So long, farewell...

My dear friend Jessi is leaving Pittsburgh tomorrow. Yes, she's leaving tomorrow and yes, I'm still in denial about it. I was just at their house last night and it still didn't seem real, even though EVERYTHING in their house is gone/packed. I think in about four weeks when my life settles back down (it's seriously crazy busy right now) I'll be super duper sad and lonely.

Jessi is wonderful and has been my saving grace living here in Pittsburgh. I wouldn't have survived my first year here very well without her. She's sweet and selfless and generous; everything you want in a best friend.

So Jessi, I won't get super sappy on the blog because you know how I feel and how much your friendship means to me! Have fun on your crazy cross-country adventure!!

Loves!

Chuggin' along

Work's going well. We're flying through The Hunger Games and I really hope that the kids are getting something extra out of if. Regardless, they're reading and are completing their work so my job is half-done.

Summer camp is coming up quuuuick. June 10 is about a month away (eeek)! I think this summer will be excellent. I'm training my replacement, have good/strong returning staff members and some new staff that are shaping up to be excellent! My supervisor is keeping me in the loop, which is really nice and I think we've got some cool new stuff for the kiddos this year!

I'm excited to start my class in June! It's going to be nice to be the student instead of the teacher. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I'm excited about having homework, doing discussion groups and writing papers. Hopefully my experience at school will come into play and I can apply my knowledge to my class.

We're heading to NC for Memorial Day weekend for a friend's wedding which should be a blast! I can't wait to celebrate Andrew and Stacey with a TON of our CMU friends:) Not to mention, going to a new city and spending some time exploring!

Clarissa is coming to visit May 17 and I can NOT wait! The next two weeks had better FLY!

So thankful to be living in Pittsburgh where there is no snow:)

New Shoes

Today Matthew and I went to REI to look at running shoes for him (he's a member and had a coupon) and I ended up finding some shoes for me! They're super comfortable, dressy enough for work and casual enough for jeans. I've been wearing them all day and they do NOT hurt my feet! I also went online and ordered them in black:)

Check them out!

Spummer?

So after complaining about the weather not getting warmer, spring has blossomed! So happy that it's finally warm outside! The students are super squirrelly, especially since we're doing standardized testing. I have also realized that I don't have enough summer/spring work clothes. Guess I have to go shopping this weekend! What a bummer:)

School is going well. We are starting The Hunger Games on Monday. I hope the kids really like it:) I'm excited about teaching it!

I registered for a class this summer and a class this fall. Then I'll have my Masters of Education! Yay!

YUM

So Matthew made these tonight for dinner! Fried Chicken Sandwiches with Slaw and Spicy Mayo. YUMMMMMMMM!!

They turned out great! Restaurant style quality:)

A little bragging...

about my awesome husband! On Thursday, he is getting the 2013 Grad Student Service Award at CMU!! Check out this article for more information!

Easter Week

Life has been busy! I started my long-term substitute position and am really enjoying it so far. The kids (for the most part) are good and there is a student teacher for a few weeks so that is really helping the transition. I don't have to learn all the kids' names, policies/procedures of the school, do lesson plans all at the same time. It's a nice slow transition, I like it:)

This week, we had school on Monday (snow day make-up); we also had a two-hour delay so it was an even quicker day! Tuesday-Thursday I worked at Full Day Care at Thelma Lovette. It was exhausting!!!! I was alone with between 12-14 kids for the majority of the day. Did I mention that two of those 14 kids need constant supervision due to their behavior? Yeah.... So, Friday was a glorious day off!!

Last night Matthew and I went to Lot 17 in Bloomfield for dinner. It was delicious!! I like going to new restaurants and getting delicious food:) We also watched Ray last night, which Matthew hadn't seen before. I haven't seen it in several years and had forgotten how great it was!!

