I am a writer.

Ever since I was young I have loved to write. I had so many colorful notebooks full of stories, thoughts and dreams. I can even remember taking time away from playing to go to my different writing spots:) A tree in our backyard, on the ledge around our front yard, lying on my bed (I still do this :) to name a few. There is just something wonderful about putting a pen to paper, fingers to a keyboard.
When I started my blog four years ago it was to share my experiences, thoughts, and frustrations, but mostly it was a way for me to write again. Sure, I've taken breaks from writing when my life became busier, but over the past month I have remembered just how much I enjoy having this outlet.
One evening last week as Adam and I were rehashing our days, he brought something very astounding to my attention. I was discussing how my day was the same as always and he commented, "but didn't you have time to write for a bit today while the kiddos were napping?" I replied, "Well, yes." He turns and says to me with a smile, "So you're getting paid to write in a way:)"

Huh. I hadn't really considered this before. It's such a small part of my work day, but I love it. Thinking about writing for a living made me feel...good. Actually, it made me feel pretty great. Refreshed somehow.

Now in the past, I have investigated freelance writing here and there knowing how difficult, competitive and unpredictable it is to get into. Especially in a smaller city like Portland with less options, but perhaps it's time to invest some more time exploring this possibility...

Teaching is still my passion, not being a nanny, but at this point it pays the bills. However, who says I can't play around with more than one passions during this life?

 

Let it rain, let it pour!

On this blustery, rainy Sunday I continue with my sports weekend recap. Sorry to those of you who read my blog and don't give a hoot about sports, but some weekends sports is just all I do :) This was one such weekend.

Adam and I had a Timber's home game today at 12:30, which of course meant that we had to get up early to go downtown, get a wristband to wait in line to get a good spot (up and out of the rain today) in the general admission seating that is the Timbers' Army. Today was a bit easier to get up around 8:00 ish seeing as we crashed around 10:30 last night after a Beaver football fun-filled day:) We went downtown around 9:40 a.m. dressed for a monsoon, got our wristbands-out of 1,000 we were numbers 900 and 901, and sipped coffee to wake up while we waited in the TA line with all the other crazies of Portland until 10:30 a.m. when we would be let in the stadium. No joke, Adam found us two seats literally on the line between the seats that get wet the entire game and those that stay dry until the wind blows in at us. I did my best to stay awake during the two hours before the game started...not my favorite part, but at least the people watching is entertaining. Today was a big game seeing as last time that the LA Galaxy was in town we scored a goal in extra time-the 94th minute to beat them in a miraculous turn of events 2-1! They definitely came to win. Too bad for them :) The first half was mostly the refs missing obvious calls, but the second half was fantastic! Talk about action packed! Our newest player Maximiliano Urruti scored his first goal as a Timber, a wicked awesome backwards flick into the goal! I looooove great goals :) We were able to hold off LA and get the win 1-0, which makes braving the weather oh so much sweeter! I am getting some good wear out of my great Sorel boots that I ordered last season, my feet stayed toasty warm! Keli's raincoat worked like a charm keeping the rest of me warm and dry too :) Overall, I would say it was a great sports weekend with the Beavs and Timbers both getting wins. As the Timbers' season winds down we'll see how the playoffs unfold...hopefully we get a good spot! GO TIMBERS!!!

Please enjoy a pic from today that our neighbor Mark took at the game :) Adam and I are sitting directly behind the giant skull.

We like sports and we don't care who knowz!

*Read at your own risk...I may still be intoxicated as I'm blogging this. Happy sports Saturday!

