Life Update

Every Post starts this way because I do have all the intentions to actually keep up with it.

Work: I can't believe I did not blog during my long term teaching position. But anyways.. it was great and i LEARNED a lot! So much more than i learned in 4 years of school..seriously. Experience is the best teacher. I had a great class and we bonded really well. I was sad to go and i think they were sad to see me go as well. I am officially back to day to day subbing..which i did not miss at all! But you got to do what you got to do!

House: Luke and I finally got around to fixing up the first floor bathroom. He laid new tile floor :) We also topped it off with a new sink/vanity and mirror. We did paint, however it is very close to the same color! It looks really nice :) -- Next project (after the wedding) will be the upstairs bathroom.

Wedding: Wedding stuff is finally coming together! I am starting to get excited :)!! We have some projects to start soon. Pics to come soon.

Puppy: Luke and I now have a puppy. Her name is Missy. She was my moms, but now she is with us! She is soo clingy but a cuddle bug! And she sheds A LOT!!

Hopefully more blogging to come soon!

Lyss :)

Life Update

Wow..I was rereading some of my post today and it made me miss blogging on a consistent basis. So here i am again..trying. We'll see how it goes.

Work: Words cannot even begin to describe how much i LOVE my class. It is so depressing knowing that i am half way done with them. These past 12 weeks have been flying by. Dont get me wrong, they test my patience on a daily and even hourly basis. But i love it :) They truly are a great group of kids and i am going to be so sad to have to leave in February. Besides the love of my class, I really enjoy the staff. They were all so welcoming and helpful! Only 3 more days till christmas break and the kiddos are def ready for a break.

Wedding: Guess what I am not going to say i haven't done anything. Because its been so long since i blogged i have accomplished some. We booked the DJ, Photographer, Reception hall, 95 % of the center pieces are bought (just need candles), Save the dates are printed and in hand (sending them out after the Holidays), favors are bought (just need to print the cards that go with), My dress was purchased, and the bridesmaids dresses are picked out and ordered! YAY!! My next goal is to focus on cake and flowers.

Life: Life has been pretty well. I will be an aunt to two little boys come feb/jan. I am looking forward to christmas!!! Luke and i are keeping it kind of small. We are exchanging small gifts then we are buying tile for our bathroom..ugh we are getting old and boring. haha

Welp thats all for now :)

Lyss

Cut welfare not education

I tried the positive look on life and it was going really great..it was. Until i found out about the education cut and how PA is going on a salary freeze and they are suggesting schools to go on a hiring freeze as well. Now they are considering closing a few elementary schools . Im irritated...cut welfare not education. I did not go to school for 4.5 years and have 250$ + a month in school loans to be a daycare teacher.

Now what? Will the sub list be even more crowded? Will it be worth subbing? Will i even get called in? How long till i can do what i love. Its so hard because i knew it was going to be tough getting a job in this profession in this area....but the outlook is not looking to bright.

I know i need to stay positive. I heard of a few job openings up the mountain. But now my jump drive is not working that has my current resume, application, and cover letter on it. YAY oh the joys of trying to stay positive......

lyss :)

Our cute Turkey

Better late than never. This is our cute trukey my kiddies made at school. Each kid designed their own feather and when you put them all together the turkey is so colorful and cute! I loved the way it turned out!!

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 :)

Made it to NC!

Welp, I'm here. Friday afternoon we left PA and traveled to southern Virgina. We hit a lot of traffic, so much that in 2 hrs we went about 40ish miles. It was crazy and a little annoying.. but we finally made it to our hotel at about 11ish at night. We stayed there then continued our journey to NC the next morning. Saturday morning Jay and I moved into our temp housing. It was a hotel that was converted into student housing. We are here for a week. Then we get to move into our apt! Cant wait :) We are just semi unpacked and settled in. It will feel more like "home" once we are in our apt and im not living out of my suitcase anymore.

We explored a little. Found plenty of places to eat and shop! Seriously we are in shoppers heaven! Thank god ill be busy teaching and planning to go shopping ALL the time ;) Saying goodbye to Luke and my mama was hard :( 6 weeks without seeing him just seems too hard! but we'll do it and im looking forward to the 4th of July for his visit already!

