The 3 Boys

Flowers from Phil.

Oliver and Lewie

Lewie trying to get his smell on my sea bag.

My favorite photo of Lewie. He really loves to rub on people's bags. 

I have three new boys in my life... Two are cats... No worries. Phil and I have just begun dating two months ago but already I feel like these men are a large part of my life. His cats Lewie and Oliver have unique personalities much like my super adorable, nerdy, goofy and slightly weird boyfriend. 

Oliver will shower with you...a cat, that loves water. So weird! Afterwards, you will see water paw prints all through the apartment. And, he meows...a lot! Like, constantly. It is actually really funny (well now that I can't hear him it is.) 

Lewie on the other hand is shy and runs away when people come through the door. He doesn't fall for evil toys like laser pointers.  Lewie is sweet and will lay in Phil's lap for hours but he sheds way too much fur for me. I typically wear black and that is a huge mistake around 2 cats. Lint rollers have become my new best friend. 

End of Summer

Summer is official over. While most teachers enjoy a long break from school, I am usually itching to get back even when I work a summer part time job. Contrary to popular belief teachers are not paid during the summer so we have to budget out money from all of the months. I would prefer to be paid for twelve months but I feel I might be alone in that. The break is definitely refreshing but I am always excited to hear about how my students summers were and hope that they are looking forward to another year forward. One more year closer to our ultimate goal of graduation!

Here are some before and after shots of my classroom. It's amazing how long it takes to get a classroom ready and even then I don't feel ready.

This is the first year that I won't have some one else in my room with me. Although, it certainly is nice sharing my room with others I am excited to add a reading nook in for my students to dive into some books. 

Students always remark at how colorful my room is and amazingly enough it reminds me of my apartment. There is just something very warming and welcoming about color. I hope that all the other teachers have had a great start to the new school year!

Baby Z's Shower

Hay and I's gift for Baby Z. I wish I had snapped a few pictures of the rest of the gifts. 

A few weeks ago, Hayleigh and I threw a shower for Emily who is expecting a little girl in October. Hayleigh and I had been thinking of ideas ever since we saw the sonogram picture so it was great to see all of our ideas come to life. We had a great day and great help from Hayleigh's sister Whit and her mom who helped with the food. The food was delicious! I have a few pictures of it but definitely doesn't do the pizza bread any service. A huge shout out to Hay who hosted the event at her house. She has such a nice townhouse; it was perfect place to have an event!

Adventures of a Saturday!

This past Saturday, Phil and I decided to go to Duke Gardens and to the Durham Farmer's Market. The gardens were really nice and since it was slightly drizzly there was only a few people walking. We walked about 1.4 miles which definitely was not a lot but we did work up an appetite for the donut muffins.

The donut muffins from this stand called Savory is awesome. I bought a chocolate one which was really rich. I love chocolate but I was definitely thirsty when I was done. At the Farmer's Market there is also a few food trucks which are my favorite. We bought tator tots with comeback sauce for the Foster's truck. Then we picked up a slice of pizza from Pie Pushers which had an asparagus pizza with feta and mozzarella. They were both delicious choices! The asparagus is a great idea for pizza and the tots were awesome! Phil and I debated for a good 10 minutes about what the comeback sauce was and when we went to buy a drink another person asked what it was and Phil and I were off by a lot. But, oh well it was a lot of fun.

I also ran into one of my students which was a blast to see him. I am looking forward to going back and seeing my students!

Later we went to the Chatham Hill Winery to meet up with a few people (Hay, Beth, Adam, Lukas). We enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about the wine making process. Everyone but myself and Lukas (Phil's friend) enjoyed the dry wine tasting. I decided to try the sweet wines. Afterwards we split a bottle of Pinot Grigio and were able to catch up. Hay and I shared some funny stories about teaching. It was great just to sit and talk.

This was my last weekend before school gets started again and I am certainly ready to go back but it is always nice to share fun times with great people. I feel truly blessed! Much love!

Lazy Sundays

Sliders and chicken nachos.

Beer sampler from Big Boss Brewing Co.

Phil excited to eat NACHOS!

Sushi boat: first one.