Beavers winners!!!! Went to our second Beavers' home game of the season today :) It was an early one...woke up at 6 a.m. to get ready and we ended up leaving around 7:30 a.m. Surprise, surprise, we were late leaving. After picking up Keli in Bridgeport, we ended up leaving around 8 a.m. She bought the coffee thus, she is awesome :) Arrival time in Corvallis was around 9:20 a.m. and then drinking/tailgating commenced! This is seriously the BEST part of Beavs games :) I love to see, drink and talk with my friends, but I especially enjoy laughing with my friends! The food, music, drinks and mingling are also a fantastic part of Beavers' tailgating before games. Today, I got to spend time with Adam, Keli, Sean, Tyree, Scotty, Nate B, Joe, Jeff, Micah, Hannah, Nate P, Greg, Andrew, Sean P, Carly, and Terry. Such a fun crew! I spent the majority of our before game tailgate with Adam, Keli, Tyree, Sean x2, Scotty, Nate B, Joe, Jeff, Greg, Andrew, and Carly with Terry offering her delicious shotski!
*sidenote: If you have never done a shotski before, go out and do one! It is soooooo fun and delicious :) Google it. Make one. Do one.
During half time and after the game we tailgated with Micah, Nate P and Hannah. Can't beat a great tailgate close to the stadium with great friends at half time!
It may have rained a bit today, but honestly it wasn't too chilly. I'm kind of a fan of rainy day Beavs games :) I love wearing my rain boots and stomping in puddles. Again, if you haven't stomped in a puddle as an adult, go and do it! I swear, it will make you feel like a kid again:)
To sum up...we ended up getting the win at home against Colorado today, it felt great, we got a little wet, a little drunk, but had tons of fun! Can't wait for the next home game. Faces we missed today...Kasey, Sheena, CK, Carmen, Lindsey, Jen :)

Friday night shenanigans

For today's blog post I just want to take a second to tell you about my, Alicia and Mo's evening. I got home from dinner with my parent's and Caleb around 8:30 tonight (nacho Fridays are awesome btw, thanks mom! Oh and don't forget the love from my three favorite puppies! ) and found Alicia and Mo crocheting on the couch while watching What Happens in Vegas. This alone was hilarious to see as I have walked in on them a few times today alone in much the same position :) How do I factor in you may ask? Well on my agenda tonight was the exciting task of making my own applesauce! Please hold your applause. At one point we all just kind of looked at one another and realized how much like old ladies we were :) Old ladies in a cool way that is! We are enjoying our last couple months living as three fantastic "single" ladies! The air quotes are because none of the three of us are in fact single :) Our cute little house smells of hot apples, pumpkin spice and home. Evenings like these when we are all home and hanging out in the same room are few and far between with our schedules crazy as ever, but we sure do enjoy the little things and being "old ladies" together when we get the chance. Here's to good friends and taking time to appreciate the simple, yet awesome things in life :) Happy Friday and cheers to a rainy and amazing sports filled weekend!!

What defines you

 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the novels by Paulo Coelho, check him out if you are looking for an insightful read that teaches you a little about yourself. I discovered Paulo Coelho during a time in my life when I needed inspiration to be, expect and love better. Reading his works did just that. He is a wonderful author and his stories encourage you to not only look at your own life, but also how you are living it.

The above quote is a wonderfully written expression reminding us not to let the struggles and hardships experienced over the course of a lifetime define our whole being.

Don't misunderstand, I realize that the bumps and road blocks that I myself have experienced in my life have indeed helped to shape the person that I have become, but in no way have these experiences defined me as a person. I am not sullied by the negative things that I have experienced. Or at least I try not to be. It is quite a difficult task to remain the person you want to be without letting the negative experiences you go through in life consume who you are or will become. So often a person presents past wounds to explain the person they are today. It is a choice to let these wounds consume your life and being rather than making peace with, learning from and moving on in a positive way. Just think how much easier life would be if something that happened two, five, seven, ten, twenty or more years ago was not still affecting your actions, feelings and being today. On the other hand, it is quite another thing to simply say, "forget what you have gone through." I personally don't think you have to forget past hardships, but simply don't let them decide the person that you will become. It's not fair to you or those that want to have the pleasure of knowing the real you.

Just some food for thought today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Dressing up is fun

It is growing closer to my favorite time of year! If you've been reading my posts you know that my favorite time of year is fall~ October and November especially :) I have loved dressing up for Halloween since I can remember. Getting to pretend to be anything you want is such fun! My mom always did a good job of making sure I had a fun, handmade costume to wear. She even made me a clown! Good thing I love clowns...oh wait...no, no I don't ;) I also remember being Super Girl, which was awesome! Thanks mom:)

Now a days I come up with my own costumes and try to make a point of being creative :) I don't usually buy cookie cutter costumes if I can help it. I like creating my own outfits. I'm a pretty silly person and enjoy picking fun characters and costumes. I was stoked to find a fabulous Rainbow Bright costume, one of my favorite childhood cartoons, to wear in 2008.

