Weekends

Remember weekend recaps? Yea, those were fun. Remember when waiting until Wednesday to post your weekend recap was the cool thing to do? Oh, wait. That was just me? Whatevs. I'm bringing the weekend recap (three days late) back.

Ah, Memorial Day weekend. The official start of summer...well kind of. The day when you can officially wear white again...if anyone besides my grandma even still follows that rule. The day where we all stop and enjoy the freedom to lay out by the pool and eat hot dogs on the grill thanks to the selfless sacrifices of our armed forces and their families.

Robbie is doing so good after his surgery. He's up and moving...just slowly. He can't drive yet and he has a fancy pants brace that he has to wear, which he hates. But overall, we're doing really well! This weekend was a little tough, considering boating/beaching/water activities are out of the question for Rob. But he was sweet enough to let me slip away for a little fun in the sun.

Friday was crazy hair day at school. Pictures will be posted soon I'm sure. Very rarely are there bad Fridays at school. But when it's crazy hair day and the start of a three day weekend and the third to last Friday of the school year, it's an extra good day.

Saturday we lounged around for most of the day. Guilty pleasure alert: we started One Tree Hill on Netflix and I am looooooving relieving all the Raven drama from the beginning. I snuck up to the pool with mom for a little while but missed Robbie and didn't stay gone long. #whipped

Sunday I went to church, spilled a Cookout milkshake on my front porch (whomp whomp), and went to the pool with some girls from school. Our school psychologist, who moved away last year, came back for the weekend and it was so so good to hang out with her again. I had lots of life savers my first year of teaching and she, without a doubt, was a big one!

That night we went over to dad's for hot dogs on the grill. All my cousins were over there and it was nice to get Robbie out of the house and see everyone! It was also my not so baby cousin's 21st birthday so I may or may not have poured a few drinks down her throat! The best part of Sunday night by far was being able to go to bed without setting an alarm. Ah, three day weekends.

Monday I went for a run (I've still been doing quite a bit of that, even though I'm way far away from reaching 1800 minutes) and then hung out on the boat with my mom and stepdad. Oh and my stepsister brought home her friend boy. I'm not exactly sure what they're official status is, or if they even have one. But I like him a lot. And he looks like a Ken doll.

Tuesday was back to school. But only for a few more days. And then it's puppy snuggles, Netflix marathons, and boat rides all day err'day.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I'm kind of sucking at this whole blogging thing lately. I know...thanks for hanging in there!

You Live You Learn

Well folks. Go ahead and cross one more thing off the ole bucket list. Kind of...

I experienced my first overnight hospital slumber party earlier this week. And if I didn't feel like a big kid before, I definitely do now.

Remember that bad back Robbie's been dealing with? Well we finally went in and got that sucker fixed right on up.

The past week has been an emotional roller-coaster to say the least. And I've learned a lot over the course of the past few days.

For example, waking up at 3AM for anything should be illegal.

When the nurse asks you if you're allergic to anything, they typically just mean medical related stuff. However, if you feel the need to tell everyone that you're allergic to cats (as my sweet husband did) that's okay too. It's better to share too much instead of too little.

Cafeterias are great. I don't care who you are. There are so. many. choices.

Apparently I get little tiny pimples on my neck when I'm really stressed. (Or from eating all that cafeteria food.)

Nurses are really nice people (I already knew this, but it was validated this week) and they try really hard to let you sleep. Everyone that had to come in overnight was very apologetic.

I'm a lot calmer than I give myself credit for. I didn't freak out, once. It was my job to be strong. So that's what I did. And yes, I'm tooting my own horn about it.

Sport Center comes on all the time.

It's okay if you want to pack your childhood teddy in your hospital bag. You just never know.

The love and support of our friends and families is so overwhelmingly great. Seriously, I love our people.

God has a plan. Always. Even when you don't understand it. Even when you think it sucks. He has one. Try not to forget that.

I am so incredibly blessed to have Robbie in my life. No one plans for the "sickness" part of a marriage, especially at 25. Especially when it's a sickness that involves IVs and monitors and anesthesia and helping them out of bed to go potty (just being real). And it's hard and it's scary. But y'all it's eye-opening. And the commitment is unquestionable. And it's a lot less hard and less scary knowing we have each other.

We've both got a long road ahead with recovery before things are completely back to normal. But he's already feeling so much better and I know without a doubt this was the right call. I also, for the first time in a while, no without a doubt that we'll be just fine!

Thanks to everyone for all the thoughts, prayers, and Instagram love. I know I've been MIA from this little part of the internet lately, but I'm still feeling the blog love and I can't thank y'all enough for that!

How To Throw a (sorta fake) Graduation Party

If you've been paying attention for long, you know that I love love LOVE having people over. Any excuse to host a party is a good excuse for me! And while I may not always (read never) have Pinterest-worthy garland or paper straws or washi tape food labels, I always always make sure everyone has a good time.

