The Dress

Wow! It's hard to keep a secret! I have no idea how I'm going to keep my dress a secret for a year. I assume it will become easier with time but I am excited and bursting at the seams right now...mostly to tell the fiancé. My best friend, pictured left, said it best (since she's also getting married in May and is currently having the same dilemma) when she said "It's so weird to keep something from somebody when you're used to telling them everything." She's so right! I don't have any secrets from him and now I have this big exciting secret to keep. I'm sure it'll just accumulate and burst from my eyeballs the day of the wedding when we have our first look and he sees me. in the dress. for the first time. I think that's appropriate though.

The experience was exciting, logistical, stressful and horrifying all at the same time. We went to two stores and I was pretty certain that I would find the dress at one or  the other. I am pretty decisive when it comes to clothing and I generally know what I want. I was able to narrow things down as we shopped. I like this hem line, that neck line, the other color, the different bottom, blah blah blah. The problem occurred when we got to the second store and it was crawling with people. I do not do well with crowds but mostly crowds of people looking at me. I was instructed to parade myself up on the little stage for my group and also the rest of the store to see. After about the 4th dress and lots of comments from the peanut gallery as I boarded the stage train I was shutting down a little. My consultant was wonderful though! She fixed me right up with a little pep talk and brought my group to the dressing room for a private dress critique as opposed to the E! News version of me trying on dresses. No thank you! It made all the difference to have them in a more intimate setting that allowed us to talk about the dress and how I looked with it on.

THE DRESS was actually the last dress I tried on. Actually, I almost didn't try it on. It was similar to a previous dress that I decided I didn't like and I was a little worn out on dresses. For whatever reason I decided to try on one more. I told Kendra, my consultant, "I really like this" a minimum of 4 times before she could even get the dress zipped and clipped. Somehow I knew I felt different in it. I was immediately validated when I stepped out onto the stage (the crowds had gone by then). Everyone in the group quickly decided that this was their favorite and I even got a smidge of a choked up comment from my sister and bestie. Mom and future mom agreed, the veil was added and BAM! I said yes to the dress. Now I just have to wait 5 months to have it in a size that fits. I'm certain it will be the longest 5 months of my life. Except for the 5 months prior to our engagement...but that's normal, right?!

Counselors Take Savannah and Red Ribbon Week

I was lucky enough to attend the GSCA Conference again this year. It was in Savannah and we came home exhausted. That's always a good thing to celebration though. Each year, I view these 3 days as our little celebration of the career we work so hard to excel at. Many of us are the only counselors in our school and this often means we don't have a colleague to collaborate and/or vent to. Let's be honest, some days we just need to vent! Venting is the easiest and quickest way to resolve or decrease our anxiety and stress. It's even more liberating when you vent to someone who actually understands where you're coming from. Then you don't sound like a crazy person who simply enjoys complaining. I often "vent" to my fiancé and although he diligently listens and tries to offer the "OMG, RIGHT?!" moment, it's hard for him to truly understand. It is that liberating moment that most teachers are able to gratify by walking across the hall to their team member. We, as elementary counselors, bottle it up instead and it often oozes out at a counselor county meeting or during phone calls to a counselor friend in hopes they answer the phone. These moments of oneness are few and far between so it's extra nice to collaborate and learn.

The 3 day conference is packed with 2 large group speakers and 7 small group sessions conducted by Georgia counselors. It's a jam packed learning session that leaves you feeling rejuvenated yet a little overwhelmed. Each year, there are 4-5 large scale ideas I want to implement when listening to wonderful counselors from different schools across the state. The tricky part is finding time to put these ideas into motion once I return to the daily SST, 504, gifted, career guidance life I daily lead. I have plans to work through this over Christmas break and I have such great expectations for my program. Let's get back to the SST, 504, gifted testing bit; many of the counselors at the conference as not responsible for these duties at their school. I've found that it's mostly Atlanta based schools which does make sense when considering their populations and funding. Although I love my school with every bit that's left over at the end of the work day, I would truly do almost anything to be able to hold more small groups, see more students on a weekly basis, teach character building guidance lessons and grow our school populations through students who are educated in love! I often feel so restrained due to the endless paperwork and meetings we must complete for our students. It is known to myself and many others that we are not alone. Unfortunately, money is sparse in education and counselors are left in the confusing ground between administrators and teachers. It is an uphill battle that all counselors in the state continue to climb and we hope for change from state legislation in the near future.

I will take away, "Children are like cows." Cows will produce more milk when they are loved, nurtured and feel important. I feel that colleagues are no different.


Red Ribbon Week is always a struggle for me but I had an idea this year and I ran with it. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the week progressed. The theme for the week was "Drugs are Despicable" from the movie Despicable Me. The kids absolutely loved the theme and I saw lots of participation in the dress up days. Officers came from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to introduce our students to the ins and outs of their patrol car as well as their one of their boats. The students were able to board the boat, talk on the PA system and investigate the holding cell below the hull. It was a big hit! I even had students telling me thank you for days after. The officers were wonderful to work with and truly seemed to enjoy their time with the students. I hope that at least a few students were able to board the boat who would otherwise never be able to do so (even though they live on the coast).


