Rambler Vinson-Pittman

As I'm typing this, Rambler is desperately trying to get under the living room chair. Why? You might think he's after his ball that rolled under. It might even be because he sees a bug under the chair. Nope. He's just randomly barking with his booty in the air... He does this a few times a week until I look under the chair and see NOTHING.

He's a weird and odd little dog. It's my favorite part about him! Rambler joined our family November 17th, 2015. He was only 6 weeks old and had been through more than the usual lap dog. We adopted him from the Humane Society, here in Brunswick, after I saw his little families pictures on their website. We rushed over after work and before a conference. We initially came in to look at his brother, a speckled black and white puppy. Instead, we fell in love with this little family member. He had bandages on his back legs, which tugged our heart strings even more. (We later found out it was only from removal of his dewclaws.) We wanted to play with him first and then his little white sister. After playing with him in the playroom, a few laughs, tears and snuggles, we took him to the front to begin adoption.

His background: He was born to a lab/beagle mix mom at an abandoned house. He and his family were found at this house by a real estate worker. They were covered in fleas, almost hairless and very malnourished. He was brought to The Humane Society, named Ice Man and they set his birthday as October 1st, 2015. The fleas were removed and he was washed daily to heal his skin condition so his hair could grow back. His hair was still very thin when we got him. He was 9.8 pounds. He is now 30 pounds.

His first few days at home were scary. He found a safe place beside the couch and only moved when we made him (see left picture). He learned to walk up the back stairs after a few dramatic tries. He loved the backyard and his new toys! He has always been a snuggler. His favorite place is on our chest, pushed as close to our face as possible. If we are not present, he settles for the pillow (see right picture). He became more comfortable with the house after a few days and he was introduced to the crate. He loves this thing! He slept in it- no problem or crying- the first night they were introduced. It is truly his domain and his space. He turns flips in this thing during the day.

He went back to the Humane Society a few weeks ago to get his rabbies shot. I was unable to go but I was told that he remembered 2 of the workers! He was loved on, pictures were taken and even a few tears were shed. That really warmed my heart! He is such a big part of our family and it was sweet to know that he mad an impact on his temporary family as well!

Speaking of, he is such an important part of our family! I had no idea he was going to be so loved. I've had dogs all my life but they have always been family dogs. He is truly ours. We spend so much time with him every day that I think about him when he's not with me. He is so much more than we thought he would be. His couch snuggles sealed the deal very early on.

Things Rambler likes to do:

Snuggle on the couch

Lay on his back to sleep

Having his belly rubbed

Play outside

Eat pinecones

Play fetch

Squeak his toys

EAT

Play in his crate

Go on walks

Go to the beach

Go to his grandparents house -both here and on the farm

Play with babies

Play with other dogs

Play with ANYBODY who gives him the time of day
Take baths
Bite the hairdryer air

Things Rambler has learned to date (4.5 months old):

Fetch

"Crate" to go to bed

"Go get your toy/ball"

How to jump off the couch- a big deal!

How to jump on the couch - just last night!

"No"

"Don't bite"

Many family member voices

"Sit"

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  

Family Fun

The family took a week long trip to Ocracoke Island last week. We vacationed here in 2009 and the parents decided it was time to go back. We had plans to offshore fish but the weather did not agree with those plans. Although we missed out on recreating this memory, we still had a wonderful trip! The North Carolina coast is beautiful and unspoiled. All development is around the bay on Ocracoke because the beach and sand dunes are protected. It is truly wonderful to walk on the beach at night, among the ghost crabs, with zero lighting. Y'all, the ghost crabs were in the hundreds (maybe thousands)! It was the craziest thing we had ever seen. They swarmed the beach at night. This is not great news for sea turtles eggs but we did enjoy watching them overtake the sand as we walked.


Ocracoke Island is a two hour ferry boat ride from the main land at Cedar Island. The ferry ride to and from Ocracoke was a little rough. The waves rolled us and our vehicles for quite a while on both trips. Our vehicle was covered with salt spray after the trip home. I now understand why there were cars on the ferry with rusted back bumpers. We saw shrimp boats and passed many other ferry boats on the way. The Outer Banks ferry system is a well oiled machine! There are six ferry boats alone that travel between Ocracoke and Cape Hatteras as a free shuttle service. We also took this hour long trip to and from Cape Hatteras to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Bodie Lighthouse. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in North America! We climbed that thing! It definitely felt like the tallest lighthouse in that humidity. I was drenched in sweat about half way up. The fiancé was even brave enough to come out on the lighthouse landing and walked all the way around! I was so proud of him. Mom loves a good lighthouse so this was her big exciting day. We love them as well but I think they were the highlight of her trip. She celebrated her 55th birthday on this trip with a big pan of brownies (complete with candles)! I hope brownies grant a birthday wish just as well as cake and cupcakes.

