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Thoughts for the New Year

Timothy and I did not spend the holidays together this year. So we celebrated before I left to visit my family over the Christmas break. I am very excited that we will be able to spend the holidays together this year as a married couple. We took a few photos of us opening our presents. Enjoy!

Whoo! He is cute :)

So for the New Year I did not plan any kind of resolutions. I never keep them anyways. Timothy and I have decided that we wanted to be healthier this year. We had a lot of snow days lately so we have been able to go to the gym together. I have not been very diligent about the gym in the past, but with the wedding coming up I had motivation. I am actually finding that going to the gym is fun. On top of going to the gym I have been making a conscious effort to eat better foods as well. Eating better foods is hard. Vegetables and fruits are expensive!! Why?? I mean shouldn't they want you to eat good food? Anyways, eating healthy is expensive. I'm done rambling for now.

What are some things you are trying to do for the new year?

I seriously wanted these boots. I LOVE my new family :)

That time we had our second anniversary

I realized that this will be the last time that we will be able to celebrate November 11th as our anniversary. After next May we will officially have a new anniversary. It actually makes me sorta upset :(. November 11th is an important day for us. It is the first day that we saw each other for the first time, it is the first time we held hands, had our first kiss :D, had our first date, the first time Tim bought me something, and when we officially decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Oh and I forgot to mention that it was the first time we watch Star Wars together. Star Wars and Star Trek are very important to Tim :). So, you see November 11th holds a lot of firsts for us, but I know that May 25th will hold a huge first. It will be the first time that we will be husband and wife.

So this year we went to Olive Garden. We always eat Italian for important things. Our first date was at this cute restaurant in Chattanooga called Tony's. They make their sauces from scratch, amazing! We actually took a trip there in October on our visit to see my sister. We ate outside at night, so pretty. After Olive Garden we hit up Starbucks, because that is where we first met each other for the first time. Unfortunately I was not able to get the drink I ordered. We then came back to my place to watch 30 Rock and it started to snow. Like REALLY snow! Best anniversary ever! I took pictures and opened my first official snow present from Tim's sister. And of course I took pictures to share with you guys. I hope you enjoy :)

On being content

So as most of you know I moved to Ohio this summer to be with my fiance'. We really needed the time together before we are married because our whole relationship has been long distance. I was very happy to make the move, and everything went so smoothly that I thought I was going to have a teaching job right away. Doors were opening for me here and I had two interviews, one with a job offer. I knew it was not the job for me so I turned it down. I just knew that I was going to be given a teaching job. The year came upon me and I started subbing in a school district almost an hour away from here. I was frustrated beyond belief. I knew that I needed something that was more consistent. I even contemplated working outside of education. I was going before the Lord and that was wrong of me. An opportunity opened up for a sub aide in a school closer to home. It paid WAY less than what I would make just subbing but I just felt that I should try it out.

My job was a one-on-one aide with two little prekindergarten boys. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. I went in and LOVED it! I never thought I would love working in special education. I immediately emailed the lady who books the job and told her I wanted the job for the rest of the year. Well, I have moved up to another position there in the same classroom, and I love working with the team of ladies I work with. The kids are super sweet! I love going to work. I literally wake up happy. I can honestly say that this has never happened before with a job. THANK YOU GOD! He is truly the best. I think He has taught me about faith, yet again, and that not everything is about the money. I truly love what I do. I feel for the first time in my teaching career that I am actually making a difference. I love my job.

And even better news. Timothy and I have finally booked a place for the wedding ceremony and reception. It is final we are getting hitched on May 25, 2014. 5 months and some days from now. Woot woot!

Well I wasn't going to leave you guys without pictures because we did make another trip to Columbus to get all my junk. As always thanks for the prayers. Here ya go. ENJOY!

We just got done with engagement pictures and were going to this awesome restaurant to eat in Chattanooga.

We, well Tim drove a huge Penske truck all the way to Ohio.

