The Funk

I hesitated writing this blog post because it is a bit of a downer, but I'm hoping it will contribute to some perspective down the road, when I'm sure things will be better...

But I'm in a funk.

It is identical to the funk I went through shortly after we moved to Baton Rouge. When we moved to Baton Rouge a little over two years ago, after we had settled in, I did a lot of these kinds of things:

--thinking, "Oh my gosh - we've really MOVED here. We aren't just visiting! What have we done?" (You would think that fact would be pretty apparent, but I liken it to that realization, a few days after bringing a new baby home, that you aren't just babysitting that baby, but but the baby is there to STAY. FOREVER.)

--looking at photos and reminiscing about all the great times we had in the place we just moved from (who doesn't like to romanticize the past and forget all the not-so-great times?)

--feeling disconnected and isolated from everyone in the place I just moved to and wondering if/when I will ever feel connected again - it's a bit lonely, to tell the truth (To clarify: No one is to blame for this. Summer is kind of a crummy time to move to a new place because people are busy, on vacation, doing their own thing, etc. But still...LONELY.)

The good news is (I think, I hope) that the funk is temporary...at least it was two years ago. I distinctly remember sitting in Amelia's classroom at her then-new school, listening to her teacher talk about the plans for the year, and I just had this feeling of "Whew. Everything will be okay." And as we settled into routine - Amelia started school and I started teaching, and friendships were formed and cultivated - the funk was gone. I have a feeling that after we get into our routine here, and that will be very soon, the funk will disappear once again. Fingers crossed!

The funk has set in a bit heavily this week. I've had a bit of a pity party for one. Actually...maybe it has been for two because I think Amelia misses her friends as well. This is technically my last full week of summer before all the workshops, new employee training, and preplanning begin (!), so we've been doing some fun things to fight the funk.

Like eating ice cream with sprinkles...

Our First Month (Plus a Few Days) in Atlanta

I can't believe it has been over a month since that last post that I wrote our last evening in Baton Rouge.

Also, warning: this might be a very discombobulated post.

We've been adjusting to life back in Atlanta. It's been great reuniting with old friends (and, I must say it, old restaurants - ha!), and we really have enjoyed the area we are in.

I'm not going to lie: that move WORE. ME. OUT. Darryl did most of the physical labor (with some hired help), but just the planning, the packing, the getting here, the unpacking, the things we had to do to be "established" here (new licenses, new car tags, doctor visits to get Amelia registered for school, etc.) AND the emotional toll of all of it has just made me really tired. (Speaking of emotional toll...we miss our BR friends something fierce.)

And the sad truth is that I really just have one full week of summer left before I start going to workshops, "new employee" training/orientation, and pre-planning. Amelia and I have plans to "live it up" next week. :-)

Anyway, here are a few highlights of the past month. I realized that I didn't take many photos at all, so I'll just use what I have.

I am SO glad our kitchen doesn't look like this anymore. Those boxes make me tired all over again.

QT and I had a sweet reunion in the form of Diet Dr. Pepper over crushed ice. (Publix and I also had a passionate reunion - I think I had three Publix subs the first week I was here. Man, I missed Publix and QT!!)

My parents were awesome to keep Amelia the first week we were back so that I could get lots of unpacking gone. This was our first night together as a family of three.

This was Amelia after I registered her at her new school. She was excited!

We celebrated school registration by getting cupcakes. Anyway, I saw this sign and agree wholeheartedly.

From cupcakes to running, of all things...Darryl and I registered for the Peachtree Road Race this year. My parents kept Amelia AGAIN for us, so we stayed in a hotel near the starting line and went out to dinner at Capital Grille the night before.

Here we are post-race on the somewhat fragrant MARTA.

This past Sunday, I went to Florida for a few days to pick up Amelia and visit with my parents. On Monday, we went to the beach. It was beautiful weather for beaching!

This girl wants to stay in the water the WHOLE time.

