It's a process, people.

Introducing Melissa, the photographer.

(excuse the "myspaceness" of this photo)

So I did it. It happened. I bought myself a big girl camera.

This is one of my lenses. I look like a little girl on Christmas morning.

Because I pretty much was. 

After saving, saving and more saving the camera stork delivered my Canon Rebel T2i.

I couldn't stop taking pictures.

My very first picture! I know. I'm a natural :)

Finally able to capture one of our beautiful sunsets!

I have wanted to take a picture of this cactus since we moved in in November. Sweet. Long. Last.

 

I know there are going to be lots of bumps a long the way. I promise to post my (hopefully) good photos and my not so good photos, so we can laugh together. Not every picture will be "picture perfect".. I can accept that and own it. It's gonna be a process, people. Deal.

On the plus side, you will get to see these blogs a lot more often.

Perhaps I'll even have more than 2 1/2 followers!

Hobby Job?

I want a fun hobby job. And I need your help. I understand that a whole 2 ½ people read this but I’m hoping those 2 ½ come through and I get their opinion :)

Rules for my hobby job:

1.       It must be fun

2.       Ability to create my own schedule

3.       Little to no paperwork

4.       Small  amount of schooling

This isn't overly demanding, right? :) But my current job is none of the above with the exception of number 1. I laugh every single day. I can’t imagine leaving teaching any time soon. However, I realized today that I have never even thought about making money any other way besides teaching. Growing up, it was the only thing I ever wanted to be and now I have my dream job (just not my dream paycheck :)) Eventually, I would like to have babies and have the option to stay home/create my own schedule. You can see how these rules conflict with teaching. And here lies my dilemma.

Here are the three options I have floating in my head:

1.       Cosmetologist

a.       Pros

-Something I have always been interested in

-Free haircuts and color? Yes, please

-A fun way to be artistic

b.      Cons

-Long time in school

-and the lots of $$$ it would cost to be in school

2.       Zumba Instructor

a.       Pros

-I heart shakin my booty and getting my groove thing on (see earlier post dedicated entirely to Zumba)

-One 8 hour day and 225 dollars later, you are certified

-I get to exercise and get paid at the same time!

-It is the only exercise I have willingly stuck with for over a year and still genuinely enjoy

b.      Cons

-I may or may not have to pay 30 bucks a month to remain certified?

-I not only have to be confident in my dancing ability, I need to be confident in my teaching abilities (but then again, I teach 3-5 year olds language, so really. How hard can it be to teach a bunch of 20-70 somethings how to dance?)

3.       Photographer

a.       Pros

-Who doesn’t want to take pictures of pretty things and people? So creative and artsy! I love capturing beauty in life!

- I don’t care to get into weddings. Just senior pictures, preggo pictures, etc.

- If I turned out to be a natural, no schooling needed!   

b.      Cons

-I have ZERO experience and no camera. And that costs mucho dinero. (Although I will have a big girl camera at some point in the next few years. I like taking pictures too much).

-I may or may not have an artistic eye for people.

-Everyone and their uncle is trying to become a photographer nowadays.

4.       Other ??

Are there any other options? I know. I’m being picky.I was thinking blogger but then realized I need to write more than, oh you know, once every couple months to make money. Oh! I should also mention this. Nobody get too excited. No baby plans for a couple years (at least that's our plan for right now), but I thought I would get the ball rolling on this whole fun hobby job and be pretty solid by the time we enter "the baby phase" of life. It is kind of exciting to think I might be able to get into something else I truly enjoy. 

Pretty much it boils down to this. I am still an eight-year old girl who is dreaming about what they want to be when they grow up. 

And now I need the older, bigger kids help.

My Apologies to 2010

Looking back at my "Best of 2010" post, I realized I did not give credit where credit was due. So here it goes.

Dear 2010,

It is with my deepest regret, that I did not mention one of the most important things you introduced me to.

Zumba.

Without it, my life would not be as enjoyable or fun. 

So again, my apologies.

Sincerely,

Melissa

Although, if we are going to be honest, Zumba deserves its own post so it all equals out, right? For those people who are not aware of what Zumba is, it's "Latin based aerobics. There is a different choreography for each song." Personally, I am instructor loyal which Ill explain in greater detail later. There are oh so many wonderful reasons I love Zumba so I thought I would list just a few...

