First Day

After reading many uplifting and kind comments (thank you all!) my spirits rose and I decided you all are right...everyone has moments of sadness, but this too shall pass.

On to a different topic.....

On the first day of school each year, my mom made a special breakfast (usually waffles) and took pictures of my brother and I in our new school clothes. It was a fun tradition that always made the first day of school extra special. Although today technically isn't the first day of school for students, it was the first day at my new school job. That counts right? I had to get up at 6 AM, an hour I haven't seen in many months, so a hearty breakfast wasn't a priority, but I still got my picture taken...this time by my husband. I think I look quite chipper for it being 7 AM.

Now for the shocker.....I bought the shirt from Express and the skirt from the Gap back in early high school. I have tons of new "school" clothes that I could have worn today, but last night as I was combing through my closet and trying on numerous outfits, I decided on this one. I have probably worn this outfit 30+ times over the past 8 years. I last wore this outfit for my thesis proposal (not to be confused with my defense) last September, so although I don't wear often, I have still worn it a lot (that makes sense right?). I remember I went through the same thing the night before my proposal, ultimating choosing this outfit. Does anyone else consistently wear the same outfits because they just work?

Anyway.... Yay for surviving the first day of orientation! While most of it was boring and predictable it was nice to have a schedule, meet some new people, and start to get acquainted with the life of a grown-up.

The Cottage - Day One

I have many fond memories of trips to my grandparent's cottage as a kid. It is maybe 30 minutes from our house, so we were always able to go for a week, weekend, or just the day if we wanted. While it is not exactly roughing it....there is electric, running water, and bathrooms...it still forced us to get outside and play and swim, or stay inside and play cards or other games because there is no tv, internet, etc. It is my mom's parents that own the cottage, and she comes from a family of 6, so needless to say, there was, and still usually are, a plethora of grandchildren at the cottage at any given time. My aunt and uncle also bought a cottage next door, so now there is even more room for everyone to congregate there during the summers.

Since I spent my summers living in NYC and NC during college and then moved to NC after graduating from college, Alson had never been! So we planned a trip to the cottage for a weekend, and we both really had a great time. Two of my cousins, my aunt and uncle, and their new puppy(!) were there for the whole weekend, and another one of my cousins, her friend, and my aunt came out both nights. My mom stayed with us at the cottage, but my dad was on call that week so he could only come out randomly throughout the weekend. Oh, and obviously my grandparents were there! It was great to have a bunch of people to hang out with. Here are some of the things we did...in picture form of course.

Alson and my cousins swimming:


Airborne! :

We tried jumping on a trampoline, but it wasn't quite blown up enough...or perhaps my weight made it lopsided (sad face):

So we decided to use it as a launching pad:


I got some distance this time! And Grant took a nose dive, poor thing:

They went fishing:

Kona got to ride on the boat:


Grant got to drive it:

Hanging out on the boat:

My dad was so excited to catch a fish:

I didn't realize how many pictures I have....so I guess I will have to continue posting another time!