a bff girls get-a-way

....and the road trip begins! I took Friday off from school, left for Durham Thursday night and here Caroline and I are leaving bright and early Friday morning for the beach! It was AWESOME! I lovvvvved every second of taking the day off. I needed it, bad! Madison and Madalyn met us at the beach house at 4 that afternoon and the weekend officially began.

Being January it really was not too cold. We knew when we got there the very first thing we had to do was "de - winterize" the house.  It seemed a little too complicated for this little girl, but after reading directions that were in the house, and matching them with an email dad sent me we finally figured it out. By the way, dads directions were different than the directions that were printed in the house.
- 1st things first, TURN THE HEAT ON, and pour a glass of wine, then disect the "de-winterizing" instructions.

...and thats exactly what we did.

another instruction on the sheet said, "get the metal t in the closet and use it to turn the switch at the street" - Caroline and I were looking for a screw driver that had a "t" point on it... until we saw it, THE BIG METAL BLACK T. Never used one of them before. We got the fire pit started, caroline got down to business trying to break up the starter log.... lets just say we ended up using the whole thing.

Our night continued with grilled hamburgers and my homemade sweet potato fries that I completely forgot to put in the oven, because we were downstairs grillin, chattin, laughin, and sippin!

Saturday we brewed some coffee, layed in sweatpants  all day LITERALLY,  did some pinterest crafts, and made drunken gummies! I have never had these before, but of course we found them on pinterest. We soaked them over night, and then rinsed them off. They were SO good. You got to try them, but make sure to spray them off in the sink before eating or else- your heading down your 21st birthday road again :)

This is my craft I made.. I used paint chips, mod podge, canvas.... I'm not to sure really what to think about it. Maybe it will look cool hanging in a shadow box or something in my new bathroom. I'll have to play with it.  It looks cool/ a little 80's. I'll have to see. Caroline did some sewing thing, making a bunch of petals to form a pillow (pinterest inspired again :) Madalyn, she cut them out, and smoked cigars! HA love her. Madison made sure everyone got their hour dose of gummies and built the fire!

Sunday came.... it was SADDDDDDDDDDDDD. Madalyn had to leave around 12, she had a six hour drive ahead of her :(. The 3 of us packed up around 2, locked the door, winterized the house, had our keys in our hands and were saying our goodbyes until......

Crazy cam and madison thought it would be an excellent idea to stay.  It took a bit of convincing from our boss, caroline. But we finally did. So, of course we had to "de-winterize" the house again, go the the store, get some brooskies, pull everything out again and start the fire.We actually ended up leaving Sunday around 8 ish. Waking up at 3 in the morning just sounded miserable.

It was an awesome, relaxing, and fun weekend. I secretly wish we were there right now! Thanks mom and dad for letting us use the house :)

xoxo

God... through the eyes of kids

I'm back :) - Ya'll didn't think I'd come back did you? I definitly took quite the "hiatus" , is that how you spell that word?

2 things that I would like to do at some point (No, this is not a New Years resolution...)

1- Write a book about my life, with excerpts from "the mouth of babes" from my classroom. I think it would be totally entertaining...
2 - Sell my wine glasses. I LOVE painting them, and always do it for presents year round but how cool would it be to have my own line in one of those "girly, boutique" shops that I never shop in?

I have to tell you that my FAVORITE part of the school year with my kiddos is the Christmas holiday season. It starts in my classroom right after Thanksgiving break and we have a solid 3 weeks to enjoy the lights, decorations, music and festivities. I have a snowman in my room this year that I made in Spanish class back in 7th grade... my kids love it. I love it too because its like a big pinata almost and reminds me of South Charlotte Middle School and my teacher--- ugh, wish I could remember his name, but he resembles Humpty Dumpty. It was there, in that class, that I learned my favorite Spanish word--- sacapuntas (pencil sharpener ladies and gents!) Its got quite a ring to it, don't you think?!

Celebrating Christmas in a public school runs on quite a fine line. I however totally focus more on Christmas than any other holiday. How can you not if you are a believer!!  I mean come on... It's the Lords birthday! I was amazed this year to watch my kids, listen to them talking with friends, and hear them sing all about Jesus. My radio is on each morning in class when the kids come in... to 91.9 Christian music station. I play it during writing time too. On many occasions I have caught my kids singing along with the songs! Ha, I love it. My kids reference God and Jesus on many occasions, and I just eat it up asking questions as if I don't know anything just to get more out of there 6 year old mouths!

Here are a few:
* I was reading a story about weather and asked how drizzle and rainstorm were different, one of my Chinese little friends stood up and said (forget the hand raising...) IT MEANS GOD IS CRYING REALLY REALLY HARD. That lesson lost its umph real fast. I laughed and laughed....