We also visited with Darryl's family. This is Darryl's sister's dog, Lily. Y'all, I love this dog. Ashley won't let me have her. 

(I was such a terrible photographer on this trip. I must do better.)

And now we're back with a pretty long to-do list for the next few weeks. Maybe I should put "blog more often" on that to-do list. :-)

Last Night in Baton Rouge

When we moved to Baton Rouge a little over two years ago, we thought we were going to be here for the long haul.

This weekend, we're making the move back to Atlanta.

I never really explained why we were moving back. Mostly, it has to do with Darryl's job. As he has accepted a new job and I have been offered (and I have accepted) a job at my old school, things are falling into place as we head to Georgia.

As much as Atlanta really feels like "home" to us now, and as much as we are excited about the journey ahead, leaving Baton Rouge isn't easy. We've reunited with old friends and made many new friends, especially through Amelia's school and my job. Over the past few weeks, there have been many farewell lunches, coffee meet-ups, and playdates--lots of partings that we refuse to call "goodbyes" and instead call "see you laters." This was hard when we left Atlanta, and it is hard again as we leave Baton Rouge. I know we will be happy in Atlanta and this feels like the right move for us now, but Baton Rouge definitely has a piece of our hearts.

When we left Atlanta, I created this list of the things I would miss about Atlanta. It seems only appropriate that I should show Baton Rouge that same love, right?

So here it is, folks--The Top Things I Will Miss Most About Baton Rouge:

1. Just like the list for Atlanta, obviously friends are what we will miss most. Any time I think about giving up Facebook, I think of how much I have enjoyed keeping in touch with my friends who live far away. And thank goodness for texting as well!

2. Amelia's school. Amelia is about to go to an excellent school in Georgia, and I am so excited about that. But the little school under the oak trees that she has attended for the past two years has been such a nurturing environment for her (and honestly, for all of us), and it was fun just to see her thrive both socially and academically.

3.  The food. Y'all. I'll just list some of my favorites -- French Market Bistro (where I had lunch today with my friend Martha), Bistro Byronz (I guess I have a thing for bistros), Roberto's, Zippy's Burritos, Fat Cow Burger, Coffee Call (for beignets), DiGiulio Brothers, Sammy's (for crawfish, especially). The food is no joke. (Also, Atlanta friends...if you see me soon and I look a little "puffy," you should know that we have eaten at almost all these restaurants in the last week. Don't judge. It was our Farewell Tour of Food.)

4.  The HUGE oak trees -- so beautiful and majestic. (This is also a family joke because when we lived here about 14 years ago, Darryl's dad came to visit and would NOT stop talking about the oak trees. Any time one of us goes on and on about the trees, the other one will say, "All right, Benny. You and your oak trees." Also, this really may be a "you have to be there" situation to find this humorous. At all.)

5.  LSU / Life in a college town. I love LSU's campus (stucco buildings and oak trees, for the win), and I enjoyed my job there. I also just love the energy of a college town. Even though I am far past college age, the town just seem alive...especially during football season. :-)

6. Louisiana in the spring. Okay. Admittedly, I complain (A LOT) about the weather here. Last week, it felt as though the air was a warm, wet washcloth. Gross. But there are a few weeks in the spring where the weather is beyond words -- it looks beautiful and smells like a gardenia. It's pretty awesome.

7. Cool traditions and holidays. Obviously, Mardi Gras comes to mind. (And to me, Mardi Gras means king cake. Also, if you live outside of Louisiana, that dry king cake you buy at Target or Walmart is not even in the ballpark of how king cake is supposed to taste.) However, things like the fireworks along the bayou on Christmas Eve (to light the way for Santa) -- so fun!

Oh, Baton Rouge. This isn't goodbye; it's a "see you later."

The Last Days of Kindergarten

I can't believe my baby girl has finished kindergarten.

On Friday, I took a couple of pics before leaving for school and then drove Amelia to school and walked her inside so I could help her deliver a few end-of-the-year teacher gifts. Then I had to get out of there in a hurry because I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and I didn't want to be "that" mom bawling in the hallway.

