Me Teach Pretty One Day

Oh, Minnesota

2012-01-25T21:30:00.004-05:00

How I miss thee and your accents! I also miss a lot of the things they're talking about in "Shit people from Minnesota Say". Thankfully, I'll be back in Minnesota for a few days in February! I can't wait!

Emily's visit

2012-01-25T21:25:00.002-05:00

Emily's visit was, by far, the best thing that has happened in 2012! She was here for 3.5 days and I loved every minute of it!

She's awesome!

Excellent week

2012-01-25T21:21:00.003-05:00

Thus far, this week has been excellent!

Monday I subbed and worked at my after-school program. Chatted with my friend Jonathan as well
Tuesday I had coffee and a 3 hour chat with my friend Melanie who I haven't seen in forever. I also had a dinner date with my other friend Sam. Had awesome phone dates with Emily and Jake.
Wednesday (today) went to the Science Center with Jessi and the kids she nannies for! It's awesome to see a museum through the eyes of a three and one year old:) Both the boys are so sweet and Jessi is so wonderful to care for them with so much love and compassion. They're lucky to have her!

Tomorrow I'm hopefully subbing, running some errands and working at Old Navy. Same for Friday. I love having busy weeks, especially when they're productive!

CUUUUTE Video

2012-01-11T11:49:00.001-05:00

This is the cutest video I have seen all week! Check it out here Baby sloths! I wonder if there's a whole show on Animal Planet devoted to sloths. That would be excellent!

2012-01-07T21:30:00.002-05:00

One of my best friends since forever is coming to Pittsburgh on Thursday!! I can't wait to see her!

In wedding news, our Save the Dates arrived on Friday. Man was that a struggle, but they finally arrived and we'll be sending them out by the end of the month. Emily agreed to help out when she's visiting this weekend which is lovely! Tomorrow, Jessi and I are going to a bridal show in Monroeville. It's the first one I've gone to and I just want to go to see what it's all about. I guess I'm looking for flower arrangements since we've got all the other major things done. Regardless, it should be fun!

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-01T22:02:00.001-05:00

1. Update my blog at least once a week
2. Exercise and eat healthy

To be continued:)

2012

2012-01-01T21:57:00.003-05:00

Hooray! It's 2012! It's going to be a big year! We're getting married in July. My dear friend Meg is getting married in September. My brother and his girlfriend are having a baby in June so I'm going to be an auntie! It's going to be a banner year:)

We went to a NYE party last night and had a wonderful time! It was very relaxed and neither of us got super drunk, which is always good. Previous NYEs have been slightly disastrous; dear champagne, you and I will not be friends. Remember when it was cool to drink a whole bottle of bubbly by yourself? Yeah..... Regardless, this year we had a very classy NYE:)

Here's to a happy and healthy 2012!!!

Wedding Update

2011-12-04T18:30:00.002-05:00

We ordered our Save the Dates today!! Wedding planning is coming along, thankfully. I'm proud of what we have accomplished even living so far away from home.

A belated congratulations to the lovely Meg and her fiance David! So happy that you two are getting hitched and so honored to be part of your special day!

Post-Thanksgiving

2011-12-04T18:10:00.003-05:00

Our Thanksgiving dinner was lovely! We didn't have any turkeys rocketing out of the oven, burned food or any one getting sick (that I know about) from the food. It was nice to have people over to celebrate the holiday and to cook for. Thanks to everyone who came over!

Working Black Friday was busy but not unexpected. Thankfully being busy makes the day go really fast. Working during the holidays means more hours at work, but that's alright. It makes for a nice paycheck. I can't complain about that. Life costs money and we never seem to have enough of it.

I'm making good progress on my holiday shopping. I'm still stumped for some people but I'm pretty sure I can figure something out before December 25th:)

Jessi and I had a wonderful morning shopping, chatting and general merriment before I worked. We were super productive! We went to Aldi and saved a TON of money! It was awesome! I helped her get prepped for the Holiday Party she's having on Saturday.

I can't wait to be home for Christmas! We put up our Christmas tree today! It feels festive in our apartment:)

A Thanksgiving Poem

2011-11-21T10:33:00.001-05:00

The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

By Jack Prelutsky

The turkey shot out of the oven
and rocketed into the air,
it knocked every plate off the table
and partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner
and burst with deafening boom,
then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows,
it totally coated the floor,
there was turkey attached to the ceiling,
where there'd never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance,
it smeared every saucer and bowl,
there wasn't a way I could stop it,
that turkey was out of control.

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,
and thought with chagrin as I mopped,
that I'd never again stuff a turkey
with popcorn that hadn't been popped.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-21T10:27:00.003-05:00

Well, I haven't updated in a month. Oops:) Life has been busy!

My friends came and we went dress shopping. I got my dress and the girls all settled on a bridesmaid dress, got their measurements and decided on dress color. It was a very productive weekend and it was WONDERFUL to be able to show off Pittsburgh to my friends.

We're gearing up for Thanksgiving. Matthew and I are hosting Turkey Day dinner at our apartment for some friends from CMU. Hopefully we don't burn the turkey or have any other kitchen disasters:)

I'm psyching myself up for my long day on Black Friday. 7am-4pm is going to be a long shift but there will be a lot of people working (and shopping) so hopefully everyone will be in a lovely mood. I'm excited! When I was at Kohl's, Black Friday was one of my favorite days working there because all the people I liked to work with were there!

My brother and his girlfriend are coming to visit the weekend before Christmas! I'm excited to show them around!! Hopefully the weather will be nice.

Today it's rainy and 40...typical. I'm jealous of the snow in Minnesota/Wisconsin and am looking forward to a white Christmas at home!

Squee!

2011-10-19T21:10:00.002-04:00

In a little over a week, Meg, Kirsten and Emma will all arrive to Pittsburgh for some wedding dress shopping! I can't wait to see them all!!! I have such wonderful friends!

Loves!

Traveling

2011-10-19T21:04:00.004-04:00

Matthew and I had a blast on our weekend trip to Chicago. We got to see Robin and Larson, their new dog Bowie and their adorable apartment! I'm so jealous of the hard wood floors and proximity to everything. They were gracious hosts for Matthew and I for the weekend.

My cousin's wedding was beautiful and it was great to see family, eat good food and drink good beer:) Congratulations to Dan and Beth!

On the way back from Chicago, we stopped in Fort Wayne to see my cousin Lauren, her husband Greg and their one year old daughter Norah. A good time was had by all and I was sad to leave to head back to Pittsburgh.

Hopefully we'll get to see everyone again soon! I'm so thankful I have such a wonderful extended family!

This past weekend we went up to Seven Springs with Jamie and Taylor and some of their friends. We had a blast relaxing, eating, drinking and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Matthew was beer pong champion! Just goes to show what a student in the marching band at a Big Ten school that sucks at football is good at: drinking:) It was a wonderful weekend and I'm again very thankful for the invitation to spend some time with Jamie and Taylor!

Loves

2011-10-06T20:47:00.003-04:00

I'm so thankful for my dear friend Jessi! Pittsburgh would be bereft without her! She's always there to listen to me rant and rave and laugh! And eat delicious Mexican food! Loves, girl!

DC Visit

2011-10-03T10:54:00.002-04:00

Just got back early this morning from DC! Taking the Amtrak was a new experience and I really liked it! It was nice to sit back and relax and not have to worry about traffic or tolls or parking or gas. And it ended up not being that much longer than driving myself down to DC from Pittsburgh.

It was awesome to see Jake and Kayla and Jonathan! They were wonderful hosts and I'm thankful to have such wonderful people in my life!

On this trip to DC, I went to the Holocaust Musuem, sat on the National Mall and read a book, saw Mount Vernon and the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial and walked around the city just to see it!

Even with rainy days, it was an excellent trip! I hope I can go back again soon!

