Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a job?
No, I do not currently have a job.  I have sent in resumes and applications, but have not heard anything back from any of the places I have applied to.  I do babysit about once a week for a little bit of extra cash - and I enjoy it.  When the boys go to sleep, I get to play the old school Mario game on the Wii = amazing.  (Kara, it makes me think of you and FYI, I don't think I've lost my touch).

My next plan of action is to substitute teach for Baldwin County Public Schools.  I think this would be ideal because I really want to have a flexible schedule.  I want to be able to go the film festival in Birmingham at the end of this month, the film festival in New York in October, and when we have visitors, I want to be able to spend the whole time with them.  AND I would love to be able to stay home for a couple of weeks over Christmas.

I feel like I want to live it up for a bit and travel whenever I get the opportunity...it seems like I was in school forever, so I want to have fun for a while.  The only downfall of course is not having an income...I figure I can work for the rest of my life, so I'm not in a huge hurry to find a job.

What does your usual night in Alabama consist of?
Well, it's always exciting for both of us when Dusty gets done with work for the day.  We usually cook dinner together, talk/hang out, and our favorite thing lately has been to go play tennis under the lights after it gets dark.  It is SO much fun - we have been loving it.  If Dusty gets done with work early, we usually go to the pool, the beach, or maybe a matinee movie.  We have been really into renting movies lately (you can get codes online, so the rentals are free from the Blockbuster Kiosk or Red Box).  Sometimes, it is just too hot out so the only thing that sounds appealing is to stay in the air conditioning and watch a movie.

What's your favorite thing about your new environment?
I would have to say being by the water is my favorite thing about living here.  The water is gorgeous and white sand - how can you not love that?

What's your least favorite thing about your new environment?
My least favorite thing would have to be that in the summer here, it is a tourist town.  Orange Beach has around 4,000 permanent residents, but in the summer, the population increases to tens of thousands of people.  I feel like everyone I see here is basically not from here, which makes it difficult to meet people.  We go to the same pool at least a couple of times a week and not once I have seen the same person there twice.

When can I come visit?
Seriously, please come visit - the sooner the better.  Honestly, any time works for me and we would LOVE LOVE LOVE some visitors :) 

What's your favorite restaurant?
Hmmmm...we don't eat out all that often.  Almost all of the restaurants here are local places, hardly any chains and they seem to all specialize in seafood.  I refuse to eat seafood, have never tried it, and never will.  But, if you are into seafood, I think you would love hitting up some of the restaurants here - fresh seafood from the Gulf - it is the focus of their advertising, so it must be good.

If I had to pick a favorite place, I would pick Happy Harbor.  It's a little bar on the water where mostly locals hang out.  You can get Busch Light bottles for $1.50 all day, everyday, and we always share their pepperoni pizza roll - plenty for two people and we really like it.  Our bill is always really low by the time we leave, which might play a part in why I like it there. 

What's your best meal to cook?
Staples in my rotation of "cooking" are enchiladas and cavatini. 

What do you do ALL day?
Everyone asks me this question.  It's surprising how quickly the day goes by.
Some things I might do during the day:

• In the morning I have coffee, respond to emails, and get up to date on the blogs I follow (♥ this part of the day)
• I do the dishes, laundry, and clean up around the house.
• I look for jobs online and in the newspaper...fill out apps.
• I work on my thesis...or think about working on it and waste time doing other things.
• Go for a bike ride, do a workout video, go to the rec center, or go for a walk on the beach.
• Run errands - Target, Walmart
• Might go to the pool or the beach
• Figure out/find DIY projects, so we can work on them when Dusty gets home
• Sometimes, I even get to help Dusty with shooting footage for commercials - last time I was able to go on a jet ski ride with a camera attached to my head to get some shots...fun.
• I admit - I have also been known to waste time online...there are just so many things to look at.
• AND sometimes, I get bored...really bored.

Is it ungodly hot?!
YES!  I can hardly wait for the weather to start cooling off.  I daydream about wearing sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and cuddling up on the porch with a cup of coffee and a book. 
Obviously, I don't deal well with the heat - I am miserable being outside during the day.  Even when we go play tennis after dark, I am dripping sweat within 5 minutes.  If you go to the beach and want to cool off in the water, it's not very refreshing...the water in the Gulf is warm.  Anyways, enough complaining by me...it could be worse.

What's the next DIY project?
Well, Dusty recently finished painting the bedroom...I will post pictures once the room is complete, we are on the lookout for some old nightstands or something we can use as nightstands.  We check on Craigslist and like to hit up garage sales...it's fun to take an old, beat up piece and make it your own.

We found a really cool, old wooden frame at a garage sale...I just painted it white and ordered a 10 X 13 print online to put in it...it will be our first thing on the wall in the bedroom - so excited!

Hmmm...I think our next "official" project will be to paint our bookshelf - we are thinking white and then we will paint the back of the shelves a different color.  I will do a post about it when it's finished - I'm sure I will be pumped to share the finished product :)


Fun fact:
I went to get the mail the other day and there was a lizard in the mailbox...I freaked, slammed the mailbox shut, and ran...Dusty was in charge of getting the mail for the next couple of days, but I have since recovered and my excitement for getting the mail has returned.