I've gone green!

As most of you know, I am a teacher. I find teaching to be the most fabulous profession ever for many reasons, one of them being summer break! I have never loved summer more than I do this year. However, I realized quickly that if I didn't work this summer at least a little bit, I would get terribly bored. I have been nannying four days a week until 2:30 (have I mentioned this already?). It has been a lot of fun with trips to the library, the movies, and the pool. The family is out of town this week, so I have a week of freedom! It started today, and I think I will document "Rachel's Week O' Fun"!

I spent the morning being just plain lazy. It was fabulous. I slept in and then watched a Lifetime Movie of one of my favorite books by Jodi Picoult (!). The movie did NOT do the book even a bit of justice, but what can you expect... it's Lifetime. :) I got ready and met two of my girlfriends, Beth and Cassie (and Cassie's baby, Caleb) for lunch. We had a great time together. We brought our wedding pictures and talked about the joys (and occasional frustrations!) of marriage. We then got onto the topic of bondage in our Christian walk, which I found very interesting. We began talking about the fact that as kids and even as teenagers and adults, we have all struggled with the bondage of feeling as if we will be "punished by God" if we don't do our devotions one day or skip church one Sunday. It is mind boggling to me that we can turn something as beautiful and humbling as Christianity into something that can be so restricting. In my opinion, that is Satan at his finest. He takes something that has saved us from him and from ourselves and turns it into something that can feel so choking and terrifying. That is so what this world is all about though, isn't it? If you're good enough, if you read your Bible, if you pray, if you are "spiritual" (whatever THAT means these days!), you will get to heaven. As long as you do enough for God, you'll be good when you die. How awesome is it that we serve a God who is not about tasks? That we can simply trust Him with our lives and commit our all to Him and He will show us His glory! I am in awe of His grace and power, especially as of late! He has shown me His glory and it is amazing that I can break free of that bondage with the power of His grace and mercy!

Anyways... back to the day of fun! After lunch, I journeyed over to Target and Golf Galaxy where I picked up a few more cleaning supplies (I'm getting borderline obsessed) and returned a hat for T. I did get some Method glass cleaner as well as some Method stainless steel cleaner. If you're not familiar with Method cleaning supplies, they are environmentally friendly and they are just fun. :) They come in pretty colors and they smell great! My current favorite is Method Pink Grapefruit All Purpose Cleaner, as showcased below.I am not going to go off on a whole paragraph like last time, but this stuff is GREAT. I love the way that my kitchen smells after I use it. It's worth the $5 at Target... for sure.

After Target, I went to Biggs, which is my new choice of grocery store. I had a coupon for a free gallon of milk, so I decided to go there instead of Hyde Park Kroger, which has always been my grocery store. However, I have found a whole new love for grocery shopping in Biggs. It is bigger, cheaper and NICER. I will always have a soft spot for Kroger and I am probably not completely done shopping there, but I am planning on doing my next big grocery shop at Biggs. I also continued my "green streak" and purchased 5 cloth grocery bags. They were cheap and I definitely will use them. I have hated using all the plastic grocery bags... why does the checker always feel the need to put a carton of ice cream in ONE bag? What a waste. I am looking forward to using my new bags and will post a picture of them the next time I put them to use! I am doing my part to help the environment and although I don't believe in "global warming", I do believe in doing my part to keep God's earth clean and the way He intended it! So, don't think I will be making any Al Gore-type speeches anytime soon, because to be honest, this is probably about as green as Rachel gets!

I came home and did a thorough cleaning of my kitchen, threw in a load of laundry, and enjoyed a relaxing evening with my hubby which included our (yes, I said OUR) weekly viewing of "The Bachelorette". I think that T is the best guy in the world to willingly watch DeAnna's search for love each week and give me a great commentary. I think it's safe to say that we are both rooting for Jesse to be the last guy standing. Tyler "identifies with them the most". :) He also gave me permission to be on "The Bachelorette" if he ever kicks the can, which I hope is never a reality! Oh well, at least I know that I have options! ;) KIDDING, only kidding! I have the best hubby EVER... way better than any old Jesse!

