T'was the Night Before School

A new year. New beginnings. A fresh start. These words ring so true every year at this time. Brand new pencils. Fully stocked notebooks. Fresh, undamaged folders. Children that are eager to learn. It's hard to not feel the buzz in the air at this time of year from all the anticipation that comes with back-to-school. One of my favorite annual memories of growing up was the day that my parents would take off a day of work (both of them, I love that in an of itself, but that's a whole nother conversation) and we would go get all our yearly check ups. We'd hit up the eye doctor, the doctor, the dentist...

I know what you're thinking, "That sounds like a nightmare!"  But it wasn't. Because after all those scary and lousy and not fun appointments we got to spend the rest of the day as a family back-to-school shopping. We'd have a family lunch together, hit up Target for all the year's supplies, and then we'd get equipped with brand new clothes and brand new shoes and we'd feel like new people ready to take on the year. I did at least. And this memory is so prevalent to me because that day was so important in my life to help me prepare for the upcoming school year. To help get me into "go" mode. And for the next few weeks I could barely contain the excitement that came with back to school and this time of year.

But then the night before school hit. And all that excitement was filled with pure fear. I got nervous. So nervous, in fact, that I remember not sleeping. And then I would head to school the next day and Mom and Dad would drop me off, and I would put on a smiling face... Until I walked in the building and the butterflies filled my stomach. And the anxiety was so strong every year that I can still remember it to this day.

Fast forward 15 years... Here I sit the night before school. I just met my little ones. I just saw all their nervous and excited and smiling faces... And I'm nervous. And I'm scared. And I'm terrified. And I wonder why in the world I chose a career where I have to experience those same feelings that I hated so much back then, year after year.

But I'm so glad I did. Because along with all the same nervous, anxious feelings I felt so long ago I feel so excited and so blessed to begin this year with all these new kiddos! It's going to be a whirlwind, and a crazy year but I know it will be a great one.

{I also feel so grateful that I can relate to those little ones who are coming into my classroom who may be experiencing the same feelings}

So my clothes are laid out and ready, my nerves are high, and I probably won't sleep much tonight, but I'm still convinced teaching is one of the greatest jobs.

Here's to another {great} year.

Also received this adorable card from my principal. Such a thoughtful woman. Such a nice card.

Buildings?

This is what our entry way is looking like these days... Life has changed. 

My favorite conversation thus far happened last night. Rob and I walked by a small barber shop with a large sign in the window that said "$8 haircuts". Rob, with a mop on his head, thought he had stumbled upon a gold mine- so we stepped inside. There was a little old man sitting on a chair with his feet up reading the paper. As we walked in he slowly turned to look at us, smiled very wide and said "hello folks". After talking for a while about if the haircuts were actually only $8 and finding out that they were in fact $8 and- 'had we come in last week' would have been $5- Rob sat down in this little old man's chair for a cut. It was the three of us in a tiny barber shop with a 74 year old man and a very curious husband. The conversation that followed was one for the books.

Barber: So, what are you here for, the money?

Rob: No, actually I work for JLG Architects and we are starting an office downtown.

Barber: For who?

Rob: JLG Architects.

Barber: What's that?

Rob: We're an architecture firm that just moved to town. We have offices all over the state of North Dakota.

Barber (with a very perplexed look on his face): You mean... like... buildings?

It was all I could do to keep from laughing at this adorable old man who apparently was completely clueless about what an architecture firm is.

Remade

Moving into a new house is a really cool feeling. It's a blank slate. An empty place filled with possibilities. The DIY home improvement projects don't exist (until you want to finish that unfinished basement), little things aren't falling apart, or breaking. It's refreshing. It feels sophisticated. Grown up. Real life. Scary.

As we moved our furniture into our home, some of it felt just a bit out of place. It was 1980's in a 2014 house. The stain didn't match, it was old mixed with new. We knew our budget wouldn't allow for the purchase of any new furniture for quite some time- so we had to get creative.

Que DIY furniture. In total homesteader mode, I was motivated to take on any new project. So for the first time in my life, I whipped out a sander, some tools, fresh stain, fresh paint, lacquer, and the painting clothes and I took to redoing our table. I loved every second of it. Seeing the transformation take place was so fulfilling, fun and motivating. And I'm encouraged by how easy it actually was.