This morning I took Matthew to the airport. His flight left at 7am so we left our house at 5:15am. I drove home and went back to sleep! What a glorious morning it has been! Sunny and warm! I'm going to eat my lunch leftovers and go for a walk:)

Easter is tomorrow and I'm having lunch with John and Jessi:)

A Visit Home

We are halfway through March (eek!) and it's time for a little update. This past weekend I went home to see my family and friends in WI/MN. It was a wonderful few days and I'm so thankful I was able to spend them with so many wonderful people.

Friday morning Matthew drove me to the airport. My flight left at 7am so I figured if I got there by 6, I would be okay (I'd already checked in). How wrong I was....apparently every college student (and I do mean everyone) was flying out somewhere for spring break. The line for security was insane!! Thankfully I chose the alternate checkpoint which, even though the line was out the door, was moving quickly. I did have to run to catch my flight but it was a small plane and I made it! One teeny, tiny plane flight later, I landed in Minneapolis. Got myself a coffee from Caribou and made my way to the shuttle pick up spot. The driver was someone I knew from EC! I almost didn't believe it! Took the shuttle home to EC where Mom was waiting for me. We stopped up at the hospital to see my dad very briefly then headed home. We made some lunch, took naps and went for a walk. That night I went out to Hobbsy's with my awesome friends from high school. I had never been to that bar before and was pleasantly surprised!

Me and my girls <3 br="">

 

Saturday morning Mom, Dad and I headed down to Madison to see Jake, Kayla and Rowan!! We hung out at their apartment and attempted to take a walk around the capital and State Street. Unfortunately it was raining by the time we got their so we didn't stay out very long because of Rowan (he's been sick and that would have made it worse). Mom and Dad went back to the hotel and I went with Jake and Kayla. We chilled, watched a little TV and played with Rowan.  Poor guy was so tired but wouldn't fall asleep. For dinner we went to Rocky Rococo's which was awesome!!! I haven't had their pizza since like 2004 and it did NOT disappoint!! After dinner, we walked over the hotel and took Rowan swimming for the first time! I wish I could have captured his face because it was so cute. He didn't cry or freak out, just looked like "what is this?! I'm not sure how I feel about this" After his lips started to turn a little blue, he got all swaddled up, changed and Jake and Kayla went home. Mom, Dad and I watched some TV, set our clocks ahead and called it a night:)

Rowan smiling

Rowan chewing on his moustache pacifier:)

Sunday morning we got up and had brunch at the wonderful Club Tavern where Jake works on the weekend. Their brunch was very tasty and the atomosphere was very family friendly. I can see why Jake likes working there:) After brunch, Mom, Dad and I hit the road back to EC. I took the shuttle back to the Cities and Clarissa picked me up! We went to Cowboy Jacks and hung out with Christina. What a wonderful way to end the weekend--hanging out with two of my favorites! Spent the night at Rissa's place and in the morning she took me over to Kirsten's house, where I hung out until my flight left Monday afternoon. Kirsten and I chatted and went to lunch at Potbelly (they seriously need to get one in the Pittsburgh area) and she drove me to the airport. 

What a wonderful weekend! I'm so lucky to have amazing friends and family!! Thank you to everyone who let me crash at their place, who drove me around and who just spent time with me:) I can't wait to move back to Minnesota and be able to see all of you more often!

Rest of February

The rest of the month of February flew right past! We went to Chicago a few weekends ago and had an absolute BLAST with our friends Robin and Eric. They have a super cute apartment and an even cuter dog, Bowie:) They're getting married in October and we are so happy to be part of their special (and memorable) day! Highlights of the trip: the Bean, Field Museum, eating DELICIOUS food, riding the "L" and seeing Lake Michigan on a daily basis. I love Chicago and am so thankful that we have friends who live there so we have an excuse to visit.

Chicago Buildings and Lake Michigan

All of us at the Bean

The following weekend, we went to the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh for our final ECE Winter Party! It was a blast! Great food, great entertainment, free drinks:) All in all, an excellent night

 Me and Jessi

Me and Matthew

I can't believe that it's March 4th already!! 2013 is just flying right on by:) I'm going home to Wisconsin this weekend to see friends and family (most importantly, my adorable nephew Rowan!!) I can't wait!

