Life Updates

A few life updates:

1. [Probably the most hilarious update]: Somehow I found myself coaching two science olympiad teams this year. As a child my mom asked me if I was interested in doing this and I laughed! Funny how this all comes full circle, right? I honestly was clueless and fumbled my way through the preparation [half of the content was WAY over my head]. The competition was on Saturday, an all day event at UNCW, with thousands of middle schoolers. Y'all, it was insane! My school did fantastic & beat out schools way bigger than ours. Our entire science olympiad team (18 kids) will advance to the state competition. (And I had just been thinking how nice it would be to have my afternoons back ...)! But really, I am pumped for them & my competitive side is coming out. We are already back to studying/preparing like crazy. The kids I'm coaching are the best & I am so proud!

2. I'm almost afraid to write this on here because then it means people will be holding me accountable & it will be real, but I am planning on doing a sprint triathlon this summer. It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but never had time for it or all the other million excuses. I actually did a few sprint triathlons as a child & really enjoyed them. I think it will feel good to get back into training mode & compete in something. I do have a tendency of saying that I will compete in something and then as it gets closer, I back out, but I really want to do this!
It's not until June so I have plenty of time to prepare! Lately, I have just been feeling blah and wanting to get into better shape, so go big or go home, right?



3. It's back to life with the little orangey and me while Will is working long hours. I'm getting back into the swing of things & relearning to enjoy alone time. Hot tea, warmer weather (well, at least before today), and good books make it a lot easier.

Happy Tuesday! Praying for warmer weather ASAP!

Ice Storm-Round 2

Well, we survived the ice storm of 2014, or second one actually. This time around nothing covered the ground or street, ice just covered the trees and power lines. 

It wasn't quite as fun and definitely wasn't as beautiful this time around. In fact, it was a little scary hearing the crack of tree limbs and then watching them fall inches from houses and cars. We lost power for most of Wednesday, but thankfully it was restored late Wednesday night. Some folks are still without power around town. Losing power is fun for a little bit & even seems a bit adventurous, but let me tell you ... it loses it's charm pretty quickly. 

My mountain man did boil a kettle of water over the fire and we drank coffee/tea while sitting close to the fire, warming our toes. We got pretty darn close to cooking our dinner over the fire, but then thought about how easily we could get out and go somewhere WARM. The roads were not bad at all so we ventured out for a hot sandwich at one of our favorite deli's. Once we were stuffed, we headed home, hoping the power would be back on when we returned. It was not (womp womp) so we pulled in the mattress off the guest bed & set up a pallet bed by the fire. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty cozy. Fortunately, my husband thinks ahead (unlike me) and had downloaded an itunes movie while we still had power. We cuddled up and began the movie. About twenty minutes in, all the lights came on and I shouted with joy! Yay for heat!! 

We are so thankful for warm showers, heat and light! Our neighborhood still looks like a war zone with tree limbs everywhere and power lines still hanging down in places, but slowly things are coming back to normal. We're back at school & once again trying to get back into the swing of things (today was supposed to be a day off but its a makeup from the LAST ice storm). Spring, we're VERY ready for you at this point.

Ice Day(s)

Typically I'm not a huge fan of winter or snow, for that matter. I can go for one good snow and then I'm over it, but this year I was praying hard for a big snow (kind of a joke since we live in Wilmington, but hey, a girl can dream!). The forecast a few days before was calling for a BIG snow here ... like 5+ inches, but as it got closer the forecast began to change to more ice and less snow.

I prepared just in case and stocked up on my weeks groceries on Sunday night. Tuesday we waited ALL day for something to happen & not much did until that night. Schools were out on Tuesday because the weathermen had said it would start early Tuesday morning. Will & I walked down to the park near our house and took a few before shots just in case something did happen. By Tuesday evening, it was sleeting and began to accumulate pretty quickly. We had a potluck dinner over at our friends house (they live two houses down) and I made English pasties (a tradition on the Nichols side of my family).  It was such a blast hanging out with them that night and eating dinner together! Living in this neighborhood is so fun & we love that we can just walk over to friends' houses and share food on cold nights.

Wednesday morning everything was covered in about an inch or so of ice. Our neighbors came over for some homemade cinnamon rolls that I made and we sat by the fire. I so enjoyed my day off from school! We mostly just relaxed, read books, walked to the park and watched kids sled etc. One of my favorite parts about the day was watching all the kids in our neighborhood attempt to sled on the tiniest hills ever. None of them had sleds because, well, we live at the beach, so everyone was using boogie boards. It was so great & reminded me of all the great times we had growing up sledding down our street.

Our little house looked so cute with some white stuff on it & the neighborhood looked so peaceful (even if it was just ice). We took Clyde out to experience it & he absolutely hated it. Anytime you pick him up and walk towards a window or door, he now freaks out and scrambles out of your arms. Guess he's a summertime boy.

Schools were out yesterday and are out again today too (4 days off!). The ice is melting quickly, now that the sun is finally out and the temperature has risen. We're starting to go a little stir crazy at this point, but it was fun to stay in and spend time with friends for a few days. Last night, Will and I broke out a deck of cards and played a few games, then watched a movie on the laptop in bed. It's been a dreamy few days and definitely a break from reality. We southerners love a good snow ice so that we can shut things down for a few days and spend some time with our family and friends. Now that I've had my one "snow," I'm looking at you, spring. We're ready for ya!

