Oh my goodness

A3 is done, done, done with college FOREVER! Our house is so lonely and empty. Most of our stuff is packed up, with the exception of our bedding and our Lil Wayne poster in the laundry room. The cute curtains, all the frames, Nancy's huge bed is GONE! So sad.

Anyway, with one week and two days til graduation, here are some junior year pictures:

Junior year was fun because it was the year that SARAH came to join me at PC. Here we are moving her into 4th floor Clinton. Special times and short hair...

That time we dragged our (pumped) diamond families to the ADPi house at USC.

KG especially loved it.

As much as these two hated on my bump-its, they were more than willing to wear them. Y'all look pretty :)

Now here's a random picture that I found that really has no explanation. Roommates before Dukes of Hazzard. Not sure what all is going on here, BUT it does feature our sweet adjoining rooms in Grotnes!

(Normal one)

So much excitement for Sarah to join ADPi!

And my protege, Callie, became an ADPi as well. Exciting!!

A few things to say about this picture: 1. That's a LOT of brown and blue. 2. This picture is the only reason why I know that Nancy owns/ has ever worn a pair of khakis. 3. That face!! (and 4. Sorry.)

Spring break. Also, as I was going through my SB10 pictures, here's something I noticed:

Note how Nancy's white button down that she wore on the first day evolved into her jacket for the entire trip. SPECIAL.

Lots of Lilly at Carolina Cup

MD Tea

Black Diamond. I did Link's hair. I prefer this picture to...

The ebony and ivory-ness of this picture. Although the quality's not as good on the blog, rest assured that Sarah's 30234908 trips to the tanning bed made me look pretty pasty at the function. Obnoxious.

To everyone whose current facebook status is something like: "DONE with junior year! Not ready to be a senior!!" or "Junior year's over :(" or "Not liking the fact that I'm a senior" all I have to say is, at least you have one year left!!!! So, I'll leave you with this:

Here's to our prettiest year at PC! Happy beach week everyone!

Blog stalking

So who doesn't love a good blog to stalk? Especially if it's funny. I thought I'd share two that I appreciate, and I'm sure you will too.

First of all, Cake Wrecks has been one of my favorites for awhile. This blog basically consists of pictures of terrible bakery cakes. I promise it's really funny. I guess I can especially appreciate this blog as a former cake decorator myself. Ha... that may be a stretch, but my first job was at Nestle Tollhouse Cafe, and I did decorate cookie cakes for a little over a year. So I know how tricky it can be to spell things (like "birthday" and "congratulations") correctly and draw good pictures (such as NASCAR cars and assorted pokemon characters) with icing and all.

Also, I just found Chelsea Handler's Blog at E! This one's pretty self-explanatory. She's funny, and so are her comments on this blog.

Hope that this helps everyone waste some time during exam week! Happy Almost Easter!

Normal

Sooo my family went to the TCBY drive thru tonight (I'm pretty sure we're the only people who do that... as a family) and naturally, my dad got raspberry yogurt in a cone. You know, despite the fact that he was driving. And despite the fact that we had to stop for gas. But don't worry, the whole getting gas thing didn't stop him from enjoying his cone!!

Tis the season!

So, as most people know, Easter is by FAR my absolute favorite holiday. I love everything about it... I love church on Easter Sunday, with lilies lining the front. I love all my memories of Easter Sundays-- the years that I was in youth group and had to get to church at 6:00 (which, at the time seemed ridiculously early) to help make the "Sonrise" (haha) breakfast. I love Easter dresses, the ability to finally wear white (yes, I follow that rule very carefully), and the promise of summer just around the corner. I love all the flowers that are in bloom. I absolutely love Easter Egg hunts. Sarah and I have been known to do them at other times throughout the year, just for fun. And, I really, really, really love Easter candy. Seriously, the way to my heart is through Easter candy. Luckily, my roommates have consistently provided me with these treats throughout the weeks leading up to Easter (until the Easter bunny brings me some on Easter morning) all four years at PC. There's a reason right there why I'm going to miss them all so much!!!

Anyway, I just figured I'd share a few of my favorite Easter treats (I have lots):

1. Cadbury Mini Eggs. I have Megan to thank for these becoming my favorite Easter candy!

2. Reese's Eggs... amazing.

3. Peeps. I know lots of people think they're "gross" but come on... marshmallows and sugar? Sounds like a great combo to me. Plus, they're fat free.

mmm... this is what I found when I googled "peeps." Not going to lie, my ideal husband would totally go for this...

I also enjoy the normal Cadbury eggs (you know, the ones filled with whatever that stuff is, as well as the caramel ones), Sour Patch bunnies, and Starburst jelly beans.

