Twenty-Something*Tumbleweed: overdue photo dump

I sat down to write about my awesome fried-food-fest of a weekend with my little brother....

and I realized that there a tons of pictures I have not shared and quite a few events I have not even blogged about yet. After a certain point it gets kind of silly to post several times in one day, so I hope you are prepared for this lengthy sharing moment.

TOP TEN THINGS I am loving in Dallas:

(1) Cool Fall weather. We are somewhat experiencing cool fronts, rain here and there, and I especially love crisp mornings when I hop in my car and get to watch the sun rise in my rear view mirror as I drive NW to get to school.

I do have to say that the first cool night we had this fall (and the moment that I knew these sweltering days were indeed coming to an end) was in mid-September when a few pals and I gathered outside at the Arboretum to enjoy live music, crickets chirping, wine in plastic cups and a picnic blanket on the cool grass after work on a Thursday night. Beatles music filled the air!

And what can put you in the mood faster than 40,000 pumpkins on display?

(2) My roommate.

I am really enjoying my bond with Miss Sarah. It is so nice to have a roommate around (after living alone for 2 years in GA) and I am glad it's not just anybody, but somebody who I share a lot in common with. This month she and I have officially discovered clothes and jewelry in each other's closets, she has taught me about baseball playoffs while I have subject her to plenty of Glee. Not only are we both teachers, but we both hate doing laundry, we both get up at the crack of dawn to hover over the coffee pot, and we both have days where all we need is to sit on the couch and drink wine. Perfection!

enjoying the brews and polka music at Addison's Oktoberfest.

(3) Crafting.

I work with some seriously gifted, artistic people. And I have discovered Pinterest. (Beware: you might spend the rest of your life on this website). I live minutes away from a Michael's and there is a Jo-Ann's Fabrics on the same street as my school. NOT to mention that I have QUITE the type A personality (which is highly satisfied by the idea of completion). So... I have been spending some quality time making tshirt necklaces, doing some sewing projects, brainstorming gifts for the holidays, we now have a wreath (the first of many) on our door. :)

I heart burlap.

(4) Trying new things.

I am transferring into the Junior League this month, have affiliated with the sorority alumni here in my new town, and am still going to Bible Study, trying a Boot Camp soon (!!!) and making happy hours a new part of my routine. As this chick sings it, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone.

But nothing ever happens if you stay in your room

Nothing ever happens if you leave the party too soon

Never be a winner if you're not in the game

nothing ever happens if you always play it safe

(5) I heart teaching. I have been learning so much every day at my new job. And I have gotten the privilege of some quality time with this lovely 5th grade lady working on math every few weeks.

Probably the coolest thing about my new job is that the curriculum extends all over the place - who knew that planting beans would be an entire unit? I also am enjoying exploring different intelligences (naturalistic = planting beans and taking care of them all year) and learning cooperative strategies from my teammates.

I also had the honor of attending a strategic planning meeting at my school this past week and am doing some research to choose which professional development conference I am going to attend this spring.

(6) thusly, I am LOVING my students.

(7) The Tullis family. I have started referring to them as my cousins.

As my schedule has gotten more settled I am able to get together with them more regularly. What a treat! I am DYING to have these girlies over for a sleep over celebration one of the weekends coming up - and it really is like having a family away from home.

These past weeks I have had the pleasure of joining them for dinner, seeing Miss Dylan cheerlead for her football team and sing in her choir concerts, and most importantly, I have been able to steal snuggles and smiles that last me all week!

(8, 9, AND 10) All things October!

Fried Food / Fair Time
College Football
Visitors!

I just had the best time with Christopher this past weekend. We enjoyed a trendy uptown dinner, watched plenty of football, spent most of the time eating, and (of course, being Casanovas) got our shop on! It is so fun to enjoy the company of my siblings and I love watching them get older. He had tons of stories to share about his crazy dorm-mates, his courses, opportunities he is excited about down the road, and all of those things you learn in college outside of the classroom. :) I am SO blessed to be a short drive away from one of my siblings - as the last time this happened was 5 or 6 years ago when Kathleen was at UNC and I was at UVA. What fun we used to have! One day all four of us will share the same city, but for now I am so looking forward to lots of visits back and forth and I cannot wait to see how much he grows and changes over his 4 years. Texas might have lost its big game on Saturday, but it was definitely big sister-little brother for the win!

I miss you already, Kif! COME BACK!

********

October has also brought some exciting news for my gal pals out of town. :)

A BIG, warm welcome to baby Tyler in Savannah. Congratulations, Ashley and Walter!