Sunday Social

Another Sunday, Another Social..   Happy Sunday Lovelies!!    I'm linking up with Neely and Ashley again for:

  1. Tell us about the family you grew up in, parents, siblings, grandparents. This will be super long because I love my family, and because I have literally nothing to say about question 2. I grew up basically as an only child. I have a sister who is 16 years older than me, but the age difference meant that she moved out when I was two so I have literally no memory of ever actually living with her, but I've been told it happened. My parents had be when they were 38 and 40 so I didn't exactly have the young chipper "Yayyyyy we're parents" experience that she had either. For my sister it was all about Soccer, and Tennis, and being active and doing things, with me it was more let's take her places and have other people do things and be active with her. So she was super sporty and I was super dramatic. I wouldn't change that for anything because that's how I learned to love the stage and all things musical theater.   I have a serious love for my grandparents not only because I'm named after them, but because they were absolutely incredible people. My dad's grandparents were AWESOME. Seriously. They lived in this awesome lake house, and made fancy things for dinner and drank more scotch than Ron Burgundy. They were the kind of people that were spouses first, then parents which is probably frowned on, but it worked for them and their family. He was a sales rep for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and gave us stock in Viagra one year for Christmas (because that's a normal gift right!?). They were always giving us Stocks, or Savings Bonds, or $2 bills. They were just magical.. to me anyway. Losing my grandpa was the first loss that I remember, and it was absolutely devastating to me. I can still picture his big smile and great hair (it runs in the family), wearing a pair of short shorts, loafers and a gold necklace with an anchor. He's the reason that I joined the Navy. I lost my Grandma about 8 years later and though she had never been particularly warm towards me (because I look a lot like my Mom and she was never my mom's biggest fan) the last time I saw her she told me how beautiful she thought I was and that she hoped I'd never stop singing. I was mostly named for my Paternal grandparents, Joe and Sammy, but it wasn't until my grandmother died that I realized that Sam, Sammy, or Samantha wasnt in her name AT ALL. I was super confused, but thankfully before I launched into a full fledged identity crisis, my dad explained that her maiden name was Sampson, to which my grandfather nicknamed her "Sassy Sampson" and shortened it to "Sammy". So thus, I, Samantha JoeAnne, Samantha Joe, Sammie Joe and SJ came to be. My maternal grandpa, another Joe, died when I was about 6 months old. I don't know much about him, other than there was something weird about my grandmother possibly dating his brother (SCANDALOUS!!), but marrying him so it all worked out. When I was 18 I joined the US Navy, but during my delayed entry I got to move down to Alabama for a few months and take care of my maternal grandmother after a fall. I was there to celebrate her 90th birthday (complete with a Princess Party for her and all her friends in the rehab facility... Cause I'm fancy like that). On my 19th birthday I had to put her in a nursing home. It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do, but it was clear to me, my sister, and all my aunts that she just couldn't live alone any longer. Those few months were incredibly hard, but I wouldn't trade them for the anyting in the world. Holy Moly Y'all... That was a novel.
2. Tell us about your husband, fiancé, boyfriend, significant other. N/A
3. Tell us about your children. If you don’t have children, talk about your fur children.

The many faces of Theo

My furbaby is Theodore Roosevelt, but I call him Theo, BooBoo, KittyBoo, Boo, Boosephus, BabyBoo, or some other horribly embarrassing variation of that. I imagine him blushing with embarrassment if I were to ever call him any of those in front of his kitty friends. He is spoiled rotten with only the best cat food and treats, has an outrageous number of toys that he doesn't play with, a monogrammed kitty bed that he doesn't sleep in (he prefers my bed, or my clean laundry). He is the most handsome little boy in the world and I love him to the moon and back. When he was about 11 months old he almost died because he knocked over some cleaner and it spilled and he licked it, then stepped in it and then cleaned his paws like all cats do.. with their tongues. Then he hid from me for about two hours and when he finally came out of hiding he was burning up and his tongue was swollen so big he couldn't close his mouth. My dad and I rushed him to the emergency vet, my now ex-husband complained about paying the $165 for the initial consultation because he hates cats but I cried hysterically about how he was my baby, and four days and thousands of dollars later, he was back and has been by my side almost ever day since. He's still super curious, but he's kept himself out of serious trouble ever since.    This was another novel to make up for having nothing to say about question 2.  
4. Tell us about your best friends. How long have you known them? How did you meet? My Bestie is beautiful and lives in Iowa and I love her. I've written a previous blog post gushing about how much I love her, how we met at all that, so here I will just a picture of her beautiful face:

5. Tell us about any other special people in your life. I work with some amazingly special people for some amazingly special kids. If it were legal to post their pictures I would, but just trust they are TOO CUTE and I love them so stinkin much I can't stand it. Also, I'm at that point in the school year that I'm starting to seriously miss them. A little bit more than a month till I get to see them again!!!!!

Summer Reading 2014

So like any (almost) teacher, I relish the sweet 9 weeks of (somewhat) uninterrupted down time. While I have a ton of reading to do for my summer glasses, one of my favorite guilty pleasures is sitting down with nothing but a good book in my hands. I don't think I'll ever beat my record of reading 18 books in one summer, I still make an effort to finish at least 5 new books during my vacation. I bought the Emily Giffin and Joshilyn Jackson novels as soon as they were released but they have been sitting patiently on my bookshelf, with the rest of these books, just waiting for me to be able to pick them up and read them.
Here's my top 5 for summer 2014:

  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes:  A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?   Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn:
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.   

The One and Only by Emily Giffin:   

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

 

I finished this book in about 15 hours. IT IS THAT GOOD!! If you are a college football loving southern belle like me, You will LOVE this book!!

  Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson: 

Someone Else's Love Story is beloved and highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson's funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love, and learning that things aren't always what they seem—or what we hope they will be.
Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced parents. She's got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up and falling in love with William Ashe, who willingly steps between the robber and her son.
Shandi doesn't know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It's been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his world. But William doesn't define destiny the way others do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in facts and numbers, destiny to him is about choice. Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know.

11/22/63 by Stephen King:
Dallas, 11/22/63: Three shots ring out.
President John F. Kennedy is dead.
Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in a Maine town. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away...but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten...and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.

As of right now I've finished The One and Only, and I'm halfway through Sharp Objects and Someone Else's Love Story because I'm indecisive and like to be in the middle of at least two books at a time. Go figure.

What's on your summer reading list?
I'd love some recommendations from any of my lovely readers!

Sunday Social

Happy Sunday Friends!! 

I hope everyone is recovering from the 4th well!! I love almost everything about the 4th of July. I know what you're thinking, "Sammie!! What is there not to like about a day celebrating the independence of our country!?!?" Fireworks. I sort of detest fireworks. A big part of that is from the Navy (Not that I ever saw combat, but I went through a very traumatic experience that to this day stresses me out a little bit), but also.. I just don't like loud noises. Like at all!! The only fireworks I enjoy are at Disney world and those are like a million times quieter than normal fireworks.

Anyway, I'm linking up with Neely and Ashley again for:

1. What is your favorite genre of music?
Country. All Day Long.

2. What is your favorite genre of movies?
I'm actually more partial to older movies. Black and White, or just pre-1970. Aside from that I like romantic comedies and scary movies (when I have someone to watch them with!)

3. Do you watch reality TV? If so what was the first show you remember watching?
I HATE reality tv. With a firey passion that consumes my soul. Okay.. I don't hate it that much, but I choose not to waste my time with that nonsense.
 

4. Who is an actress you’d want to be BFF’s with?
Zooey Deschanel or Lizzy Caplan. They just seem really chill and down to earth.

5. Who is an actor you’d be happy to be stuck on an island with?
Oh my lawd, Ryan Gosling. Duh! Teran Killam cause he seems like he'd just make me laugh and he's super cute.

Happy Sunday everyone!!