Ocracoke has a small village filled with bicycles and golf carts. They are actually a much more preferred way of transportation due to the narrow roads and many pedestrians. We decided to try out both on this trip. Our golf cart rental was really nice because we were able to see new parts of the island. Plus, it was pretty fun to zip around with everyone. We went to the Ocracoke Lighthouse and enjoyed some North Carolina classics; Cheerwine and Sun Drop. I have to admit, the Cheerwine was pretty phenomenal. We agreed that it tasted like cherry Dr. Pepper. The lighthouse is about half the height of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It is closed to the public so we were unable to climb the little guy. We also took the path to Springer's Point. It is closed to all except foot traffic and leads to the highest point on the island.  It was another hot day but the view from the beach was beautiful. I wish we had known to wear our bathing suits. The Ocracoke Museum held a journal entry from an 1899 resident of the island. The entry spoke about a hurricane and the potential plan to go to Springer's Point as a high point and safe haven. Only six houses still stood on the island after the hurricane passed and hundreds of people left on the ferry the next morning. I can only imagine what it must have been like to live on an island during this time. 

We ate so much great food on this trip. Literally, we stuffed ourselves. My favorite meal came from Eduardo's Taco Stand! We spotted this truck on the first day and did not make it there until our last day. I ordered crab meat tacos without knowing there would be three. I underestimated myself and inhaled all of them! The taco truck was definitely a hit. The line out front should have been a dead give away.

Some other random things we liked about our trip:
*The colony of 40-50 ducks that congregated in the yards
*The Cheerwine float that my sister got from the ice cream shop
*The small little stores scattered throughout the village area
*Our BINGO game- We played for scratch off tickets and it got competitive! Mom knows how to get us involved!
*The Flying Melon Restaurant
*The ring toss game we played on the beach- It was pretty intense at the end.
*Watching Daddy roll around in the sand/surf for 10-15 minutes
*Our golf cart driving difficulties
*The military Osprey aircraft that flew over us while on the beach- It was pretty awesome to see! 

The Question

 

We're ENGAGED!! It has been 10 wonderful days since our engagement. "We are now one step closer to being our own little two person family." 

This post will be some sort of video explanation of our most wonderful and life changing weekend on Sanibel Island.

My fiancé's favorite place in Florida is Sanibel Island. It is "now our favorite place in Florida."

Warning: This post is overwhelmingly about food.

We got a late start on dinner the first night. We ended up at Island Cow because we'd both been there before a knew it would be good. As usual, we had a wait a while to get our food. It was absolutely worth it though. We started with some insanely good chocolate chip muffins (complimentary) and ended with that massive slice of chocolate cake on the right.

Job well done.

The next morning, July 4th, we took a ferry to Caya Costa State Park (on the left). This is another place my fiancé couldn't be quiet about. Now I know why. Just look at it! We felt like we were in another country. 1. The water was insanely clear and green. 2. There were almost no people on the beach! It was July 4th and there were probably only 3 other boats there when we arrived. 3. We found TONS of really great shells, a sea urchin and sand dollar.

We only stayed for a few hours but we could have stayed all day.

We spent the rest of the day at our hotel beach on Sanibel. We found lots of sea creatures here too! I was previously unaware but now I know that I am with a master sand dollar and sea star excavator. He probably found 50 sea stars and even more sand dollars in our two days on the beach. I love finding things like this so I repeatedly mentioned how "perfect" the day was. It was pretty often. "Today has been the perfect day." That was basically all I said for the rest of the afternoon and at dinner. Little did I know...

We ate dinner at Cip's on Sanibel. I actually chose this place the night before. I was later told that he did not plan to propose after this dinner but changed his mind after our wonderful time at Caya Costa and hearing me repeat endlessly about how perfect the day was.
Regardless, the ring was in his pocket at this dinner!
After eating every last bit of my crab stuffed salmon, he convinced me that we needed to go to the beach before the fireworks. I briefly fought it but gave in pretty quickly after his persuasive argument that we were going to look for baby sea turtles. What?! That doesn't even make sense. It may have been because I was so full.

Things that happened just prior:
*I made a slightly big deal about having to stop and take my shoes off, then put them in the car before we could go on the beach.
*I stabbed my big toe with a shell (because I took my shoes off), which made it bleed.
*I kept talking endlessly about all the sea turtle nests we passed. (This beach was covered in nest!)
We stopped in a spot that had zero people and the sunset right around the corner. He started telling me how much he loves me. He asked if I knew he would love me forever. He told me he was a better man since he had met me. He had been telling me how much he loved me ALL day so it did not occur to me until he started to slide away from me and get down on one knee. I immediately covered my face and something like, "oh my god!" came out. The tears came then as well. He then asked me if I would do him the greatest honor, make him the luckiest man in the world and become his wife. We are a little fuzzy on whether or not he actually said, will you marry me? I obviously said yes through lots of tears. He asked if I "even wanted to see the ring" before putting the ring on my finger. He then said, "You're not my girlfriend anymore- you're my fiancé. This is when the water works really kicked in. A sweet couple, who were celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary, took our picture and we then proceeded to try and find the fireworks while I called family. We spent the rest of the night calling family, friends and enjoying the sound of fiancé.

It was perfectly simple!

We spent our last day on the beach in engagement bliss! 

During what seemed like hurricane winds and rain, we pulled into il Tesoro Bistro for our celebratory dinner. We had not planned to go here but it was literally the only place still open after we watched the U.S. Women win the World Cup.

I ate the best ravioli of my life!

Since we weren't stuffed and feeling bad enough about ourselves, we also had tiramisu for dessert.




Pigs (sausage) in a blanket