So, that was today. We will see what tomorrow brings! Love!

It has been quite sometime, dear Blog.

Well, needless to say, I am NOT an expert blogger. I'm not sure if it's due to the fact that I don't think anyone finds my life interesting but me or the fact that I have never been so busy in all my life! Maybe it's a little bit of both! But, to the few of you out there who have checked this every so often in hopes for an update from Haney Land, never fear! I have returned and it is my "summer resolution" to update this more in hopes that someday, I will look back on it and laugh at my ramblings. I will warn you-- these won't be deep in the least bit, but you'll hopefully get a bit of an outlook on life here and maybe, once in a while, a little bit of my heart. :)

It has been a whopping FOUR months since my last update and there has been much happening here! First of all, we moved! We now live in an amazing apartment on the third floor of a 98 year old Victorian mansion and we are LOVING it! Considering all the problems we had in our last place (hole in the ceiling of our bathroom, mold growing through the wall in our kitchen, drug dealing neighbors, etc.), we feel like we are living in Disney World! Well, maybe not Disney World, but at least Cinderella's palace! It is an incredibly gorgeous place with all the charm of an old home. Our landlords, who have quickly become friends, have done an absolutely impeccable job keeping it up. I love it here.

In other news... baby news... just kidding! I had you for a minute there, didn't I? Not for a while! :) Seriously though, in other news, I am going to be teaching third grade this next school year! I am so thankful for this change. I absolutely loved my sixth graders this year, but it was no secret that I struggled at times. Primary grades are my heart, so I know that this will be an excellent switch for me. Plus, I will be working with a wonderful veteran teacher who is going to be an excellent mentor for me. All in all, I am enjoying my summer break but will be really excited to go back to school in August!

More news... hmm. We will be taking a vacation in August. Where, you ask? Well, I don't know. All I know is we will be going somewhere but that hasn't been decided. I am SUCH a planner and normally, this would bother me a lot, but I think that my husband has rubbed off on me and I have become more laid back in certain areas. I'm looking forward to going somewhere... the spot has just not been chosen yet! We're hoping for Aspen, but we will have to wait and see.

My summer has been going well so far. I am nannying for a family Monday through Thursday. The job is wonderful. They are very precious children and I get off at 2:30 every day! That gives me just enough time to get stuff done or take a nap. Today, I was very productive. I cleaned the apartment, went to the bank, did laundry and went to the library. This brings me to my final two points. Here they are:

1. OxyClean just might be God's greatest invention.
2. I am obsessed with the library.

I will hit on the OxyClean part of these points first. After getting married and starting to do more consistent laundry, my sweet mother introduced me to the wonder that is OxyClean. I started with a rather small tub of the powder. I would add a scoop to my regular laundry loads (along with detergent, of course) and my laundry would come out as usual. I honestly can't say that I saw a marked difference in our laundry, but, it was nice to know our clothes were extra clean. Soon, I graduated to a large tub of the powdered gold and began using it on everything... clothes, carpet stains, etc. I loved it, but it was hard to mix up a paste every time I had a stain (which is quite often, I must admit). The next time I was at the grocery store, I happened to come across OxyClean in a BOTTLE. Could it be? Yes, it was. It has saved some great pieces of clothing from the stains I have inflicted upon them, my favorite being bright blue ink all over a corduroy coat. I was about to just throw away my faithful old coat, but I decided to give it a try with my OxyClean spray... even though the ink had been dried in for MONTHS! Well, folks, it came out! Corduroy is as good as new! My latest OxyClean victory was today. I took some raspberries to work so I could have them as a snack, but didn't finish them all. I made the mistake of putting them on top of my new white shirt in my bag when I went home (stupid, I know!) and later, when putting away the contents of the bag, I discovered that my beautiful top had five large raspberry colored stains. I almost cried, but I decided to give OxyClean another chance. SHE DID IT (I'm not sure when OxyClean became a girl, but bear with me)! I saturated the stains, ran a few errands, and when I came back... the stains were GONE. Not just faded... completely gone. I am still in shock. It was a great day for me and my OxyClean. We will be friends for life.