* During guided reading ("small group reading" for all you non teachers,) we were reading a story about a grandmother having a yard sale. I asked what made them think she was a grandmother, and what it reminded them of. One of my little girls said, " You know what, my grandma died once, and she in da ground, and she about to turn to a skeleton, and den she gonna be in heaven." Me: Really, whats it like up there? - "I don't even know, I not up der"  

*I  think I told the kids to do something one afternoon, and one kid  must have not liked it and said " ohhhhhh Jesus no" - another little girl got SO mad she said Jesus, and said " Don't be sayin Jesus name like dat, you aint sposed to do dat, my grandmomma said so"

....they crack me up.



xoxo

Its been almost a MONTH since I have blogged, shame on me, and there went my new years resolution- fail! I have been a busy girl this month...As if working at the Architectural firm doesnt wear me out enough, then I go to the gym, come home and eat dinner, and by then...well, I'm ready to lay horizontal.

I've been thinking a lot today about where I am at this point in my life living in Charlotte. I was thinking about how unhappy I was in Raleigh and that I knew I needed to make the move to Charlotte to be closer to the fam and save money that I didnt have yet. I came to Charlotte, blinded almost. I had not a clue what I was going to do about work, and was just trusting in God to guide me, provide for me, and start raking the path for me here. I doubted, I was frustrated, I got mad, I got sad sometimes at the thought that I may not teach this year, and that just killed me. But in all of that I knew God was the only one I fully, and whole heartedly needed to rely on, pray to, tell him over and over again what I wanted and needed (as if he didnt know already ha!). So today as I thought about different things I became so thankful at what the Lord had waiting for me in Charlotte - it was all planned out and I worried over nothing. (Note to self: never worry, he's GOT YOU, hand in hand)

Almost immediately when I moved in and unpacked my things back at moms and pops household... I got a phone call from a family friend Doctor of ours who new of a position at this Architectural firm and that he was best friends with the Architect. The firm took me to lunch, chatted a bit, and basically got the job right then and there at good ol' Providence Cafe. I was thrilled to have a job, and consistent income coming my way, and honestly was really excited to start something new. I even through teaching out the window in my head and told myself maybe teaching just isn't for me right now... God showed me greater plans later on.

I met some really fun people at work, learned a lot, messed up a lot, gained patience, almost sent an original drawing out of the office for FedEx (not ok.) Put together a rolling cart all by myself from IKEA for the office (usually I would have asked a male figure to help me out on these kinds of things, but I pretty much was forced to figure it out on my own, and I did it!) Ruard had to tighten some screws for me but other than that, I turned into an expert IKEA roll cart put-r-together girl! I booked flights wrong, I learned what a plotter machine was, I gained the courage to ask my boss if we could please get some sunflowers in the office, I couldnt handle all the WHITE- drove me nuts! I learned that "spec book" meant specifications for a clients new home book, I learned that there is WAY more to interior designing than just matching a pillow to a couch, I learned that some people invest a ton of money in their homes...more than I could grasp (I like simple better to be honest....give me a white picket fence and a wrap around porch and I'm golden, oh yeah, and a rocking swing) I learned to take some people for a grain of salt, I learned excellent customer service skills, I learned how to scan drawings fromt the plotter to my computer, I learned how to take snap shots of a computer screen of what I needed only and print out (this was really cool!) I learned how to tackle a MAC computer, but most importantly I met 5 new people, made connections with each one of them, learned from them and embraced an unknown opportunity of the Architect drawing world! - and no its "not for me!"

and God still was holding my hand and had new and different plans for me....

I got a call from Sterling Elementary school (I went there for 5th grade!) for an interview...finally learned with Danny's help to relax in interviews, go in with confidence, show them what they would be missing if they didn't hire me, smile, be me, know that something else would work out if this opportunity didn't...and it calmed me down immediately! - But I was so thankful, excited, ECSTATIC, and joyful when I got a call from Human Resources asking me if I would take the position (still waiting on if it is first or second grade!)

So my last day at the Ruard Veltman Architecture was this past friday, it was bitter sweet to be honest. Now I have 1 week off and then its back to consistent income again in a job that I love and have such a strong passion for. I am praying for a smooth transition, meeting fun new people, not to get overwhelmed the first week, and for an awesome 1st year classroom (meaning great kids!) - feel free to send this prayer request to the man upstairs for me as well :)

Moral of my blog today: Things always work out, even when your feeling down, lost and totally not in control of anything, because God cares about you, he knows what you love, he knows what you need, he knows whats best for you. Those who go through hard times are BLESSED because there is a definite learning experience in every single situation, and you come out of the hole feeling renewed, strengthened, and more faithful.

So my prayer for YOU today is if you are going through a hard time in any part of your life, personal, or work that you give all your worries to God, do what you can, but wait patiently, and the outcome is not up to you (relax in that!) Do your best in all you do, but leave the rest of it up to the Lord!

I should really start writing a book... about my life, the ups the downs, what I've learned, the happy the sad, and everything that has happened in my life that makes me ME today!!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend :)
I will leave you a picture of my nephew just cheesin it, chillin in the sand! He's my little boo and I love him to pieces! Don't you think he has my cheeks?! - Thats my boy!!
xoxo
Cam

Do you take Splenda?