1. It brings women of all different shapes, sizes, age, culture, professions (and men...yes men, too) together for an hour of fun!

2. It is one of the few times that I enjoy my booty and using it to it's full capability

3. It really works your memory. I'd say that I have approximately 2 hours worth (maybe more) of dances memorized.

4. I have really improved my dancing ability...I most likely would be deadly competition on Dancing With the Stars.

5. You make zumba friends that understand the fantasticness of zumba and specific zumba instructors.

6. I not only feel comfortable walking into a gym setting, I feel like I belong there.

7. Shaking my booty to Shakira is one of the highlights of my week! It's fun to be sexy.

8. Being introduced to new songs and finding you like songs you never thought you would.

9. It is such a good feeling to feel like I am naturally better at ONE physical activity than my hubs :)

10. I know this is like the 3rd time, but it deserves being mentioned 3 times. I enjoy and celebrate my butt during this one hour. For real. 

Never thought the words "enjoy, celebrate, my" and "butt" would make it into the same sentence.

Enter Zumba.

Let me quickly explain my theory on Zumba instructors. For all the "Zumba Naysayers," there are two types of instructors:

A. Super fit, in shape athletic trainer who also teaches kickboxing, cycling, etc. They thoroughly enjoy working out and have decided "Hey, Zumba is in right now. Let's add that to the mix."

B. Just as busy as the rest of us and dreads getting on the treadmill. Happened to do Zumba because they love to dance and it was the only type of "exercise" that they 1. enjoyed  and/or 2. worked for them.

If you may have guessed, my awesome instructor is B. I find it an odd coincidence that the "normal" sized woman gives me the best workout and is also the class I have the most fun in.

One of my experiences with instructor A goes as follows:

I wake up on a Saturday morning very excited for Zumba. I think to myself, "That's right, Melissa. You are doing such a fantastic thing for yourself this morning by doing an hour of Zumba. And plus you get to shake your booty."  I am anxiously awaiting instructor B, when instructor A walks in. She asks everyone how they are doing and just "mentions" that she has already hiked Squaw Peak twice this morning and is now "ready" for an hour of Zumba. Really?? She chose to hike a mountain twice and then sub for Zumba?  And I thought I was awesomely athletic for doing an hour of Zumba on a Saturday morning. 

(So ya'all know, instructor B is a lovely person by the way, so super sweet. I just would much rather have an instructor I can relate with. You understand, right?)

So for all the Zumba naysayers, I say you got the wrong instructor and need to try a different one. And maybe you are the opposite of me and enjoy the super fit, athletic Zumba.

Alright. That wasn't a quick explanation.

If you are interested, go to www.zumba.com (Don't worry, if you go to the right class, Zumba isn't nearly as cheesy as the website makes it out to be. And the music isn't that bad either.)

Or just come with me! Who knows...maybe I will be your instructor B someday!

It's been awhile.

SO.

It's been a while.

But I have good reason. We've been pretty busy.

But I'll get to that later. 

I have been thinking about all of the wonderful things Josh and I have been blessed with in 2010. This is about 2 days late, but better late than never, right? Let's take mosey down memory lane..

1. This little 1.5 pound animal came into our life.

...and then I broke his leg. He loved me nonetheless.

 

He has brought us so much joy and laughter. I cannot believe it has been exactly one year since we brought our Wrigley home.








2. Josh and I both found jobs we absolutely love! Josh teaches 3rd grade at a charter school in South Phoenix and I work at PDSD (Phoenix Day School for the Deaf) as a preschool teacher. We both share similar joys and frustrations as educators and always come home with hilarious stories.

Almost more importantly , I was introduced to the wonder that is the Mac.

And am patiently awaiting the day we have one in our very own home

 

My organized chaos that is a preschool classroom...with my Mac.

3. Celebrating one year of marriage with my husband! 

A getaway to Sedona seemed appropriate...and beautiful.

Time flies so fast. I can't even imagine how fast it will go when babies arrive.

4.  Some of our best friends moved to AZ to hang out with us for a few months...or more. We don't really know. And the rest of "our family" tied the knot :)

A beautiful wedding...and bride.

 

 

5. Explored a beautiful state and country! 

Conquered CamelBack

Sedona

Not to mention dance with Ellen!!

Sedona, again.

Phoenix

Flagstaff

black and white Sedona.

