One Year Engaged... wow.

Today is post 3..wow. But i have so much on my mind and Sundays are my free day. However, this is the most important one. 1 year ago today Luke got down on one knee and asked me to be his Wife! It was an awesome day and you can read about it here.

However here are a few more pics from that great day 1 year ago today:

i was crying.. can you tell?

showing off the ring and cutting cake!

cutest cake EVER!

The ring again :)

What a wonderful day and I am so sad that i do not get to spend this day with him :( I am even more bummed that his family leaves this thursday for their annual beach trip and i can't go :(

HAPPY ONE YEAR!!!

HELP!!

HELP! I found these dresses on google imagines and i LOVE them! I REALLY love the second one because i want my dress to have scrunch thingy (haha) in the middle. I think the second one is from Nordstrom... but i do not know how to find it because it is not on the website. A few months ago i fell in love with a bright blue dress VERY similar if not the same as the second one from Nordstrom.. i want them!!!

My question: If the store is no longer selling these dresses.. is there ANYWHERE i can find them and order them. I am so clueless...haha can't ya tell?

Last weekend in NC (as of now)

Welp.. its here and i cant believe it. This past weekend was officially my last weekend in Raleigh. We have 2 more weeks of teaching, but next weekend Jay and I are going home to visit my sis Ky. I cannot believe how fast this journey has been going. It's somewhat bittersweet for me. I love it here and have had the time of my life, however i miss Luke and being home.

Friday night we were so excited because we thought we got invited to a "college party". We have not been to one in forever.. but it ended up being a bunch of guys at their parents rich house playing pong with apples..def not the college scene we had in mind.. haha. So we left and headed downtown to 606. It was not the best night out but it was still fun. We were all so tired from the week.

all in black & white :)

leaving the "college party"/rich house

@ 606.

Saturday at the last minute we decided to go to the Tim Mcgraw concert. I mean he's sexy.. why not ;) I just currently (past 2 years) started listening to country.. so i only knew a few of his songs. So for the concert we wanted to look for cowboy boots.. so we hit up this Mexican Flea market.. haha it was fun! SOO many boots but so expensive ($150).. wasnt paying that when i would hardly wear them and also i have a cute pair back in pa.... why i forgot them.. i donno. So we struck out.. but went to the concert anyways. It was fun! Met some boys from the Marines.. who recently got back... They were a trip haha. For only knowing a few songs.. it was a great time. Cant believe i've been to 3 country concerts in 1 month haha. Fun times :] We were planning on going downtown afterwards.. but it never works out that way.

beer pong losers haha

waiting in line :]

Jay looking all country!

told you the marines were a trip...he got
kicked out shorty after this haha.

there he is.. the sexy man ;)

Today will consist of applying to more jobs....i dont know if it will EVER pay off.. about 100 apps deep and no call....cleaning up the apartment....working on my POET presentation for Tuesday.. sounds fun.. haha not!

Lyss :)

Sometime being in denial works!

Remember how i was totally in denial that i would not get to make it home to visit my sis Ky and her little family :) Welp i talked to my professor.... and Jay and i are skipping out on a friday and heading the 8 hrs home to spend the weekend with them! I am so excited :) i couldn't imagine going 2 yrs without seeing them! I can hardly make it one year! Its going to be a long and tiring weekend but totally worth it in the end :)

I am loving 2nd grade! They literally make me smile all day. Everything they do.. even the bad and frustrating moments makes me love my job. I have yet to hear back from any schools yet. If it is meant to be... it will be.

I've learned that kids do not know how to lose. Its pretty sad. I will teach my kids to lose and i refuse to let them win.. it only creates a monster!

Lyss :)

Charlotte Weekend!

Charlotte was so much fun! We arrived to Kaysee's house late friday. We had a total girls night. We ate ice cream and watched a movie! hehe. Saturday we went shopping at the biggest best mall ever - Concord Mills aka. HEAVEN! Bought 2 dresses and shoes, ate some dinner and had a total blast! We then headed to uptown Charlotte to our hotel. Got ready did some pre-gaming and hit up the bars! We actually only went to one... it was called Whiskey River. Had a total blast and just loving NC more and more every day! Here are some pics of our night out:

all dressed up!

at the bar:)

riding the bull!

our place of choice!

love these girls!!

great place to be :]

end of the night pose.

We had so much fun! Now its time for another full week of my 2nd graders! Only 3 weeks to go until this journey is over. Im excited to see whats in store for me:)

lyss :)

Dear brain, chill out at night!

Why is it as soon as i feel like i accomplish something (my portfolio) something else is just sitting there waiting for me (my POET presentation). I feel like i had 2 days of rest and relaxation before i have to start working on something else. Im not really stressed about it (yet).... but i have started it and last night i tossed and turned thinking about everything i have to do. I HATE when i dream about work/school... i just want relaxing dreams. Last night was anything but relaxing. I dreamed about working on my powerpoint, teaching, finding and creating lessons, my brain seriously worked so hard in my dream that when i woke up at 3 i was wide away because my brain would not stop running. So tonight i hope that i can have sweet and very relaxing dreams :)


Prayers and thoughts out to Luke's gram she is back in the hospital but fighting strongly!

