central

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo&feature=player_embedded

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Let me know what you think about all this Improv!!!  I'll post more fun things tomorrow.  Peace.

<3 Meg