Two Weeks Notice

Well my goodness, it's been an amazing past couple of weeks!

As I'm sure you all know, Thomas and I spent the past week on our honeymoon at Disneyland! 

It was such a {HOOT}!

But, that story is for another day.

Today I want to share some other exciting news!

I got my first ever "Big Girl Job"!

Say it with me: WOOT!

So, I'll fill ya in...

The week before Thomas and I left, I was doing the usual routine: working at Target and filling out applications. 

Now, as some of you may already know, I had started applying for anything that interested me, and for a couple of different reasons. 

One: I wasn't hearing anything from any schools.

And I was getting exhausted.

After sending over 50 applications out, with only one phone call and about 50 rejection emails, was really taking a hit on my self-esteem. 

Two: I was having doubts about teaching. 

My last placement, Blaine High School, was a wonderful experience, but really opened my eyes to the politics and bureaucracies that go into teaching...and it was kind of a really big turn off. 

I LOVED teaching. I LOVED being in front of the classroom and working with students...but I didn't like anything else about the job.

So I've been applying at all sorts of places. 

College admissions, student life for campuses, multicultural coordinators, and more. 

So where did I get my new job??

At Yellow Brick Road child care facility in Plymouth, MN.

My title is "Lead Teacher" for the Wobbler Room. 

The Wobbler Room holds the 12-20 month old kiddos.

I. Am. Pumped.

It's completely different than my degree (which is 6-12 grade social studies) but I am super excited. 

There are about 12 kids in the room that I will be responsible for, but as the Lead Teacher, I will also have a small staff of about 3 others who I supervise and will be helping me. 

I am soo excited!

This isn't like an elementary teacher.

I don't have 30 kids to teach all on my own.

I have a handful of toddlers just learning to walk and talk and full of curiosity and cuteness. 

Yes, there's the grunt work of feeding, changing, and wiping boogers, but I'm okay with that. Because again, it's not a classroom of 30, it's 12...and I have help.

I am super excited!
It's a full-time position, Monday through Friday, 7:30 to 4:30.

It's a private Christian facility, so it's got {great} values and goals for the students. 

And it's extremely community oriented. 

They do a lot of community events and family events. 

Potlucks and carnivals and more.

I am SOO excited. 

I applied for the position the week before we left, and the very next day after I sent in my application, I had an interview. Four days later, while at Disneyland, I was offered the job.

I had to think a lot about it.

Was this really something I wanted to do?
What if I get a call for teaching in August?

Is this something that will bring joy to my life?
Will I get fulfillment out of this job?

In the end, I decided to take the opportunity.

So yesterday I officially accepted the position, and today I put my two weeks into Target.

It's very weird to be leaving Target after 7 great years there.
I loved my job at Target.

Great people!
The people I work with are what make working at Target fun. 

I will miss everyone there!

And I'll miss my discount...ha.

Also, in addition to starting work at Yellow Brick Road, I am also restarting my Mary Kay business.

Another thing I am {VERY} excited for!

I've been in contact with my old director, figuring out what I need to do to get started again, and I'm pumped to get that going!

I started it back in college, but with school, and my [very] consuming job as a Resident Assistant and Hall Manager, I lost the energy and interest to put into my business to make it profitable, and I gave it up.

But now that school's out, and I'll have a typical M-F 9 hour work day without any work to bring home with me, I know I will have the time to put towards Mary Kay to make it worth something. 

Plus, I just have a stronger drive now to put more effort into it to work towards bringing a future together for Thomas and I. 

It's all very exciting!
I love the feeling of starting something new. 

After seven years at Target, I'm ready for a change. 

I'm ready to finally step forward with into mine & Thomas' future.

This is the very first step for us.

Let's see what else is in store for us!
And as I've always said...
Gotta have a full-time income before we can have a baby....

Honeymoonin' It Up

So things are pretty great these days.

Thomas and I have the house to ourselves and it's wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, I love Tom's family, but it's [so] different having a whole house just the two of us...makes me even more excited and anxious to get our own place soon!

