Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

It's official... Michael and I got a PUPPY! :]

His name is Cooper Callahan Goodin and he is a purebred Black Labrador. He is 9 weeks old and completely and utterly full of [ ENERGY ]. He most definitely wears me out and has made me realize that we without a doubt are NOT ready for kids. Neither of us thought we were to begin with but this just solidified the decision.

We received him for free from my friend's cousin who happens to live down here in Tennessee. She told me the day I picked him up that he would have to be dewormed. I soon found out that he without a doubt, had worms. =( Poor guy. He was not up for any activity or play the first day and I think it was a mixture of being away from his mom for the first time and being sick. Along with worms, I found out he also has an intestinal parasite. The entire time we were at the vet he slept on the table. They gave him a shot, clipped his toenails, and poked around and all he did was lie on the table.

Now, he has been put on dewormer and another pill to kill the parasite. He bounces off the walls 6 hours a day and is beginning to learn the concept of potty training. The last 3 days we've only had 2 accidents! =) Yay!

In a way, I am extremely glad we decided to get a puppy while I was off for the summer. It's made it a lot easier to begin crate and house training him. On the other hand, me and him spend the ENTIRE day together and he is beginning to drive me NUTS when he wants to play 24/7. He'll nip at any body part he sees walking by him and barks just to hear the sound of his voice.

Despite his high energy and the fact that he was a complete pain in the butt today, I still love him VERY much. =)

Here's our boy:

The End to My Beginning

Well folks, I have officially completed my first year of teaching! :] I will never again be a "first year teacher" and it feels oddly comforting. When I look back at the past year I am amazed at the accomplishments I have made. My life is completely different than it was a year ago.

Let's recap the past year. A year ago I was:

:: finishing up student teaching/my LAMP unit

:: applying for jobs like crazy

:: planning a wedding

:: working as an assistant for Carmel Elementary.

In the past year, I have:

:: completed student teaching with excellent markings. :]

:: graduated college with a GPA of 3.5 overall and 3.9 in Education

:: planned a wedding

:: applied for 50+ teaching positions in Indiana

:: interviewed in Tennessee and was offered 6 positions!

:: moved out of state 2 days after my 23rd birthday

:: lived completely alone for 2 weeks

:: moved in with my fiance

:: married my best friend! ♥ 

:: honeymooned in Jamaica

:: fought with parents during IEP meetings (Special Ed talk)

:: won over all my coworkers

:: survived the most snow/flood days our county has seen in years.

:: successfully shown improvements and progress in ALL of my students. :)

:: graduated 10 of my 13 students to Kindergarten

:: became an aunt again (that makes 8 for me now and I'm lovin' it.)

What a crazy year I have had! Is it sad to say this past year has been the least stressful of my life? All throughout college I would stress over every single detail or assignment. However, once I knew I was getting paid for my hard work, I felt MUCH less stressed. If it hadn't been for moving out of state and the wedding, I may have been one laid back person last year.

Michael and I have now been married for 8 months and I can't believe how fast time is flying. I couldn't have asked for a better compliment to my personality. He's been a wonderful spouse and has been very supportive throughout the move and my job. I guess it's a good thing I still [kind of] like him, right? ;] 

In the next year I would like to buy a house. However, that's not looking likely since we will not buy a house until we move back to Indiana and there are currently no relevant positions open in central Indy.

As for kids (since I'm sure someone will ask), we are STILL on the 3-4 year plan and then we plan on having 2 kids "rapid fire" as Michael says. We'll see how that goes. ;) He's not the one popping out those kiddos! For now, I'll just love on all my nieces, nephews, and preschoolers. ♥

Here are some pictures of my classroom and my nieces and nephews, etc.

My classroom and Opryland Hotel at Christmas:

 

 

  

My nieces and nephews: love them! 

"We Are Nashville"

Although most people have probably heard by now, Nashville has been declared a natural disaster due to the recent flooding and insane amount of rainfall. Over a 48 hour time period, Nashville received 13+ inches of rain.

It is said that the damage done to the city will exceed $1 billion after the Cumberland River rose 12 feet above flood level. The Grand Ole Opry, Gaylord Opryland Hotel, and Opry Mills mall will be shut down for at least 3 months in order to rebuild and set back up. The hotel is stating that they don't even know if they will be open again before Christmas or even the beginning of next year. What a horrible disaster. Anyone knows that when you come to Nashville it is only habit to take your guests to the Opryland Hotel and let them walk around and be amazed by it's beauty. Most places in the hotel have 10 feet - 16 feet of standing water in it. The hotel will have to completely demolish the first floor and completely rebuild.

EDIT: The Opry Hotel was said to not be open before Christmas but they are pushing for a November opening now. The first day Opry Mills mall employees were able to get inside the build was the 10th anniversary of the opening of the mall. Sad.

Things have calmed down now (a month later) but many parts of Middle Tennessee are still trying to bounce back from the floods. It's definitely been a once in a lifetime experience for me.

Here I Go...

So I finally gave in and decided to start a blog. The more I think about it, the more I realize I don't really have much worth talking about but what the heck? :)

I think I will end each blog with my favorite picture(s) of the day.

These pictures are of our honeymoon at Couples Negril in Negril, Jamaica. It's by far the most amazing place I've ever been (not that I've been anywhere else outside the US). We originally went there for my brother's wedding in 2006 and fell in love with it. My parents went for their second time in April of 2008. Our second time was our honeymoon last October. I'm posting these today because my parents landed there today for their third time and I am completely JEALOUS of them! ... I'm trying hard to talk Michael into taking me for our first anniversary since my week-long Fall Break just happens to be that week. ;) It's absolutely GORGEOUS.

Well, until next time...

Amanda