Pinteresting :)

Ok so like everybody I know...well everybody but my bff Laura...I have become 'addicted' in a way to Pinterest!  I have pinned many a picture and design element and cute saying and recipe to last me a while.  One thing that I have been pinning recently is different ways of cleaning.  Do you know how useful a new or used dryer sheet could be? No?  Check it out here.  Well I haven't tried any of these yet but I did try one cleaning idea today.

My roommate and I have lived in our apartment for 3 years now and those little 'spill' trays on the stove have gotten really gross...because we basically haven't done anything to get them clean in those 3 years.  So when I saw this idea on Pinterest I was happy to try it.

So this is what my drip pans looked like earlier today...

          

Not horrible but definitely gross and the burnt-on-junk often smelled up the apartment.

The post says that all you need to do is:

1) Spray with WD-40

2) Let sit for 30 minutes

3) Scrub with soap and water

4) Ta-da good as new

Well...it seemed fairly simple so why not give it a try.  I took my drip pans outside because WD-40 is gross and smells bad and can kill you if you inhale too much of it.  I used old grocery bags to collect any drippage from landing on my balcony or my floor when I brought them back through the living room.

And I waited the 30 minutes...

Then it was time to use some elbow grease and attempt to get those things clean.  I used the hottest water my poor little hands could stand and used regular dish soap.  I also used one of those sponges with the extra scrubby stuff on one side.  This was the outcome from lots scrubbing and soaking.

   

So I didn't get the "Ta-da good as new" feeling or result but they definitely look a WHOLE lot better and will hopefully alleviate some of the burnt smell when I cook on the stove.

I did make sure that I cleaned and rinsed the pans several times to make sure I got all of the WD-40 off so hopefully I won't explode the next time I use the stove :)  

Grade for this Pin: B- for general ease and short time period to complete task but with slightly less than promised results.  I bet those results would have been improved had they been cleaned sooner.

What a difference a year makes

A week ago last year I was wrapping up my 2nd year of teaching and preparing for an adventure in Russia.  On this day last year I was touring Moscow with 35 people I didn't know attempting a language that I am sure I failed miserably at.  When I got back from my trip I was off to the lake for my typical birthday festivities with my wonderful second family.  Last summer I was in talks with my best friend and we decide that this was no longer the place for us anymore.  This was a great starter job and starter town but we needed something else, something new, something different, something exciting.

Yep that's us!

Well...my best friend is moving away to her something else, something new, something different, something exciting in a new city and I am staying here because I found my something right here in this town.  I am super excited for her and her new home preparations.  Can you believe that I am at an age where I could be buying a house?. I didn't buy a house but she did and she has spent lots of time painting and coordinating and   looking for furniture - all very exciting.  But quickly after that excitement is felt, sadness creeps in.  I miss her already and she is technically not yet fully moved.  She is off on her new adventure 3 hours away :(


And me?  My new adventure started shortly after the school year began.  You remember 'that man' - as my bff so affectionately refers to him - from an earlier post.  Not really much to update you on there besides that we went skiing - something I hadn't done since I was in middle school one time with my youth group - so that was entertaining :) And he has, to my dismayed, reignited my affinity for NASCAR to the point where I watch it now, even if he isn't around.  I watch qualifying and practices and Nationwide races and read articles online about different drivers...it's really bad.  This year I have gone to three races - one of those weekends I even slept in a tent.  I relayed that story to a girl at work and she was adamant that I must love him if I would sleep in a tent for two nights and go to NASCAR races.  My only response to that was "yep!"

While I still have my same job and still live in my same apartment, my life is very different than last year.  No wild summers with far away trips or NKOTBSB concert with the bff.  Just taking it easy, staying in town, and hanging out with my man.  I do still need to get on that to-do list I already have planned out...maybe tomorrow :)

Plan for the summer

I am happy to report that I don't really have plans this summer.  No long extended vacations, no actual days set in stone that I have to be somewhere.  I do know that in 18 school days I will be on summer vacation...well not exactly but I feel like those workdays at the end of the year are like vacation days because there are no children and plus the 18 days makes me feel better about the time frame so that is what I am going with.

I do know that I plan to do things this summer and while I enjoy traveling and galivanting around the world, I am glad to be home.  But while at home I do have quite an extensive list of things to accomplish.  So here is my to-do list...for now anyway.