It's been so much fun.

I love cooking dinner for just the two of us. 

It's a lot harder, but more intimate and special.

And I love the privacy.

Love it.

We're also incredibly eager for our honeymoon.

Eeeeek!!
We leave in four days, and it's a little hectic right now.

I've been planning and planning and planning.

Thomas makes fun of me for it.

But he'll appreciate it on the trip...haha

I've been reading boatloads on Disneyland and the surrounding area.

Figuring out what rides need to be hit, how fastpasses work, what beaches to visit, what attractions to see, all that fun stuff.

I've even gone so far as to print directions to everywhere we want to go.

To and from the airport and hotel.

To and from Disneyland to the parking lot we should park in

(oh yeah, I've researched that too).

To and from Hollywood & the hotel.

All that fun stuff. 

Wanna hear our (tentative) agenda for the trip?

Okay!

Monday: Picked up by my parents at 5:00am.

Flight (with Sun Country) leaves at 7:25am.

Land at LAX about 9:10.

Get our car.

Check into our hotel.

Spend Monday wandering the Santa Monica Pier.

Tues, Wed, Thurs: 

Bring on Disneyland!

We have a three-day park hopper pass for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventures.

I am stoked for these days.

It's gonna be a blast!

Friday: Hollywood!

There's a couple different attractions we want to hit in Hollywood, but mostly we're going to just wander around. Check it out.

For dinner, we're going to head to Fogo de Chao!

We've never been to the one here in Minnesota, but we've heard it's amazing (and expensive) but we figure it's our honeymoon: let's splurge and try it now!

Saturday: Our last real day in California.

We're going to spend the day wandering and at the beach.

This is about the only thing I don't really have planned out yet. 

There's a couple different beaches and places we could go, and I just can't decide what to do!

Our options are: Newport, Laguna, Venice, and probably some others that I'll hear about once we arrive there. 

So we'll just kinda see how Saturday goes. 

It's our day to be lazy and plan-less. :)

So!
That's our honeymoon!

Suuuper excited!

Four days.

FOUR DAYS!

We're excited.

~Forever~

We grow up. 

We grow old.

We become grownups. 

We go out into the world doing grownup things, like paying bills, getting married, paying more bills, starting a career, buying a house, paying more bills. 

Remember how we always said we couldn't wait to grow up?
Yeah.

It was overrated. 

My point?

My best friend is officially a grownup.

Off into a grownup career.

And moving too many miles away.

To a foreign land...called Arizona.

Psh. 

Who'd wanna live there anyway?
Well, apparently my bestie.

So, Christie Marie Hollingsworth, 

(or should I say Short Suff??)

This post is for you.

And if you're not Christie, well you can read this too.

It might be boring for you.

But it might not.

First and foremost, before I delve into the past, I just want to say how happy I am for you. I know how much you wanted this job, and how excited you are for this next chapter in your life, and I just want you to know that I am super excited for you. 

So, no matter how sad I get in this post, I don't want you to ever think I'm not happy for you, because I'm stoked. And I hope you and David have the time of your lives down there. 

So! onto the good stuff.

I usually tell people we met in seventh grade, although you and me both know that's a lie. We really met in third grade. 

On the basketball court.

I hated you. 

Bahaha. 

No, really I did. 

 I think I've told you this before. 

You were competition for me, and my parents and I always referred to you as, "The little blond girl."

But I did always look forward to playing your team, because I got to guard you and you gave me a challenge for once! haha

And then, in seventh grade, we had, what? Six outta seven class together? Or five? Something like that...it was a lot.

And then this little blond basketball enemy became my best friend.

Who'd'a thunk?

And now, like eleven years later, we're still friends.

You were still the Maid of Honor for my wedding. 

I love you.

We have soooo many amazing memories together.

Hundreds of sleepovers.

Thousands...maybe even millions...of ditzy moments together.