Travelin' Month

2011-09-27T21:53:00.004-04:00

We went to NYC for the Maker Faire Sept 16-18! It was an absolute blast! The best part was seeing Siri!! I loved having pretty much three days full of Siri time! I know everyone back in Wisconsin is super jealous! Siri was a super tour guide and took us to so many wonderful, off the beaten tourist path restaurants! Matthew and Adam (and their company Wayne and Layne) exhibited at the New York City Maker Faire! They had an excellent weekend and did a great job talking about their products. The Maker Faire was a mix of a classy art fair, a state fair and a science fair for adults. I'm glad this was my first Maker Faire experience, because it was absolutely excellent
On Friday I'm headed to Washington DC to see my brother for his birthday! I'm taking the Amtrak which I'm beyond excited to do! After the excellent experience I had in NYC with the subway and buses, I'm still loving taking mass transit. It's about a 7.5 hour trip to DC which would normally take about five by car, but I don't have to worry about parking, tolls or road rage (yay!) It's going to be an action packed weekend! I'm excited!

In two weeks we're heading to Chicago for my cousin Dan's wedding! There hasn't been a Sullivan family wedding since Lauren and Greg in 2008 so I'm super excited. My parents will be there, so that's another bonus. Also, on our way back home, we're stopping in Fort Wayne to see the lovely Lauren and Greg and their incredibly cuuuute baby Norah! Well, she's almost one so I guess she's almost a toddler! I haven't seen her since she was about six weeks old and super tiny!

Making it work with Tim Gunn
Being touristy in Times Square
Happy at the end of Maker Faire!

NYC

2011-09-15T13:03:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow Matthew and I are headed (at the ass-crack of dawn, seriously our flight is at 5:30am)to New York City for the weekend! Matthew's company (with his friend Adam), Wayne and Layne is exhibiting at the Maker Faire! I haven't been to a Maker Faire before and I'm pretty excited! I also get to see my wonderful friend Siri who has been living in NYC for the past two years. She's already helped us out by making a really sweet map of how to get to places via subway, time of travel and cool places to get food:)

Hopefully we'll see someone famous! That would make my day!

Birthday

2011-09-07T21:46:00.002-04:00

My birthday was lovely! Thanks for all the warm wishes, cards, phone calls, and text messages! Matthew and I went out to dinner at Cafe Sam, which was excelente! I came home and talked to bestie Emma for an hour, ate cake and talked to my parents. Love it!

First Day

2011-09-07T21:40:00.002-04:00

Today I had my first sub job of the 2011-2012! It was only a half day but it was lovely to be back working with kids and being around teachers! Here's to a wonderful school year full of sub jobs and hopefully a full-time job opportunity (keep your fingers crossed). What a great day!

Crazy Stupid Love

2011-09-05T20:21:00.002-04:00

Tonight, Matthew and I went and saw Crazy Stupid Love with Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Julianne Moore. It was super cute!! Emma Stone, as always, is clever and charming (and gorgeous). Ryan Gosling was an excellent ladies man and him and Steve Carell had great chemistry between their characters' friendship. Kevin Bacon was in it too, which I didn't know ahead of time:)

I also saw a preview for Breaking Dawn Part 1 and was very very excited!! Hurry up November!

The Help

2011-09-04T11:46:00.003-04:00

On my first and last day of summer, Jessi and I went and saw The Help. It was excellent! Not to mention that it was $5 ticket and free popcorn night! We will hopefully be going to more movies there in the future, especially with that price!

If you haven't read the book, read it! It's hard to stop reading because there is so much happening!

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars:)

2011-09-04T11:38:00.002-04:00

Summer Camp 2011 finished up last Friday! I'm full of mixed emotions about the end of camp. They're long and tiring days but it's the one part of the year where I'm in control of the situation, know all the kids names and am the one who gets to make the rules. Unlike when I'm subbing. Don't get me wrong, I love subbing, but it'd be nice to have my own classroom some day:) Camp made the summer absolutely fly by. I can't believe it's September 4th today!

This past week was equally busy! On Monday I took the day off to do stuff around the house, relax, sleep in. Enjoy my first and last day of summer:) Tuesday was training in the morning, cleaning out the church in the afternoon and a Back to School night at Sunnyside. Wednesday was training and moving everything to Sunnyside. We hit the ground running this school year and I think we will be just fine at afterschool this year. The numbers are low right not, but I'm hoping things will pick up as the year progresses. The first few days of school are always new and different.

I've got my first subbing job on Wednesday and then I'm starting at a new afterschool program in the North Hills District. It's going to be fun and interesting! I can't wait!

Visitors

2011-08-21T20:59:00.002-04:00

Matthew's parents are coming on Thursday afternoon for a long weekend visit to Pittsburgh. It'll be lovely to see them! They haven't been here in three years! The last time they were here was to move Matthew. We know our way around the city and cool places to eat, so it should be a great chance to show off the city and spend time with them!

Last week

2011-08-21T20:50:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that tomorrow starts the very last week of camp for Summer 2011! This summer has absolutely flown by! I was so worried about how things were going to work out this summer, but it turns out, they were awesome! All the staff stepped up and we had wonderful campers! I couldn't have been happier!

This summer was also a test of my ability to truly lead a group of adults and campers and be responsible for their well being. Sometimes it sucked and other times it was great! I'm proud of how much I've grown as a leader. I know that I'm capable of having responsibility thrust upon me and can succeed.

I know that I've let my social life fall by the wayside, but that was my choice. I intend to have somewhat of a life again starting next week. I'm hoping to see The Help and Crazy Stupid Love one of these days. Hopefully Jessi will want to come along as well:)

Time to start winding down and getting ready for bed.

Here's to a wonderful last week!

2011-08-16T22:24:00.002-04:00

This weekend, Matthew and I attended the glorious wedding celebration of Tony and Sherry! I spent last week being a little weird about getting married but after going to Tony and Sherry's wedding and having one of the best nights of the summer, my resolve to plan my own wedding has been renewed! I can't wait to get married! I'm excited to start planning as soon as camp is over. I'm excited to look at wedding dresses and pick colors and make decisions:)

Seeing how happy Tony and Sherry were made me happy. Their wedding was beautiful, classy and full of all my favorite people. I want my wedding to be just as much fun!

Here's to less than a year left of until the big day!

Weddings!

2011-08-10T21:44:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, Matthew and I drove home to EC to celebrate Kyle and Jessica's wedding! It was a beautiful day and wonderful weekend! Pictures to follow, since Matthew's still in EC and has the camera.

I flew back on Sunday night to Pittsburgh and am flying back to Minneapolis on Friday for Tony and Sherry's wedding (which has the potential for wedding of the year, if you ask me). I can't wait to see those two tie the knot! When I met Tony in 2004, I never thought he'd get married, much less before me:) I wish both of them the best and am so glad to share in their special day!

Summer camp has 2.5 weeks left! I can't believe how quickly this summer has flown by! What happened to July!?

2011-07-30T07:26:00.003-04:00

It's been a month since I've blogged. However, not much has been happening. I work, I swim in the pool, I sweat in our non-air conditioned apartment, I sleep, I play with the kitties. Tis a nice life for the summer but I've been craving a vacation like woah.

My parents were in Michigan last weekend vising Dad's family. They called to talk about all the swimming in Lake Huron they were doing. I'm so jealous! I haven't taken a real vacation, that doesn't involved going home since Matthew and I went to Harrisburg for the weekend in January 2010.
I get to think about taking our honeymoon. I'm not sure where we are going to go. We had talked about Canada but I'd really just like to take a trip somewhere, anywhere, together:)

In a week I'll be back home in EC for Kyle and Jessica's wedding. It's going to be great to see friends and family and have a little bit of time away from Pittsburgh. In two weeks I'll be back in EC for Tony and Sherry's wedding! Matthew is Tony's best man so he'll be doing lots of groomsman duties and all I'll have to do is show up:)

Time to get started on today's to-do list!

Syracuse Bound

2011-07-01T21:55:00.001-04:00

Matthew and I are off to Syracuse tomorrow morning to visit our lovely friends Robin and Eric! I can't wait to see them and enjoy a relaxing weekend!

Summer

2011-06-25T20:58:00.003-04:00

Summer has officially begun. We finished up Week 2 of summer camp! I can't believe two weeks have already gone by. Man, those weeks go by fast! I'm loving it so far and there's not as much stress and worry as I thought there would be. I think the anticipation of how things were going to go was stressing me out like crazy. Thankfully Mr. Mike is there and my other staff are awesome!

A friend from CMU left this week. Jonathan moved back to DC with his recently completed Master's Degree and a real job waiting for him. I'm pretty jealous but know that it was the right move for him. I hope he enjoys his time off before work starts and enjoys work when it starts up again.