Room

I finished reading Room on Friday! I couldn't put it down! It's about a five year old boy, Jack, and his mother, Ma, and their life in an 11x11 foot Room. It's told from Jack's perspective which I found very interesting. The world is a very different place in a child's eyes, especially a child who has only ever known life in Room. It was an excellent book! I give it five out of five stars. Matthew read it in about a day--he just couldn't stop!

Excitement!

On Monday, I accepted a long-term sub position teaching 8th grade English! I start April 1 and go until June 7; it's not the end of the school year (school ends June 13) but I need to be at summer camp on day one (June 10) but everyone said it was acceptable. I'm pretty excited AND super nervous to take this teaching position. Student Teaching was not the best time in my life and I'm very worried that I'm going to be overly stressed and a generally unpleasant person to be around. I'm going to try very very very hard to not get super cranky with Matthew or my family and friends. All in all, I'm really excited about the job and glad that my years of subbing are paying off in form of a teaching position!

Great Books!

I just finished two excellent books!

The first one is Orange is the New Black, a memoir by Piper Kerman. It's about the author's experience serving 15 months in a women's prison in Connecticut. It was SUPER interesting and an insight into the prison system.  I highly recommend it!

The second one is The Fault on Our Stars by John Green. I read Looking for Alaska in college for my Adolescent Literature class and the writing is just compelling. It's interesting, witty and an excellent example of young adult literature. Towards the end, all I wanted to do was hug Matthew and tell him I love him!

Both books get 5 out of 5 stars!

Visitors

Thursday night, Meg and David arrived from Philadelphia and they stayed until Sunday afternoon. It was absolutely wonderful to see them and show off Pittsburgh.

Friday we slept in, took them to brunch at Square Cafe, played some Wii, went to the Happy Hour at CMU, made some guacamole and celebrated Peter K's birthday at Peter and Kristen's place.

Saturday we went to Penn Brewery (FINALLY!) for lunch! Walked around by the stadiums and took a picture with the Mister Rogers statute. Gopher Basketball played wisconSIN on Saturday afternoon so we went to William Penn Tavern to watch the game. Gophs lost by 1 point in the last 10 seconds of the game...it was a rough ending...great game, just a crappy outcome. Hopefully the Gophers will win the next one! After the game, we took naps/relaxed for a while. We took them to Gran Agave (YUM) for dinner and walked around the Waterfront for a little bit.

Sunday we went up the incline and looked at the city from on top. It was a cold but sunny day so the view was spectacular. We went to lunch at Primanti Brothers in the Strip which was surprisingly excellent. I went to the one in Oakland before I moved here and was NOT impressed; guess we just needed to go to the original  one in the Strip. Walked around the Strip District a little, got some mini-donuts from Peace, Love and Little Donuts and picked up FroYo in Oakland on our way home.

Overall, a GREAT weekend with great friends, food and adventures! Come one, come all! We love having visitors!

Great Sunday

Today was an excellent day! I worked early, 6am-10am, which I love! I know, it's crazy getting up and getting moving, but once I'm up, I'm up for the rest of the day. I'm totally a morning person (once I force myself to get out of bed), not a night owl. It's currently 8pm and I'm 100% ready for bed:)

I came home and we made these delicious muffin pan omlets! They were super tasty and SUPER easy. I highly recommend it! Not to mention that I have grab and go breakfast for the week! Go here and check it out.

After brunch there was some lazing about, par for the course on a Sunday.  Talked to Jessi and we made a plan to run some errands and walk Dixie. Did I mention that it was 65 degrees here today?! Feels like April instead of January. Tomorrow the high is going to be in the mid-30s so we thought we'd take advantage of the gorgeous weather and be out and about in it. There's just something about running errands with your bestie, it's always more fun:) I miss going to the grocery store with my girlfriends where everyone's groceries are in separate places in the cart and you have to keep track of what you bought. Don't get me wrong, I like grocery shopping with Matthew, but it's much more fun to do it with a friend, especially with all the people watching and chit chatting you do:)

Overall, pretty great weekend. Minus the Packer loss....they just couldn't stop the run. The quarterback for the 49ers rushed for like 180 yards! THE QB!? I'm glad I went to bed last night instead of staying up to watch the Pack fall apart. A disappointing end to the season but we'll get 'em next year!! Go Pack Go!