The wood clashed with the cabinets and the floor, the red clashed with our yellow stools. It was a mess.

And the finished product. Matching the dark wood of the floor and cabinets, and working with the yellow stools in our kitchen.

Here is a side by side comparison.

I sense a lot of furniture remaking in my future!

Hot Glue Guns and Poster Frames

Before moving west, I had heard several fabrications, exaggerations and crazy things about it. Every little thing that happened was fabricated and plastered on the news as if this was the worst place on Earth you could live. I heard about the insane ratio of women to men, the extremely high prices on everything, the overcrowded schools, the housing market that was beyond inflated, the long lines at any store, the emptiness of shelves when you needed just about anything, the violence due to the influx of people from all over the county, the large number of trucks, and the list went on and on. I heard. I saw people's faces when I told them "I'm moving to Dickinson" and I received several comments such as "why would you do that" and "are you crazy".

Although I have only been here for a little over a week, I can already say that all that you hear fits into two very distinct categories: absolutely, positively untrue and hit the nail right on the head. The dangerous town and violence and crazy people that are depicted on the media are certainly not anywhere near what they make it out to be. I went for a run this morning (equipped with my cell phone and a husband at the other end who was waiting to come rescue me if anything went awry) and it was beautiful. It was peaceful, it was an awesome route, I didn't get yelled at or hassled once (that's more than I can say about Fargo/Moorhead), and I felt like I was in a beautiful small town North Dakota. It's not all that bad people, it's really not that bad.

In a little over a week I have met some amazingly friendly, welcoming people. People who are opening up their city to outsiders, welcoming them in, and treating them as if they've always been a part of this place. It's pretty neat to witness. And don't get me wrong, I have not had any heart-stopping, dangerous feeling experience where I felt out of my comfort zone, and for that I am so incredibly happy.

However... When you hear people say that you can't buy anything you need- believe it. Just believe it. I have gone to Walmart (yes, it is my only choice) several times over the course of this week trying to set up my classroom and our house. I've run for several items, and I've gone for more specific items, and every time I have found empty shelves. It's the weirdest feeling in the world. Extra sheets for the guest bedroom, none. Duct tape, none. Certain brands of toothpaste, none. A frame for a poster, not a chance. So today when I realized I needed a hot glue gun to assemble some banners I had made for my classroom, I headed to where else but Walmart. "They won't be out of hot glue guns" I thought "who buys hot glue guns anyways? There aren't thousands of oil workers running around with hot glue guns". After parking my hot wheels car amongst a sea of very large trucks at Walmart, I made my way into the store, and to the craft isle where I was certain I would grab my hot glue gun and some sticks and be on my way. Instead, this is what I found:

See all those empty hanging spots. Yep, every single one of them was marked with "hot glue gun".

I guess there are many, many men driving their big trucks around town with poster frames and hot glue guns, so I should be on the lookout for that.

The adventure continues.

New Adventures

In early April Rob and I were faced with a decision. A major, life-altering decision. Rob was offered a job opportunity in Dickinson, North Dakota. So began our journey of decision making, praying and ultimately moving to a whole new place.

I turned in my keys at Oak Grove. We packed up the first house we ever lived in together. We bought our 2nd house in a year and we were off.

So on August 1st, we pointed a very large Uhaul west, and we began a new adventure. Rob + Amber in Dickinson, North Dakota.

I knew it would be hard to leave Oak Grove. I knew it would be very hard to leave our family and many, many great friends. I knew it would be a challenge to leave the life we had build in Moorhead, but leaving our first home was a bit harder than I anticipated. The house we put hours upon hours of work into, making it a home. The house we came home to after our honeymoon, and celebrated many firsts in. Our first house, which will forever hold many memories of a great first year of marriage. 

And we arrived at our new house. A house that holds several future memories. A house that is slowly becoming a home in a town that I am certain holds many adventures for the Remarks.

We've made the move. And though I am uncertain of so many things, terrified of all the unknowns and very slowly adjusting to life in a town where we don't know a soul I cannot wait to see where this journey takes us! And I am so excited that we are writing yet another interesting chapter in our life together.

Stayed tuned for all the Remark adventures brought to you courtesy of our newest home.