Things in Pittsburgh are busy,but mostly the same. I got a new computer which is super exciting. My other laptop was pretty much on her deathbed. It's nice to have a computer that has speakers that work and doesn't overheat/shut down after 20 minutes.

Matthew's parents are tentatively coming for a visit in July! It should be an absolute blast!

Wedding planning has come to a halt, at the moment. We've got over a year to get planning done, so I'm not too worried about it:)

Drat!

2011-06-10T19:34:00.003-04:00

A month has gone by without any updates! I must say that it was quite a busy month!

The weekend of May 13-16, Matthew and I headed to Washington DC to meet up with some college friends who live on this half of the country. One couple lives in Syracuse, NY and other in Philadelphia. It was absolutely wonderful to see them and to explore the city with such amiable and interested travel companions. I loved how efficient (for the most part) that the Metro was. We only got stuck once where the wait was going to be longer than it would take us to walk there. Lesson learned:) My favorite was seeing the Library of Congress and the Lincoln Memorial. At the Thomas Jefferson Memorial there were no less than six brides there getting their pictures taken with their husbands. What a beautiful place for wedding photos!

While we were in DC we also got to see my brother Jake and his girlfriend Kayla and their adorable apartment. For a basement apartment, it's super nice! Not dark and creepy like most of the ones I've seen. Jake took us to the restaurant he works at nights and weekends and the food was delish! It was lovely to see him!

Matthew and I made the great trek back to Wisconsin to spend some time with friends and family. We got some wedding planning done and finally set the date: July 28, 2012! We also got to spend some time in Minneapolis and see a good chunk of our college friends. The time, as always, was too short but we definitely made the most of it! I'll be back briefly in August for two weddings, provided the price of plane tickets go down.

My cousin Meg and her family were here Sunday-Tuesday! I can't believe we fit 2 adults and three children (5,3,1) in our apartment. It was an absolute blast to have them! I loved reading books to them and having them jump up right away and hold my hand when we walked anywhere. I also got the opportunity to go to the Children's Museum which was AWESOME! They have a whole exhibit dedicated to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood! Patrick, Becca and even little George had a great time. The best part about the museum is that the kids can touch everything! I was sad to see them go on Tuesday but they were headed off to Philadelphia to see my cousin Pat (Meg's sister) for a few days.

Summer Camp starts on Monday! I'm pretty excited to be back at camp with routines, the swimming pool, double file lines, watching Mr. Mike in his element and having kids scramble to sit by you in morning round up! June 13-August 26 is probably my favorite and most exhausting part of the year.

Ellie!

2011-05-10T11:19:00.003-04:00

Last week, Matthew and I adopted a two month old kitten. We named her Elliot, Ellie for short. Yes, we picked Elliot after Elliot Stabler from Law&Order SVU, one of our favorite shows. Hopefully they'll be great friends like Olivia and Elliot on the show. She's so tiny and cute and purrs all the time. We were very worried about how Olivia would react to her but so far it's been going well. They chase each other around all the time but aren't hissing as much. I'm hoping this will lead to them snuggling together, cleaning each other and overall harmonious living in Kitten Kingdom.

Right now, Elliot is sleeping on my lap, purring up a storm!

Olivia and Elliot playing together

2011-05-02T22:09:00.001-04:00

Upon hearing the news about the death of Osama bin Laden, my friend Marie posted this quote from the very wise Martin Luther King Jr.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

It's something to think about.

Qual!

2011-04-25T16:22:00.003-04:00

Matthew passed his Qual:) That means he can continue on in his PhD career at CMU. Hooray! He worked so very hard this time and I'm incredibly proud of him!

Wedding Planning

2011-04-25T16:19:00.003-04:00

Last night and today I've really finally dived into some wedding planning. Our trip home to Eau Claire is coming up fast and I want to see as many reception sites and meet with photographers as possible while we're home. Especially since we aren't going to be in EC for longer than a weekend until Christmas-time. I've gotten information from a number of places and now it's really just going in and looking at what there is to offer, settling on a price and hoping that we'll be able to afford everything.

A shocking surprise: chair rental is ridiculously expensive! $550 for one short afternoon! Cripes!

Happy (belated) Easter!

2011-04-25T16:15:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, Matthew and I celebrated Easter with our lovely Pittsburgh friends John and Jessi. Jessi cooked a delicious ham, made mashed potatoes (my favorite at any holiday meal), biscuits, and whipped together a salad. John and Jessi invited Matthew and I over, along with their neighbors Devin, Pallas, Soli and Phoenix. It was a lovely meal filled with laughter, happiness and cute kids:) After the meal, I had to go to work for a few hours, but thankfully all the employees were in a "well, we're here, we might as well make the most of it" mood so that helped. After work, I came home and did some major wedding planning. A productive (and of course chocolate and jelly bean filled) Easter!

Thanks to John and Jessi for hosting! It was lovely!

2011-04-16T08:28:00.002-04:00

One of the hardest things about living in Pittsburgh and being so far away from friends and family, is not being able to see them very often. This week, after playing a lot of phone tag, I finally had phone dates with three of my favorites! It's wonderful to be talking to a friend and not realize that an hour has gone by and you both still have things to talk about. When I talk to Emma, I get incredibly homesick; homesick for EC, homesick for Minneapolis, homesick for things I've been familiar with since I was a little girl.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm content with living in Pittsburgh for the moment. I've got employment that is satisfying, a wonderful fiancée, a nice apartment, a crazy/cute cat and a safe neighborhood. Sometimes it's just hard to keep in contact with everyone, especially because they're also super busy:) I wish they'd hurry up and invent lightspeed (like in Star Wars) so I can go into Hyperdrive and be in EC in 10 seconds. That would be wonderful!

However, I will be traveling home in May for a wedding and doing some of our own wedding planning! I can't wait!!!!

2011-04-07T16:05:00.001-04:00

This week's winners are:
Darrian
Daly
Chaise
Angelin
Freesia

Warm Fuzzies

2011-04-04T09:24:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning to an email from the teacher I substituted for on Friday. The email said " I have read over your notes and I must say that you have been the best substitute that I have ever had. I will definitely e-mail you the next time I am out. Thank you for your time with the students and for your detailed note. I truly appreciate what you did for me."

A nice little warm fuzzy for my basket this morning. What a great way to start the day!

Parentals Visit Pittsburgh

2011-03-30T19:25:00.003-04:00

My parents were here last week and I had an absolute blast! It was great to see them and show them all the Pittsburgh stuff that I talk to them about on the phone. Thankfully, the weather cooperated for most of their trip and we had the opportunity to be outside and do some exploring. The moment they pulled out of their parking spot I had a terrible ache in my heart and was incredibly sad. I never feel like that when I leave EC; I think that's because when you're the person who is doing the traveling it's easier because you're going back to your life/stuff/job/routine.

Dad and I wearing our Packers shirts at Heinz Field
My parents at the top of the Duquesne Incline
Mom and Dad at the Carnegie Library

Atonement

2011-03-30T19:21:00.002-04:00

I finished reading Atonement on Monday. I really enjoyed the book. Granted, parts of it were really slow and I put the book aside for a while, but I finished and overall, enjoyed it. Briony's character is horrible and fascinating at the same time. She is so self-involved and loves writing plays/stories but when the story returns to her five years later, she is much changed. Reading her account of taking care of wounded men in the hospital was moving and exciting and made me hopeful for Briony's character. Robbie and Cecilia's love for one another is heartbreakingly beautiful. How terrible would it be to have barely seen each other before Robbie had to go off to war and all they had to build their relationship on was letters and Cecilia's constant reminder "I'll wait. Come back to me" I'd give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Stick with it to the end and it's a pretty good read:)

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-19T14:50:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday, Matthew and I went to the Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade. We had a blast, even though it was a little cold and the parade was a little long. I love everything Irish (well, except black and white pudding...ew) and it was nice to be outside celebrating my heritage. On Thursday we went to PHI bar with some friends from CMU and had a few beers, sadly ours was not died green, but we still had a wonderful time. I talked to Mom and my best friend Emma this week about all the Paddy's Day celebrations they've had in EC and it makes me incredibley homesick. Emma and I have come to realize that Paddy's Day is "our" holiday. I hope that sometime soon, I'll be able to be in EC to celebrate with her.

