Nashville vs. Kingsport Christmas parade

VS.

The Kingsport parade:

I have to say that I truly did enjoy this parade. Possibly because my Dad, Mom, and I were a part of the Animile walk at the beginning of the parade. We were all able to walk, Oliver, Charlie, and Ivan through the streets of downtown Kingsport. 

After the dog walk, we stood on the side of the streets watching the 2+ hour long parade keep going and going. And going and going. Apparently, Kingsport does not turn away any (and I mean ANY) volunteer that is interested in being apart of the parade. The boys had to nap between floats.

The Nashville parade:

I didn't get to participate in this parade, so naturally it wasn't as much fun. 

The Nashville parade has the opposite problem the Kingsport parade had. It was too short. I saw multiple huge floats and beautifully decorated trucks, but from where I was standing on lower Broadway, the parade only lasted an hour! Silly me arrived 20 minutes late thinking it would surely be as long as the Kingsport parade was. Wrong. So wrong. 

I have learned my lesson.

Gingerbread man

A cabbage patch girl

Santa Claus!

All in all, both parades had their perks and fun moments. I have both solid B+'s. 

New Puppy!!

I am very excited to update everyone on the status of my puppy, Oliver.

This past summer I adopted a 7 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is precious, but wow, I had a rough summer learning how to take care of a puppy. I never had to care for Charlie as a puppy since he belonged to my parents. In Charlie's puppy months, I was      studying at Harding. 

Oliver is now almost 8 months old and learning more and more by the day. ALMOST fully potty trained, but he still has his moments. He's obsessed with toys and playing! I suppose that is better than obsessing on chewing my furniture or shoes. 🤗

It was interesting to see Charlie and Oliver interact. At first, Charlie was not having it, but after a few days, he and Oliver were playing and napping together. 

Best buddies.

I am thrilled to see Oliver grow. I would love to continue training him and possibly one day have him try out being a therapy dog. Prayers appreciated! 

Camping AND Rafting in Ocoee, Tennessee.

I am an indoor girl. Do you remember the movie Troop Beverly Hills? I used to love that movie because those girls understood my need to sleep indoors. With this said...I.went.camping. Not only did I go camping, but I also went white water rafting and REALLY enjoyed myself. Last summer, groupon came out with a deal that was $18 dollars for a 3 hour white water rafting trip. Wanting to be more outdoorsy, of course, I purchased it. 2 weeks before my groupon expired, I convinced my roommates to come along with me. We decided to make it an all girls trip and had to borrow our tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, and almost every other camping gear from friends or boys. Thankfully, we got everything we needed and then some more. For our one night camping adventure, Kaley's entire SUV was packed.

We drove up to Ocoee, Tennessee on Saturday. Pitched our tent and had an amazing night. Rafting guides from many different rafting companies came to join us for our Smores. We made some amazing smores with tons of chocolate. I must admit. Sleeping on the ground wasn't THAT bad. :) The next day, we drove to the gas station to get coffee and all bought cheap $1 sunglasses to go rafting in. Rafting was pretty chilly, but our rafting guide, Bobby, made it so fun. We white water rafted for 3 hours and didn't even get thrown from the raft.
Overall: camping and rafting experience=successful.
This trip will definitely happen again.

8 months since my last post?!?!

...apparently blogging is not number 1, 2, or 3 on my list of things to do. I seem to get in the habit of being really good about blogging and then go 8 MONTHS without one word.
A lot has happened since I last wrote. I finished my first year teaching in Kindergarten. What a year. I loved my class and it was tough to see them move on to 1st grade. Luckily, now that I have started my 2nd year teaching Kindergarten, I still see my old students and get the same warm, loving hugs that I used to love to get last year.
SUMMER BREAK! One of the many reasons I LOVE being a teacher. Many things happened this summer:
1. CMA fest.
2. Tutored 3 days a week at the Brentwood library.
3. Moved to new apartments with 2 new roommates.
4. Bought a Kindle.
5. Went to Edisto Beach with amazing teacher friends.
6. Visited the lake.
7. Went to my cousin's wedding.
8. And much, much more.

So much going on in one summer and I LOVED it.

It's hard to reminisce about the summer when it is already 6 days into November. Day light savings was last night. And it got dark today at 4:30. Yes, 4:30. The school year has started out beautifully. One of my dear friends, Shelly, has moved grade levels and joined me in Kindergarten. I love it when the colleagues that I work with everyday end up being some of my best friends. It really makes "work" enjoyable. This year I have 19 adorable Kindergartener's in my class. The students challenge me, love me, annoy me, but most importantly, they teach me. I love being a teacher. I love being a Kindergarten teacher.

One of my favorite weeks in an elementary school is SPIRIT WEEK. The one week, when I don't look anyone in the eyes on the car ride to school because I know I look ridiculous....Let's just say, I wore colored wings not one, but TWO days during spirit week.

I heart a good gala.

The American Heart Association puts together a Heart Gala every year to raise money for the American Heart Association. My friend, Erin Link, happens to be one of the amazing people that puts this event together. The event took place in the Nashville Symphony building...beautiful building (picture below). It is located approximately 1-2 blocks from the exciting Broadway strip. 

One of my favorite parts about volunteering for the Heart Gala each year (this is my 3rd year) is dressing in formal clothing. I felt like I was getting ready for prom, only I was really heading to help an event for a great cause. Four of my girlfriends and I all met at my place to head to the Nashville Symphony at 3:45. Since we were volunteers, we had to be there at 4, even though the event did not start until 6:30. My friends and I were stationed at the auction items. We smiled pretty, complimented guests, and pointed out the auction items. A few of us even managed to get our picture taken for the Green Hills newspaper...we failed to tell the woman writing the column that we were volunteers and not actually guests....details, details. 

 Afterward, we met the boys at Wannabe's...a karaoke place off of broadway. My friends, Nik and Shelly, sang Pour some sugar on me...it was an unforgettable evening.  

Overall, the Heart Gala was a successful evening. I can't wait for next year.

Time flies

Wow. Has it really been since Fall that I blogged? Ouch. It's a good thing I had my account information and password saved on my computer, or I seriously may not have been able to get onto my account. I guess I must take blogging breaks when the weather gets cold. Today it hit 71 degrees, and it couldn't have been better. Amanda and I took lunch to Centennial Park in downtown Nashville after church this morning. I have never seen so many people walking dogs, flying kites, and laying on blankets. It reminded me of Harding's front lawn on crack...not to mention I was laying on a blanket right beside the Parthenon.  This weather makes me excited, but I'm also very cautious. Today is February 20th...it's not even March yet...can I really believe that the cold weather is behind us? Maybe if I box up all my winter clothing, the warm weather will stay...it's worth considering.

Colors of the Fall

Tennessee in the Fall is indescribable. More specifically, Radner lake in the fall is indescribable. Not only were the leaves changing, but the weather was perfect. The lake was pretty busy today. There were some interesting people there that made me think...
1. The young husband and wife with their newborn (Which made me think of Tessa and Dustin).
2. The two girls jabbering on and on about what this and that boy did (Which made me think of high school and college and friends in general).
3. And then of course there was the old, slow couple that has probably been married for 50 years. They were probably my favorite.

Beautiful!