FLETC Officers

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/red-ribbon-week-kicks-off-at-county-schools/article_6f669225-d7ba-574c-8950-112d6f5d1a43.html



Police officers eating lunch with students during RRW

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/county-police-visit-elementary-school-for-red-ribbon-week/article_e79e264b-5293-5463-a2c9-80494533ee09.html

Birthday Cumberland National Seashore

The Cumberland National Seashore was a little birthday trip to celebrate and spend the day together. I had been asking to go for probably a year and the weather was never right. We thought it would be nice and cool since it was November but we still had a pretty sweaty day. Cumberland Island is a time warp and private island all rolled into one. Although it was not private to us, it felt that way. 

The island can only be accessed by ferry or private boat. The ferry was a 45 minute ride but the time flew by. It had a little air conditioned cab with a snack bar and everything. I can't imagine it was quite as luxurious and quick to reach its shores when it was in its prime. Although, from the looks of the Dungeness Ruins, it was probably even more luxurious!

These are the first set we saw.

In total, we counted 26 wild horses. Most kept their distance but a few were bold enough to let us know that we were in their way.  There are a few pictures of me sporting a look of terror, concern or maybe awe. I definitely did not move. I wanted to be as close to these horses as they would allow. It's wonderful to think they are the descendants to the horses who were originally brought here. We saw them on the north (as north as we could petal in the sand) and south end of the island. They own the open fields. It's quite obvious in the amounts of poop they leave everywhere they go! It became a joke between us. You can't go 100 feet without seeing another pile of horse...clue. We definitely knew when they were close. I have recently heard mention of a group trying to remove the horses from Cumberland. I am not sure of the reasoning behind this but I think it is unthinkable. These horses are a part of the culture and history of the island. Just like the Dungeness Ruins, they cannot be removed.



The Dungeness Ruins are in the background.



Front view of Dungeness - Fountain to our right



The Dungeness Ruins are the highlighted feature from Cumberland Island. It is why many people visit the island. There are camp grounds, the Greyfield Inn, amazing beaches and maritime forests but I always hear people talk about the ruins. I was excited to see them but they were not our first stop. We were tired and even had to miss our scheduled ferry to see them. There have been a few structures in it's place but the current Dungeness was built in the 1880s and owned by Thomas Carnegie (Andrew's brother) and his wife Lucy. Thomas died in 1886 but Lucy continues to live here. They had lavish parties including celebrities, politicians and well, rich important people. Basically, we wouldn't have been on the list.
The below black and white picture is what the home looked like in 1958. It was well past its prime at this point. The Carnegie's moved out in 1925 after Lucy died. I think I read on a claque that it was briefly reopened for a wedding in the 50s but burned down in 1959. There is suspicion of arson from lotters to the island. It made me sad to know that someone chose to destroy so much history.

Standing on the carriage step

Standing on the carriage step

 We are standing on the carriage step in these pictures. You can also see this step in the 1958 picture. You can also see the seating area behind the fiancé in the left picture. These seats were on both sides of the steps. I sat there and tried to image everyone in their swanky outfits waiting for the carriage to arrive and take them down the dirt roads and through the maritime forests to their homes. Again, we would not have been on the guest list if we were here in the 1880s.

Most of the home is protected by iron bars or railings asking us not to pass. We understood why when we began to look at the structure a little closer. It is being held together by steal beams and woods 2x4s added to support it a little longer.


Pergola beside the ruins

 This pergola was once covered in vines and flowers. A little plaque mentioned that Lucy Carnegie would sit and walk through with guests to the island.

 There were a few different cemeteries on the island but we only made it to this one. There is a concrete floor and footprint of what we assumed was an old church just before the cemetery. There are about 8 different headstones here. Most of them included people who were staying on the island when they died. We could not determine whether they were guests or important employees. Either way, it was interesting to see their legacy living on.

We went to the beach after a grueling bike ride through the sand roads. When I say sand, I mean SAND. I fishtailed more times than I could handle. We had ambitions of making it to Greyfield Inn but I was happy with our extended time on the beach in lieu of getting back on that road. We ate of lunch, looked for shells and enjoyed our private beach. No joke! We didn't see even one person the entire time. We did see a horse though. We saw him/her as soon as we entered the beach. Just like the rest, we were ignored as he/she ate until we got too close for comfort. We think we saw him/her a little later while trying to find an alternate route back to the ferry boat.

The beach was one of my favorite things about the island. I could have walked for an hour and stayed out there all day. It was relaxing and humbling.

I absolutely want to go back to stay or camp! Having the extra time to explore the island would be wonderful.

Below are a few pictures of things we found on the beach.

Lots of Whelk Shells, Dead and Sun Bleached Sanddollar, Crab Shell, Moon Snail, Fish/Shark Vertebrae

Dolphin Vertebrae, Wild Pig Bone, Dead Sanddollar, Shell from a turtle egg, Moon Snail