My parents are coming tomorrow! I can't wait to see them! They're staying until Friday morning and It's going to be a blast to show them around Pittsburgh!

I think Dad should dress up like this next year:)

The King's Speech

2011-03-09T19:16:00.003-05:00

Last night, Matthew and I went and saw The King's Speech. It was excellent! The music, cinematography and great acting made for an Oscar-worthy film. While we were watching the movie, I realized how little I know about England's history between the 1930s and 1950s. Everyone knows about Winston Churchill but what about the Prime Minister before him and who led the country as King during WWII. Colin Firth plays King George VI, who suffers from stammering. After exhausting all the doctors in the area, his wife Elizabeth I (played by Helena Bonham Carter, love her too) finds Lionel Logue who helps Bertie (he uses George VI when he becomes king) become a better public speaker. The plot moves along at a good pace and there's clever writing and witty humor. Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth did a wonderful job together! I loved the movie!! I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Community

2011-03-07T06:46:00.003-05:00

Matthew and I started watching the NBC show Community and we fell in love with it! I remember watching the pilot in Fall 2009 and only saw the first 10 minutes. I wasn't all that impressed with it, nor did I think it was funny. However, I wish I had stuck with it because the second half of the pilot episode was hilarious! The writers are snarky and clever. Joel McHale is super sexy too:)

I highly recommend the show!! Thanks to Matthew's friend Adam for the suggestion!

2011-03-07T06:39:00.003-05:00

Since I'm a substitute teacher, I see a lot of different classes and kids during the week. This past week was especially busy (four days, three of which were in an English class, score!) but I thoroughly enjoyed myself until homeroom on Friday. Students told me "We always leave 30 seconds early, it's tradition. Ms. L always lets us..." One of the worst things about being a substitute is when kids lie like this. I figure if teachers did let kids leave early, they would leave a note for me about it. It's just one of the most frustrating things. That said, I do enjoy subbing and the flexibility of it. I've established myself and teachers want me to sub for them. That feels really good; maybe I can and will be a good classroom teacher! Hopefully, I'll be able to get a full time job in the near future. I know that Shaler is not hiring any English teachers for the 2011-2012 school year. I'll just keep subbing, working at the YMCA and at Old Navy.

For a little humor, here are the most unique names of students I had this past week:
-Mowgli (yes, like The Jungle Book)
-Callum
-Shacoby (pronounced like Jacoby, but with a "sh" sound at the beginning).

First Bath

2011-02-24T08:11:00.005-05:00

Last night, we gave Olivia a bath. Now, I know that cats don't like water, but Olivia is a very curious kitten and she's always playing in the sinks so I thought maybe she would be okay with getting wet. It's a good thing we got her declawed because otherwise Matthew and I would have been scratched from head to toe. I felt like we were torturing her but thankfully she got over it and slept with us last night:)

Next time we give her a bath, I think we'll close the bathroom door so she can't escape and have a fuzzier towel on hand to dry her off. She does smell much better and her fur is soft and silky again!

Winter Party

2011-02-24T08:00:00.003-05:00

On Saturday night, we got dressed up and headed to the Heinz History Center for the ECE Winter Party. It was wonderful! The History Center is a great venue with lots of things to look at and a great place for drinks/dancing and a beautiful ballroom for the meal. If we were getting married here, I would consider it as a place for a reception!

Matthew and I

Jessi and I looking cute, like always:)

Know what any of this means?

We do!

Kit Kat Bars

2011-02-15T10:15:00.003-05:00

They're delicious and addicting, watch out!

1 stick of butter/margarine
1/4 c milk
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c crushed graham crackers
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c butterscotch chips
2/3 c peanut butter

Line a 9x13 pan with Club crackers. Melt butter. Add milk, sugar, brown sugar and graham crackers. Mix ingredients and boil for five minutes. Spread over crackers and pan. Add another layer of crackers. Melt chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter and add to the top layer of crackers. Refrigerate for three hours to set.

Fabulous Feta Salad

2011-02-15T10:07:00.003-05:00

This recipe is from the Taste of Home Simple and Delicious Cookbook. I like this cookbook because it let's you plan meals for a week, using many of the same ingredients. This salad is delicious and also very filling

2.5 c uncooked bowtie pasta
4 c torn romaine (or lettuce in general)
1 c cubed cooked chicken
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c Italian dressing

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine pasta, romaine, chicken and feta cheese. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.

YUM!

Watson!

2011-02-14T22:20:00.002-05:00

Today, Matthew came home from work and was telling me that scientists at IBM had developed a computer that could compete on Jeopardy. Its name is Watson and today was the first round of a Jeopardy competition against two of the best Jeopardy players ever. It was AWESOME! Its able to generate answers very quickly and to buzz in just like the other players. IBM showed footage of the creation of Watson and how big it is (the computer, that is).

Here's some information about Watson

I'm going to be watching Jeopardy tomorrow and Wednesday to see how Watson fairs against the best Jeopardy players:)

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T22:17:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Matthew and I celebrated last Wednesday and I think I'm getting flowers next week:) At school today, carnations were passed out and it was cute to see students (girls mostly) wonder about their secret admirer and discussing their plans for a Valentine's Day date. Now, I don't need to see kids making out in the hall (actually, I don't need to see that anywhere) but it's sweet to see cuddly bears, balloons and flowers floating around on the arms of teenagers.

I spent my Vday at work, at the library, doing laundry and dishes, cooking and making homemade Kit-Kat bars. The recipe will be up tomorrow (along with a photo, I promise).

As The Beatles say "All you need is love"

2011-02-14T22:14:00.002-05:00

Saturday night, Matthew and I headed over to John and Jessi's house for dinner and some games. We had a delicious dinner made by Chef Jessi and played LIFE and Catch Phrase and Wii Party. It was great night of laughter, friends and (let's not forget) one crazy doggie, Dixie:)

Good luck to Jessi with Operation: WTF

An eventful Friday

2011-02-14T22:04:00.002-05:00

On Friday, I subbed for a high school English teacher. I'm always excited to teach in my subject field, since I usually have some sort of knowledge of what's going on. This day turned out to be very eventful! There was a fire drill at the end of 1st period. While we waited (briefly, thank goodness) outside the school, I took a look around me. Since when did it become acceptable for a high school girl to wear a low cut, short sleeved, white t-shirt and super skin tight jeggings (you could see everything) with Uggs? Have I mentioned that it's February!? It's not warm outside, it's cold...I did a coverage for a Phy Ed class which I normally stay away from. Thankfully all the other teachers who were in the gym at the same time were very good natured and helpful! I got to help the kids play volleyball, which was really fun! I also didn't know that volleyball has a rally point method of scoring, just like ping pong. Learn something new every day, I guess.

In 3rd period, the 10th grade English class had an extremely heated and tense debate about same sex marriage. Regardless what side you're in favor of, it gave me some hope to see the student so impassioned about one single subject, especially in a class debate. That said, I do seriously wonder where kids get their information and statistics. Some of the comments students were making were unfounded and false (you can always find an article online that will agree with your sentiments, no matter what they are). Regardless, it was nice to see kids engaged in a lesson and not being apathetic about everything. 4th period was a class full of apathetic seniors. Apathy drives me more crazy that stupidity. Apathy,to me, implies laziness which is one of the worst traits a student can have at school.

Overall, subbing is going very well, though I truly long for a classroom of my own (no matter how scary that prospect is).

Happy Birthday!

2011-02-05T08:54:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to my bestest Pittsburgh friend, Jessi! I'm looking forward to a wonderful afternoon filled with Mexican food and laughter and celebrating with some of the best ladies in Pittsburgh!

No Strings Attached

2011-01-30T16:59:00.002-05:00

Thursday night we went and saw "No Strings Attached." It was a super cute movie, entertaining and heart warming. I like Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher when they're in cutesy romantic roles. I give it 3 out of 5 stars:)

Jessi and I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon shopping and chatting! It was great to spend some time with her, just the two of us, giggling, talking about weddings, friends, clothes and all of that. I got some great deals at TJMaxx and Target, most notably a really nice cardigan for $7 and a pair of black pumps for $6.25! Woohoo!

