Wow...it has been two years!

So, I ran across my own blog by accident. Actually, my roommate Erin saw a "memorable status update" on Facebook by me and said "I didn't know you blogged...."

It was funny/fun to read my old updates. I don't remember writing any of these things. It's also interesting to see how much my life has changed from two years ago. The plans I made for myself turned out much differently than I expected - shocker.

I'm considering getting back into this for no reason other than to document my life.

I'll leave you with a picture that best sums up my life in Birmingham:

These are some of my best friends in Birmingham: Megan, Erin, Laura & Martha. Erin & Laura are my two fabulous roommates that I couldn't live without. I feel like I've known them forever!

It's Been A While!

It has been a long time since I have blogged! Life as a teacher is crazy! The hardest part is adjusting to being gone all day long. How do working people get stuff done with they're gone when all the businesses are open?

OHS has been great. Part of my wants to just skip internship and have my own classroom! But I know I am not ready for that. I am just so excited to do things how I want to do them! Today, I began the process of taking over. I took over 4th block today and then will take over 3rd for the next unit until December. I had a great time today teaching U.S. imperialism in Latin America and Hawaii. It was very challenging as some of my students really struggled with the activity we were doing. In the end, I was confident that the majority of them grasped the concept. Tomorrow, they will present their projects that we did today. 

Last weekend, I went to Birmingham to visit some friends. And I just realized that I didn't take any pictures! I got to see so many people that have moved up there. It was great, but made me even more ready to get out of Auburn and move up there. I keep reminding myself everyday that the Lord's timing is perfect. I am still in Auburn for a reason. 

I am so excited about next weekend - three-day weekend, the first football game and Sister Hazel/Trotline at Lake Martin!

Other news - my brother Thomas is in Auburn now as a freshman! He is having a lot of fun and starts formal rush tonight!

11th Grade Here I Come!!

Today I visited Opelika High School to meet with my cooperating teacher, Mr. Pinckard. We just talked about what to expect for the year and he took me around campus and introduced me to the principal and vice principal. 

I am very excited about this semester! I will be teaching two eleventh grade U.S. history classes and two AP U.S. history classes. I will observe Mr. Pinckard for the first two weeks and then on August 31st I will begin to take over. And by taking over I mean teaching full-time, lesson plans, grading, the whole deal. 

I've been doing labs this past year in classrooms, but this will be completely different. I am most nervous about classroom management. I haven't had the opportunity to observe a female teacher teach. A man just commands authority whereas a female has to work harder to get students to listen. I'm not really sure what I'm doing, but I guess I'll figure it out at some point!

Charleston and The Saknini Wedding!

I have had a lot going on lately! Last Monday I took some time off of work and went to Charleston to visit my dear friend Lauren. We are proud to call each other our first Auburn friends. Being from Auburn, I of course knew other people when coming to college, but Lauren was my first real "college" friend. We met on the elevator of Keller Hall during Camp War Eagle. She loves to tell that story - me being frantic about finding my room and her calming me down. Lauren is about to leave for the Dominican Republic to do mission work - teaching Kindergarten. I am so proud of her and I know she is going  to be great at it! It was great to go to Charleston to spend some time with her before she leaves. We had a great time - shopped, ate and even went to Fort Sumter! 

On Thursday, I made my way to Atlanta for Marci and Justin's wedding. Marci is one of my dearest friends and I am so happy for her and Justin. They are high school sweethearts and make a great couple. She is going to be a fantastic wife! 

Here we are at the bridal luncheon, which was held at the Atlanta Athletic Club.  Among other things, Marci made us monogrammed aprons for our bridesmaid's gifts. They are so cute!
The rehearsal dinner was held at a Lebanese restaurant called Sultan's. Justin's dad's side of the family is from Lebanon, so this was a special way for us to experience his family's culture. I'll have to say I was extremely nervous because I am a picky eater. But I surprised myself and loved the food - lots of hummus! 
Here is Marci on her wedding day. She looked absolutely stunning - really one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen. She was completely herself - cool, calm and collected all day long. She had a blast! 
These pictures are a little out of order, but after the rehearsal dinner some of us met at Sarah's house to hang out. It was wonderful to have us all together again! It was especially great to see Sarah Rice, as we have not seen her since her wedding in December. Out of these girls in the picture below, only Rachael will be here in the fall. It's going to be really different, but so exciting for everyone who is starting new adventures!