(To add insult to injury, she also lost her first "top tooth" this past Wednesday. So far, all her lost teeth have been bottom ones.)

It isn't so much the "being finished with kindergarten" that was upsetting to me, but it was saying goodbye to many of the people who have been a huge part of our lives for the past two years. (We are moving back to Georgia in a couple of weeks -- more on that later.) We are excited about what the future holds for us, but saying goodbye is never fun.

(You should also know that because I am a glutton for emotional punishment, I decided to finish cleaning out my office after dropping off Amelia for her last day. The Dixie Chicks' version of the song "Landslide" came on Spotify, and I got all teary-eyed again. Pull it together, Amy!)

While I'm on the subject of the end of kindergarten, I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't mention the ridiculously precious kindergarten play that Amelia and her class put on the week before.  The play was called "Our Year in Kindergarten," and they essentially went through the year of special events, with each student dressed as something or someone who represented that particular event or holiday. (You know you are in Louisiana when there is a Mardi Gras King and Queen and the class sings "Mardi Gras Mambo.")

Amelia was the Snow Queen, and her friend Marshall was the Snow King. I was so proud of how they sang their duet of "Winter Wonderland" loud and proud in front of an audience of parents and students!

(I tried to include the video, but I am apparently technologically challenged and cannot get it to upload successfully.)

(I realize that the video might be of interest only to me and the grandparents, so you don't really care if I can get the video to upload.)

(That's okay, because TRUTH: I rarely watch videos on other people's blogs. So there you go.)

Here are a few pics from the day...

We have made some sweet, sweet memories in the past couple of weeks!

And...it is already March

So much for that plan to be better at blogging. I completely skipped the month of February. The last time I wrote, we were in the midst of some inclement weather. When it was all said and done, Amelia missed four days of school, and I missed two. (Fortunately, two of her days were on days I didn't have to teach.)

ANYWAY...

I can't really explain why I've been absent on the blog. I think sometimes I just don't know what to write about - sometimes, I just want to write about TV shows I watch, if I'm being completely honest. (Parenthood - so good! Parks and Recreation - so good! Nashville  - what happened? How I Met Your Mother - the first half of the season was terrible, and now that it is finally getting good again, it is going to leave! Scandal - I have no idea what is going on!)

Sometimes, I feel like I should write about Amelia. (I think that is all my mother is interested in reading about, anyway - ha!. I'm not sure about my other dozen readers.) She is at a funny age (really, almost every stage has been funny in its own way), and I have some good stories, but then I feel like they are funny only if you hear her / see her say and do these things. But I don't want to forget these stories, either. #thestruggle

I often would like to blog about work - student stories, teaching, etc. - but I have recently been convicted of telling funny or cringe-worthy stories - and let's face it, those are the BEST stories - about my students without their knowledge. That doesn't seem fair. (Would I want my shortcominsg put on display for strangers to wag their fingers and shake their heads about? Probably not.)

So I guess I have felt a bit directionless lately in terms of the blog, but let me at least give you a rundown of our February...

• We had a good Valentine's Day. Amelia was really into it (candy? pink and red hearts? small gifts of affection? what wouldn't she love about that?), and Darryl did really well. Amelia and I came home to a dozen roses and cards for each of us, and Darryl also bought me this cookbook, which inspired me to try to bake more often.
• Amelia was in a little musical program at her school. The kindergarten classes sang "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story . So cute.
• My parents came for a few days for Grandparents' Day at Amelia's school (it was the day after the musical program), and we enjoyed visiting with them. My mother was particularly helpful in doing our laundry, because I had a lot going on. In the midst of the craziness...
• We took a trip to Disney World. I may or may not blog more about this. Honestly, blog posts that involve photo uploads ALSO make me not want to blog very often. :-/ It was a bit more crowded than we would have liked, but we still had a great time. 
• And now, for whatever reason, Blogger will not let me write  unless it is in the form of a bullet point. Long sigh. I think that is a sign I should wrap this up.