I had my first day of training at Old Navy today; just routine paperwork/training stuff. I work tomorrow and Wednesday night. I did like my nights and weekends to be free but I need some more money for the wedding, Old Navy is close to my house and has a great discount!! I saw a bunch of stuff today on clearance that I really liked but am going to wait to get them until I get my discount card:)

Here's to a productive week at school, a great birthday celebration for Jessi on Saturday and SUPER BOWL SUNDAY next week! I can't wait!

2011-01-27T06:53:00.003-05:00

This video is absolutely hilarious! Kirsten sent it to me and I was crying I was laughing so hard! Check out hilarious British animal voiceovers. Happy Thursday!

2011-01-25T12:41:00.001-05:00

Packers versus Steelers in the Super Bowl!! I can't wait! It's going to be an amazing game!

2011-01-25T12:37:00.002-05:00

Today we took the kitten to the vet to get her spayed and declawed. Hopefully she'll be a little less crazy when she gets home tonight. I've decided that she has two modes: crazy/running and sleeping. It's a little weird that she's not home right now, but I'm able to get some things done (like cleaning the closet and dishes) without her being all up in my business. She really does like to follow us around, which is sweet until she attacks your legs/pants.

Happy Birthday to my cousin Jim!!

2011-01-23T18:46:00.002-05:00

I'm not a girl that paints my nails, neither fingers nor toes. I'm not very skilled at doing it myself, especially on my hands. Jessi painted my fingernails on Friday and I have to admit that I absolutely love it! Bright red looks good:)

Also, I'm watching Friends for the first time. I've seen some episodes but I'm watching them back to back right now and loving it! The clothes that Monica and Rachel are wearing in 1994 were a little scary...also, apparently there were a shortage of bras in show-biz back then because I rarely see those ladies wearing them:) Regardless, it's super funny. I love Chandler--he's my favorite:)

Sleepy Kitty

2011-01-23T18:43:00.002-05:00

Kristen and Peter stopped over today to play with the kitten and tool around with Matthew's Egg-Bot. We played a lot with the kitten, so much that she slept from when they left (around 2) until about 6. Impressive:) Thanks to Kristen and Peter for tiring her out!

Super Bowl!

2011-01-23T18:37:00.002-05:00

The Packers are going to the Super Bowl!! Woohoo!!! The NFC Championship game against the Bears was a tough one: the Bears are an excellent team and the Packers didn't seem to play as well as I saw them play last week or when the two teams played in the last game of the season. I hope that everyone practices, gets their routes right and gets SUPER PUMPED because they're going to be playing in the SUPER BOWL! Woohoo!!

Right now I'm listening to the recap of the game with Wayne and Larry. I wish I could listen to them during the game via the computer, but that's okay. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman aren't the best announcers. How someone (ie Troy Aikman) who had a great number of concussions when he played is qualified to comment...oh well.

The Steelers game is on tonight and I want them to win so that it can be a Packers-Steelers Super Bowl! What a game that'll be:)

GO PACK GO!!

2011-01-12T09:55:00.002-05:00

For all the Ke$ha lovers out there and I'm not ashamed to admit that I like dancing around to her music, check out today's xkcd. Make sure to read the mouse over text. It's absolutely hilarious and very clever!

Tron:Legacy

2011-01-12T09:10:00.004-05:00

Monday night we went and saw Tron:Legacy. I hadn't seen the original (from the 1980s) but after seeing the new one, I really want to see the original even if it is dated and has funky special effects. Tron:Legacy has an excellent soundtrack, which Matthew has been listening to for about a month and I've been listening to since we got back from the movie. It's composed by Daft Punk and they worked with the London Symphony Orchestra.

The movie was an action movie and some of the acting was less than optimal. The guy who played Sam Flynn reminded me of Keanu Reeves: good at stunts/physical stuff, not so good at talking. Martin Sheen was excellent! I haven't seen him play a role other than a stuffy British man in a suit so that was a surprising change.

Overall, I didn't hate it and I didn't feel like "OMG I HAVE TO WATCH IT AGAIN, RIGHT. NOW!" So somewhere in the middle:) The special effects are excellent but the 3D parts seemed blurry/shoddy which is surprising since 3D is supposed to be so awesome. I'd say 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Sidenote, Matthew was the least nerdy person in the theatre. Comic books geeks are in a world unto themselves

Snow Day!

2011-01-12T09:08:00.001-05:00

Today we had our first snow day of the 2010-2011 school year. It is pretty winter-y outside and I definitely wouldn't want to be driving on the back roads in Shaler Township. So, it's a day off where I intend to get a lot of things done, hopefully:) Matthew and I are going to walk to CMU later this morning which should be a blast. I like walking in snow especially when it's not two feet of that fluffy white stuff.

Drat!

2011-01-09T14:55:00.003-05:00

Yet again, I have fallen behind in my blog updates! A lot has happened since my last update so I apologize (to the small amount of readers) for my tardiness.

1. Dec 20th: Matthew and I got engaged! Yay! We were planning on exchanging our Christmas gifts that night. He made me a delicious dinner and after dinner gave me a super sweet card, which I had to read aloud. When I looked up from reading the card, he was down on one knee and holding out the ring and asked me to marry him! So happy!!
2. We went home for Christmas! It was a lovely 10 days full of family, friends and general relaxation. I certainly got my wish for a white Christmas (Pittsburgh had no snow when we left on December 23rd) since my parents' house has about two feet of snow. I'm so glad that both of us are able to take so much time off and spend it with our families. I know that sometime soon we won't have that privilege.
3. We have adopted a kitten. We brought her 14 hours in the car from Wisconsin. After we survived that, I knew we'd be okay to have her in the house. We named her Olivia and she's the cutest and craziest kitten I've ever met. She's just too adorable for words. Right now, she's sleeping curled up in Matthew's desk chair
4. My cousin Dan also got engaged about 3 days before we did so congratulations to him and his fiancé
5. Congratulations to my dear friend Ashley and her boyfriend (now fiancé). They got engaged last week Monday! I'm so happy for them! I guess it's the season of engagements. I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a ridiculous year for weddings

Engagement

2011-01-09T14:53:00.003-05:00

Matthew and I got engaged!! Woohoo! The ring is perfect!

Subbing

2010-12-19T17:09:00.003-05:00

December has been a wonderful month for subbing. I worked every single day except for the days that I had YMCA training/work. The paycheck, whenever it arrives, is going to be pretty glorious! I can't wait! It's still not very much money, but at least I'm feeling very busy. Tomorrow is 8th grade Language Arts, Tuesday is high school English and Wednesday is supplemental floater at SAMS! Woohoo! It's going to be a glorious week!

Monday, Matthew and I are exchanging gifts to each other. Tuesday, Hack Pgh is having a Christmas party. Wednesday, we're packing and cleaning. Thursday, at 5am (Eastern) we're leaving to go home to EC! I can't wait to be back home with two feet of snow, wood heat, decorating cookies with Mom and watching a Packer game with Dad. I'm glad Matthew and I are able to spend a significant amount of time at home. It would be horrible if we could only be home for three days. I'm thankful to have a school schedule, one that has winter and spring break!

EC ladies, I can't wait to see you on Thursday!!

Cafe Sam

2010-12-19T17:04:00.002-05:00

Last Tuesday, Matthew and I took ourselves out for a nice dinner to a local restaurant called Cafe Sam. I have been driving by it since I moved here and we hadn't gone to it yet. The food was, by far, the best that I have had since I moved to Pittsburgh. The atmosphere was perfect (kerosene lamp lighting, subtle holiday music in the background) and the service was excellent. I also discovered a new delicious beer Abita Purple Haze. It's a smooth, wheat beer and not overly fruity. As I said before, the food was just out of this world! And very reasonably priced for the portions that we got. I had a gyro with lamb and cucumber sauce.

I recommend this place if you're looking for a cute date night place. I can't wait until the summer when we can sit out on the wonderful veranda, drink a beer and forget that we're in the city for a few moments. Five out of five stars from this restaurant critic:)

Three Cheers!

2010-12-08T18:15:00.002-05:00

Today has been a wonderful day!! My PA teaching license came!!! It looks so pretty and official. Dad asked if I was just going to sit and stare at it tonight. The answer, yes:) Almost 1.5 years later, and I'm a fully licensed Pennsylvania teacher!! Woohoo! Hip Hip Hooray!!