In 2009, I chose to be Wenda from Where's Waldo for a Halloween party with my college friends and actually found my Waldo at the party! One of my good friends Katie dressed up as Waldo without knowing I was going to be Wenda. It was awesome :)

 

In 2010, I wanted to be super original so I decided to dress up as Mother Nature :) That is the Mother Nature from the tampon commercials lol :) My costume turned out amazing and was a hit at the party I attended! Best of all, everyone understood who I was as soon as I offered the ladies their "monthly gift." Super fun!!

In 2011, I went a new route and talked my roomie Alicia into dressing up as Woody and Buzz from Toy Story with me :) I wanted to be Buzz Lightyear-Space Raaaaaanger and Alicia was stoked to be Woody! We made an awesome pair and it was so much fun pub crawling around Portland as partners in crime :)

Last year in 2012, I wanted to go as Tippi Hedren from the film The Birds, but I had trouble finding the perfect dress for the costume soooooo instead I went as your typical Portlander and simply "put a bird on it:)" Well, I actually put a few birds on it as I had put in quite a lot of effort cutting out my birds and wanted to rock them! You can imagine how great this costume was received while pub crawling around Portland :) It was a hit! So much fun to be original and silly!

 

This year, I have a few different ideas I am toying with for Halloween this year....a few that include convincing my amazing boyfriend to partake! I haven't made a decision yet and don't want to ruin the surprise so this is where we will end tonight. Happy almost Halloween friends!

 

 

 

 



 

 

Funny how things work out

I should fore warn that I will be talking about "mushy love stuff" so quit reading now if that's not your cup of tea :)

In recalling my best kiss ever, I can honestly say without a doubt in my mind that it was mine and Adam's first kiss on New Year's Eve. Well, NYE for those of you who don't consider it the next day until you have slept (that's me) or New Year's Day (aka January 1st, 2011) for those of you who start your new day at midnight. I believe our first kiss occurred around 4 a.m., but you will have to talk to Keli Meadows about it as she would remember angry driving me home afterwards :) Love you Keli!

Adam and I met in October of 2010, officially our second meeting although I don't recall too much from our first a year or two prior, through mutual friends I had gone to high school with and whom he had gone on to meet and become friends with at Oregon State University. The love spark wasn't exactly instantaneous -we actually seemed to disagree on EVERYTHING :) He was, and is, a soccer freak as well as a HUGE Timbers' fan while I was still upset that baseball in Portland was no more and secretly blamed the Timbers for kicking my Portland Beavers out of town. He hates mustard, I love it. You name it, we probably disagreed about it at first. However, we did share a mutual love for music, dancing, good brews, delicious foods, adventure and fun, which would eventually be some of the many things that made me realize just how awesome and amazing he is ;)

Anyhow, we started hanging out as friends for the first month or two in groups big and small and it wasn't until early December when I realized that I actually missed him when he wasn't around and wanted to spend my time with him. I was the one who initiated our first one on one contact, asking him to meet me for hotdogs and beers at Zac's Shack (which is now 'our' place:) after a weekend movie with friends. The most amazing thing was...he actually showed up!! (I was SHOCKED to say the least as my track record for having guys blow me off was stellar at this point). We quite literally closed the place down talking and laughing and it was all gravy from there :) He would meet me before work for coffee on days I wasn't subbing or for beers after work - he alternated between swing and day shift. It was a whirlwind of texting, talking, and simply enjoying getting to know each other.