On to point number two... the library. Cincinnati has a great library system. You can check out books from any location and return them to any location. This works out well as I had to return some books from the branch near our old house on the same day that I took the kids to another library. I have to compliment the genius who thought that up. I am also continually amazed to discover new books and authors. My current favorite, who has stayed in the top spot for a while now, is Jodi Picoult. I will warn you... her stuff is not happy-go-lucky, feel good material, but it really makes me think. I thoroughly enjoyed her most recent book, Change of Heart. It made me think about it for days on end. Alright, back to the library obsession. I can't get enough of the library or its contents. I could spend all day in any library and be perfectly happy. I also have about half a million books checked out right now, which still excites me! I would much rather read than do anything else. I think my favorite book out of the twenty or so (I'm not kidding!) that I have checked out currently is Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook. I'm not a big fan of Martha, but I am a big fan of what she does. I can't say I have ever seen her show, but I love her magazine and I am currently in love with this book. It is about 700 pages, so I will have to renew it several times... either that or buy it. However, it is $50 (crazy!) so I think I will just renew it until kingdom come.



I can't believe I wrote this much and I can't believe that I wrote that much on a CLEANING SUPPLY. Oh, dear. I guess I really am getting into this whole "wife" routine. :) I will start updating on a fairly regular basis, so check back again soon. Thanks for the prompt to get back into this, Tarah and Hayley... it was fun!

I'm not a good blogger...

Well, it's been several months since I've written here and for that I apologize. I guess I shouldn't apologize, seeing as though there are only a few people who read this thing, but still... I'm sure I will love to look back on this someday just to remember what life was like at this stage. I was talking to Lisa the other day about how often I find myself wishing away this time of life in being excited for what's to come in our marriage with new jobs and kids and new places to live, but that I am working on being excited and content with where we are at right now because we'll never be here again. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense... oh, well. I am finally starting to really appreciate the simplicity of our current life. What is so neat is the fact that right now, we really could go anywhere to live and work. It is an amazing time of life and I am enjoying life as it is. :)

It has been a long weeks. On February 3, my Gram passed away very unexpectedly. She was my last grandparent and my precious friend and I miss her everyday. She is in a much better place and with my Papa which is where she wanted to be. It is so hard for us, but much better for her. I think the hardest thing about unexpected deaths is that they are still very present in your everyday life. I cannot tell you how many times I have done something or seen something or cooked something and gone to pick up the phone to call her. I hope it gets easier soon.
Wasn't she the cutest little lady? :) Anyway, I went home this past weekend for her funeral, and other than the actual funeral part, it was the most refreshing weekend. My great uncles flew in for the weekend and we spent a lot of time together. I had forgotten what it's like to have a "grandpa". We had a wonderful time going out for meals, visiting their old home, and going to the Henry Ford museum. We spent almost six hours at the museum and had to leave because it closed.

My Gram's old house. So beautiful!

Uncle Bob and I. I am sitting in the seat where Rosa Parks made history!

I just realized what time it was and I have to run. Have a most wonderful day! :)

Love is in the air...

...or so they think! My sixth graders are all struck with loving feelings for one another as of late. I have had the privilege of hearing about every single crush and "couple" for the last few weeks, and I must say, it is highly amusing. I learn of a new interest each day and I can't do anything but just laugh to myself and try to remember how I felt in sixth grade when I had my first "boyfriend". Our extensive relationship consisted of a 15 second phone call in which he asked me to be his girlfriend and I accepted, followed by a few games of kickball where I only spoke directly to him maybe twice. Oh, young love. It's so underrated. ;) I did have one of my girls tell me tonight that one of the sixth grade "couples" are already talking about what sort of wedding cake they might have. Oh, dear. I told them that was the dumbest thing I've ever heard, because really, it was.