I had my orientation at Pittsburgh Public Schools today and it was wonderful! I can't wait to start working in their schools! There were a lot of people who are about to graduate from school (aka they're finishing up their student teaching) so it was nice to be an experienced substitute. For once, my experience is paying off:)

Happy Anniversary to my parents! 31 years and going strong. Jake and I aren't throwing them a surprise party this year, but hopefully we can all get together and celebrate during winter break.

Only 15 days until we're driving back to good old EC! I can't wait!!

Christmas Shopping

2010-12-04T22:51:00.004-05:00

Check! I'm pretty much done with my Christmas shopping, minus a few little things. All I have left to take care of are the projects I'm making by hand at home. I'm hoping to get that done tomorrow, along with putting up our Christmas tree and lights and other decorations.

I watched White Christmas today for the first time while I was wrapping gifts. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. West-central Wisconsin got snow last night/today and I must say that I'm jealous. Snow on the ground really puts me in the mood for the holidays!

Also, I'm proud of myself for actually keeping up with my blog again. Yay!

Christmas Music Season

2010-12-03T19:27:00.002-05:00

Now, I really like Christmas music (not as much as some people I know *cough* Jessi *cough*) but I don't believe in listening to it until after Thanksgiving. I guess I just feel guilty or something; it's weird but I guess waiting to listen to Bing Crosby sing White Christmas and TSO's version of Carol of the Bells makes the music even more special.

It's past Thanksgiving so I've got my Christmas music playlist all set up, wrapping paper waiting to be unrolled and a list of gifts to get! I love picking out gifts for people; I love making gifts especially for my girls at home. They all say that they look forward to my annual mixed CD and hope this year is no different:)

We're heading home on December 23rd! 20 days and I'll be at home sweet home!! I can't wait to see my favorites and my family!!

Harry Potter

2010-12-03T19:23:00.002-05:00

I saw the first installment of the final Harry Potter film on Saturday and it was AMAZING! The music, the cinematography, the special effects and the best part is that they kept pretty darn close to the actual plot in the book! I also thought the movie was going to end sooner than it did; the rumor I heard turned out to be incorrect so there was about 15 extra minutes that I wasn't expecting! Yay!

I'm rereading all the books right now and am about 150 pages into Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (#5 for those of you keeping track at home).

Up on the movie docket:
Love and Other Drugs
Burlesque
Tangled
Megamind

Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T19:14:00.004-05:00

We had a lovely weekend in South Bend! I'm so fortunate that I was able to spend it with my parents and other members of the Sullivan clan. There were so many stories, so much laughter and many rounds of Yahtzee and Perquakey. Matthew survived meeting a whole bunch of my extended family, so my hat is off to him. It's time for me to repay the favor to him and go visit with all of his extended family:) It was sad that Jake wasn't there but at least he was with family for Thanksgiving--the other side of the family:) And we did talk to him on the phone!

One of the highlights of the weekend was visiting with my cousin Lauren, her husband Greg and their adorable new baby (she was born October 12th)! Norah fell asleep in my arms and made adorable sleeping sounds and kept stretching:) I wonder what she was thinking about as she slept. Isn't she adorable?!

Kittens

2010-11-23T19:55:00.002-05:00

Like cats or kittens?
Looking for a time waster?
Look no further than Kittenwar!

I'm ashamed to say I wasted quite a bit of time on this website today:) They are just so many pictures of adorable kitties!

2010-11-23T09:02:00.003-05:00

Today we're having a Thanksgiving feast at the afterschool program that I work at for the YMCA. Turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies. Granted, it's not a whole turkey and we're making what we can with the resources we have available (my kitchen that's 5 minutes from the school and the microwave at the school). But! It's going to be a blast! I'm excited to hear what our kids are thankful for and really hope some of the parents come to share in the meal as well!

Tomorrow, we leave for Thanksgiving in South Bend, IN! I can't wait to see my parents, grandma and whatever other Sullivan clan members are in the Bend for the weekend:) It's going to be wonderful! Not to mention that Matthew gets to meet a lot of my extended family (I'm super excited but I think he's a little nervous...)!

I'm still hoping for a sub job for tomorrow but if there aren't any, I could be content with getting things done around the house, like laundry and cleaning, picking Matthew up from school around 3 and leaving for South Bend. We'll see:)

Happy Thanksgiving to all you blog readers! Think about what you're thankful for this year:)

Pearl and the Beard!

2010-11-21T20:52:00.003-05:00

Last night, Jessi, Pallas and I went to see Pearl and the Beard! It was amazing!! Their music is a wonderful mix of cello, guitar, percussion and wonderfully passionate voices. Pittsburgh was the last stop on their "Black Vessel" tour and I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to see them. I bought their CDs and they are wonderful! We also heard Judith Avers, a local Pittsburgh artist and her voice gave me goosebumps.

Thanks to Jessi and her cousin Abby for sharing this music with me!

A personal favorite: Douglas Douglass

Great news!

2010-11-17T21:12:00.002-05:00

So, in January, I finally received my PA teaching certificate, however it was a only a Temporary Teaching Permit (TTP) because I was missing 3 credits of college math (aka one class). I called the PA Department of Education on Monday and left a message for my evaluator. She called me back today with excellent news! They changed their Math/English policy so if I send in $80 and one form, I'll be getting my Instructional 1 certification!! Hooray!! I'm glad things worked out! I did get all the necessary documentation to have one of my classes at UMD count as my math requirement (like it did when I was in undergrad) but it's no longer necessary! Hooray!! I'm so excited! Not to mention that since it's a re-evaluation, I should get my full teaching license in about two weeks!! I probably thanked her about 50 times in the span of the 10 (or less) minutes I was on the phone with her!

Matthew took his Qual today. I've got my fingers crossed until Friday afternoon. Think good thoughts for him!

2010-11-14T21:32:00.002-05:00

Well, here I am keeping up with posting on my blog but really, nothing much happened to me since Thursday. I have a pretty lame life:) Matthew is taking is Qual on Wednesday so he's been studying/papering/preparing all day today and doing pretty much nothing else for the next two days as well. I think he's in good shape for the Qual on Wednesday, but all I can do is hope for the best and cross my fingers. Black Friday (as the grad students call it) is on Friday so there's a happy hour at CMU which should be fun:) Black Friday (the non-retail one) is the day when people find out if they passed their Qual or not. The Happy Hour is for celebration or consolation:)

I can't wait for Thanksgiving in South Bend! It's going to be wonderful to see Mom, Dad and the rest of the Sullivan clan who will be in town. It'll be Matthew's first time meeting almost all of them, so I'm also crossing my fingers for that.

We did not get any snow here in Pittsburgh, unlike the 8 inches in Minneapolis. I'm a little jealous, just because I want an excuse to curl up in bed with tea and a good book and not go anywhere:) I know that winter is coming soon and I shouldn't get ahead of myself since we'll have winter until March. Hopefully, no snowpacolypse this year:)

2010-11-11T21:47:00.002-05:00

Man, I'm really bad about keeping up with this thing! I need to work it into my day better. I wish I had access to blogs at school because then I would update all the time when I'm on a prep hour while subbing. Sadly, not the case:)

Over Halloween weekend, Matthew and I headed out to Etna to go out for an Oktoberfest celebration at "club" (it's like the Moose Lodge in Eau Claire...not that kind of a club, just one in which people have to be members and you can pretty much do whatever you want in there, like smoke) which had delicious German food, German beer and a polka band! It was a blast! We went with my coworker (and friend) Meribeth and her husband. Matthew and I were easily the youngest people in the room but it was such a blast! Meribeth and Rich may have children who are almost my age, but they sure know how to have a good time!

Last weekend, we packed up the car for a trip to Michigan State University to watch the Gophers and the Spartans. It was a wonderful weekend with great friends and great weather (the football team at least 1. beat the spread and 2. didn't get shut out)! I love living closer to other Big Ten schools. Next year's trip is going to be Michigan which is only 5 hours from Pittsburgh AND we have a friend who lives there! She's going to grad school there and the law quad seriously looks like Hogwarts. I would want to study there all the time!