Tomorrow i have a meeting then i get to head to my school to meet my little kiddies (I'm meeting both classes). I'm excited and nervous all at once! but i better get to bed so i can be awake tomorrow! Time for bed :)

Nighty!

Lyss :)

NC here we come!

Tomorrow the sis and i will begin our journey to NC! I am so excited and a little nervous! ahhh! I cant believe student teaching is here already. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon, then staying a little outside Raleigh. Then driving the rest of the way in Saturday. We will have to move into temp housing for a week before we get to move into our apt at wolf village. Updates and pics to come in the near future :)


Lyss

GRADUATION and AftEr PaRtY!

Welp its here, and it has past! I officially (not really) graduated from College. Let's just say i will never attend a class again at SRU.... I'm not sure how i feel about that. Bittersweet. Anyways it was one crazy hectic day. It started with my sleeping in (i had no choice, had to be a good time later that night...more to come later) So i got all dolled up, trying to look nice, but apparently in Slippery Rock, it would only make sense to be beautiful out Friday and Sunday.. but not Saturday.. it was rainy and windy.. when i say windy i mean wind tunnel hair blowing dress up in the air windy. On my way to graduation i managed to lose my camera and tassel.. im pretty sure these are 2 VERY important things on graduation day. (Found camera in friends car... after the ceremony.. a little late i know). I ran around like a crazy person trying to find my tassel... no luck. But thank goodness this lady running the thing had a few extra.. woohoo close call. So we sat through graduation and it was okay. a few laughs here and there. After graduation it was picture time with the fam and then dinner to celebrate: (sorry they are blurry i had to steal these from FB bc obviously i lost my camera).

lukes fam.

highschool bffs.

my sis and i w/ our fam.

my rock, shoulder, and bitching
partner through the whole process.

my precious little girl Delany!

After dinner i got some pretty awesome gifts (Vera Bradly set of binders, notepads, highlighters, mini notepads, pens, and more...sweet for my desk) A sweet Coach purse from babes, he did a great job picking it out, then a matching ribbon from Erin (Lukes Bros gf) and a matching clutch from alex (lukes bro). and of course money and gas cards! haha

After dinner we said goodbye to everyone then headed to my apt to get ready for Pittsburgh! This was my friend Dawn's first time out in Pitt! We got all cute and headed to Alex's apartment to pregame! The first place we went was barroom/saddleridge in station square. We had some shots shots shots to celebrate and danced, but it was kind of expensive there.. okay a lot of expensive.. so we headed to Buckheads (our normal go to place) and finished the night up there! It was a fun night and a great way to end the year! here are some pics:

shots shots shots

my all time favs!

shots on Burrr! The girls, love them!

That was my graduation day. This week i am crazy busy unpacking, yet packing for NC. Im wondering where and how i got so much shit! It literally wont fit in my house, and with sis and i sharing a room at home, we cant even move in there. So after a long hard summer semester of student teaching im going to have fun coming home and reorganizing my life... haha. welp lots to do and only 3 days left in PA.

lyss :)

College is OVER!

Ahhh first off i am donzooo with STAT! i think i am more excited about that then being done with my college career! haha. These past few days have been crazy hectic! But through it all i have managed to go out a few times :) I mean it was finals week... but i wasn't dead. Wednesday the girls and i went to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. Jay and i met up with some other friends at ghill after.

me and danielle. (i was a little excited)

the one side of the table.

and the other :)

Then Thursday Luke came up after work. It was so nice to see him after studying all day :[ We hung out and watched the pens (they lost...this makes babes a sad little boy). We then headed to my friends apartment and then to the bar. I didn't get to have a drink because of my final in the morning ....:( I really wanted to have one last really good night out... but noooo. It's okay we are going to Pittsburgh to celebrate sat night!

TOMORROW is graduation. It doesn't feel real. I don't think it will till after student teaching. A bunch of the fam is coming up and then we are doing dinner before pitt later that night.