We were both invited to a friend's New Year's Eve party and I'm pretty sure all of our friends thought that our first kiss would be when the ball dropped. Yep, you read that right, we took things slow and it has worked out brilliantly thus far :) However, all the eyes watching would have made for an awkward first kiss so we shared a friendly hug instead. Overall, it was such a fun night! He asked me to be on his beer pong team-which is a HUGE deal. We laughed and brought in the new year surrounded by amazing friends, something I desperately needed for various reasons that I will not go into at present. Adam had plans to go home and catch a VERY early soccer match on tv and I simply refused to go to sleep and let this awesome night come to an end so we sat next to each other on the floor, against the wall while most of our friends slept in various locations around us and talked. Keli was my ride home, we were supposed to stay the night too, but decided to just drive home since most of the good spots were taken and she was able. Adam and I walked out of the house together to say goodbye and there on the front steps he turned to face me, pulled me into a sweet hug and kissed me :) It was exactly what I wanted our first kiss to be. I remember the weather was windy and freezing and yet I barely felt the cold except to snuggle closer to him...which was part of my plan anyways :) Not even a car ride home with an annoyed and sleepy Ms. Meadows could wreck what had turned into a fabulous night. Three years this December and we are still going strong and each kiss feels like the first. I'm grateful you came into my life Adam Sapina :)

9 randoms

 

I have had quite the headache today (continued from the weekend blah) sooooo on that note, I am boycotting thinking too hard. Instead, you get to learn some little known facts about Rachael.
Should be interesting...maybe? :)

*If I could spend a week anywhere in the world, I would choose to travel around and see the sights of Europe with Adam :) It's been on both of our travel to do lists for quite some time so why not go together? See some sights, drink some beer/wine, watch some footy, and mingle:)

*I prefer blue ink to black even though I never have a blue pen on me. Weird, I know.

*October and November are my favorite months because I get Fall, Halloween, my birthday and Thanksgiving!

 *I love playing Cribbage and Sorry :)

*When I'm bummed I love to listen to Paramore and Yellowcard because I can rock out and sing my head off, which is one of my most favorite things to do...sing my head off.

*I am still rocking a picture from my 30th pirate birthday party last year as my desktop photo. It makes me smile and say aaaaaarrrrrrggg :)

 *The inspiration for the title of my blog came from my favorite Shakespearian play, Much Ado About Nothing. It's a chaotic love story where a few people gossiping and spreading rumors for fun and revenge almost ruins many a romantic lives. Perfection.

*Cheese is what I want to eat when I'm hungry. Like always.

*I chose 9 randoms because 9 is my favorite number. It could be 9, 99, or 999, as long as it is all 9's.

"You're on again?? Sweet, I'll watch."

My list of 10 movies (in no particular order of preference) that I could pop in or stumble upon on television and watch anytime, anywhere.

10. The Proposal: Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are hilarious. "Why are you naked!? Why are you wet?!" Enough said.

9. The Replacements: Oh Keanu...you do know how to make an entertaining football movie! The cast alone is enough to hold your attention and make you laugh. Plus, the heartwarming story of reject football players who get the chance to live the dream one more time ;)

8. Despicable Me: "MINIONS! ASSEMBLE!! Liiiiiiiightbulb. It's so fluffy I wanna die!! Quiet down FISH! I asked for a dozen cookie robots, not boogie robots!" This movie is fan-freakin-tastic! If my some weird reason you have not seen this, do it. do it now.

7. Iron Man: The first of the trilogy was awesome. I do enjoy the 2nd and 3rd installments of this popular Avenger, but the 1st movie is my favorite :)

6. Any of the Harry Potters: I.LOVE.HP. Hands down my favorite books series. I enjoy everything about the characters and how this wonderfully magical story unfolds. The cast for the HP films was exactly who I pictured in my mind while reading the series :)

5. Mulan: This is my favorite Disney movie. Not only is Mulan a phenomenal female heroine, but her side-kicks Mushu, Khan and Cricky are hilarious! Best side-kicks ever! Well done Eddie Murphy, you make an excellent voice of a dragon;p

4. Any of the Star Wars: Who wouldn't agree that the Star Wars story isn't amazing? Old films rock, newer films are good too, just in a different way.

3. Double Jeopardy: The description of this movie is enough to spark anyone's interest. Added bonus, you get to watch Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd in a criminal, murder, adventure!

