House August 2011

As I feel quite a few changes coming for our home in the coming months, I thought I'd snap a few photos of what it looks like now that we've had two years to settle in. We are nothing, if not slow to make changes, but we've put our stamp on it in our own way. Part of the appeal for buying a home that was move-in ready was that we didn't have to spend extra to make it livable. That part is wonderful. The other part is that changes come more slowly and it takes longer to break from the cookie cutter because nothing is "broken." Anyway, here she is in August 2011.

I snapped these when we were prepping for some friends to come over for an end-of-the-summer happy hour. And I didn't bother to move around some of our normal clutter. This is how we live, people.

The laundry room curtain to hide the disorganization of the shelves above the appliances.

The kitchen:

The living room:

The entryway:

The office:

The hallway:

The guest bedroom right after the Winnie the Pooh wallpaper was removed.

The guest bath:

The master bath:

The master bedroom:

Areas of major concern include:

• guest bedroom paint/makeover
• the laundry room.....something has to happen...
• general decluttering of the whole house - especially the office
• finishing touches for the master bedroom
• repainting of the master bath to make it more neutral

Those Transcendentalists...

It's that time of year again. We've finally moved on from the painful (because I find it a slightly boring section of the American literature timeline) first unit of the year into a section of literature that is far more interesting for me. Today, we learn about Ralph Waldo Emerson, that rebel. We work on vocabulary, yes, and then we read an excerpt from his essay, Self-Reliance. If only his language were more accessible to student ears and hearts. Emerson's words embody everything they want to believe about the world, yet they do not always understand that he's on their side - advocating for their rebelliousness and right to explore their individual path.


At the end of the reading guide we work on together, the final prompt says this, "Choose your favorite aphorism, or quote, from Self-Reliance and explain why you find it to be the most significant line in the essay." Here's mine. I like to keep it as a reminder when life gets interesting.


"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."

So true. Thanks, Ralph.

The Big Move

As of my next department meeting, which happens on October 1st, the air will be cleared. My English teacher friends will officially learn that this is my last year working with them. I am so sad to leave. I have found a true home at Hickman and love how my career has been able to grow into the comfortable, challenging, interesting beast that I enjoy so much.

The reason I'll be leaving is that Matt has a new job...in Saint Louis.

Yup. We've decided to move and after a few months of thinking about it, and being scared about it, and having a difficult time being apart during the work week while he stays with my parents, and all of the unkowns that still don't have answers we're becoming comfortable with it.

Our biggest concerns right now are where we'll live when we move, how and when we'll sell our house and, sadly, how our two pets will fit into our lives during this whole transition.

Things I do know. It's going to be a heck of a year. We've got a lot to do. It feels a little like we're having a collective quarter life crisis. And that by about June, we hope to be reunited in a little apartment somewhere in the Saint Louis area. I'll hopefully have a new job and we'll be adjusting to our new city life.

There are so many details and emotions about leaving this town I've called home for the past ten years that I can't put them all into words just yet. I'm still sifting through all of that and looking for the good in all of it. Just breathe.

As my dad says, "It's an adventure."

Another Chipley Ties the Knot

Sommer and Justin had a beautiful wedding day on July 23rd, 2011. It was a really hot, but really pretty day as far as weather goes. I think all involved can safely say that this wedding went off without any big glitches - wahoo! Here are just a few pictures taken by my mom of the day. As matron of honor, I was kept busy with the new Mrs. Burkemper so I didn't get to snap too many photos myself.

Cheers to you, Sommer and Justin. Congrats!

A few pre-ceremony bridesmaid pics were shot - Claire, Mary, and Audrey pose for the camera.

Passing on the newlywed torch to Sommer Lynn :-)

Bridesmaids gather to put Sommer into her very pretty wedding gown.

The bottom of her dress was my favorite detail - really beautiful.

Maddie, Olivia and Lily watch the action while looking smashing in their matching flower girl dresses.

The walk!

The kiss!

The new Mr. Justin Burkemper and Mrs. Sommer Burkemper!

There were some wedding shenanigans - dancing and napkin hats.

A tribute to the married parents and grandparents of the bride and groom as well as the photo guest book - very pretty.

The good lookin' mother and father of the bride :-)

A father daughter dance.

Sommer and Justin cheesin' on the dance floor.

Mary Therese's candy table spectacular.

A quick photo of the table centerpieces toward the end of the night.

Anniversary One

One whole year! On Sunday, July 17th, 2011 Matt and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We had big plans to stay at a B&B about twenty minutes away from Columbia in Rocheport, MO but in the end opted for a stay at home weekend. We are SO happy with that decision. It has been such a hectic summer and giving ourselves one weekend to just be together was the perfect gift.

Even though we didn't go out of town, we did try to do some sentimental stuff to remember our wedding day. We started with some of the delicious rolls from the caterer we used at the wedding. It turns out you can order them by the dozen and can even have them shipped!

We decided on pulled pork to pay homage to our homemade rehearsal dinner and I tried a new recipe. It was Ree Drummond's Spicy Dr. Pepper Pork.

The Shelly and Doug Chipley family gave us some champagne as part of our wedding gift with instructions to share it on our anniversary - no arguments here!

After dinner, we had our year old cake and champagne. Matt did a really great job of wrapping the cake one year ago - there were many layers of wax paper, plastic wrap and foil to get that job done. We let it defrost for one whole day in the refrigerator and it tasted like new!

We also decided to start taking a picture every year in front of our current home. In the next few years I have a feeling this home might look different. So I wanted to be able to join the memories of anniversaries with homes we've shared - as a kind of timeline of marriage. We ended up with a few nice pics, including a whole family portrait with the two beasts. This is really the best we could do. They both have their heads turned due to a car going by....but that was the only way we could get them to stop facing us!