Remember the time you slapped me in front of everyone for no reason?? 

And the time I "forgot the floor was there?"

Or when we were both laying outside at our homes tanning while talking on the phone to each other, and you screamed "Bee!" and I screamed "WHERE!?!" 

And the time were talking about hating our "little friends" visiting, and Tom was so confused why we would be friends with someone we hate??

Or the time we told Ashley I could interpret dreams, and went on for a good ten minutes interpreting her baby dream?

Remember our code-names for everyone?

Choir was always the best class, all throughout our years.

Sneaking out to bathroom breaks together every. single. day.!!

JOY!!

Ooooh Mr. Nordberg....making you wash the overheads during our precious gossip time! And he wouldn't let me help you!

I think he was onto us...

Oh, and let us not ever forget, the EVER wonderful time Mr. Brian Burns ran into the choir door.

Priceless.

Okay, I know that was at an afterschool event, not choir, but still.

I'll never forget it.

Remember the day of the bomb threat?

And we got to leave school on that perfectly gorgeous day at like noon?

And we all walked around, and when to Kohls to play hide and seek??

WE'RE HOOKERS!

And I LOVED all of our notebooks. 

Okay, before you leave for Arizona, or maybe when you come back in August, we have to sit down, and reread those one last time...I hope you still have them!

And there's been soo many boys in our lives that we've always been there for each other...stupid Brandon...so glad you became my Bestest Lover Ever. :)
And I'm also soooo happy you have David. 
We finally both have our princes!

I'll never forget all our many walks around the lake. 

Now, those were some good times. 

Many many duck conversations.

Oh! Remember that deer we saw!? Like, SUPER close?? 

And that dang little kid scared it away??

Yeah, that was awesome.

We've had countless parties and bonfires.

With an amazing group of friends...well, most of the time... :P

And that's all high school...for the most part.

Then we went off to college.

Let's be honest, college changed our friendship.

A lot.

I became super jealous of Angel.

Like, SUPER jealous. 

And you said I cared more about my residents than you.

We hardly ever got to see each other, always so far away, and we were both so busy with life that we didn't make much time to talk to each other either.

But ya know what I did love about college?
That when we did get the time to see each other and be together, it was always as if nothing had ever changed.

No time or distance between us. 

Just look at your birthday a couple weeks ago.

We went to Perkins and Madagascar, and it was wonderful.

Talking away about everything under the sun, as if it hadn't been too long since we last saw each or spoke. 

That's what I love about us.

And that's how I know that even though you're moving across the country, we'll still always be the bestest lovers ever.

It makes me sad to think I'll get to see you even less than I do now.

But I know we'll be okay.

And it makes me sad to think you're going to be living you're life so far away from me, because I used think life would be perfect. Like how we used to talk about it: We both get married, live close by, and have kids, and our kids would be best friends too. 

It makes me sad to think you might have your kids down there.

Who knows how long you'll be down there?
A year?

A couple years?
The rest of your life?

I guess we don't know.

But it doesn't matter what plans we make because God always has His own plans.

And I know this is going to be wonderful opportunity for you.

For you and David.

I'm so incredibly happy for you.

And I still better hear from you.

You'll still be the first to know all the big things.

You were the first to know he proposed.

You'll be the first to know when we get a house.

Or a dog.

Or when we're pregnant.

You'll always be my bestie, no matter how far away we are.

I love you so much.

And I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

Best. Movie. Ever.

The Lion King.

I know you all have seen it. 

And I know you all love it.

And if you don't love it,

Well then you're crazy.

Because The Lion King is hands down the greatest movie ever conceived by man.

Seriously.
And I will prove it you.

First, let's take a moment to try and comprehend that this movie is completely drawn by hand. 

That's right.

No computer animation.

The opening scene of this movie is some of the most beautifully crafted artwork I have ever laid eyes on.

All. By. Hand.

Amazing. 

We see more amazing work all throughout the movie.

Then, you've got the greatest soundtrack of any movie.