 

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall: HAHA! This movie is so great for so many reasons. Not only do you get to see Russell Brand singing ridiculous songs, but the comedy sarcastic funny. Sure to be an entertainer no matter what your mood!

1. Any of the Indiana Jones (except the newest): It's difficult to pick a favorite. I love the Indiana Jones with Sean Connery, but the Temple of Doom is soooooo good and reminds me of my childhood :) I love them all. Harrison Ford is dreamy. Boom.

 

Oktoberfest!

This afternoon, my parents, Adam and I spent an hour and some change at the Oaks Park Oktoberfest in downtown Sellwood. What a fun surprise this event was! Don't get me wrong, I wasn't doubting that a holiday celebrating German beer, music and brats would be lame, but I was impressed with how well Oaks Park pulled this event together! We got our stamps, my dad bought the beers with script once we were in and we started drinking and jamming to those 'ump pa pa' beats! There were booths with crafts and interesting things to see and buy whilst we wandered with our beers. As always, there was intriguing people watching in Portland. My parents also bought us lunch, they rock like that, which consisted of delicious brats covered in sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup.

In an exciting turn of events we were informed that more wiener dog races would be occurring during the time that we were there!! This was the event that I was MOST excited about, but I thought it was only happening from 12-2 p.m. We made our way closer to the river to watch the sweet, little pups race :) I've never seen so many wiener dogs in one place!!! It was such fun to watch them practice and race! Totally worth twenty minutes out of my day :) Thanks for the invite to celebrate Oktoberfest mom and dad! Adam and I had a blast :) Cheers to celebrating more Oktoberfest next year!

                                      

Falcon throwback Friday

For today's blog post I spent the better part of an hour writing and reflecting on dreams that I have had (the sleeping kind) as well as dream analysis of said dreams. However, my mistake for the day was assuming that my writing was auto saving (as it has done forever, I swear) when really I had to go and manually save, which I did not. So yup, you guessed it. Finished a great post, about ready to edit and share when it disappears to the place where typing goes that I can't find (I'm a teacher, not a computer wiz) and I choose a few select words and sigh. I'm frustrated with myself and thus everything I attempt to write hereafter is sub par for my standards.

I'm determined to not only post today, but to feel good about what I am sharing. Thus, I invented 'Falcon throwback Friday:)" No poetic words or deep thoughts today...my brain is double ffed-fried and frustrated ;p Instead, please enjoy some adorable pictures of when I first got my little furry friend, Falcon, over four and a half years ago :) You'd never believe she was ever that small!!

Happy Friday friends!

 

 

I love this bunny! :)

 

 

 

 

15 year old me

Wow. This one is a thinker. I like thinkers :)

How much we grow and change over the years is astonishing. I am bits and pieces of who I was at 15, most of the innocence and naivety gone, but so much of how I view the world and myself has changed dramatically, and I am glad for this. If I could sit down with my 15 year old self as a two-months-shy-of-my-31st-birthday-adult, I can think of a few things that I would share in hopes of easing some of her 15 year old stress.

At 15 years old I was only a few months into my freshman year of high school and still very shy in most social situations, being around my closest friends being the exception. No serious boyfriends yet and school and dancing were at the top of my serious priority list. I was focused, driven and determined to do well and make my parents and teachers proud of me. I was, hands down, your classic people pleaser. I was often so afraid of failing that I simply opted out of trying new things. For example, I wanted to play basketball, soccer and sing in the 'fancy' choir, but I was too afraid to try out, look stupid and worst of all, fail. Some of these attributes remain the same in me today. Some are very different... :) Now I am louder, more social, and no longer afraid to try AND fail at things, which is huge! This alone has opened so many doors. I now more often am willing to take risks and put myself out there. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward after all :)