I just want to say, in the spirit of Jessi's recent posts, how thankful I am for the opportunities I've been given in the last year. When I look back and think of where I was in November 2009 and where I am right now, it truly amazes me. I've got great friends, a very consistent job, a loving boyfriend, a different "after school" job which I love so much more (go YMCA, boo Kohl's) and a truly supportive group of friends back in Wisconsin and Minnesota. I miss you all terribly each day but I know that we'll all get to catch up at Christmas time:)

So yes, I'm thankful for what I've accomplished here and for all the people who believe in me! Thank you!

Back to the Future!

2010-10-26T09:57:00.003-04:00

Last night Matthew and I went and saw a screening of Back to the Future at our local AMC. The screening was in honor of the 25th anniversary of Back to the Future! Before the film started, there was BttF trivia and prizes given out. It reminded me of the midnight shows of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings I went to when I was younger...well except that hardly anyone was dressed up in Marty or Doc Brown costumes:) BttF reminded me how much I LOVE the song "Johnny B Goode"! It was a great night! I'm glad that we had the opportunity to see the movie on the big screen!

Tonight is the Glee version of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"! We watched the film over the weekend with Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon (among others) and even though I was a little confused about some elements of the plot, it was wonderful. I've had the "Time Warp" in my head for three days.

David Sedaris

2010-10-24T13:11:00.002-04:00

Now, I'm a big fan of David Sedaris and when I saw this spring that his tour was bringing him to Pittsburgh, I absolutely had to go. Matthew and I got tickets and it was well worth it! Sedaris read from his new book Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: a Modest Bestiary, some essays, some diary entries and even took time for a question and answer session. I liked that he took the time to take questions from the audience. Someone asked about his sister Lisa's parrot, which cracked up the entire audience. His writing just has a way of capturing your attention, even if you aren't actively listening . I remember listening to Sedaris read his essays on NPR's "This American Life" and inadvertently being sucked into the stories about his Southern upbringing and seemingly crazy family.

He also plugged another writer's book which I thought was fantastic! The author: Wells Tower; the books: Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. Sedaris also read a few selections from the book which peaked my interest and desire to read it. It's about Vikings told in modern language.

I'm #20 on the list of people who requested it at the public library so I doubt that I'll be getting it before the holidays.

For a man whose book tour consists of him reading out loud to full audiences, I don't think my face has ever hurt so much from smiling and laughing!

Reading outloud:)

New Baby!

2010-10-24T13:05:00.002-04:00

My cousin Lauren and her husband Greg welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their family on October 12th. Everyone is healthy and doing well at home. Her name is Norah, which I love! My mom said that Norah was on her list of names when Jake and I were born but Dad vetoed that one:)

Here's some adorable baby pictures of Norah Jo! I hope that I'll have the opportunity to see them and meet Norah soon:) She's so cute!

Emily's Wedding

2010-10-24T12:51:00.003-04:00

It's been almost a month since I last posted but I'm back on the blog posting wagon and will hopefully keep up with my updates. The most significant thing that has happened since my last post is my best friend Emily's wedding! Michael and Emily were married on October 1st and it was an absolute blast! The entire wedding party was a riot and I don't the last time I've laughed so much with people I didn't know very well:) It was a wonderful day and nothing went wrong, minus a teensy bit of rain, but everyone rolled with that and was flexible!

Emily said that the professional pictures should be available for viewing soon. I can't wait to see them! The picture on the left is Emily and her husband (that still sounds weird to say) Michael

Me and Emily!

It's starting to feel like fall!

2010-09-29T08:10:00.003-04:00

This weekend Jessi and I went to Simmons Farm. Jessi hadn't ever been to an apple orchard where you pick your own apples so it was wonderful to share a new experience with her. We each picked a peck of apples, went on a hay ride and browsed the delicious smelling gift shop. It was a gorgeous, albeit windy, day and I couldn't have asked for a better day! With the apples I made homemade applesauce and apple muffins, both of which Matthew said are very tasty!

I saw the film Easy A on Sunday and it was hilarious! The writing is very witty, humorous and the ending is absolutely adorable! There was also a preview for Harry Potter at which I was pretty much squeeling in my seat!!! Yay HP!

Tomorrow we make our trip back to the land of cheese and beer for Emily's wedding. I'm so excited to see her and all the things she has ready for the wedding! Not to mention getting my nails done for the first time in my life! We leave Pittsburgh around 7am tomorrow so it's going to be an early one, but worth it because we get to Eau Claire at 11am:)! Hooray!!

Happy Birthday

2010-09-22T16:02:00.003-04:00

Happy (belated) Birthday to my dad! His special day was yesterday! Dad, you're awesome! He's a DJ on a local community radio station, WHYS Radio. Check it out:)

Weddings

2010-09-22T15:54:00.003-04:00

My friend Emily is getting married next week! I'm one of her bridesmaids and I absolutely can not wait for her big day! Her fiance is wonderful and I feel so blessed to be able to help share in their special day:) It's also going to be wonderful to be in Eau Claire for a few days! Not to mention that we get to fly Pittsburgh to Chicago and Chicago to Eau Claire! I don't think I've been to the EC airport more than once.

Back!

2010-09-22T15:48:00.002-04:00

It's been a quite a while since I've posted on here but my life has finally slowed down after a super busy May and really busy summer:) Overall, the summer was great. Working for the Y was awesome and I'm continuing with them in their afterschool program, which happens to be about 5 minutes from my house. I don't think I've ever lived that close to a place where I work, not even in college.

Still no full time teacher job, but subbing is going okay. I subbed two days last week and for sure sub this Friday. Things are a little slow going with subbing, but there's not too much I can do about that:) I don't want to cross my fingers and hope that teachers (or their kids) get sick; that just sounds cruel.

Glee Season 2 started last night and I LOVED it! Next week is a Britney episode and I can't stop watching the preview!!

GLEE!

2010-04-27T12:29:00.003-04:00

I am LOVING that Glee is back! The two episodes that have been on (the third one is tonight) have been full of wonderful music, drama and a boatload of Sue Sylvester snark. The "Power of Madonna" episode was excellent!! Mercedes and Kurt are hilarious and so very talented. I was checking out wikipedia yesterday to see the list of songs for each episode and I can't wait for the "Funk" episode and the one where Lady GaGa songs are performed (Bad Romance and Poker Face)!! I know that I'm a Gleek but I really truly love the show and how talented all the actors are.

Who would have thought that a quirky show about singing/performing misfits would be so incredibly successful!? I personally feel that without Jane Lynch as Sue, the show would be lacking an incredible persona.

Congrats!

2010-04-27T12:22:00.002-04:00

I would like to congratulate my brother Jake on his position at the National 4H Center in Washington DC! He starts May 12 and will be supervisiing CWF (Citizenship Washington Focus) Program Assistants and participants! How exciting!. Last summer he was a PA and now this summer he gets to be in charge of them! Hopefully this summer position will be extended for a year so that Jake can stay in Washington DC! I also really hope that he ends up loving what he is doing and not getting bogged down by supervisor duties and paperwork.

Washington DC is only FIVE hours away from Pittsburgh! How awesome!? That's a train ride. That's a weekend trip. That's the same time zone. Yay Jake!!!

I'm also so proud of him, and the UWEC Forensics team, for finishing 8th in the nation at NFA! Woohoo! Great Job!!

Visiting Ohio!

2010-04-19T21:53:00.004-04:00

Over the weekend I had the opportunity it visit Columbus and Athens, Ohio. The trip was fantastic! I left right from work on Friday (the teacher I was in for had 10th period prep so I got to leave a little early--score) and drove to visit my cousin Molly and her family in Plain City, OH (it's about 30 minutes from downtown Columbus). We had dinner, played the Wii, and chatted. Her children and husband are fantastic! Erin (7) and Katie (4) are/were so sweet and kept me laughing:) Jake, who just turned one last week, was all smiles; he is such a flirt! Molly and John are doing well and it was lovely to get caught up with them and spend some time with them not surrounded by a million Sullivan relatives.

Saturday morning there were blueberry pancakes and feeding the family turtle, Bubba. After that I packed my stuff back up in the car and headed over to my other cousin Elizabeth's home about 20 minutes away (still in the Columbus area). At Elizabeth's house I had the opportunity to watch some home videos that her parents made when she and her siblings were growing up. I got to see a few clips of my parents; they looked so young and Dad had dark hair!! I love seeing old pictures and movies like that. Liam and Clara (Elizabeth's children) just turned five and are full of interesting conversation. Liam is a HUGE Star Wars fan and I promised to play him in Star Wars Monopoly the next time we see each other. The coolest Star Wars toy they had was Darth Tater (Mr. Potato Head with Darth Vader gear)! Love it!