In case anyone is wondering, I was not able to follow through with my hopes of giving up sweets for Lent. Maybe next year...

Also, who doesn't love a good Easter story? (No, this isn't "The Easter Story" although it does involve church.) So, as everyone knows, my dad used to be the pastor at our church throughout my childhood and until I graduated from high school. Everyone who has been around my father for at least 5 minutes also knows that my dad has a flair for the dramatics. Well, this dramatic flair used to flourish around Lent/ Easter. Every year, he would get into character before the "Sonrise" service... i.e., he would wear his hooded robe and paint his palms red (I'm assuming to channel Jesus) and walk up from the graveyard to perform the service. As if the Easter performance weren't enough, one year he decided to do a series of monologues for our Lenten services. Instead of a sermon, he dressed up and delivered a monologue that he had written himself from the perspective of a certain Biblical character involved in the Easter story. My personal fav was the week that he dressed up as a Jewish tax collector (I think?) and he put on lots of bracelets/ jewelry, wore his robe and this headdress thing, and GLUED these curled tendrils (who knows where those came from) to his temples. Well, he got so into his monologue that when he shook his head, one of his curls fell off. I really thought my mom was going to kill my sister and me for laughing so hard. Tears were just falling down our faces as we tried to stay serious. That is probably by far my weirdest Easter memory... anyway, hope everyone has a good Holy week and a FABULOUS Easter on Sunday!!

Live your life

You're gonna be a shinin' star

Fancy clothes and fancy cars

And then you'll see you're gonna go far

Cause everyone knows just who you are

I figured it was appropriate to start my sophomore year flashback post with one of my fav songs from sophomore year. Yeah, I know it's weird for someone who wears cardigans every day and loves monograms and OPI's "Isn't It Romantic?" to also love TI as much as I do, but whatev. With GRADUATION only 18 days away, I figured it was appropriate to relive sophomore year in photos... enjoy.

Trusty HOSE leaders out at the houses after orientation

Our first Mallard Ball! Probably my one of my fav ADPi parties ever.

The year Emily was the lion for Bid Day... her red hair just blended right in with that Lion suit!! Good times.

Ohhh, Biker's Ball...

This diamond fam has always loved a good tier pic at functions... sophomore semi!

At the townhouses before the infamous Buffett Bash.

(That time I thought I could pull off the braid) Getting ready to go out for...

Emily and Nancy's birthdays, where, not surprisingly, Nancy demonstrated her love for karaoke and made some of the "regulars" mad by stealing the stage the ENTIRE night.

And, of course, who can forget the time that all of my best friends went to IRELAND for Maymester?!

(They all hated me that day for bringing that umbrella on our tour of the castle, which, in retrospect, was probably a little big and obnoxious and in everyone's way. But that cute blue spring coat does not have a hood!)

Sophomore year was probably, definitely, our most eventful year at PC. Not pictured are the vampire pictures (you're welcome, Nance!), ADPi's and Polo Guys (you're welcome, everyone) and the Miyabi's birthday pictures (you're welcome, Emily.) Sophomore year was mine and Megan's first year as roomies in CLINTON, which means that it was also the year that our room was infested with spiders so large that even Megan could see them without her contacts in! (Which, if you know Megan, is saying a LOT.) Sophomore year was the year that we all got little sisters in ADPi...

... and made quality crafts, such as the one pictured above. (Thanks, Nance!) It was the year that most of our pledge class lived on one floor, which always made for interesting times. It was the year that Nancy got her car stuck on top of the fire hydrant and had to get a bulldozer to pull her off of it. It was the year that the majority of my friend group made at least one visit to the ER in good old Laurens (hives, broken bones, etc... never again.) It was the year that someone mistakenly put some of Nancy and I in charge of directing the RMH Fun Run, and we accidentally added like 1.8 extra miles by directing the runners in the wrong direction. Oops. But for real, sophomore year was so much fun, and pictures like this one

will always make me miss that year and PC!

Update

With all my newfound free time since I'm DONE student teaching and DONE with college, I just figured I'd update my blog a little! First of all, may I just say how awesome it was to sleep in this morning after waking up at 5:15 or 5:30 for the past 15 Mondays. It was also wonderful to sit out on the beach today knowing that I had no responsibilities waiting for me whatsoever! While I REALLY REALLY want to find a job, I'm not going to lie, it's kind of nice to have nothing that I feel like I need to do or prepare for. I know that once I find a job, I'm going to busy myself with finding a ton of stuff for whatever grade level it is, so right now I am enjoying the downtime. Speaking of teaching and jobs, Friday was my last day of student teaching. I hated to leave those kids and the school that I've grown to love over this past semester. I know now, however, that teaching is absolutely what I want to do and what I'm supposed to do next year. When I worked at camp last summer, the counselors each had to tell "grace moments" at campfires throughout the week-- times in our lives when we have felt the grace of God. Well, on my second-to-last day of student teaching, I definitely had a grace moment thanks to one of my students.