I had lots of fun with these two at the wedding! It was great to see Toney (except she is no longer Toney!) - I haven't seen her since her wedding. She and Caleb are doing great in Birmingham. He just started medical school - woohoo!

Caroline, Bailey and Mary Lawrence came! We all had a great time dancing and singing the beautiful Alpha Gam song to Marci (Ha!)

Overall, the week/weekend was wonderful. It was bittersweet, because it was the last thing I had been looking forward to this summer. It was my last chance to see a lot of people, at least for a while. The summer is almost ending. I'm excited about the fall, but sad about being in Auburn without my best friends!

On a random note, I am watching FOX's new bachelor-esque show "More to Love" featuring an overweight bachelor and twenty-five overweight women. The whole point is to focus on these women's personalities. If this is the case, why do they label each women with their name, career and WEIGHT?? These poor women - all they want is a date!

July Fourth Fun

Well, it's been a while...this blog posting thing is harder than I thought.

For July 4th, I took a long weekend off of work and went to Nashville to visit two sweet friends Bonnie and Lindsey. Bonnie is at home in Franklin for the summer and Lindsey is living in Nolensville working for a church. It was great to see them and I love Nashville so much. Every time I go I fall more and more in love with the city and could really see myself living there in a few years.

I spent the weekend mainly shopping and eating, two of my favorite things. Lindsey and I went to a famous restaurant called Loveless Motel. It was good old fashioned comfort food - I got the veggie plate as always. There, we ran into some Auburn folks, including my friend Sarah's older sister. What a small world!

On July 4th, Lindsey and I went to downtown Franklin and shopped and ate lunch at Puckett's, where Bonnie works. It was so funny because Bonnie was serving that day and I swore she saw us when we walked in and just thought she was very busy and couldn't talk. She walked by our table probably a hundred times and didn't see us until we were paying up front and was so surprised! Downtown Franklin is so cute - they have the best shops, most of which are out of my price range.

I spent the next couple of days staying at Bonnie's house. This was my second trip to the Dean's and they always make me feel right at home. I have a blast with her family and never want to leave. Bonnie and I went and saw the Proposal - great movie! We also shopped and ate and just enjoyed our time together. She also taught me how to quilt! She has made several beautiful quilts. I have always wanted to do this, but of course we didn't have time to do a big quilt, so I made a pillow! It was a lot of fun and surprisingly easy, considering I didn't (and still don't) know how to sew a button on. 

Here is this finished product:

 My last night in Nashville, Lindsey, Bonnie and I went to Jackson's in Hillsboro Village. I LOVE this place and go every time I'm in Nashville or Birmingham. They have amazing pasta and their specialty is cookie dough egg rolls! Yum!

The last couple of weeks have been pretty routine. I had a great surprise last weekend - Marci came to Auburn! We grilled out on Friday night with Justin and crew and then Marci and I worked on her wedding programs. Lots of fun! I cannot wait until her wedding - in just a week and a half!

Here I Go...

Hey Everyone!

I have finally decided to start a blog! These have been a big few months for me, as I have also joined Twitter. I don't have much to write about as of now, but I will in the fall when I start my internship.

I guess I should update everyone on my life:

I am in a weird in-between place. I am still in Auburn while most of my friends have graduated and moved away for jobs or graduate school. I, on the other hand, have not graduated. I have mixed feelings about this. I am excited to have another football season and to prolong entering the "real world." However, I have been itching for an adventure outside of the country and definitely outside of Auburn for a long time. I have to keep reminding myself of the Lord's perfect timing because I easily get impatient.

This fall, I will be interning at Opelika High School teaching eleventh grade United States History from about 1900 to the present. I am so excited about teaching my favorite time period/subject of history. All of my friends will agree that I am passionate about the Civil Rights Movement and I cannot wait to teach this along with the World Wars, the Great Depression and the Cold War! I hope my students will be as excited as I am : )

This summer, I am in Auburn working two part-time jobs and enjoying my time off from school. I have been on several road trips: bachelorette parties, weddings, my brother Thomas's high school graduation, etc. Tomorrow I am leaving for Nashville to celebrate the Fourth of July with Lindsey and Bonnie. I will write separate posts for these fun events and will add pictures!

More later,

Megan