Inclement Weather (?) And Rambling Thoughts

So.

The city of Baton Rouge apparently SHUTS 'ER DOWN at the slight mention of sub-30 temps and light rain. Amelia's school announced it was closing before any rain happened at all, and my school decided to close at 5:00 this morning.

And I find this all pretty hilarious. When I taught high school in Georgia, I worked for a school system that was well-known for NEVER shutting down, regardless of snow, ice, whatever. If the roads were "passable," then school was on.

There IS a very, very light dusting of snow on the roofs of the houses in our neighborhood. (I mean VERY light...just on a few select shingles.) Amelia asked if we could climb a ladder to the roof to build a snowman. 1) Is that an ER visit waiting to happen, or what? and 2) Bless her heart. (If I were Oprah Winfrey or someone of similar wealth, I would have had a snow machine installed in our backyard for Christmas. ALL Amelia wants to do is play in some snow.)

But anyway, so far I've enjoyed a morning of sleeping in (until 8!), and then leisurely sipping coffee while watching Good Morning America. And I totally teared up watching the feature they did on Liz Vargas (love her) and her recent effort to conquer her alcoholism. Just seeing the support of her colleagues (including Amy Robach and Robin Roberts, who have been on the receiving end of that support as well) was very moving. (Also, I find that the tears come more easily as I get older. Why is that?)

On a lighter note, and speaking of GMA, I never cease to be amazed at the transformation that George Stephanopoulos has undergone over the years. Do y'all remember when he was all frumpy and disheveled-looking as Clinton's press secretary? (I tried to find a good photo of this and failed.) And now he is this suave, sophisticated news man? Who knew?

(I think I've spent too much time thinking about that.)

(And I think I'm obsessed with GMA, despite the fact I rarely get to watch it these days.)

And speaking of transformation, I (well, my hair "stylist") chopped about eight inches off my hair yesterday. My hair had gotten REALLY long, and I just needed a change. I'm not sure if I love it yet, but I don't hate it. I think I wish it were just an inch or so longer, but it's hair. It will grow back.

(That last sentence shows tremendous growth -- pun not really intended, but there it is -- on my part. There have been MANY times in my past when I cried over a haircut. Who has time for that? I'd rather cry about the cast of GMA and their personal struggles.)

The news just came on with a special update on the "havoc" that this "winter weather" is causing. I better go so I can...do absolutely nothing.

Random Things from the Past Week

I am trying to be better about blogging. I really am.

Here are a few things that have been going on since I blogged last...

--I started a new semester. I don't really have anything significant to say about that other than I am teaching the two courses I enjoy teaching the most, so I'm hoping for a good semester. I'm not so sure about my lit class, though; on day two I had eight people absent (out of 35). Hmmm...

--Because of Harry Connick, Jr., I am giving American Idol a shot this season. So far, I'm enjoying it. The chemistry among the judges - Harry, J. Lo, and Keith Urban - is fun, and Harry has the ability to be honest and charming at the same time.

--I am a little too excited about the Winter Olympics starting soon. And don't judge me, but I have possibly arranged some assignment due dates to accommodate my obsession.

--Amelia is into all things related to Frozen. I'm wondering how many times I hear the song, "Let it Go" in a day.

--Speaking of Amelia, can I say that I wish I could hit the pause button on the passage of time and freeze this age for a couple of years? She is 6, and I am enjoying it so much. Granted, it isn't always rainbows and tulips, but for the most part, this is a fun age.

--I began my weekend Friday afternoon by shopping for some pants to add to my "teaching wardrobe." Let me just say that it was a depressing way to begin the weekend. However...

--I ran (and by "ran," I mean "slowly jogged and walked") a half-marathon yesterday. For some reason, that has always (and by "always," I mean "for the past five years or so") been something I've wanted to do. My time wasn't excellent (2:45), but I did it...and the race itself was rather fun. I do think I'm going to stick with running for a while because I don't hate it, but I don't think I'm going to do another longer distance race for a long time. I hope to stick to some 5Ks and maybe 10Ks and just work on getting faster and running more and walking less.