1. Get driver's license renewed...I'll be 25 and I have been living away from home for 3 years, its probably time I get the address changed :| that's probably against the law so let's pretend I didn't say that.
2. Get banks switched...I have been a State Employee for 3 years now and have never switched banks.  I still have my mom on my account...since high school.  Although that does come in handy if I was to ever need a "loan" from the Bank of Mom!
3. Read.  That is always my plan in the summertime and I do very well to accomplish that goal so I figure its a good one to have.
4. Help my best friend move far, far away.  Ok, this one I am not happy about at all but I am happy for her and her new home and life...really I am just being selfish when I discuss my sadness so...moving on.
5. Spend time with that wonderful man of mine.
6. Try to update some lesson plan ideas.
7. Go through closet and dresser to cut down on stuff I never wear.

Ummmmmm so there is probably more but if you notice the post just below this one...I'm sick and I'm not a fan...so I may not be thinking as clearly as normal.  Sorry also for only having 7 things on my list.

I miss my friends

OK so this is not a crazy weepy sad post...at least that is not the original intent...but who knows?

As you are aware, or should be aware, I moved 2 hours away from home and everyone I knew a year ago and it has been great. (I actually did move down with two friends but I think you get my point.) Anyway, I am in this new place, starting a new job, and basically trying to start a completely new life - all at the same time. Because of said life altering events, over the past year I have been neglected many of the relationships from my old life. That fact was brought to light tonight when I had dinner with two friends that I have known since 1st grade...FIRST GRADE!!!

Although there have been times when we have been apart, 4 years in elementary school when I switched schools, but they soon joined me and we picked up like we were never apart throughout middle and high school. In college, I happened to live with one of the girls 3 out of the 4 years at Carolina and the other was just in Raleigh and for 2 years we basically saw each other at least once a week. All this is to say that I love the girls a lot but over the past year they have been totally and completely out of my life (and me out of their's) and I realized that I miss them DESPERATELY!!!

We had dinner tonight and it was like nothing changed. We laughed really loud and got some funny looks. We stayed and talked for over 2 hours. WE HAD A BLAST! At the end of the night while saying our goodbyes it was mentioned that a year is really too long to be apart - comments strictly directed my way - to which I completely agree.

All of this to say...I miss my friends and I need to find a way to mix my new life with my old life even if I live an eternity away.

Summer of Adventures - BEWARE it's a long one!

OK so no more whinny, woe is me posts about my summer. I have decided that this summer will be a compilation of adventures of all shapes, sizes, and companions. So...let's back up and start from the beginning.

So after the kiddos left on the last day of school, I began the packing and moving process to my new classroom on the 6th grade hallway. It provided me lots of time for reflection and fun with my coworkers - most of whom I will see a lot less of next year. At one point I took - I mean RODE - my rollie desk chair from my old classroom on the 7th grade hall over to my new classroom on the 6th grade hall. About hallway over there, I realized how unprofessional and ridiculous I looked so I stopped, left my chair there, went and got what I needed, and the rode my chair back to 7th grade! It was REALLY fun and definitely helps work out the leg muscles on the back of the upper leg (thigh?) and your calfs. I also got done with my ginormous checklist early and twiddled my thumbs/hung out for a few extra hours.

Next adventure...

HIlton Head con mi amiga Laura! You can read a bit of her thoughts on the journey down on her blog but one of my favorite quotes occurred during a stupid traffic jam on the way down - "Ha, and only Brandi would say this: 'Alright, we're going 13 mph! That's pretty good if we were in a horse and carriage!'" Needless to say - the trip as a whole was fun. If you don't know anything about Hilton Head, its basically a place where really rich people go for vacation or what we did - crash her dad's work conference :)! Anyway, there was a cocktail hour (or longer) each night that included talking to people about concrete - sounds SUPER exciting right?! Although Laura thought so, I did not. One day we took a ferry boat to Savannah and met up with 2 people from the Anderson family that I like very much and hope to visit again soon. OH and major development for the weekend - I finally got to meet Laura's parents gah what took so long? Oh and Laura got to test out her new B&N Nook while I read on my Amazon Kindle - a battle ensued - she may have won with its capability to get online with WiFi access but, mines better because I got it first! Whatevs! Anyway, it was really fun to get dressed up each night and hang out with adults and not have to worry about anything for a few days.