California Beach

Southern Illinois.

6. We became real grown ups and purchased a house.

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post. Apparently, houses consume a lot of energy and time. 

So many things to consider like...

neighborhood

new or old.

bedrooms

bathrooms

square footage

resale potential

appliances.

Do we really want to live in Phoenix for an extended amount of time? 

Yes. Yes we do. This place rocks. (as made obvious by #5)

(Luckily, we got the best Realtor, Lisa Tollefson, who walked us through everything and refused to let us buy a house she wouldn't let her own kids live in)

Then, once a house is in your possession, you need to gather a few awesome friends for mostly free labor. 

(Shout out to the Searers and the Turris:  Holla!)

Then, after lots of hard work, you get to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.

And then you sit and enjoy the house. Maybe we'll have a housewarming party within the next couple months. Maybe.

Either way, we still want you to come over, sit on our comfy couch so we can enjoy your company.

Have we been blessed, or have we been blessed? 

And this is only a mere glimpse into everything that happened in 2010.

2011 has a lot to live up to. 

I'm not too worried about it.

Plan B Stands for Plan Better

House Update:

Our "Maybe" house pretty much fell through. We stood firm on our price and waited to hear the banks response...which was nothing. We are content with it. While we were out looking at different houses we found our "Should Be" house!

We did an inspection this past Saturday. We are still waiting to get the hard paper copies..hopefully soon! We may even get to have Thanksgiving there, that would just be awesome. Here are some pictures:

 My favorite part: the kitchen. And Wrigley does approve.

Master Bathroom

We really are just prayin about...and we'll see what the plan is for us.

(Side note: I want a big girl camera. That might just be number one on my wish list...besides a Mac desktop.)

Our friend Bryan came in last week for a visit and we took a trip to Sedona for the day. Beautiful.

We like where we live. A lot.

Latest Collection...

of things going on in my brain.

-I have the best job in the world. I wish I could post videos of the little bittys. They are awesome and I love seeing language develop!!!

-We are pretty anxious for our maybe home to come through. We like it a whole lot and want people to come visit us. Also, I would love to have Thanksgiving there.

-I officially want a Mac desktop. I have one at school. I barely know how to turn it on, but I know it's awesome. One day. Did you know teachers get a discount?? Gotta start saving our pennies.

-I don't like money. It is obnoxious. And stressful. We both work hard, shouldn't we be able to just buy what we need and/or want? Stupid, but very smart, budget.

-Fantasy football is confusing. But should be fun? I'm excited to be doing it with "our family." I love being connected to our friends. Hopefully they will be visiting sometime soon.

-I can't tell if Wrigley is getting bigger or not.

Life is fantastic and we are so incredibly blessed.

And it begins.

School year has begun and it has begun at full speed.

Josh is enjoying teaching the 3rd grade and I enjoy listening to little quirks he is working out in his classroom. Here is my favorite story to date:

(1st day of school)
Mr. Duerr: Is anyone allergic to peanuts?
3rd Grader Johnny: I am!
Mr. Duerr: Thank you for letting me know, 3rd Grader Johnny.

(Later that night)
Josh: I have a peanut kid. I should probably take the peanut butter out of my desk and bring it home. But we don't have a "Peanut Allergy" sign on the door, so it should be fine
Me: Interesting. Why do we have all these kids with allergies nowadays? Somethings not quite right.

(4th day of school during lunch)
Mr. Duerr: 3rd Grader Johnny, come here for a moment
3rd Grader Johnny: Yes, Mr. Duerr?
Mr. Duerr: How severe is your allergy to peanuts?
3rd Grader Johnny: Huh?
Mr. Duerr: Is your allergy to peanuts really bad?
3rd Grader Johnny: Huh? What? I don't like peanuts.
Mr. Duerr: OK 3rd Grader Johnny. It is OK to not like peanuts, but that does not mean you are allergic. You can just say "I don't like peanuts." Finish eating your lunch.

This story may not be as funny in writing or I am not a good writer or both,  either way it had Josh and I laughing for a solid 5 minutes that night.

And that is reason # 363 why being a teacher is awesome.

Here are a couple pictures from his classroom. The last one isn't very good, put the main point is to show his view from the classroom in mountains (for all you Illinois folk, of course :))

Stories from a DHH preschool teacher to come soon....