1 week till NC... life is moving to0 fast.. slow down please :)

Lyss :)

studying hard... or hardly studying?

This weekend was zero fun. I have so much hw its unreal. A big stat test tomorrow morning .. which im studying hard for..kinda i just cant get in the groove. I bet i will soon..fingers crossed! I have another test on tuesday and a case court breif due Wednesday. Then finals week to follow! AHH im so not use to so many test! El ed classes are usually projects and presentations... i have not had this many exams in 2 weeks since freshman year! okay think positive.. almost done :] Next weekend will be filled with studying also... although lukey will be along for the ride. yay i bet hes thrilled!

13 days till graduation!!!

Conference

Hello everyone :) Welp im here, good old Reading PA.. NOT. I am with an organization called PSEA. Every year there is a conference and schools from all over PA attend. We attend breakout sessions, teaching little ones, vote for positions, and much more (this is my first time attending, so im new at it). We had a 5.5 hr drive here.... on a school bus.. yes a school bus not a coach bus. Needless to say it was very uncomfortable and long! I also just got sick :( So when all i want is my comfy bed....i am stuck on a not so comfy hotel bed..yuck! Welp we have a busy 2 days ahead of us! Hope everyone has a great weekend! PSEA update possibly when i get back :)


lyss :)

Time to be a big girl :)

So today & yesterday i picked up my cap and gown for graduation! AHH i can't believe how fast these 4 years have gone! It feels like yesterday i was a little freshman moving into my dorm. Although Jay and I are student teaching in the summer and not "technically" graduating till August, we are walking in May! We both will graduate with the highest honors (Magna Cum Laude). So we get to wear these medallion with our gowns! Pretty sweet :) The lady at the alum office had to obviously check to see if we qualified and she goes "today your in luck you get one". As we walked out Jay said to me "in luck? It wasn't like we were in a drawing for one of these i worked my butt of picking the best teachers.... and studying to get this" haha. oh crazy lady at the alum office... thanks for the laugh!

Side note: Can you believe that i made it through 4 years of college without ONE 8AM class! Luke told me that he never met someone who did that and i told him i would be the first.. and here i am :)

South Carolina student teaching update: After some e mailing Jay and i ended up at the same school! Thank god we didn't want to have to try to find another car (we share one now). plus we can share gas money! I cant believe we only have a month and 1 week left of classes. This summer is going to be great and I'm excited to start a new chapter in my life :)

Have a great rest of the week :) I am so glad this week was so much less stressful than last week :)

Weekend Re-cap :)

Caution: Long, eventful, and awesome weekend recap, be prepared!


Friday: The beginning of Friday SUCKED (major). I had my Stat exam that i studied my ass off for and felt like i completely bombed it. My class is only 50 mins and 50 mins is not enough time to complete a 5 pg test (i found out today i got a 78.. so not as bad as i thought). So after a mini break down i decided i was not allowing this to ruin my fun filled weekend. So i pushed the stat to the back of my mind and went tanning and got my nails done. (i needed some therapy). Then Jay and i headed back to the apartment where we got ready for formal. Every year our dance/ twirl team has a formal. We all get dressed up and bring dates. This year we had it at the Days Inn. We always get it catered and the food was delicious! Every year we vote and give out awards. This year i won.... gold digger (2nd year in a row)! But i swear i am not.. do i really give off that vibe? Luke was happy he said it means hes going to be rich some day ;) Hes a trooper! The entire night we danced and had a ball! This will be my last dance/formal.. ever..BOO! But we def went out with a bang.

Formal pictures:

The Majorettes

My girls :)

My amazing date.

After the formal, a few of the girls decided that we needed to have an after party so we did. We went back to the one girls apt and had sooo much fun! We drank, played beer bong, and danced! We didn't get home till 4am.

Here are some pics from the after party:

Best friends!

Illusion girls

Dancing all night

Saturday: i was down and out all day! It has been awhile since i have stayed out that long and had so much fun! Luke and i slept and watched tv all day. At 6 (yes 6 pm) we decided we better go get dinner. We went to a local sub place called Bob's Subs- Awesome :). We then decided that we were going to go back to K's house again for the night. This time there was only going to be a few of us. A little more low key. Once again we had a great time and stayed out till 4am.