Straight away, I would tell 15 year old me that she is never going to make everyone happy so don't waste too much time stressing about it. The most important thing to remember is to always ALWAYS bring your best in all that you attempt. I would also tell her that failing at something is a wonderful way to learn! Embrace failures and try to learn something new, continuing to apply these life lessons when you encounter new ventures.
One of the most important things that I would share with her is to spend more time laughing with family and girl friends and leave those boys for later years:) There is plenty of time for boys. Boys can be good friends too:)  Man OH MAN was 15 year old me boy crazy! She could not wait to date and kiss boys and have somebody treat her like she was special. As a 30 year old, I would look at 15 year old me and tell her that she is already special :) That her worth is not determined by how many boys think she is good looking and want to date her. This alone could have solved many self-esteem issues that 15 year old me had. If she would have been able to just be as free and fun as she was around her girl friends, not caring (to some extent) what people thought of her, many stressors would have been alleviated :)
In short,
15 year old me, you are already awesome :) You are kind, friendly, a good dancer and student, you love your family and work hard to achieve the goals you set for yourself...keep up the good work and enjoy being you!

With love,
30 year old you

A golden oldie with some good friends from 15 :)

 

 

 

 

Ode to the spider in my shower

Random poems by Rachael

(Inspiration?.....showering with a spider.) Strange? Most definitely.

Day two of seeing you, spider.

I'll admit, I'm perturbed by the sight.

 

I'd be willing to let you hang 'round

If you keep eight feet in the corner

and refrain from falling whilst shampooing.

 

Although I wish you would flee,

I lack desire to plead

and thus

I continue my shower.



 

Good morning! Not.

I feel like instead of asking the question IF I have strange morning rituals the question should ask WHAT ARE your strange morning rituals because whether you accept that you do or not, everyone has quirky things they do in the morning in order to function. (Weekends are a whole different kind of weird than days that I work :)

Let's start, shall we! I, personally, think that the sound/song/etc. chosen to wake up to can make or break the vibe of the day aaaaaaand also says a little something about who you are as a person. Currently, my alarm tone is the Pink Panther theme song :) One a side note, I also enjoy You Can Call Me Al, the Duck Tails theme song, or Kung Fu Fighting. These songs just put a grin on my face immediately, which is exactly what I need since I am NOT into mornings. I don't even want to think about how annoying my day would be if I woke up to some random tinkling bell sound or regular alarm clock. Just.bad.

Back to my morning shenanigans....the snooze button is equally the best and worst invention. I know I'm going to hit it at least once so I intentionally set my alarm for 10 minutes earlier. Yup, I'm winning that round. I'm going to snooze AND have enough time to get ready. Genius.

I also like to 'wake up my room' so to speak. Huh? I can hear you asking. I make my bed every day. I haaaave to. I'm kind of a freak like that. I will literally think about my unmade bed and probably get hives-I don't know, I've never actually done it. Too risky. You can blame my parents for training me so well ;) Secretly, I love to have my room in order so I thank them, but some days I would really prefer not to care that my bed is made, especially when I wake up with 20 minutes until I have to leave for work. *Sigh, oh the burdens of being a neat freak.

I also have a weird order to how I get ready, but that would be sharing a bit too much of my crazy :) I don't want to seem tooooooooo quirky now do I? Short of the long, I do what I need to do in order to make mornings better since it is far from being my favorite part of the day. What weird things do YOU do??

The picture below sums up how I feel puuuuuurrrfectly ;)

ritu

 

 

Tea time!

I love today's question! It's right up my gotta-have-a-book-in-my-hand-at-all-times alley! Not only do I have a super duper BIG love for reading, but when it comes to books, I prefer my head to be in the clouds as often as possible.

If I could have tea with any fictional character, I would most definitely pick Dumbledore :) If you know me at all you know how much I absolutely, positively enjoy the entirety of the Harry Potter series-films included. Fun (perhaps ridiculous) fact is that I have read each of the seven books over five times each. I may have a slight obsession with this wonderful wizarding world and most definitely would have attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry if given the chance. That said, was there ever any doubt who I would pick to have tea with??

Dumbledore is a fantastically written character. I appreciate his charismatic, quirky, silly, serious, adventurous, focused, intelligent, light-hearted, wondrous, deep thinking, caring self and feel that our conversation topics could be endless and exciting. Just wondering about all the strange and magical animals, games, spells and history we could discuss makes me smile :) I feel sure that he would know exactly what to say to cheer me up or motivate me after a difficult day. Albus is a wonderful example for a teacher as he is constantly demonstrating not only how to challenge and push his students into discovering and sorting things out for themselves with all the right clues and information, but also how to be a kind and caring educator. There is just something absolutely delightful about Albus Dumbledore :) Cheers!