Here's to a productive week and weekend. We've got a lot to get done between now and the arrival of the Toweys next week:)

Visitors!

Meg and David are coming to visit January 24! So excited to see both of them and have them spend more than just a night in Pittsburgh. Hopefully we'll do loads of touristy stuff and show off Pittsburgh. I want to go to a Pitt Men's Basketball game while they're here because, well who doesn't love college hoops? They're great!

In February, we're going to Chicago for a long weekend to visit Robin and Eric! Pretty pumped to be spending some time with them and not just using their apartment as a crash pad. I haven't done touristy stuff/exploring in Chicago since I was in middle school when my aunt still lived there. Here's hoping the weather cooperates!

On the Ball

For 2013, one of my goals is to stay more on top of blogging. Granted, not a lot happens in my life so sometimes there just isn't anything important to talk about, but oh well.

For New Year's Eve we went over to our friends' house for appetizers and homebrew sampling. It was a wonderful evening filled with friends, good food, good beer and laughter. Not to mention slightly intoxicated Matthew and John which are always entertaining.

So far 2013 is going well. I have a lot of work to do for the YMCA in the next few weeks but by the end of January things should be all square! Two state visits in the next few weeks, our STAR 2 renewal at Sunnyside, working on getting a STAR 2 at Ross and trying to stay sane:) Hopefully it can all be done!

I'm feeling a little burnt out from subbing so I've been staying home a little more than I probably should but it's been nice to be home to run errands, work on YMCA stuff and relax a little. This is my fourth school year of glorified baby sitting and doing something for that long can just be exhausting. I'm hoping that once all the YMCA work slows down a little, I'll feel better about subbing. Cross your fingers!

2012 Recap

Happy New Year! To start the new year off right, I want to look back at 2012 and all of the things that have happened.

January: 
Emily visited Pittsburgh!

February: 
Winter Party for ECE
Went home to Minnesota to help Meg find her wedding dress
Got a STAR 2 for Sunnyside!

March:
Visited Meg and David (and my cousin Pat) in Philadelphia

April:
Celebrated Easter with friends
Bridal Shower in South Bend with the Sullivan clan
Went to Connecticut to celebrate Nile's 100th Birthday
Visited Scranton, PA on our way home from CT

May:
Day trip to Columbus to see my cousins Maureen and Lauren (and the Columbus Zoo)
Made a trip home to Wisconsin to work on wedding stuff (ie mailed out the invitations!)
Bridals Shower in Minnesota with the McNamara and Beckler clans

June:
Rowan was born June 9, 2012!
Jules (a friend of Dad's) visited Pittsburgh with his ballpark tour group and we took in two Pirates-Twins games

July:
Met Rowan for the first time!
Got married:)

August:
Celebrated Melanie and Kevin's marriage at their Pittsburgh reception
Changed my name

September:
Turned 27 
Meg and David got married in Minnesota
Mourned the loss and celebrated the life of the wonderful Dianne Rhein

October:
Went to Hawaii on our Honeymoon
Went to a Packer game (in GB) and saw Rowan, Jake and Kayla

November:
Matthew went to a conference in Anaheim, CA and I tagged along
Visited Brea and Kee in Palm Springs (ate DELICIOUS Korean food, went up a mountain, drank lots of boba)!
Joined a community band!
Went to the PNC Pops Beatles Concert
Ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at our place in Pittsburgh

December:
First Community Band concert
Went to the PNC Pops Holiday Concert
Celebrated our first married Christmas
Loved on Rowan (a lot)
Rang in the New Year with lovely friends in Pittsburgh

2012 was an excellent year! 2013 is promising to be a wonderful one too: three weddings, Matthew's (hopeful) graduation, our departure from Pittsburgh and our arrival back to the Twin Cities!

I hope your 2012 was as great as ours and all the best in 2013!!