I also had the distinct pleasure of attending the band concert tonight. They are extremely talented musicians... I was very impressed. It was also fun for me to spend some time with my kids outside of the "school" atmosphere. Really, they are incredible people. I am looking forward to seeing how they grow up. They are a great group-- incredibly sensitive and compassionate and just a good group of friends. I am so proud of them; they've already grown a lot since the beginning of the year. I also have a great group of women to work with as well; they are so encouragingly and we laugh constantly. And on a wonderful note, my Dana is pregnant! She's due in July and I am so, so, so excited for her and Corey! I am pulling for a girl and so are they... so that's good. :) Now that she's pregnant, I have baby fever a little bit more than I did... but just a little, so don't worry, Mom! :)

On a totally different note, we have finally found a church here that we are loving. It's a small Baptist church, but it's only a minute away from our house and we love the people and the teaching. It's so refreshing to be at a church with people who love Jesus with their lives and love each other for who they are, despite their weaknesses. It reminds me of a small HPBC, and appropriately enough, it is also HPBC! :) We have met some wonderful people there and are being fed by amazing teaching. We are blessed!

We have a big weekend ahead of us with Tyler's work Christmas party tomorrow and then a day together on Saturday. We are going to go out to dinner on Saturday and then go and see one of my students in a play, so I am very much looking forward to that. I need a good weekend after the long week I had. Christmas is SO close! :)

Thankfulness...

what does it REALLY mean to be truly thankful? i feel like so often i wait until this time of the year to be thankful for anything. and when i say thankful for anything, i don't mean that i never feel thankful for anything or anyone. thanksgiving just brings a new awareness to my life.

this year, i am thankful for all the new changes in my life. it's been a long road in that i'm not always willing to be thankful for all of them. it's been hard being away from my family, my best friends, my church, and just my home... but i think it has brought me to a very new (and good!) place in life. i am extremely thankful for my wonderful husband. i'm still amazed that he picked me to spend every day with for the rest of his life and amazed that he has made it through thus far... ;) what a trooper! marriage is HARD, but oh my goodness-- i love it and i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

i am thankful for this new city and how beautiful it is. i am never wondering what to do because there is an abundance of things to do in cincinnati! it is also so visually appealing and simply a lovely place to live. i am thankful for the new friendships i have been able to establish here and for the old ones that are such a comfort to me. what a blessing it is to move to a new city but to be able to have the comfort of such dear friends! i am also truly thankful for home. i have never truly appreciated home as much as i do now. sometimes... well, more than sometimes... i long to move back to michigan. hopefully it will happen someday soon, but if it doesn't soon, i have a wonderful husband that is with me and a wonderful family that i know will always welcome me back with open arms. same goes for my best friends from michigan. i am absolutely thrilled to be seeing them this coming weekend... that is a HUGE thing that i am thankful for!!!

i am also thankful for these sixth graders and the joy and challenges that they bring to my life every single day. there are hard days but i think that goes for every part of life. honestly, they crack me up more often than not. i am thankful that they are teaching me how to be a better teacher and a better person, i am thankful that they teach me their dances and their sweet "moves" and i am thankful that although they put on a tough guy face sometimes, they really do love me and tell me that in their own individual ways. i just got the most precious letter from a student telling me that she loves to see me smile and that i am her most favorite person in the world. now, i realize that i am probably not really her favorite person, but just the fact that she took the time to write me a sweet note blesses my heart. being a teacher is hard... especially a middle school teacher... but i am thankful for it. :)

we just had another single mom pass away at CCS. this is our second of the year... the year. the first is a little girl in my class but this was a 4th grader. please be praying for her as she faces a very difficult time without her momma. you can also continue to pray for jessica, the young lady in my class as she is facing some difficult things without her precious mom as well.

i hope you all take time to really be thankful throughout this next year. i hope that i can look back on this coming year and say that i really took time to thank the Lord for all the blessings in my life each and every day. there sure are a lot of them! happy thanksgiving!

A Break...