"Of course this is happening in your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

Albus Percival Dumbledore

Wedding road trip

Yesterday afternoon, Adam, Alicia, Keli and I piled into Adam's Subaru and headed down to Corvallis for Mo and Blair's wedding celebration. And what a celebration it was! We got into town, checked in at our awesome Super 8 hotel room and headed straight for Local Boyz for Adam's favorite Hawaiian food :) Had a girls-get-ready-together party in our room while Adam napped-smart fella-and at 4:15 headed to The Vue (awesome, newer, urban reception location) to catch our bus out to the ceremony on Bald Hill. The bus ride was quite the adventure...We rode on bus two and as soon as we got separated from bus one at a red light the driver looks back at us and asks if any of us know where we are going because he did not have directions. Ha! Awesome :) We took the scenic route through Philomath in a great big circle, but we made it! The ceremony was lovey and oh so picturesque up on Bald Hill in the early evening. We had a 10 minute walk from the bus up to a great open barn. Mo did such a fab job of creating a special place for their marriage vows. It was exactly what I would have pictured for them :) Their pup Capone even had a special blue tie on for his walk down the aisle!

The buses took us back to The Vue-which was a GORGEOUS venue- much quicker on the way back for the reception which started off with cocktails, followed by a yummy dinner and of course dancing! What a phenomenal group of dancing friends and family Mo and Blair have! It.was.a.BLAST! We all danced and drank until we were all kinds of good lookin' sweaty people lol. After the reception, the party continued down the road to a local bar The Peacock or Top of the Cock as the upstairs area is called and dancing continued well into the night in our fancy attire :) All in all, it was such a wonderfully, fabulous evening celebrating great friends and we ended up with many, MANY silly memories and stories :) Congratulations to the happy couple!

Back in time

Today's question is a fun and random one. Do I secretly miss polaroid cameras? Ummmm....HECK YES I do! Those cameras were big, bulky and expensive to have, but oh they were so much fun!  I remember that I received a smaller version for one of my birthdays and I loved using it. Taking pictures now is strange...with everything either on your phone camera or ending up on your computer, more than half the time you have to actually make the decision to get prints made. You can see your pictures literally after taking them on your digital camera and phone so there is no excitement or rush to have prints created. Polaroid pictures were special because it was a surprise in the moment that you had to wait for, but not for too long :) Plus, you got to "shake it like a polaroid picture!" (Thanks Outcast :) Sometimes I long for a time before I was attached to my cell phone checking the internet and other avenues so easily and out of boredom. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy using technology and have grown accustomed to it, but if there was a way to take it back to a step or two -like what you do when you go on vacations to somewhere fun and exotic :) You tell your friends and family that you will be "out of touch" and turning off the world to relax. I actually think that occasionally technology stresses me out! Polaroids were a great novelty to have as a child and I'm glad they still make versions to use today, but with the ease and amount of pictures that a digital camera brings, polaroids just don't have the bang for their buck that they used to.

My biggest adventure thus far

Omgeeeeee! Today lasted forever. Some days I wish I had a normal 9-5 or even 8-4, 10-6 job and didn't have to work 10 hour days. Granted I get a nice long lunch break, but I would trade it for 30 minutes if I could work 8 hours and be done. Anywho, for today, the question sparking my post is to talk about the most out-of- character decision that I have made. There are not too many things that I have done in 30 years that are truly out of character (at least that I would mention in my blog that is :) but the one that seems to ring the truest is deciding to uproot my life in Portland, Oregon and move to a small city in Thailand to teach English to Thai children for a year.