Flip cup champs!

Bert and Ernie showed up haha

Sunday: Luke and i spent some time together, then he left and i went to work. After work i came home and took a much needed nap and shower. Then janelle called me and said that phil (her formal date) his car broke down a few miles in ohio. (he lives in Chicago and he was driving back when he stopped at a rest stop and could not get his car started). Being how awesome we were we drove the hour to Ohio picked him up took him to walmart to get a car battery, then back to his car. He tried to replace the battery and that wasn't the only problem. So we brought him back to SR to sleep and then we got back up at 8am (today) to take him back to his car. He recently got it towed and its getting fixed. Hopefully soon hell be on his way. He still has 7 more hours to go.

That was my crazy fun much needed weekend!

Getting Organized

I love being organized. Although my bedroom and desk may not show it. I have reasons for this: Moving 4 times in 4 years and not having one place to keep everything. But my (1 yr) goal is to organize my life. By life i mean everything, including but not limiting my closet, shoes, purses, school/work stuff (lessons, activities. books, etc), jewelry, and pictures. Life is so much easier when everything has its place. An organized life can be super cute too :) As soon as i get my first teaching job i cant wait to buy bins, binders, folders, cubbies, baskets, etc!

Some inspirational pictures:

a nice neat organized desk.

Loving the shelving and bins.

a neat organized closet.
(maybe just a little too neat)

I have wanted an armiore forever!
But it cant fit in my apt bedroom.

Paper center in a classroom.


a neat organized classroom.

I found a few websites about being organized. The first one is about how to be organized and stylish at the same time. The second one is tips and pictures showing how a teacher can organize their classroom.


lyss :)

Wishing away my last semester of college.

Here i am, halfway through my senior year of college. Where has the time gone? It felt like yesterday that Jay and I packed up our car and headed to SRU. I remember our first day. Unpacking entirely wayyyy to much stuff. Mine was all green while Jays was hot pink. We had one heck of a bright room. Did that really happen 3.5 year ago? At the beginning of College I wished away the time. I just wanted to be a little older, old enough to go to the bars and parties with no concerns. Well last year that day came and then i wanted the time to stand still, but obviously that did not happen. I made myself a promise that i would no longer wish away college. These are the best days of our lives and in a blink of an eye they will be gone.

I believe i have upheld my promise to myself and have enjoyed and cherished my time while in college. But here i am my last semester and i am wishing it away? Why? Because i absolutely HATE 2 of my classes and not a fan of 1 and dont mind the other. They are hard, confusing, frustrating, and not really in my field. I LOVE education classes (for the most part) but these classes are stressing me out and not allowing me to enjoy my last semester at college (so not fair). My advice: do not put off courses you dont like because they will all sneak up on you and hit you in one semester! Although i have been having a stressful semester, my goal is to have one rocking last semester!

Here are a few pictures though out my college career:

Freshman year Dance Team

Freshman year (future roomies)

Sophomore year... WVU Pitt weekend
with high school friends (fab4)

Sophomore year. Friends from building B.

Junior year formal. Danielle my little & BFF :)

Junior year. 21st birthday!


Senior year - dinner in pitt with my ladies


Senior year- thursdays are known as photo shoots
before we go out :)



Senior year- buckheads in pitt.

Time flies when your having fun!!

Lyss :)

Life is Good :)

First off i would like to say that i finally went out :) It was longggg over do and much needed! I use to go out every thursday... but this semester i have been slammed with school work that i havent been able to go to g-hill or anywhere. But the girls and i headed to the brewery...i actually have only been there once. I had some awesome beer called strawberry fields.. pretty delicious :)

Janelle & Jaime.