The only movie that may hold a candle to the Lion King's soundtrack is perhaps Moulin Rouge. 

You've got the Circle of Life, Hakuna Matata, I Just Can't Wait to Be King, Can You Feel the Love the Tonight.

Great, great music. 

You laugh, you cry in Lion King.
Come on, I know you all cried when Mufasa died.

Then there are the characters.
We can't help but love Timon and Pumba. 

And the oh so wise Rafiki.
He may be a minor character, but he's got a big message.

Perhaps one of the best lessons from any Disney movie.
Or any movie in particular.
The past can hurt.
But we can either run from it, or learn from it.
How can you not love Rafiki??


Come on, Lion King IS the greatest movie ever created.
To sum it up:
Amazing artwork.
Amazing music.
Amazing emotions.
Amazing characters.
Amazing lesson.
Amazing movie.
...AmazingEST movie...


You know you love it.

Who's to Blame?

Thomas and I had a talk the other day about parenting. 

And kids these days.

So many people talk about the problems with "kids these days," but ya know what? Maybe the problem isn't the kids. 

I think the problem is "parents these days." 

I especially see this at Target.

And in the schools.

There's something wrong with the majority of parenting.

Maybe I have no place to write the post I'm about to write, seeing as I'm not a parent myself yet, but hey. It's my blog, I'll write what's on my mind. 

So many parents are no longer acting as true parents, but much more like friends. 
While working at Target, I've noticed that parents don't discipline nearly as much as they used to.
If a child asks for something, maybe they'll get a no, but they'll probably get a yes.
If they do get a no, they'll whine, or cry, or throw a tantrum.
And then they'll get what they've asked for.
9 times out of 10.


When it comes to school, parents are much more likely to support the student than the teacher in cases.
If a student has missing work, it's the teacher's fault.
Their student definitely turned it in, the teacher must have lost it. 
If they have zeros or bad grades, it's the teacher's fault.
The teacher grades poorly. 
Or assigns too much work. 
Or is unfair.
If a student complains to a parent about the way a teacher works, the parent always sides with the child, never the teacher. 


And kids never seem to be disciplined these days.
No grounding.
No loss of phone, computer, or video game privileges. 
No spankings.
Nothing.
They don't know the value of work either.
Kids these days are sooo lazy. 
They sit in front of computer or TV all day, what do you expect?
And most don't know the value of a dollar either.
Mom and dad give them all the moola they need.


And don't even get me started on the way kids dress these days.
Parents let their little girls dress like 20 year old whores. 
It's disgusting to be in a middle school with 12, 13 and 14 year old girls who look like their about to go work at the local Hooters or club.
I'm talking skin tight mini skirts, midriff-bearing tshirts, cleavage-showing tanktops, high heels, and more makeup than a clown wears. 
It's uncomfortable to even look at!
And it's not like girls are sneaking these clothes to school and changing once they arrive, because I see little girls dressed like that out shopping with their moms or out to eat, or wherever! I don't get it!
And then we talk about how teen pregnancy is on the rise.
Well, let's let our kids dress the way they do.
Oh, and then let them watch and listen to the things they do.
Songs about bitches and hoes, sex (in every possible form), one night stands, clubs, hookups, drugs, and so much more being cool.
There is no possible way anyone can try and argue that media does not influence us. It does. So why don't we control the media better?


And then there's just the plain sad part:
kids don't know how to play anymore.
They don't go outside to play.
Sitting infront of a TV on Call of Duty is "playing." 
What happened to go outside and getting dirty?
Grass stains? Mud stains? Holes in your jeans?
REAL holes...not holes that the fashion industry has pre-made into your $80 jeans you bought. 
It's just sad to me. 
But, again, maybe this isn't my place.
Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
Or maybe I do. 
Maybe when I do have kids, I'll find myself just following the trend in parenting these days. I just sure hope not. 


I think it's time to stop saying, "Kids these days..."
Maybe we need to change our focus: "Parents these days..."