In our classroom, the students had to move their number when they misbehaved or forgot homework or whatever. There were like 3 different levels that a child moved his or her number down, and each level entailed something different (laps at recess, time out, etc.) Anyway, during like my 2nd or 3rd week, when I was just starting to teach for extended periods of time, my cooperating teacher told me that I needed to set my expectations and move numbers any time a child didn't follow my instructions in order to make a point and show the students that I was serious when I told them to do something. So one day, I was teaching, and I let the students work in groups. When I tried to quiet the class and bring it back to whole-group instruction, one girl didn't stop talking right away. Since I had just told them to be quiet, I told her to move her number. Well. At this point, I had never seen what happened when the number got moved all the way down to the last level (appropriately labeled "Ohhh no" on the board.) I found out quickly, as she began to bawl. I hadn't even looked at the board to notice that her number was teetering on the 2nd level already. So I told her to move her number and the whole class gasped a collective intake of air. A few of the boys said "ooooooo" under their breaths, and every child in that classroom looked at me like I had just killed someone. Of COURSE the first time I have to learn what happens when a child moves their number all the way is the time that I inadvertently do it while just trying to "make a point." So anyway, after she stopped crying, reading was over and it was time for indoor recess. The child whose number I moved was the helper that day, so I asked her if she wanted to call a game of 4 corners. Bad idea. The tears started again as she said, "I can't call any games because my number is moved all the way!" Crap, crap, crap!!!! It was never ending! I really did feel bad about the whole thing, although I did have to make her move her number kind of a lot throughout the rest of my time teaching. Anyway, so on Thursday, the kids all started talking about how my last day was the next day. This same child who I'm sure disliked me at several points throughout the semester, came up to me and gave me the biggest hug and said, "Miss Derrick PLEASE don't leave! My life is going to be terrible when you're gone!!!!" First of all, dramatic. But second of all, I was kind of shocked to hear that come out of her mouth, and I was appreciative of the redemption that had obviously been granted to me by this child who I had spent a lot of (not so pleasant) time disciplining.

So now that I'm done, I'm job hunting. I'm looking/ am in the process of interviewing with 4 different districts across the state and PRAYING that something works out. I know where I'd choose if I had the choice, but I don't want to put that on my blog in case it doesn't work out. I know that my plans are nothing compared to God's plans and that in the current job market, I'll be lucky to get any job, period. As I was told in an interview today, "The door doesn't open too wide for early childhood majors right now." However, I KNOW that this is what I'm supposed to do, so I can only trust that the right door will open up for me. I'm praying that I can put my desires aside and focus on where I'm being called and where I can be best used.

Sorry this has been so long! Have a fabulous week; only 6 days til EASTER!!!

Freshman Year Flashback

First of all, sorry for being such a slacker on the blogging lately. I've been super busy with school, which by the way, is ending in ONE WEEK. In just a mere 7 days, I will be done with college and student teaching. CRAZY!!!!! Graduation is one month from yesterday, which is odd, because in a way I feel like I just got here. It seems like I was just moving all of my stuff into Smyth, the dorm that I lived in freshman year, which is where I met all of my best friends from PC. Thanks to its hall baths, spread apart rooms, and general lack of community, Smyth was/ still is the dorm that most freshman girls DON'T choose to live in at PC, but somehow all of us ended up living there (some of us by choice, and some of us not). Although it's one of my favorite college-related things to complain about, I'm so glad that I lived there because I don't know who my friends would be today if I hadn't!

First mixer... Biker's Ball. Please note Nancy's "I heart my baby daddy" tat... very biker-ish.

First date function: freshman year semi-formal. I debated putting this picture on here, but it was too funny not to. I'm pretty sure those boys don't read my blog anyway. Emily... sorry.

Another mixer. Vegas Night, playing cards... diamonds, get it?

First mother-daughter tea

First Carolina Cup!

We were all such babies!! I didn't have a camera freshman year, which explains the randomness of these pictures. While college did go by really fast, I'm not going to lie... all of this stuff seems like a pretty long time ago. For more where these came from, see Nance. She has all the terrible ones, which I feel certain will be viewed by everyone at senior dinner this weekend. Have a fabulous weekend!!