My Roomie Ash and I :)

Now onto the good news :) Janelle and I both finally received our e mails about North Carolina and we both got accepted to student teach over the summer :) I am so excited.. yet nervous! Ahh i am so glad i have Jay going with me. We will both still be walking in graduation in May but we wont technically graduate till August! Here are some pics of the place we will be living:

Wolf Village Apartments

Raleigh :)

This is Wrights beach, i read online only 1.5 hrs away :)

Okay enough of being excited :) Now onto the weekend. We have another competition in Pittsburgh. Luke is coming to this one so i cant wait to see him :) then we are more than likely going to go out in pitt sat night and then have lunch/dinner sunday :) Sounds like a pretty good weekend to me, except today (fri) i should do lots of hw, cleaning, and laundry... boo!

Lyss :)

One rough week down.. another to go!

This week, for me was beyond stressful! I had a lot of school work to complete and a pretty big exam to study for. First Stat 2 exam of the semester. I studied like crazy and i hope i did good, if not well i tried my best. All of this stress caused me to be a little grumpy and mean towards people i love. I do this often, and im trying to work on it. But now onto the weekend. I wish i had an AWESOME weekend planned.... but i dont.

Friday: Yup im prob going to do laundry and homework --lameo! i know. but it needs done.

Saturday: Competition all day. I wish i could say im excited for this, but im not. im actually nervous and dont feel ready to compete. Actually i dont think i ever feel ready. A lot of people enjoy competing.. but i dont.. so why i twirl on a competitive team? i dont know. I put to much pressure on myself, taking the fun out of it. Okay have fun... thats my goal for the weekend :) Sat night might consist of going to a party! much needed drinkkkk time :)

Sunday- im not sure what sunday brings but im sure nothing exciting. More homework im sure and lot of studying for my 2 exam this week.

Okay so i really wish i had a pick-me-up weekend.. but i dont. I could really use a awesome spring break trip... but thats not happening. Lack of funds and friends funds= NO spring break :( boo

Okay enough complaining.

Student Teaching in North Carolina...Please :)

First, 730AM and i are not friends! But this morning Sis and I attended a meeting about student teaching this summer in NC. Our college does a program every summer that they select about 20 students to teach over the summer. This can be teachers in Elementary, Secondary, and Physical Education. Therefore they only select 7ish people from each department (AHHH) But fingers are crossed and if it happens i think it will be a great experience. Something completely new and different :) I am glad that i have Jay doing this with me, i dont think i could do it alone. But the trip will last 12 weeks. We will live in Apts near NC state. We are responsible for transportation and food. etc. So its going to be expensive, but well worth it. The Beach is 2 hrs away and there is a lake about 30 mins away. I mean who wouldn't want to grade papers with this as your view:

But we will see. We should find out within the next 2 weeks. Fingers crossed. But if it doesn't work out ill get to come back to slippery rock for a semester!

Lyss :)

SCHWETTTTNESS!

Short sweet to the point- i passed my praxis 2 :) After graduating from SRU i can officially teach my little heart out :) This has been the best news all day! It feels like a huge amount of weight has been lifted off my shoulders! I am still taking one more (middle school math) i have a minor in elementary math and if i pass the middle school math praxis i can technically teach middle school math (i dont really want to) But i figured i have to try and market myself the best i can. If i dont pass it no worries... just trying to build up my resume!

Tomorrow = lots of hw, classes, practice, and work. BOOO So much for my good news being followed by a crappy day :[


Lyss :)

Wait why was I excited again?

Well its finally here my last semester at Slip as a student. (yay!) Kind of bitter sweet. Sis and I are planning on student teaching in NC over the summer. (fingers crossed they only accept 20 people) I hope i dont fall in love and want to stay down there because Luke would never follow me down there :( Boo but hey we are pros on the long distance thing.. right ;)

Although i am excited to move on with the next chapter in my life, this semester sucks already! None of my classes are interesting (okay maybe 1 is) I have two math classes (math as a lib art and stat 2) BLAHH! The teachers stinks and im not looking forward to them at all. My other 2 classes are History and Phil of Ed and Ed Strats for students with MD. So hopefully this semester is not to difficult and stressful because i want to enjoy my time here with friends!

Okay positive thoughts about this semester :)

Night class tonight, my dance team is performing at our 1st b-ball game tonight.
Good luck girls!

Lyss :)