And that's about it.

A December / Christmas Recap

So, here's the thing: I dread posts like this because I find them overwhelming. And then I end up taking a longer-than-planned blog absence because I feel like I can't write about current things until I cover the "big events," and, as I already have said, I find the "big events" quite daunting.

Therefore, I'm going to compromise and just touch on a few highlights of our holiday season. Okay? Okay.

Honestly, December seems a blur. There were Christmas activities, events, birthday parties for friends, Christmas itself. Something seemed to be going on constantly.

One Friday evening, Amelia's school was supposed to have a movie on the playground, but they had to postpone because of the weather. We invited her friend Grace (and Grace's mom) over, and we had just the best time. We ordered pizza, hung out in comfortable clothes, snacked on Christmas cookies, and had a nice evening. The moms chatted while the girls played.

We made a spontaneous, unplanned trip to see Santa. He was at an outdoor shopping center on a VERY cold day, so there was no line. Amelia wasn't wearing anything Christmasy, and the set-up wasn't very elaborate, but again...NO LINE. Priorities, people. (She asked for a princess guitar and a soccer whistle. Y'all, that soccer whistle was a 59-cent whistle she saw at Party City when we were shopping for goody bags for her birthday. You'll be happy to know Santa delivered the soccer whistle...and Aunt Ashley delivered on the princess guitar.)

I graded like a crazy person the last week or so of school. One day, though, my friend Martha and I just HAD to take a break, so we spent a day in New Orleans. We had lunch at a yummy place called Dick & Jenny's and did some Christmas shopping.

Now, here's a story I must tell...I had bought tickets for Amelia and me to see The Nutcracker at the River Center here in Baton Rouge. I had great seats, and we were pumped. It was going to be a girls' afternoon out! I showed up at the Will Call window, and there were no tickets under my name. The woman took the credit card I purchased them under, and still no tickets. I pulled up my confirmation email on my phone. She scrolled through the email and showed me that I had purchased tickets to The Nutcracker at the River Center in COLUMBUS, GEORGIA. Y'all. What. On. Earth. I almost started crying because I was so mortified / in disbelief that I had done something THAT nutso. I had no clue. Anyway, by this time, the performance was about to start and Amelia was tugging on my arm, ready to take a seat. Since we were already there, I purchased the cheapest tickets they had...and those landed us in the top row of the balcony. Womp wompppppppp.

But my girl looked cute, and she enjoyed the show. I took a couple of pics of her. :-)

I also did quite a bit of cooking and baking this season. Here are some cookies I made to give to Amelia's teachers.

(The photo right above is of all the boxed up / bagged up goodies to take to Amelia's school.)

My parents came the Sunday before Christmas (which was also the day of the "Nutcracker incident) and stayed until Friday. We really enjoyed having them here. They play a lot with Amelia, and I have to give a shout-out to my mother, who was most helpful in washing pots, pans, and dishes while I cooked.

On another kitchen note, every year I say I am going to make the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls, and every year, I back out. The recipe makes seven pans, according to her. I ended up with nine. And dadgum it all, I don't think I took one single photo of the finished product. On Christmas Eve, Amelia and I delivered pans to Martha's family and to Grace's family. And we enjoyed a couple of pans ourselves. (I mean our family enjoyed them. Amelia and I did not consume two pans ourselves.)

Here are my elf and I, delivering the goods:

On Christmas Eve, Amelia did the usual ritual of leaving cookies and hot chocolate for Santa. She had made a special placemat for Santa at school, and she was very concerned that Santa would take the placemat with him. In fact, she wanted to start out her note for him by warning him not to take the placemat, but we assured her that if she whispered those instructions to our Elf ("Princess Ella"), she would see to it that Santa left it. And he did.