ABC's of Me

In an effort to maintain my blogging while working full time, going to school full time, and doing a play this summer when I come across easy blog posts I get all kinds of excited!! I've done some variation of this before but I've changed a lot in the last few months so here we go again!!
A- Age: 25

B- Birthday: September 3rd

C- Color: Pink..Duh!

D- Drink: Water/Sweet Tea/Moscato/Mich Ultra/Alabama Slammers.. Cause I'm indecisive like that.

E- Eyes: Hazel

F- Flashback: My Third year in the Navy with my Daddy

G- Game: CLUE and Uno Attack!! I will drive people crazy playing those games.

H- Hobby: Reading and trying new recipes

I- Indulgence: My Triple Chip Cookies (Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate and Butterscotch chips... OMG.. So Good)

J- Job: EC Assistant teacher (working on my BA to be a Special Education Teacher)

K- Kiddos: None of the human variety yet.. But My sweet kitty BooBoo is my baby boy

 L- Love: My Friends, My Family and My cat. In no particular order.

M- Music: Country, Country, Country.. and a little Musical Theater, and classic rock.

N- Nation--USA

O- Overstock: Shoes.. I mean to someone else it would probably seem like to many shoes.. but I see no problem with it.

P- Pets: Theo aka BooBoo aka KittyBoo aka Boo aka Handsome Prince

Q- Quote:"I will learn to love the skies you're under" along the lines of "Bloom where you're planted". 

The fabulous Lindsay_Reed from IG drew this.. How fab is she?!

R- Residence: North Carolina

S- Siblings: One older Sister

T- Temperature:Hotter than fried hell... Just sayin.

U- University: just transferred to East Carolina University (Go Pirates!)

V- Vehicle: Mercedes SLK 230

W- Want: Currently, I just want to figure out a recipe to make for dinner that wont heat up my whole house and won't take a million years to make..

X- X: X-husband, X-boyfriends? I have a few of the later and one of the first ;)

Y- Yuck: How hot it is.. Just YUCK.

Z- Zodiac: Virgo

 

Sunday Social

Happy Summer Sunday Y'all!! Today I'm linking up with Ashely and Neely for:

    1. What was your college major? Did you ever change majors? The First time I went to college I was a Nursing major, but I decided that really wasn't for me so I joined the Navy. Random, I know. When I got out of the Navy I decided on Education but was torn between Elementary and Special. I had planned on double majoring but I got my job in an EC classroom, formally changed to Special Ed and haven't looked back.  Wow.. That makes me sound really indecisive huh..
2. What is the best purchase you’ve made lately? Aside from my bestie's FABULOUS birthday gift some red Tory Burch Eddie Flats.. They're gorgeous and will be perfect for Fall and Winter!! Plus I got them for a STEAL on Ebay!!

3. What is something silly we don’t know about you and go… I can touch my nose with my tongue. I don't mean the bottom of my nose. I can legit touch the tip of my nose with my freakishly long tongue.
4. What is your favorite Holiday? Thanksgiving. I just love cooking and enjoying a big 'ole meal with my family. Plus.. Pumpkin Pie. Duh!
5. What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Turn on my Beachwaver and check instagram..

25 things I've learned about being 25

Hello Again Bloggers and readers of blogs!!   The summer makes me think a lot about my birthday. I don't know why, but I tend to measure where I am in terms of the year during the summer. Perhaps its a "teacher" thing. Who knows? This year I'll be 26 and the thought is sort of intimidating. I was mildly panicked about turning 25, but I did it. I survived. So in my summer reflection I've been thinking a lot about the things I've learned while I've been 25.
1. Not my circus, not my monkey.   