Charlotte this weekend....so EXCITED!!

lyss :)

Lakes and a Concert = Successful Weekend

This weekend was FABULOUS! I was well rested because i only had to teach 3 out of 5 days :) So i was ready to have a great time. Friday night we just went down town to our normal spots. First hitting up Natty Greens then ending at Lucky B's. I was actually tired and didnt mind going home a little earlier than normal. Saturday was full of non-stop fun. First we hit up Tucker Lake with some great people. We always see it from the highway on the way to the beach and it looks so fun. It has a place to cook burgers and yummy cookout food! It is a huge lake with slides, rope swings, paddle boats, floaties, etc. There were 6 of us and we had a blast! I thought i was 6 again :) We then quickly went home got ready and headed to the Toby Keith concert. The tailgate was ahh okayy..i didn't know too many people and was to hot to mingle, but for not knowing many songs he put on one heck of a concert :) Sunday we wrapped up the weekend by going out to Jordan Lake on a boat :) We went out a few miles, anchored the boat jumped in the water and floated around! Nice and relaxing! Some pics of the weekend:

brain and his yummy food

the swingy thing

the group :)

on the boat!

Kylie and the boys made it to the US safely! This will be my first 5 day work week in two weeks.. its going to rough! haha. I am excited to learn about my 2nd graders. Only 4 more weeks of student teaching... its going so fast... yet slow when i miss lukey :[

Lyss :)

1st day of school :)

Tomorrow is the first day of school! Today was so tiring.... setting up the room and getting everything ready for the kiddies! I am so excited to meet my new kiddies :] The first week of school is learning procedures and daily activities.. so i will be learning right along with them! Fingers crossed for a smooth first day :)

A day off :]

Rambling on my day off.

HAPPY 6 YEARS TO MY BEEBS :] I FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU MORE AND MORE WITH EVERY PASSING YEAR!!! I KNOW THAT WE CAN OVERCOME ANYTHING THAT IS THROWN OUR WAY!


I am officially applying to schools in Wake County and Charlotte area! I have probably applied to 50+ positions. (most of the positions have 100+ apps already :-/) No worries if it is meant to be it will happen! So I am excited to see if anything comes out of it! If not i am moving back home with my mama! [haha-not that exciting]

I am officially done with my portfolio! I am turning it in this evening and boy does it feel good. This thing has been haunting my life for years now.. and im finally giving it the boot! haha

The Bachelorette on Monday was intense! Wow Vienna is right Jake is a fame whore and Jake is right Vienna never shuts up. It is what it is. They were never meant to last, so they need to move on with their lives :)

I am addicted to pretty little liars (no lie).

I am relaxing and applying to jobs on my day off. Tomorrow we are setting up the classroom and Friday the new school year begins! How lucky am i to see the opening and closing of a school year!

Safe travels to Ky to the US! I am so bummed i will not be getting to see you this summer. I am actually still in denial :[

Lyss

4th of July Weekend in NC :)

This weekend was AMAZING! Except for the part where I got sick. Yes of all weekends I get sick the time Lukas comes to visit me. I tried my hardest to have a great time and not bring the group down. Saturday we hit the beach up then ate dinner at a place called Woodys. We were going to go out, however i just couldnt do it. Then Sunday we went to a mall, ate lunch outside, played some mini golf, watched part of the fireworks (trees were in the way), and then went out to our fav spot Lucky Bs. Monday we went to IHOP for b-fast and took a nap:) We went to the outlets which were so disappointing that words cant describe. Then Lukey left me :( But here are some pics of the awesome weekend!

at the beach :)

dinner outside

minigolf

the girls @ lucky B's

I miss lukey so much and it was extra hard to say good-bye this time for several reasons. But soon enough i will see him again :)

Time to watch the Bacelorette.. I am more excited for the Jake and Vienna part! HAHA

lyss :)

Stress

Luke sent me this e-mail and I wanted to share:

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience,raised a glass of water and asked,
"How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter.
It depends on how long you try to hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance
In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued,
"And that's the way it is with stress management.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,
As the burden becomes increasingly heavy,
We won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water,
You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.
When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home You can pick it up tomorrow."

"Whatever burdens you're carrying now,
Let them down for a moment if you can.


So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while."

Decisions Decisions...

I am a little over half way down with student teaching, so that means the job hunt is just around the corner. The problem is there were only 4ish openings in my home town and they are already filled. So what does that mean? Do i go back at home and sub and work a part time job? I didn't just bust my butt for 4 years to make crap money and not be teaching!

On the other hand there are a lot more job opening in NC. So do i apply? What if i get an interview, what if i get a job offer? Do i take it? What about luke? We have already been away from each other for 4 yrs doing this long distance thing....I want that to be over. I want to be with him everyday. But do i make the sacrifice? If i find a job here why couldn't he come here? I cant expect him to he told me a year ago he would never move...

So many thoughts and situations going through my head and i dont know what to make of it. My ultimate goal is to go back to Pa and be with family. But finding a teaching job with no experience is going to be hard. Why not live somewhere fun, new, and exciting for a few years. I mean we have our whole lives to live in PA. I just dont want to look back on my life years from now and regret not taking an opportunity when i could. I think 2 young sociable people would have a great time in Raleigh for a few years.

There is more to life than PA!

I just dont know. This is rambling and it probably makes no sense.

lyss.