I'm not really sure I know what a break even is anymore! I am constantly on the move and doing something whether it has to do with getting the house clean, hanging out with friends and my husband, or grading papers. I know I said this before, but when you have 50+ 6th graders doing homework everyday, the work sure does pile up. They are good students though, so that helps. However, I have read the most hilarious answers to certain questions on tests or homework. I'm sure I was the same way when I was in middle school, but they come up with the most interesting answers. Sometimes I want to give them points for being purely creative, even when they are terribly wrong. :)

We went back to Marion for Homecoming this past weekend-- which was a week ago now. It was an absolute blast, especially getting to go to Mi Pueblo for arroz con pollo with my girls!! Ty and I also had a great time with all my friends that I made while I was living in Marion. Can you believe I was actually a bit homesick for Marion? Maybe not Marion itself, but... my friends, the Stopps, Kendall, my kindergartners, Mi Pueblo, etc. That is Marion to me. :)

I think that God was in a very interesting mood when He created marriage. I love my precious husband to pieces, but it's very... different... living with a boy. We are continually learning new things about each other. He didn't know that I HATE doing dishes. I didn't know what a neat freak he was. There is also very little "alone" time when you are a 6th grade teacher and a wife... and I crave my alone time. I get home before Tyler every evening, which is nice to just get my bearings. However, I absolutely love the moment when he comes home from work and we get to just be together for the rest of the day. There is something wonderful about waking up next to your best friend every morning-- I highly recommend it. :)

It's Friday... and I can honestly say I had a good week at work. It went quickly and I have a feeling that next week will go even faster. Then, next Friday, we are going home to Michigan for the weekend! I really can't wait; I miss them so very, very much. This weekend will consist of date night tonight (Ty planned it!), breakfast and "house" shopping with Lisa then dinner with the Brunk family tomorrow, and then church and the pumpkin patch/apple orchard with our couples Bible Study on Sunday. I would say the weekend holds a lot of promise for us! :)

And now... a few wedding photos... just because I want to. :)

My precious flower girls!

One of my favorite pictures!

Two Months Later...

Well, it has been almost two months since the big day. Two months in just three days to be precise. It has been the most incredible journey of my life and obviously, it hasn't even REALLY started! :)

The first few weeks were an absolute whirlwind... actually, the first many weeks were a complete whirlwind. We went on our amazing honeymoon, got back at midnight on a Saturday, moved to Cincinnati on Sunday, and I started work on Monday. It was exhausting, but actually, very fun. Now we're settled into our new apartment, going through our daily lives. It is so fun to be able to see Tyler every single day after having a long distance relationship for so long. I love cooking for him and finding new things for our apartment and just being with him for more than a weekend at a time!

I am really liking my job. Teaching 6th grade is obviously a lot different than teaching kindergartners, but it is a challenge I am enjoying a bit more everyday. :) I work at Cincinnati Christian which is a fabulous school. I never realized how FUNNY middle schoolers are! Don't even worry; now that I live in Cincinnati, one of the students leads us in the "Who Dey" cheer every Friday. :) There are amazing women there that encourage me at CCS and I've made some wonderful friends. It has also been such a blessing to live near Lisa, Tim & Laurel, and Emily & Grant. I can't thank God enough for putting me in a new city with old friends. It has made the whole transition even smoother.

Speaking of transition-- I do miss Michigan terribly sometimes. Before the wedding, I wouldn't really let myself think about all the changes that were taking place in my life and now that all the craziness is over, it is starting to catch up with me a bit. It's mostly in the little things where I get sad. I miss my parents, my home, my dog, my friends, my church, etc. I didn't really realize how blessed I was until it was all behind me, so to speak. However, I have an incredible husband who makes me more thankful for him with each passing day. I really have nothing to complain about.

I am still pushing for a dog, but Tyler keeps saying no. :( We'll see how long it takes me to break him down. It only took ten years with my dad!! What else, what else... oh, yes. Our neighbors upstairs are EXTREMELY loud. We only get woken up in the middle of the night about two times a week... how nice. That's JUST what I signed up for! ;) I don't know what they're doing, but I'm pretty sure they have an elephant for a pet.

I will write more about the wedding/ honeymoon later. For now, grading is calling me. Another change from 6th grade-- there is SO MUCH GRADING! It doesn't seem to stop. We'll see if I ever get a real break. :)