Look how awesome Cincinnati looks! 

I had to save goodbye to my childhood home :(

Hair bow giveaway! (closed)

It is a very simple giveaway. I am giving away a hair bow of the winner's choice from my shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/thesimplespace All you have to do is visit my shop via the link, pick out the hair bow you want, and comment below with your name and email.  Share this link via twitter or Facebook so others can enter. To enter the giveaway you must comment below. I will use the random number generator to pick the three winners. Giveaway ends on Tuesday October 22, 2013. The winner will be announced Wednesday October 23, 2013. Have fun and enter, enter, enter, and share, share share!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thesimplespace

I have an Etsy shop!

So, I started crafting as a way to fill my time. I started to realize that it was also relieving my stress. Creating things, using my hands has always been fun for me. I used to sit in my play room as a child and create anything out of paper. I remember times when I used to use my mom's needles and thread to try and create scrunchies. Moving to Ohio has had its challenges. I am sure if you have moved from your home to a new home, you can understand how I feel. I do love my new home, and the time with Tim has been awesome! But with this whole job thing right now, I have been dealing with some frustrations. So, I started to look on Pinterest for some crafting ideas, and I remembered some hair bows I made back in May. I remembered how they helped me relieve stress during my exit exam. I have so much free time on my hands now, I thought it would be a great idea to open a shop so I could continue creating. Well, there you have it, my reason for opening my shop.

Now, I do need the help of my readers in spreading the word about my shop. Below is the link. Share this on your facebook page if you have one friends! Also, I am working on a giveaway, so stay posted! I am still working on getting it all spiffed up, so bare with me. And as always, your prayers are appreciated :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thesimplespace

Thoughts on Substitute Teaching

May I say that God constantly has His way of humbling me. I must say that when the thought of moving to Ohio came across my mind, I just totally thought it was going to be easy. HAHAHAHA was I wrong!!! I had all these doors opening up for me I just knew I was going to have a job. Nope, I got all my documentation, took a ton of tests, and all I get to do is sub. Now subbing here is way different than subbing back home. For instance, people do it as a job. So imagine how frustrated I was when I discovered that I was competing for subbing jobs with people who would never get jobs as teachers in the school systems. UGH!!! That's all I could say, and to this day I am still competing with people who aren't teachers. I have been blessed that one city 40 minutes away is in desperate need of substitute teachers so most of my work has come from them. Now, yes I am frustrated with this whole situation, but I am faithful that God has given me the jobs that he has. So without further ado, here are my pros and cons of substitute teaching

PROS

1. I get to pick and choose the days I work. This has come in handy for Tim and I seeing that we are traveling a lot recently.

2. If I get a crazy class, I do NOT have to go back!!! This has happened before and although I was complimented on "how well" I handled the class. I probably will not go back haha.

3. It is nice to learn about the areas that are near here. The cities are pretty close so it is nice to know we have tons of choices as to where we want to live.

4. The kids in the city I live in are so sweet!!! That's why the jobs are so competitive. The kids are so sweet and loving.

5. And hopefully, just hopefully, this will lead me to a teaching job :)

6. I feel that substitute teaching has started to humble me and strengthen my faith.

CONS

1. I have been subbing 40 minutes away almost everyday.

2. It is so competitive. There are some days that I just wish I could quit and take a regular job doing something else.

3. It frustration I feel blows my mind. I can not believe how much I have had to just trust God. Next week, I am trusting that God will bring me jobs, because right now, I do not have any.

4. Stress. The stress I feel is UNREAL.

I know that I complained A LOT, but it is so hard to go from having full-time work, to having sporadic work. I know that there is a bigger plan. I know that God has a plan for me and Tim. I just ask that as my readers you pray for my faith, and that you pray for Tim and I. I promise that my next post will be a happy one, but I am human. As a human, I have struggles, and well, I have hit a big on haha. Until next time...