Robbie finished school last week and obviously it was major means for celebration! Just a little back story - he graduated forreal in 2011 with a degree in History and Sports Studies. What do you do with a degree in History and Sports Studies, you might ask? Not a whole lot. So he went back to school part time for his teaching license add-on. It's called a post-baccelorate program or something. And that's what he's been working on for the past two years. BUT because he's technically not getting another degree, he didn't get another graduation ceremony. Which was just no beuno in my mind.

Time to throw together a sorta fake graduation party (aka an excuse to have all our family and friends over to drink and eat and be merry). Just because he didn't get another diploma or get to walk in a ceremony he still totally deserved to celebrate his accomplishments.

And that is just what we did Friday night.

I decked our house out in ECU purple and gold everything (even though my balloons were a little too far on the fuchsia side) through together a few sub platters, baked a couple dozen cookies, chilled several cases of beer, cranked 2000s Hip Hop Pandora (it's been my go-to lately) and spent the evening with the people who mean the most to Robbie and me. There were no paper straws but it was a huge success regardless.

AND I only had to take one nap on Saturday to recover. It's the little things y'all.

Also, I would like to apologize in advance for not only the terrible quality of these pictures due to the iPhone they were taken on but also due to the time in the evening when they were taken. Whoops...

We were still a house divided thanks to baby bro.

The cutest.

Party animals.

Willow and Roxy's signature party pose.

And here I am at the bottom of this post and I'm debating even pressing publish because these pictures look so bad. Note to self - invest in a real, big girl camera, Marianna. You won't regret it. 

Bad camera quality or not...I am so proud of you Robbie and know that you will be an amazing teacher. I know from experience that teaching is one of the hardest things you'll ever do but it's a calling for sure. And you, my dear, have been called to do this. I know this wasn't the easiest choice, but it's definitely been the right choice. I can't wait to watch you love and forever change the lives of all those obnoxious teenagers, Mr. Dunn!

What up y'all?

Oh hello.
It's just me.
The lady who loves to dump a "Debbie Downer" post on ya one day and then not show up to play until five days later.
Whoops.
My bad.

Anywho....I'm back now and I'm in a much cheerier mood.
Weekends will do that to ya.
So will new dresses.
And baby birds hatching right outside your classroom window.

And listening to Lollipop (Remix) while you run with an eight pound doxie pulling you along.

#100happydays y'all.

Here's a few more life updates for ya, by the number.

3 // episodes of Parenthood I've watched since yesterday afternoon. I'm in love.

7 // times I hit the snooze button on Monday morning. #thestruggleisreal

239 // wedding pictures I've been sorting through to finally put together our wedding album. Better late than never has always been my motto.

12 // reading assessments I have left to do before next Friday.

22 // days left of school until summer vacation. Can I get an amen?

18 // Starburst jelly beans I just ate. My hips and I are ready for this Easter candy to be gone.

3.50 // the "credit" Verizon put back on our account. Because I was really worried about that three dollars and fifty cents.

5,672 // the number of leaves Robbie is outside burning right now. Seriously, where do they all come from?

9:30 // the time I plan to crawl in bed tonight. I woke up wanting a nap.

2 // days left till Friday. Almost there homies.

Let Me Just Get This Out There

Glass half full.

That's how I typically like to see things.

I'm an optimist through and through. 

Until I'm not. 

I've always believed that everything happens for a reason.

And I'm pretty good at finding those reasons.

I'm pretty good at seeing the silver lining in every situation.

Until I can't.

Until I get tired of being the one to say "it'll all work out". 

Even though I know deep in my heart that it will, in fact, all work out.

Sometimes I just get tired.

I get tired of pretending like everything's okay.

Pretending like I'm strong enough to deal with everything thrown my way.

Sometimes I just want to sit in a puddle of my own self-pity and wallow.

And cry.

And drink wine.

And yell irrationally at my husband (like it's actually his fault, when it's not at all.)

I know God has a plan for me.

Bigger than any plan I could every dream up.

I believe that, really I do.

But sometimes, I get really annoyed with the plan He's setting up for me.

Sometimes, I want MY plan to be the one that actually happens.

I've debated for sometime whether or not to leave y'all with a vague "woe is me" post 

or if I felt like actually divulging all the dirty details. 

That's the weird thing about the internet. 

Some things, most things, are so easy to throw out there.

But other things make you stop and think.

I'm not going to be vague, because I hate that.

But I'm also not going to get completely down and dirty with the deats because it's not totally my story to tell. 

Also, as much as I love a good pity-party, I've spent the past week in one of my own and I'm getting a little tired of it. No need to dwell.

Robbie lost his job last February. 

I've never blogged specifically about it, but I may have mentioned it in passing here or there.

I honestly don't remember.

Him being unemployed has become such a part of our lives that now it seems normal.

Not normal good. But normal nonetheless. 

For those of you actually doing the math,

that's 15 months of living on my NC teaching salary alone.

And for those of you who haven't paid attention to political news in NC, 

we are one of the lowest ranking states in teacher pay in the country. 

To say things have been tight is a vast understatement.

He was able to draw unemployment for a little while, which helped.

