I'm Thankful I'm Playing THURSDAY

Again, I am double dipping.

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And again, I am going to encourage you to never google search the term double dipping without the safe search on to at least moderate. Trust me.


I'm joining two link ups again this Thursday because I am greedy and want all of the salsa content I can get.

I'm again with the apparantly similar yet prettier Sarah Elizabeth.

And of course with the other southern gem, (is it just me or are all of my bloggy friends from the south?) the every charming Rebecca.

I'm going to go ahead switch things up and share what I've been listening to first.

Just gonna go ahead and throw this out there and bring up the obvious: I don't listen to country often.

Sometimes, but not often.

Most other people in the "What I'm Playing" link-up do, so I feel a little bit like an outlier. But a little bit of variety is good right? Hope y'all can appreciate my shares whether they're your style or notsomuch.

My first song that I've been listening to over and over again is permanently stuck in my head, and probably yours too. But I don't mind.

This girl might be crazy but she can throw a beat down. AM I RIGHT?

Okay so this one is the token adorable summer jam that makes you...well makes your heart beat faster.
Coincidentally, the lovely hostess of this link-up agrees that it is a worthwhile listen.

When driving in my car the other day this came on the radio. You know those songs that mean so much to you at one point in your life?
Well this whole album was a total game changer for me. It came out my senior year of highschool and made me put a positive spin on going off to college and "finding" my new self. A quote from this song may or may not have been in my senior yearbook.
(Before you judge go ahead and look at your senior yearbook.Yeah.... that's what I thought. )
Either way, ever since I heard it on the radio I have been playing it in my itunes and smiling.

Alright link up number two! Time to name some things I am thankful for!

1. I have a job in the summer.

My students have asked my why on earth I would work during the summer. Because, "The whole point of being a teacher is getting summers of right?'

I usually send them off with a,  

"No the whole point of being a teacher is torturing all of you." 

And then I growl.

I love teaching middle school.

ANYWAY.

Being young and on a limited income is difficult, especially where Dave and I are literally both at the bottom of the totem in our public service workforce.

So I am thankful that I am able to find a job with a great group of teens to 20 somethings where I can make some extra money. Some weeks it keeps us afloat with bills. Some weeks it pays for my windshield.

And other weeks it pays for a new bathing suit that is on sale.

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Because when all of your suits are 3 years old and worn out from chlorine and sun, it's just not good for anyone.

So I am thankful for working this summer, but not working an insane amount like past summers.

Did I mention that it's a custard place and therefore air conditioned?

And that I get to make frozen bananas?

2. Professional days for school are starting up already.

This may sound like the most miserable phrase for my fellow educators out there.

Lemme explain myself. (And those of you not in the educational field feel free to skip  this portion of my post. I'm going to use words like instruction and units. Those are boring even to me. I won't take offense. Move right on down to #3)

I am a part of a group of teachers that are going to help the integration of a completely new vision and way of instruction for our school.

So as I sat there yesterday in the air conditioned room in a shirt other than my bathingsuit or workshirt, I was asked if I was nervous to be teaching my new hybrid class, "Humanities".

You can read the long story here, but the short story of it all is that I teach language arts, but because of position cuts, I am now teaching a sort of hybrid between Language Arts and Social Studies.

This new change has been at the back of my mind all summer, but now that I was in my proffesional clothing and in a professional setting it dawned on me: YEAH I'M SUPER NERVOUS. And no, I haven't really developed any units yet.

Ideas? Yes. Solid units NO.

I don't have another professional day until August 10th and then I'm not totally back to work until the 23rd.

But knowing that school is somewhere on that sea-breezed and sun-kissed horizon is slight motivation to start putting my thinking cap on and getting my gears cranking in that direction. Even if it is just a slow and easy pace.

3. My husband. 

NOW STOP RIGHT THERE.

Don't click on that little red x in the corner quite yet.

 I am not going to gush and goo over him like you are expecting and like I very well could. 

This is a different kind of thankful. 

I don't know how many of you are married or planning on doing so sometime soon. But in case you didn't get the memo, being a newly wed is not always rainbows, unicorns and easy conversations. 

Don't get me wrong, things are going great with us. No need to call the marraige counselor. Save y

He actually just walked in and gave me a smile and a kiss. (You're allowed to throw up in your mouth just a little.)

But, there is something a little different about marriage than just dating or being engaged. It's very hard to explain. I think that now that there's the pressure of having the label of being married, you just want to do everything in your possible power that is right for your relationship. Because let's face it, there's no out clause in that contract. 

So why am I thankful?

Because while marriage, even in the first year isn't always easy, this guy always seems to do the right thing even when the going gets rough.

I am thankful, that out of all of the guys out there, I got to marry him.

4. The thunderstorm supposedly coming in this afternoon. 

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Um it's 90 degrees. Of course I am looking forward to the clouds coming in and giving mother nature a hard core cold shower if you know what I mean. 

And that's it! For those of you who made it to the end of this ridiculously long post, you deserve a medal. 

Unfortunately I do not have one of those for you. I guess the general satisfaction of knowing way too much information about my music and what I'm grateful for shall have to be enough today.  

Happy Thursday!