Lazy Sundays are my favorite. Last weekend, Phil and I decided to venture out to JD's Tavern in Apex which my friend Elizabeth from NCCAT introduced me too. They have the best nachos.... I mean the best nachos in the entire world! I have tried both the chicken and chili nachos and even though I really like chili their chicken nachos are out of this world. Definitely worth a try if you are in the area. 

Phil and I also decided to try a sampler from Big Boss Brewing Company. We really enjoyed their Blonde and Sack Time; both lighter beers but didn't like their IPA. Although both of us do not like IPA's. The sampler was only $4 which I thought was a steal so if you just want a light drink; give it a shot.

Then for dinner, we met Beth and Adam for sushi at Sushi Love in Durham. I had never been there before and it didn't disappoint. I always love buy one get one free sushi rolls! We ordered enough sushi to receive a boat and I was some excited hence the photo. The sushi was delicious! I ordered sunset roll which has sliced lemon on top. It had a little too much lemon but still is one of my favorite rolls. We liked this place so much that we went again this past Friday.

Maine: Part 2

One of my favorite places in Maine is the Old Port. The cobble stone streets with lots of shops always is entertaining to me. My mom and I decided spend the afternoon going shopping. I wanted to pick up something for my bestie Hay and there is no better place for knick knacks than the Old Port.

Every store is unique and I just love the signs for the local shops. My mom and I also stopped for gelato which was delicious! I definitely would love to go again. I found something really cute for Hay and I found a pair of metal lobster earrings for myself which I just adore. All in all, a success! 

Quotes

These quotes have helped me through a lot of hard times and I hope that other people will enjoy reading my small collection.

Quotes:

"Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation." -Eat Pray Love

"God dwells within me, as me."

"Love yourself first and then everything will fall into line." - Lucille Ball

"The love you seek is seeking you this moment." - Deepak Chopra

"Your task is not to seek for Love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

- Rumi, thirteenth century Sufi poet

“Something inside you emerges….an innate, indwelling peace, stillness, aliveness. It is the unconditioned, who you are in your essence. It is what you had been looking for in the love object. It is yourself.”

- Eckhart Tolle

“Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.”

- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

True love is never associated with violence, deception, abuse (emotional, physical or verbal), constant sacrifice for the good of only one person, jealousy, fear or mistrust.

"True love always waits." And is patient, caring, kind, joyous and free!

“Do not get discouraged.

It is often the last key that opens the lock."

"most importantly you must always have faith in yourself." -Elle Woods

“When you judge another, you do not define them. You define yourself.” ~Wayne Dwyer

Gratitude list

When I have trouble remaining present I write gratitude lists: here are some that I have found in the past year:

Gratitude list: June 13th

Sunny days, pool time, besties, communication,  awesome jobs, humor, me, soda, cotton/poly blend shirts, fiat, yoga pants, Facebook friends, pictures, awesome supportive family, iPhone, Internet, bills paid! Grad school, summer opportunities, NCCAT, lots of social situations, runnerpeeps, races, nachos, early morning runs, Lydia, tv shows/movies, my extremely comfortable bed! Music, 

Gratitude list: July 1st:

Summer job, sound of fans, friends galore, dining out, exercise groups, movies, warm sunny days, my little garden, blogging, adventures, books books books, recipes, Facebook, no make up days, work out clothes, Star Wars marathons, meditation, cooking on my own, clean apartment, grocery shopping, wall of medals and bibs, dangly earrings, sonicare toothbrush, q tips, 

Gratitude list: August 15th:

Comfy pjs, VHS tapes, journaling, phone calls from bf, besties, sushi, love, family, blogging, Pinterest, new ideas, healthy eating, balanced life, end of summer, work, sound of birds, gardening, weekends, sound of fans, trail mix, artsy experiences, wine tastings, planning, beach trips, running, keeping track, hula hoop, motivational quotes.

Celebrations!

The trip to Maine is always a celebration. We are always excited to see one another and everything seems to be squished into a short trip. This time we were celebrating our family. 

I feel like my sister Sara says it best: "My family reminds me, by their very steadfastness, that truth, beauty and goodness exist in the world and that, no matter what there are and always will be people loving people through thick and thin."