I really love this polish saying. If it doesn't directly involve me, I'm trying to just keep my nose out of it. It's harder than it seems, but I'm getting much better at it.  
 2. Never stop learning  Try to learn something new everyday. You'll never know it all, but trivia in bars is becoming really popular and you never know if you'll get put on Cash Cab or something.
3. Eating out is expensive y'all! I'm bad to eat out, especially if my sink is full of dishes and I don't want to do them (I LOATHE washing dishes) but I tend to run out of money twice as fast when I'm constantly eating out. Learn to cook!!
4. It's okay to be single Really and truly. It's fine. Is it lonely sometimes? Sure. But I've found that I'd much rather be spending my time with me, myself and I, than wasting it on a relationship that's headed nowhere. Ain't nobody got time for that.
5. Jack's go with pretty much everything

I know.. Jack Rogers are expensive, but they are an investment. They go with everything, and come in so many colors the opportunities are endless!! Plus sometimes you can get crazy good deals on them!
6. I am good at spelling, and good at reading, but I'm terrible at Ruzzle Do y'all play this game? It's my candy crush. I'm totally addicted, but I'm pretty terrible at it. I mostly only make two and three letter words, which is insane to me because I have a pretty extensive vocabulary.
7. Don't listen to gossip, get to know someone and form your own opinion For the last 6 years I have actively avoided a girl who lives in the same town as I do because she hates me. Or at least I thought she hated me, and she thought I hated her. Turns out.. neither one of us hates each other and we have so much in common it's insane. Personally, I'm excited about a new friendship.
8. I am very creative, but seriously lacking in the execution of said creativity I can come up with the cutest ideas for tshirts, and stationary and all sorts of creative crap yet when I set out to execute them they turn out like crap. Luckily I can leave that to some really amazingly talented friends that I've met through the internet. Cause I'm cool like that. 
9. I am exactly where I need to be Even when I think I'm not. When doors are slamming shut in my face I can be so focused on staring at that closed door I completely miss the window that's being opened for me. I got my hours cut at my last job, only to two weeks later land the most perfect job that will serve as a stepping stone for my career. Doors close, windows open. Don't forget that people.
10. Friendships take work, but they are totally worth it In this social media obsessed world we live in it would seem that we would be closer to our friends than ever. While that may be true, sometimes I've never felt further from my friends. Take the time to send a text, make a call, or my favorite.. send them a letter.
11. things just taste better when sipped from a mason jar

  Sweet Tea. Wine. Beer. Water. Milk. Everything tastes better from a mason jar.
12. You can't fix stupid Do I really even need to elaborate on that one?
13. Everything can change in one single solitary moment This year one of my student's lost his mom unexpectedly. She was only 10 years older than I am. We got a phone call from the bus driver saying that this student couldn't get into his apartment. When he and his little sister finally did get in they found their mom unresponsive. She was declared shortly after EMT's arrived. This was a mom who had been in the classroom just a week earlier. A mom who loved her kids more than anything, but couldn't give up her drug addiction. Thankfully these two precious kids are surrounded by positive influences and this was truly a blessing in disguise (as terrible as that sounds). Everything can change at the drop of a hat.
14. Trust your gut Don't second guess yourself. Take the job. Accept the date. Put down the cookie. Whatever your gut is telling you, listen to it.
15. Country music is literally THE BEST!! Seriously. If you want to have a good time, go to a country concert. Feeling sad? there's a country song for that! Feeling happy? there's a country song for that! Tired of being a dirty mistress? There is literally a song for that! (it's called Stay by Sugarland)
16. Social Media should always be used responsibly. Always. It can be a great and wonderful thing, I've made some AMAZING friends on blogger and Instagram, but don't be stupid about it. I've had to learn this lesson the heart way. Just trust me. In a generation that has literally almost always had access to the internet we forget what it was like to not have facebook on our phones. A generation where over-sharing is just what we do. We tend to feel like if we don't share it with out IG followers, it didn't really happen. But it did.  Also, just because your waiter messed up your order, doesn't mean he needs to be shamed all over social media. Have some respect.
17. Politicians don't care about me, my colleagues, or the kids I work with, but I can make a difference in spite of them