Princess Ella was a huge hit this year. Amelia would look for her every morning, first thing. (And then she would go to her Lego advent calendar, which was also a huge hit.)

(By the way, when Amelia discovered the elf standing with the Nutcracker one morning, she said the elf looked "awkward." I can't say I disagree.)

Oh wait...here is Amelia on Christmas Eve, excited about Santa's arrival. (She also checked NORAD every two seconds to update us on Santa's whereabouts. It. Was. Hilarious. Well, the first twenty times, at least.)

And Christmas morning was the usual, but fun, flurry of activity. Amelia was quite thrilled with this Elsa dress that Santa brought. She pretty much wore it nonstop for two days...and danced MANY times to "Let it Go."

My parents gifted Amelia with a karaoke machine. Enough said.

(I think I will enjoy the karaoke machine more when I find a karaoke CD with "Strawberry Wine" or "Walkaway Joe" on it.)

That evening, our friends Damian and Rebecca came over, and they joined all of us for a yummy dinner of prime rib, baked potato casserole, Yorkshire pudding (my first time attempting that, at Darryl's request), roasted asparagus, and dessert. It was a fun, wonderful day -- I really think there is nothing like Christmas with an excited kid. :-)

I thought I was winding it up, but I just realized I left out two things I want to make sure to document. First, somewhere in all that craziness was Amelia's Christmas dance recital. It was a hoot, as always. Here's my cute reindeer.

And last, but not least...this was our first year having a real tree. I. Loved. It. Our artificial tree that we had years finally just bit the dust last year, and since our housing situation is temporary, we didn't want to invest the money in another artificial one just yet. I'm hoping to convince Darryl that we need a real tree every year, though...

(Amelia always enjoyed rearranging the ornaments on it.)

This post might qualify for the most disjointed one I've ever written.

Anyway. Moving on...

It was a fun Christmas, for sure, but it was busy, busy, busy. We shared some wonderful times with family and friends, and we know we will treasure these memories for years to come!

The End.

2014 Resolutions and Whatnot

The fact I am writing about 2014 Resolutions the day after New Year's Day should show just how resolute I am.

Not very.

Here are some things I'd like to see happen in 2014. They aren't necessarily "resolutions," but maybe just "goals."

1) Be more diligent about exercise. I don't have a specific weight-loss goal in mind, but I think if I make an effort to exercise more frequently, some pounds will drop (provided I don't follow up the exercise by eating cookies and cake).

2) Be better about cooking at home. We tend to eat out a lot, even when Darryl is traveling. Is it really THAT much easier to pick up a grilled cheese at Sonic than make one at home? Probably not.

3) Drink fewer diet sodas. I'm not ruling them out completely, but if I could move to just a couple a week as opposed to a few a day...that would be a good thing.

4) Read more books for fun. I tend to get so bogged down in reading things for my classes and reading students' papers that I typically don't run to a book for more reading when I get a spare minute. However, I've done a good bit of reading over my break, and it has reminded me how much I enjoy a good book.

5) Get involved in a church again. This is a long story, and I don't want to get into it at the moment, but in short, we've really struggled to find a church in Baton Rouge. Amelia DOES get a decent amount of Biblical teaching through her school (and we try to supplement/support that as well), so that helps, but I miss our whole family being involved in church.

6) Take a family vacation. (We already have plans for this, so this should be an easy goal to accomplish, right?)

7) Have a house that we OWN. We have been renting for almost two years, and while there is nothing "wrong" with renting, and while I realize many people rent for their entire lives and are perfectly content doing so, we are ready to get to a house that we can make our own.

8) Blog more often. :-)

9) "Unplug" more often. I confess I'm addicted to my i-Devices and probably should be on them MUCH less. I haven't quite figured out how I want to go about this, but I'll report back with my efforts.

10) Get off this couch and computer and clean out my daughter's room while she is at my parents'. That is is the final item on my to-do list for this week, and it needs to happen. So Adios!