Raleigh Go-To List

I've been looking into different places I want to go to in Raleigh. I will have at least a good full year there so hopefully plenty of time to go to all the places on my list. To start with I want to try some different foods that I'm not used to like thai, asian and sushi. Here is my restaurant list thus far:

Klara's

A European restaurant in Cary that seems to have a wide variety of food on their menu.  I would be interested in the trying the Chicken Prague which is "Chicken breast strips, sautéed with mushrooms, peppers, onions and zucchini, served with garnish and potato pancakes."

Ruckus Pizza

I've heard a few different people talking about this place.  I love a good slice of pizza so it's definitely a place I'd like to try.

Carolina Ale House

I've been wanting to go to Carolina Ale House and watch a game.  When hockey season comes around again I'm sure I'll go and watch a Carolina Hurricanes game there.  As for food, I have no idea what is good but I hear it is a fun to place to go and watch games.

The Borough

This place in Raleigh looks modern and has a menu that seems tasty but not too expensive.

Thai Villa

This Thai restaurant seems to have good reviews and good lunch specials.  The Cashew Chicken seems like it may be a safe option for my taste of Thai food.

I'm sure I will find many more places I want to try but for now these are the ones I've found online that seem good or ones that people have told me about.  If anyone lives in Raleigh and has some good suggestions for dining please let me know.

Ipod Playlist

Next week I will be going to the beach with my family.  Michael will also be meeting us there so I am pretty excited about getting down there.  I'm working on adding new songs to my ipod to play on the beach. Here are my top picks so far:


Rolling in the Deep- Adele

Come on get higher- Matt Nathanson
Feels So Good- Steven Tyler
Last Friday Night- Katy Perry
You and Tequila- Kenny Chesney
Remind Me- Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood
How to Love- Lil Wayne
Tonight, Tonight- Hot Chelle Rae


& currently my number 1 pick:

Blog Update

As you can see I'm working on updating my blog to make it more relevant to where I am at now.  Since I'm no longer at Appalachian and am about to start graduate school I figured I'd rename it something to with NC State. For now, I'm going to stick with Hello Raleigh but if anyone has any better names let me know.  This week I'll be busy working back at home in Lexington and packing for the beach. I'll be back in Raleigh the second week in July to hopefully start a new job!

Hello Raleigh!

I am now moved into my new apartment in Raleigh.  It seems very nice so far.  It has been quiet and there has always been plenty of parking but I can't say too much now because I know classes haven't started.  My first full day in Raleigh I went to Harris Teeter for Super Doubles.  I am very lucky to have a HT only a minute down the road.    I got everything in the picture below for $1.40.   I was going to do a lot more coupon shopping but after moving I've been too tired this week.

 Today I had my first interview in Raleigh.  I think it went well, they really didn't ask too many questions.  I would really prefer a part time job although today my interview was for a full time job.  I don't that I would be really happy working 40 hours a week and also going to school.


I went to downtown Raleigh today.  It was the closest thing to NYC that I've been to since February.  Me and a friend walked around and just looked at all that downtown Raleigh had to offer.  I am pretty excited about all of the NY style pizza places there are.  I will definitely be checking it out soon.  Downtown Raleigh also has theaters and auditoriums so if I ever wanted to go to a show I'm sure I could find something.

Pet Friends Puzzle

 Educational Toys Planet sent me a 28 piece floor puzzle to review.  My four year old nephew Carson doesn't always like puzzles but for some reason he really liked putting this one together.  We actually put it together three times in the same day.  For Carson, that is pretty impressive because he gets bored so easily.  The puzzle we reviewed has pictures of different animals on it.  After putting together the puzzle we talked about the animals.  It also helped while putting it together because I could ask him to find the dog's tail or the rabbits ears.  I would recommend this puzzle to children ages three to five.  I think it is a great size puzzle for children of those ages.  Make sure to visit Educational Toys Planet to purchase this Pet Friends Search and Learn puzzle or to find many other types of educational puzzles.

Summer To-Do List

Summer has officially started for me since my last teacher workday was Tuesday.  It hasn't really felt too much like Summer yet because I have been busy getting things ready for Raleigh.  I can't wait to get into my new apartment and to find a job and get settled. I have a few interviews next week that I'm looking forward to.  But other than getting moved into Raleigh there are other things I want to do this Summer.

1) Learn how to make shrimp sauce
 I love Japanese fried rice with shrimp sauce on top.  So today I tried to create my own shrimp sauce.  It was alright, but definitely not like the kind you get at a good Japanese Steakhouse.  So I really want to try to find a good recipe to make. If anyone has one please let me know.

2) Read for pleasure!


As soon as I left school on Tuesday I went to the library.  I am currently reading "A Mind at A Time" by Mel Levine.  It is a book about learning how to teach directly to the learning style of each child.  It is a great book for teachers and parents to read.  I'm reading it to kind of get my mind focused towards my Special Education degree.


I also checked out "Three Cups of Tea" and still need to finish reading "Eat, Pray, Love" that I bought last year.

3) Get back to saving money
While I was teaching I didn't have a lot of time for using coupons like I used to.  With me paying for grad school and everything else it will definitely be worth it to find more time to get back into couponing.  I at least don't want to have to buy toothpaste while in Raleigh.

I survived the 6th grade!

My teammate & I at field day!

Today was the last day of school!  I have so many mixed emotions that I don't know how I feel.  There is happiness for it being Summer, sadness because I won't see my Gators anymore, worry because I don't have a job lined up yet for Raleigh & anticipation for the next journey of my life to begin. Either way, I made it through a half year of teaching sixth grade.  It was a great experience that I learned more than I thought I would from.  I'm thankful for every day I spent at Central.  Now I'm super excited to start graduate school.  I am still waiting to see if I get in the Special Education program for the Fall.  If I get in that will take off a lot of current stress. It is going to be so awesome studying something that I have such a strong passion about.  For the first couple years of undergrad you take classes that you really don't care much about but in grad school I will be taking classes that all pertain to what I am wanting to do, so I can't wait!