I am honored to be a part of this family. They have been through so much in their lives and yet they always remain positive and constant. I can't imagine the impact that these people have had in shaping the person I am today but I am so grateful to be able to celebrate and honor them. 

My Uncle Pete gave a wonderful speech about my grandmother who is always kind and patient. It was so nice to see so many people gathered for such a wonderful person! In my family, you can always count on laughs. Watching my Aunt Kim start a fire, or literally not being able to find coffee for an hour, or sharing stories of when we were growing up...it is always entertaining!

Beach to Beacon 10k

I won the lottery to get into this race! I called my parents saying I had won the lottery and it sure felt like that a few months ago...not training for a weeks prior did not feel like winning the lottery on race day.

It was a cold day with lots of clouds in the sky which to me is perfect running weather so I at least had that going for me. My Uncle Fred and I shuttled from Hannaford parking lot to the race site. The most grueling part of the day...waiting in line for 45 minutes to use a port a potty. There is never enough of them at any race site. There were approximately 6,500 runners that day. The wheelchair group was first...they average 3:30 min./mile what awesome athleticism! Then we were off well....the elite athletes were off....approximately 7 minutes later my Uncle and I were off. 

Mile 1 was great. There was a slight sprinkle which felt great and a man running in a lighthouse outfit which was really interesting. The spectators were amazing for this entire race. Almost every corner had them which is good for me since I tend to push myself more when people are watching.

Around mile 3 I realized that I had not worn the right shorts and I was in quite a bit of pain but I stuck through it. At the half way point of that mile I saw my Uncle Pete and Dave as well as my Aunt Kim and Wendy. I was thrilled. They were screaming and taking photos which motivated me for a really long time. 

At mile 4 I was so surprised because I knew I was close. Surprised because I usually see mile 4 on half marathons and think nothing much of them but mile 4 was awesome. I knew I was getting there.

My Uncle had warned me of a large hill around mile 4 which was no where to be found until mile 5. This hill wasn't the worst hill I have attempted (Chapel Hill!) so it wasn't that bad at all. 

At mile 6, I was looking everywhere for my parents knowing that I should be running when I saw them pushed me more and more to keep with pace. Then right before I saw the gate I see a poster that said: "Way to go Steph!" The rest of my family was giving me high fives (Sara, Amy, Sydney, Uncle Steve, my Dad, Katie and my mom). It was awesome to have so much support coming in. The announcer called my name which my grandparents found to be very exciting.

The only 2 downsides to this race: after the finish there was no metal... And, to get to the food/event afterwards you have to climb a larger hill than was in the race... My hips were not happy.

Positives of the race: beautiful landscape, great expo: lots of free giveaways, and most importantly, my family was there! 

(Image: google images)

Maine: The way life should be. Part: 1

We have always had that quote and honestly there are many beautiful things about Maine. I know I don't like living there year round but it is always great to visit. I typically go home twice a year, once for Christmas and one time during the summer since I conveniently am not teaching. This year we were celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday which also just happened to be my grandparents 55th wedding anniversary! 

We all coordinated and agreed in the first week of August which worked perfectly for me when I learned that it would also be the weekend of the Beach to Beacon a race I had been trying to get to so that I could run with my uncle....well run behind him. He is significantly faster than me. I will have a post about the Beach to Beacon later.

I flew in to Maine from Baltimore and my mom and I picked up my Dad and headed to one of my favorite places... Bebe's burritos. This restaurant was renovated a few years ago but I actually liked it before where you had to go up and order and squish people into the tiny old building with as authentic Mexican things as Maine could have. I used to go there when I was working as a lifeguard during the summers. Ahh...nostalgic.

My mom and I decided that day would be for resting so we just hung out which was nice. The next day we went shopping. One of my mom's favorite activities but for me not so much fun....but we did get to have Chinese food at Golden Palace which is my absolute favorite Chinese restaurant. I don't know how they don't have numerous locations. Their food is delicious! 

Sara and I hung out in the car while mom shopped and then we went to Aroma Joe's which features "wicked" on its slogan which I just appreciate. For dinner, we went to a little Italian place with my Aunts and Uncle. Then we parted and I spent the night catching up with my Aunt and Uncle which was great. Next day was race day....cue in next post.