A Foot in the Door and First Camping Trip

A foot in the door = I got a job! It is a small job, but like I said, It is a foot in the door! And that's exactly what I needed! I will find out more about my job during a training I'll go to on Tuesday afternoon, but I will be tutoring at one of the middle schools in Fayetteville after school. It is only a couple of days a week, but it is going to be a big job. It isn't just helping kids with their homework, I'll be making lesson plans for each individual child and hopefully helping them raise their grades. I'm really excited about this because I think it is a perfect way to ease into the job world and more importantly it'll help me decide if teaching is something I'd like to do long term. Oh, and it pays well :) So I had the interview on Thursday and she said she would let me know by Friday at the latest about the job. Well, Dylan and I had planned a camping trip for Friday and I was hoping I'd hear from her before we left but I never did, until Saturday when we got back and I checked my email. It felt SO good to read an email that started with "I'm pleased to offer you…" And there you have it, I'M EMPLOYED! I can't wait until Tuesday! On to my very first camping trip… We bought my sleeping bag on Thursday night at Academy and I love it! It is a beautiful light teal color and it was warm too. We packed up on Friday afternoon and headed out (not before spending 100 dollars at Wal Mart. Whew) to Steele Creek which is about 2 hours from Fayetteville and it is BEAUTIFUL.

Steele Creek is known for the giant Elk that roam out into this field at sunset. As we were driving toward the campsite, we noticed all of these cars pulled over on the side of the road, so we pulled over to try and see what the fuss was… there was an Elk I tried to take a picture of but I think it was too far away.

So we drove on and began to set up camp.

Aren't the bluffs beautiful? This is what Steele Creek is known for.

This was our dinner that we wrapped up and threw in the coals on the fire. I was a little worried about how it would turn out, but it was actually pretty good!

I was a fan of making s'mores with those AWESOME new flat marshmallows, have you seen those? They were great. I may or may not have had 2 for breakfast the next morning. ;)

We made sausage and eggs in the morning on a little coleman grill and they were pretty good.

Then we started to pack up good old campsite 14 :) When we left, we went on a little hike to look at some SUPER old houses

We pulled over here on the way home to eat a quick snack and listen to the end of the razorback game. It was a nice little stop!

Overall, my first camping experience was great! Its a lot of work, but its fun. Can't wait to do it again :)

So Long September

I am soooo glad September is behind us. It was NOT the month for my family this year. Two weeks to the day after losing our little Herc, we also lost his little partner in crime, Zeena. We've had these two little wiener dogs since we were kids, and for my sister and I, it was our first experiences with losing a pet. Awful awful awful.

A week after Zeena died, was the 5 year anniversary of my grandmother's death. Dylan was nice enough to drive up to the mountain with me where she is buried.

We miss her so much! I hope I remember all the little things about her forever- so that I can tell my own kids about the wonderful person she was. Some good things did happen in September as well. Dylan was a groomsman in his best friend's wedding on September 10th.

He looked so handsome in his tux :) One Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market on the downtown square where Dylan decided he would buy a couple of eggplants. Since he doesn't have all the time in the world to cook them up himself, guess who was assigned that duty??

I made some delicious eggplant "croquets" and they turned out great! I mean, what the heck are you supposed to do with eggplant anyway?! We did a little tailgating…

Gotta cheer on those hogs- rain or shine! Then we welcomed October last Saturday at the Air Show in Ft. Smith.

I have a feeling October will be a great month. My birthday is coming up, and I've had a couple of job interviews :) :) and I'll try to update more :)