Gratitude

This week, I am thankful for ...

this view-off our front porch

children & their desire to learn

pumpkins on porches

warm slippers for crossing hardwood floors on cold mornings

a quiet, empty beach

Cats in bow ties (he hated every minute of it)

afternoons spent fishing in our neighborhood

halloween parties and wonderful friends

Topics of conversation here

Here are a few things we've been reading or talking about in the Cooper house.

1. Prefab homes. They are so much cooler than I ever would have thought! Look at this cute coastal cottage (the inside is really cool too).

Also, did you know that people are now using shipping containers to create houses? I had no idea, but they are pretty incredible too. See some here.


2. This print & how to live that out. 

3. Butternut squash risotto with sage & bacon. Y'all, it was delicious. I would highly suggest it with a pork tenderloin and side salad. Its a good hearty meal, perfect for fall. Find the recipe here.

4. And this cutie. Clearly, the entertainer in our house & he loves every minute of it. Such an only cat. 

Happy hump day, the weekend is getting closer!

THANKFUL

Its been quite a while since I've posted, but I'll start back with a thankful post. Lots of things to be thankful for in the last month (as always)!

For one wonderful year of marriage & a man who loves me more than I deserve. And, for a relaxing getaway to Chapel Hill to celebrate!

For friends who come & stay at the Cooper B&B, we loved it!

For this little lady, her huge heart & all her sass. Love her dearly! 

For homemade chicken tortilla soup on a rainy day

For finished bulletin boards & my far-from-perfectionist-attitude

For having people in my life where goodbyes are hard

For a partner when lesson planning

For girls' weekends & time with my Mama

For old recipes and a lot of butter

And that I have the best date to weddings forever.

Gratitude.

Oh you know, just went MIA for a few weeks. But I'm backkk.

So my favorite season is upon us & I couldn't be happier. There are so many things to be thankful for- here are just a few things that I'm thankful for over the past few weeks or so.

For American flags & film jobs in Wilmington.

For sleeping kittens who cuddle up beside you

For friendships that endure life changes & miles of distance

For market lights on the porch & warm summer nights with friends

For visits with friends and time to slow down & catch up

For surprises on my pillow from my sweet husband.

Meet Clyde

Last weekend Will and I adopted Clyde. He is an 8 month old kitten who was put up for adoption when his owner, an elderly lady, had to go to a nursing home & they would not allow pets. He is just the sweetest thing-a little bit shy but he warms up quickly.

My phone is already filled with pictures of this sweet guy & while Will has been away I've sent him lots of update pictures. I promise I'm not a cat lady! Unfortunately, he has been pretty sick the past few days & I even forced him to go see the vet on Tuesday. Apparently its very common for kittens to get sick when they move homes. He has been sneezing/coughing; it is so pitiful! 

We're hopeful that he is on the mend & we will see his full personality come out soon. I am also hoping he gets better quickly so I don't have to continue giving him these antibiotic pills. Ever tried to give a cat a pill? Yeah, it doesn't go over too well. At first he cooperated but now he has gotten clever and will wiggle his way out of your arms. How is it that the vet made it look so easy??.. "just hold him, drop the pill in his mouth, hold his mouth shut.. done!" Eh... it is NOT like that at all. After about 10 attempts, we were successful tonight, but not without a few battle wounds on my end.

Just one of those days.

You know when you're just having one of those days? Well, that would be about how my day went. From the moment I woke up, things went awry. Will is filming out of town again this week, Clyde is sick, I got very little sleep last night and every minor task became an extremely frustrating one.

This blog isn't always about good times; I am going to be as honest and real as possible. Lets start with today; it was rough. I'm missing Will like crazy & we are so ready to see this show come to an end. I am desperately craving quality time with him. There are still boxes to be unloaded and I keep remembering things that I am missing (still unsure of what box they could be in). Our poor little kitten is sick & seems to be getting dehydrated by the minute (yet he refuses to drink anything). Oh the list goes on. 

The good news is tomorrow is a new day. On days like this, do you ever just want to go to bed early so the day can come to an end? I do. I am going to bed soon. I figure sleep can never hurt. I am praying for a better day tomorrow. I know with a good attitude and a fresh start, it will be. So, for all of you that had one of those days today, just remember that we all do & we have the privilege to start over tomorrow. 

Thankfulness.

Its important to focus on all that we have in this world full of so many "wants." When we begin to count all the good things, we often realize that we are more blessed than we realized. 

Here's what I'm thankful for recently:

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after 8 months of extremely hard work & long hours for Will. This picture was actually taken a few weeks ago & as of right now we (hopefully) only have 2 more weeks to go!

Leisurely bike rides with Will & explorations in our new neighborhood:

   

Sweet little Clyde, the newest addition to our family:

Fridays that begin with this:

Lazy rainy mornings complete with blankets, hot tea and a Britt's donut (the best donuts in the world, I promise):