     I do. I take 3 in a small cup of coffee I make at home. In a coffee shop a Grande would call for 4 and a Venti which I never buy (probably because I wouldn't drink the whole thing, or don't pronounce it correctly) would call for 5.
     I'm usually in a big hurry when fixing my coffee, but a time doesn't go by where I don't read the quotes on the back of the Splenda packet. If you are thinking, "I didn't even know there were quotes on the back?" - Well then two things for you... you need to stop and appreciate the small things in life every once in a while, especially the ones that make you smile, and you could possibly be buying the knock of brand of Splenda, switch to the original brand stat! :)

"Being sweet is contagious. Go ahead, spread it around." I love this one. Reminds me of how laughter and smiles do the same thing - and yawning ha!

"There's no better time than the present to start living the sweet life." I love this one too, it is so true! You could look at this one a few different ways... simply, "There is no better time than the present." - Just hold on to this thought for a moment, why is this true? Well because the past is in the past, and whether it was sometimes good or sometimes bad it won't ever happen again, we are only left with special memories to last us! Living in the present is constant, we are ALWAYS in the present...so therefore it is at that time (always) - to live a "sweet" life. Live it "sweetly" - the way God intended for you to!

     I wish Splenda would hire me to write quotes on the back of splenda packets :) 





The 3rd List of what you may not know!

It has been quite sometime since I have added to "what you may not know about me" list.... perhaps because it takes alot of random moments that I have with myself to actually witness first hand accounts of things that I recognize as silly, crazy, different, and completely "Cameron" -- and then to remember them...

On to the 3rd list of what you may not know about Cameron:

1- I hate shopping. one exception- if I'm going for something specific i'm down, if I'm going to "browse" all day- nooo thanks, I'll take a long raincheck.

2- Most people group their laundry by darks and lights, I group mine by what can go in the dryer and what has to be hung up. (of course that changes a bit if its a new item, colors will run the first 2 washes!)

3- When I go to a bagel shop, I never can decide between cream cheese on an everything bagel, or bacon egg and cheese on an everything bagel. So everytime I get "bacon egg and cheese on an everything bagel with a side of cream cheese, so I can dip half of the bagel in cream cheese and its like 2 for 1! Genous.

4- Im usually not a book worm, I would like to always have a book that I'm reading but I don't year round... usually in the summer time only. I have a habit of getting 3/4 into the book (you know at the really good parts) and sneaking to the last 2 pages of the book to try and figure out what happens, knowing that it will ruin it for me. I just did this last week to my Nicholas Sparks book - and I havent finished reading it because now I know the two lovebirds rekindle. I have to quit this habit immediately.

5-I much rather roll all the windows and sunroof down in my car then use the AC. I have been told it saves gas, and plus I like the wind blowing in my face... this always turns into a singing jam out session, they are the best!

6-I run over curbs like its my day job. Curbs in the neighborhood, curbs in shopping centers, curbs on small highways. I think its my car and the placing of the curb, Danny thinks its me. I should stop this as well, could pop a wheely any day now.

7-When I put something in the microwave I usually don't look at how long it needs to go in there or make a logical guess... I literally just push a bunch of numbers and stand there until I think its ready. I've gotten pretttty good at this. For example: Warm up coffee - I probably should push 30 seconds... instead I very quickly do something like this 87436, and wait usually around 30 seconds.

8- I will grow a sunflower garden one day, and it will be beautiful

Welcome Whaler!


"Whaler" is here and we are so HAPPY! A home is not a home without mans best friend, a pup! They make a house a home. We got Whaler for dad for an early Fathers Day present and I think he just about Cloud 9'd it when we told him! We sure do miss our special, special Maddy girl, but I think Whaler has brought a little bit of Maddy back into our lives in a unique way that is different for all of us...
    Whaler doesn't know this yet, but I'm waking her up at 6:00am stat to go out for a quick run before work! She's gonna be my running buddy, I actually might be dragging her for a little while, or walking... but in just a few months she might be dragging me.

"In lieu of baby updates that I see on blogs often, here goes mine, HA"

Barks from Whaler at 7 Weeks:
- Woof, I'm ridiculously scared of Cameron's lotion bottle
- Woof, Cameron cleaned her bathroom floor and didn't tell me so I took a good 12 inch slide on the tile
- Woof, Cameron currently is winning in tug of war, she doesnt know whats coming though..
- Woof, I heard her talking about our run in the morning and I am excited, but I hope she doesnt make me do lunges
- Woof, I love eating pedomiters, they are pretty good.
- Woof, Cameron tried putting me in her UGG boot tonight, she's ridiculous I tried to tell her my butt wouldnt fit in that thing and that I'd pose for a cute picture somewhere else...
- Woof, I like my food right now with a little hot water to soften it up for me, but Cameron gave it to me straight up tonight, no water = choke alert, sis, come on, get with it...

my itty bitty running buddy :)



Im teaching her to follow me around and like being in my room the most, its working so far.

I love you sweet Whaler, I hope you are excited for adventures with your sis... I have some really good ideas!