When I first told my parents, family and friends that I wanted to move to Thailand to teach, they thought I was kidding. Jokes were made, laughs had. They were all aware that I was looking into applying to join the Peace Corps in order to hopefully get some of my student loans forgiven in addition to new experiences outside of my comfort zone. This adventure would be semi supervised though and moving to Thailand was basically a leap into the far, dark, other side of the world. However, I ended up deciding that two years seemed like too long of a commitment. I also was a bit concerned that I would end up somewhere I had no desire to be. Short story short, I applied for a job at a private school in Nakhonsawan, Thailand for the simple reason that I already wanted to travel there, why not just spend a year exploring and working there in Thailand? I ended up getting a call back and a phone interview that went extremely well and ended in a job offer to teach two, three and four year olds English at Yuwapat Kindergarten School! :) The rest is history as they say, I had about a month to get sorted, packed, say my farewells and book my flight. Not aaaaaaall were on board, enthusiastic and confident in me at first, but man did I prove them wrong! I can honestly say that I flourished while living and teaching in Thailand and made so many wonderful friends and memories that I will cherish forever. I also found out what I am really capable of and just how small my world really was.

To this day, I am grateful that I trusted myself and took a chance on adventure!

*Below is the tattoo I will be getting in the very near future to remind me of Thailand always :)
The bottom elephant ;)

Validation

Starting off with a BANG! For September 11, 2013, the best compliment that I have ever received is actually one that I only had bestowed upon me about a month ago. To be fair, I have a terrible memory so it is natural that the most recent stands out in my mind :) This compliment was given by a teacher that I did my middle school teaching practicum with. Willow has become a dear friend and a wonderful reference for me during my continued search for employment as an educator in Portland. This compliment was stated in an email that she sent to the district advocating they hire me. I was blown away by the email in it's entirety, but the last statement was the most important to me.

"I can think of no one else I would rather entrust my classroom to, and as a new parent, Rachael is the type of teacher that gives parents reassurance that their children are in the right place."

This compliment meant the world to me because I have had such a terribly long, ongoing journey in finding a teaching job in Portland, Oregon where I want to live. So often I get in my own head and beat myself up, tell myself that if I was a good teacher I would have a job by now. This one simple sentence helps me to validate not only WHY I continue to search and apply for jobs, but also that I am GOOD at what I do. Thank you Willow for believing and trusting in me as a teacher.

Let's not call it a come back ;)

Not sure how many times I have said those two magic words every loyal reader and diligent writer longs and loves to hear, but here they are....I'm baaaaaaaack! I've decided to revamp my blog! I gave it a much needed face lift~ after all, it is no longer Christmas 2012 ;) I have been inspired by my big sis and friend Veronica to give this daily blog challenge a go-go! Who knows how I will do? Surely not me, but hey, I'm willing to jump back on the pour-my-heart-to-you train! Aaaaaaallllllll aboard! (multiple shout outs there including my baby brother who will forever love choo-choos :)
I look forward to sharing and continuing my writing in any way I can. Random fact, if I could do anything besides teaching I would choose book editing! Who knows, maybe I will write books some day! It feels good to be back in the writing habit even if it is only day #1. All the best things start at day #1 :p

End of the world

*I'm not sure why this never got posted, but a few months shy of one year ago, I wrote this reflection piece. Today, on September 11, 2013 another day of sad reflection, I choose to share it with you.


I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the awful shootings of the past week. This last week has been very difficult for not only those directly affected and involved, but also those of us who have had to watch as these terrible, unspeakable acts of terror occur and are broadcasted on every possible media device available.
When I found out about the shootings at the Clackamas Town Center, a mall that I have grown up shopping at and calling "our mall," the two things that crossed my mind were how lucky it was that I, as well as my family and friends, decided to pass on my shopping errands at the mall that afternoon as well as so many questions of how someone could possibly get to this point of no return and the taking of innocent lives in what has always been know as a safe environment.
Then to be at work Friday morning only to check my Facebook feed to find out that some maniac had somehow gotten into an elementary school across the country and started killing babies was beyond comprehension. I barely made it through the day as I couldn't help watching the tragic, devastating events unfold on the tv. How easy that could have been in a school that myself, friends or family teach at. My heart literally was breaking for everyone in that school and the parents and family on the outside waiting for answers and hugs from little ones that would never come.