  I live and work in a state that has increasingly shown me and my colleagues that we don't matter. North Carolina is ranked 48th in teacher salaries. The average salary in NC is about $16,000 less than the starting salary in other states. I can write letters to my congressmen. I can protest. I can rant and rave on here and facebook, but that's not really going to change anything. However, the students of NC deserve great teachers. They DESERVE a great education. So until Raleigh realizes that, I'll go to my job 180 days in a school year. I'll scrimp and save my meager salary to barely cover my bills every month. I'll do this, and I'll be happy about it because I can see every day the difference that I am making with the kids in my classroom. So suck on that Raleigh.
18. 25 is a weird age.. like just really weird It's like this weird age where you still sort of feel like a kid. You feel like you can go out and drink till 3am, but your body is like.. Ummm.. NOPE! Some days you will feel like you're 45 instead of 25 (leg days perhaps), other days you just want to color. It's bizarre and I kind of love it.
19. People will take advantage as long as you let them So.. maybe don't let them?
20. Kid President is wise beyond his years I don't know if Kid President writes his own scripts, or what, but y'all that little dude knows up. 

21. Thank You notes are extremely important They've become a rarity, but I can tell you I, and anyone else you send them to will appreciate them immensely.
22. No one really hates you While the human brain is a fascinatingly complex machine, it's actually extremely rare for it to full on HATE another person. Even some of the most hated people in history, probably weren't so much hated as they were feared and admonished by society. Besides, trying to hate people, like actively focusing on hating people is so exhausting.
23. Save, Save, Save Save as much as you can, while you can. No one else is going to magically contribute to your 401K.
24. Your metabolism really slows down at 25.. like wayyyyy down My metabolism is slower at 25 than it was at 15 and I'm sure it's faster now than it will be when I'm 35. So if you're toying with the idea of getting in shape, start today.
25. My Mom is always right Chances are.. Your mom is always right too. Save yourself some trouble and just listen to her.

My Mom and I in all our glorious 1990's hair and attire

So there's that.. What have you learned as you've gotten older?

High Five for Friday!!

Happy Friday Friends!!   This has been a super stressful, but at the same time, rewarding week! Plus it has absolutely FLOWN by!! Some weeks I feel lucky to make it limping to the finish line, but this week I am skipping into Friday!! So what has gotten me through this week? read on, Lovely one's:   1. Summer Classes started!  Summer Classes have brought the most stress for this week. I am transferring to East Carolina to finish my Bachelor's Degree. With that has come the stress of transferring credits from my former private university, to the public university. There were 3 classes that I needed and thought "Oh! I'll take them at a community college over the summer and everything will be great!". I applied, sent transcripts, the whole 9 yards. I even called to triple check that I had done everything right. So I go to register and BAM! "You have not taken the prerequisites to register for this class"... and yet.. I have. Taken them and gotten A's. So after two days of phone tag, tears, FAFSA drama and anxiety, I am in 2 of the 3 classes and am off to a great start!    2. 12 more days of school!!

  I love my job. I love my students. I am blessed everyday that I get to go to a job that I really and truly enjoy. The kids have made tremendous progress this school year and that makes me incredibly happy. However, I am more than ready for a glorious summer vacation. I'm gonna read SOOOOO many books, reorganize my life, run the Cullpepper's Rebellion 5k in Elizabeth City and maybe do a play. Who knows?! Well I will be working for my mom, and taking classes, but to say that I am merely ready for Summer is an understatement. 3.My Car So my precious little car has been very neglected lately. The check engine light may have been on for like the last 3 months, and in the last two weeks the car alarm would go off for no apparent reason, usually between 2:30-3:30am. Oh! and one of my brake lights was out. I had to take her to the shop on Monday and just got her back this afternoon. They cleared like 35 codes during the diagnostics, fixed the alarm problem, fixed everything... except the brake light, but ya know what.. I might just figure out how to do that myself.
4. Tanlines... on my feet.

I wear my jacks all day eeeerryyyy day and this is the result. 5. Dress Weather I have worn a dress or skirt every day this week. It has been glorious. I feel better, more feminine in dresses and skirts. Plus I get some sun on my crazy pale legs!   Linking up with Lauren!   I hope everyone has had a wonderful week! Wishing you all a Fab Friday!!