NEXT...

I did have to spend two days working :( booooo but, I got paid for attending a two day workshop where I actually learned some good, new stuff so it was definitely worth it. I also got to spend time with a couple teachers I didn't really get to know this year and a few I got to know even better!

And den...

ECLIPSE!!!!! AT!!!!! MIDNIGHT!!!! So I made my mom watch Twlight and New Moon the day before so she would be caught up. Jody and 6 year-old Sydney also joined us for the show. It was really good and right afterwards my comment to my mom was that I couldn't wait for the next one. I am really sad that I have to wait a long while for it to come out. Now my mom bought all of the books, including the addition of the one about Bree, and I hope that she actually plans on reading them and not just adding them to her bookshelf.

And den...

I spent a few days at Kerr Lake where I LOVE celebrating "lake time". Lake time is a concept I have where it doesn't matter what time it is because I can do whatever I want. Case in point - many days I wake up around 10ish and proceed to make a ham & cheese sandwich for breakfast. Now you may think that sleeping late is bad but what you didn't know is that many nights I stay up until 2, 3, even 4 in the morning reading whatever book I just started. It may seem sad to you but it is like my "zen place" if I really believed in that junk. The lake is also the place that I have celebrated my birthday for the past 3 or 4 years so thats exciting. I'm 23 now and I feel the same as I did when I was 22 - we shall see what the new year brings.

And now...I am at home - at my apartment chillin' for the week until my next adventure - maybe the beach tomorrow - and then Charleston with my mom. Although I very much appreciate Christina letting me borrow/use her computer while mine is being worked on, I will gladly take my PC back when it is done being worked on. The mouse usage on the Mac still baffles me a bit but I am starting to get the hang of it.

My summer is also dotted with SUPER exciting World Cup and SwampDogs games.

Hope you made it through all that. I guess that what I get for being "silent" for a while! Come back for more updates soon!

There's Gotta Be Somethin' More

OK...so I am two weeks into my summer vacation and I am already starting to feel the blues. Not because I have any desire to get back to work or that I am not relishing my time away from being scrutinized and observed and counted on on a daily basis. But overall, once again, I am finding something lacking. Like my time right now has no purpose. I generally tend to be a "woman on a mission". This summer I really have no mission - no end goal I hope to achieve, just lots of empty time.

I do have lots of trips and things planned for my break and this week I had three days in a row where I did not wake up before 10 or even think of getting out of bed until 11! BUT once again, my goal achieving self can only find joy in these occasions on an infrequent basis. I have not had a complete summer off ie not work or school or super long excursion planned since before my junior year in high school.

Since the fall of 2003 I have been in school or working on a regular basis and now that I have 2 months off with no schedule or set-in-stone plan, I'm going a little crazy. I mean I wonder why you haven't stopped reading now as I realize I just keep talking about the same thing over and over again.

I could bust out a list of "Summer To-Dos" - short term goals to fill the empty spaces - organizing my closet or CD collection, read books to help me out with my classroom management, read books just for the fun of reading books, watch full TV series that I have wanted to watch start to finish, etc etc the list goes on.

My plan for the summer and the rest of the year, is to figure out something to do NEXT summer. Something that will make a difference to someone else. Something that will be a good and productive use of my time. Something that allows some time to check off a few of the above mentioned items. Something that provides my soul time to rest. Something that allows my mind to continue to learn. Something that allows my body to work hard and grow strong.

I realize all you heard from this post is a whining and complaining person who has 2 months off and nothing to do with her time. I want to let you know that I am REALLY excited for this time and it has not been totally horrible. I have read lots of books already, I didn't even keep a count; I have gotten to watch nearly 20 soccer games; I have watched a few Netflix movies that I have wanted to see; I have gone to many local baseball games; I have travelled to Hilton Head and have plans to go to Kerr Lake next week and Charleston a few weeks later; my birthday is coming up; all wonderful things to fill my summer - I just want my time to be spent being productive and being useful.

Well I hope for that to be the last of my complaining. I look forward to the remainder of my summer. Just remember in two months I will be complaining that I have to go back to school and my summertime is over!

The point of this post? I don't know but like I said - This...is my life. Make of it what you will!