But it didn't last long. (Thanks Obama.) 

So we've been counting our pennies, cutting back, and doing every thing imaginable just to survive. 

Another little fun tidbit of information - Robbie lost his job less than a year after we bought our very first home, a home we bought and planned to pay for with two salaries. 

It's been real fun y'all.

BUT being the silver lining hunter that I am, I quickly saw the "bless in the mess".

Robbie hasn't been able to find a part-time job because he's been over qualified for everything and because he's been in school part-time which makes his available hours weird.

BUT he has been able to put all his time and energy into school and has had the most ahh-mazing student teaching internship....ever. 

Seriously, I could not be more proud of the work he has done for the kids in his internship.

He was called to be a teacher. 

And God found a way (however sucky it might have seemed) to blatantly point that out. 

Then he ruptured a disk in his back. 

In the lumbar area to be exact.

And has been in severe pain pretty much since January.

There's been several days of relief, where he feels like he can actually move around without a shooting pain running down his leg.

But for the most part, it's sucked and he hasn't been able to do much of anything.

So we've seen doctors and we've seen surgeons and we've gotten an MRI and he's done physical therapy and he's popped every amount of hydrochodine you can safely ingest before you're labeled a drug addict.

And nothing. has. helped. at all. 

We finally saw a neurosurgeon last week who wanted to operate as soon as possible.

Which scared the living daylights out of me, but ultimately meant relief for Robbie.

The first date he proposed didn't work out and the only next available date he had was the first week of June. 

June!

Which I know is now technically just next month. 

But still.

June.

That's one more month of waiting.

One more month of hurting.

One more month of dealing with something that we shouldn't have to be dealing with at all.

And that's where my pity-party comes in.

I love my husband.

More than I could ever try to express in this blog.

More today than I did the day we got married.

I wouldn't want to do this life with anyone else. 

And honestly....I'm pretty freakin impressed at how well we've handled all the bullshit thrown our way these past few months.

Not to toot our own horns or anything, but we've pretty much rocked it out. 

We've done the whole "through richer and poorer, in sickness and health" thing

need I remind y'all of my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis and the "spots" I dealt with last fall.

And we've done it well. 

But I'm ready for a little bit more of the "richer and health" part and less of the "poorer and sickness". 

I'm ready for Robbie to feel better.

I'm ready for his back to be back to normal. 

I'm ready for him to find a job doing what he loves.

And doing what he's been called to do.

And that will bring some bacon to the table.

I'm ready for things to be easy.

And because I've now spent two days too long wallowing in my self-pity,

I'm going to #backthatazzup and return to my normal, glass half-full, forever optimist that I like being. 

Just because I can't ever get enough of JT or this song.

And because I know, I know...

Also, because I'm not too pitiful to realize that even though things aren't easy right now, things are still happy, and there are still multiple moments in my day where I am completely blown away by the blessings around me, I've decided to join a challenge (because apparently I'm all about those lately) to find one happy thing in my day for the next 100 days. 

I'll be blogging and instagramming my happy things. 

Hashtag marshappydays. 

Hashtag I promise to not be annoying (maybe). 

So follow along!

And thanks for listening to me rant.

It's Like I'm Workout Barbie, or Something?

I swear I am not going to go all fitness queen on y'all, despite this being the second "fitness" post this week. I'm just impressed that it's Thursday and I've blogged pretty consistently this week. Snaps for Marianna.

Anyway....on Monday I blogged about Erin's 1800 Minutes Challenge and how I'm taking an active role in being more aware of my physical activity (chasing First Graders and all). It just so happens that another one of my fav bloggers is starting another fitness challenge this month. Nothing like a looming bikini season to kick everyone into high gear. 

I'll obviously keep tracking my active minutes for the 1800 Minutes Challenge.

This month I also want to...

• Get back on track with my Gluten-free diet. 

I saw this thing on Pinterest about different body types and how you carry your weight and I totally have a "wheat belly". No matter how much I run or crunch or do anything, I get a food baby like no other - when I eat wheat and other "not good for me" foods. Changing my diet has been the easiest way for me to see the most drastic changes and actually notice the results of all that physical activity.

• Increase my running intervals (I think that's what they're called.)

The biggest "fad" going around right now seems to be half-marathons. And not two months ago I was scoffing at the idea of one. I still kind of am. Spending multiple hours of my life running seems laughable to me. And totally something I want to maybe one day do. The only problem is, I've gotten to a pretty comfortable pace and can pretty easily bang out 3 or 4 miles without feeling like complete death. But thats about it. In May, I want to push myself to increase that distance. 13.1 miles still seems like a ridiculous amount but every little step counts, right?

• Join a gym.

Robbie, this one is for you *hint hint*. Taylor blogged about all the reasons she does not want to join a gym and I agreed with every single one of them. Except our gym has a really nice pool. And it's getting warmer and I would love love love to be able to use said really nice pool. I promise to even lift a few weights while I'm at it. You know, to get the most bang for my buck and all.

Happy May y'all!