After lunch, I began my journey to Athens, OH to visit Jake at Ohio University. Jake was at OU for the NFA National Forensics Competition. I LOVED seeing him in his element and with all of us friends and fellow competitors. I haven't seen him compete or hear any of his speeches in all the years he's been in Forensics (neither at MHS or at UWEC...I'm a bad sister). I'm glad I was able to see his last competition at the National level. The speeches were all super interesting, even the ones about international economics (at least I learned something). It was great to see him, albeit for a limited amount of time. I loved hearing WI accents and talking with people who know about the same places that I do. I'm glad that I went on the trip, even if I made it on my own. Good for me, I must say. I've never stayed in a hotel room by myself before and it was a little unnerving at first, but by the time I was ready to sleep, I was so tired that it didn't matter:)

An excellent weekend full of family, traveling, and learning!!

Everyone Needs a Sassy Gay Friend

2010-04-14T14:20:00.002-04:00

1. Ophelia from Hamlet: things would have been different if she would have had a Sassy Gay Friend
2. Juliet from R&J might be my favorite!
3. And last but not least, Desdemona from Othello

People are so creative and I LOVE it!

Update!

2010-04-13T12:31:00.005-04:00

This summer I will be working as a co-Camp Director at the Oakland YMCA Day Camp near Pitt/CMU. I went into the interview looking for a counselor position and was offered the Camp Director position. It's pretty exciting!! The pay is good and I'd be getting between 30-40 hours per week, which is awesome! And they're good hours 8-5, so no late nights at Kohl's. In fact, I'll just be working on the weekends during the summer if I stay at Kohl's. It's going to be fantastic summer!! The only downside about my awesome new job is that I'm not going to be able to go home for an entire week during July, like I had planned to do. It's okay, but I really wish I could see more of my family. Matthew and I talked about coming home to EC/Mpls in early June inbetween, but we'll see if that actually works out. I have to start doing planning and programming for Camp in late May (after I'm home to see Jake graduate) so who knows. I'm excited to be starting something new, albeit a little bit nervous because I'm really going to be in charge of kids and counselors and makign sure that all of their records/forms/finances are up to date. It sounds a little overwhelming to me. For more information, check out Collegiate YMCA

Lately, things have starting going downhill at Kohl's and I'm really questioning my desire to be there. I don't get paid a whole lot per hour and am busting my butt. And for what? So I can get a piece of paper that says "Yes you did"?! I already know that I'm good at my job, I don't need someone else to give me a note that says I am. I'm doing my job... That being said, I applied for a few jobs at the Carnegie Library in Oakland; the hours are about the same that I work at Kohl's, the pay is MUCH better and I'll be doing something that I actually like. Hopefully I hear back from them soon.

A few weeks ago I substituted at Shaler Middle School for one of the librarians. I absolutely loved working there; the other librarian put me to work pulling books, showed me how to check books in and our and had me do a catalog searching project (something that I'm a professional at from my days at the CLRC). Apparently the librarian I worked with said that she really liked me and my enthusiasm (I was really pumped to be there). That said, I'm going to go back to school at the University of Pittsburgh starting in Fall 2011 for my School Librarian Certificate. I'm not sure if it's a full MLIS (Master in Library and Information Science) but it's what I want to do. The program is fall, spring, summer and I'd be student teaching in Spring 2012. I would start up next Spring 2011, that's an option, but I think I want to have other peers/a cohort taking the same classes that I am in the same order. I'm not sure if there is cohort type group with each start date...guess I should check that out. Pitt's Library School is a high ranked school in terms of MLIS so since we're in Pittsburgh, I may as well apply and attend a great school!

Over the Easter weekend, my friend Laura (from UMD) came to visit good ole Pittsburgh. The first thing she said when she got out of the car at 5:30 was "Wow, this city is screwed up". True story right there, the roads are insane and not set up super logically. I guess that's what happens when the city is built/organized before the interstates were built and where two large rivers converge. That said, we had an excellent weekend! It was fantastic to see Laura since I haven't seen her since August 2008! We're good at being long-distance friends, it works for us. Friday night we cooked dinner and played cards. Saturday we all slept in, walked around Squirrel Hill, went to the Carnegie Science Center (they had super sweet robots). After our exciting and fun-filled day we had a relaxing evening card playing, frosting cookies and dying Easter eggs whilst watching Jesus Christ Superstar. The Easter bunny came on Sunday leaving baskets for Matthew and Laura and bags for Robin, Larson and Emily. The latter came over for an Easter meal and some playing of the Wii. Robin and Larson were in town for about 24 hours and I'm super glad we got to see them. Laura and I went and saw the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) at the Benedum Center on Sunday night. It was amazing!! I love their Christmas music so their show "Beethoven's Last Night" was as awesome/exciting as expected. I loved it!

Since Easter, Matthew and I have been working, cleaning and enjoying the springtime. Did I mention that when Laura was visiting it was in the 80s? Yeah, insane weather for April.

Oh April...

2010-04-13T08:45:00.002-04:00

...you've gotten away from me. I can't believe that today is April 13 already! It's Mom's birthday today, Happy Birthday! Anyway, I have a big update coming due for all you blogosphere readers (if there are any,lol). School's not the best place to get it done so I'll try and work on it after work is over.

To Update on:
1. Summer Job at YMCA
2. Easter gathering
3. GLEE!
4. Sassy Gay Friend (everyone, including Shakespeare's characters, needs one)
5. Trip to Ohio
6. MLIS, substitute teaching, library job
7. Kohl's

Don't get too excited:)

St Patrick's Day Cookies

2010-03-24T11:59:00.004-04:00

No holiday would be complete without making festively shaped cookies. St. Patrick's Day is no exception. From the The Joy of Cooking the recipe is as follows:

Cream:
1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
Beat in:
1 egg
Combine and add:
2 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Chill dough 3 to 4 hours before rolling. Preheat oven to 350. Roll out and cute. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly colored.

It's been a busy busy month!

2010-03-24T11:34:00.005-04:00

Well, I haven't updated very much lately but I've been busy with work (both at Kohl's and subbing) and enjoying the warm weather in Pittsburgh. Thankfully, the snow is all gone (except a pile by one of the CMU parking ramps which is in the shade and will probably take until July to melt) and we haven't had tons of rain thus far.

Yesterday, I kicked a kid out of my 7th period class because he wouldn't stop throwing paper crumpled up into balls in the recycling bin and said "you're not a real teacher anyway". He lingered in the hall so a teacher told me he'll get at the minimum a 2 hour detention. My hands were shaking like crazy when I sent him out. It's not really a power surge, like my other friends have said. I'm always nervous because the kids are usually bigger than me, especially in the high school. Subbing, overall, is going well but I'm really looking forward to having my own classroom with kids who know me, know the content that is being taught and know what I'm doing (at least with the academics). Who knows how I'll do as an actual classroom teacher, but I'd like to be at least given a chance with a long-term substitute position

Other than subbing, I'm still working at Kohl's. The plan, since I've gotten more teaching gigs as of late, is to start putting the Kohl's money into a savings account that will be used to pay off the student loan debt (awesome). Currently, I deferred by loans until September because I don't have a full time job or one that pays me very well in the first place. Figuring all of that out was definitely a load off my mind.

My friend Laura is coming to visit for Easter. She currently lives near Dayton, OH and we're also going to see the TSO concert on Easter Sunday. They're performing Bethoven's last symphony so it should be AMAZING! I'm super excited to see her since the last time we hung out was August 2008. I'm pumped to show her my city! She's our first real guest and I can't wait!! I'm also going to Athens, OH April 17-18 to see my brother compete at a Forensics competition. It's only 3 hours away from Pittsburgh so it's totally do-able for a weekend visit. Kirsten and Ross are coming for a visit May 14-16 and I'm going home to EC May 21-23 for Jake's graduation from UWEC. My grandmother is also coming from CT for Jake's graduation and we're meeting in the airport. It's going to be great to see her and see home!

I filled out my NCAA bracket and am doing quite well. I'm in a pool with Matthew's research group and am currently in second place, behind Matthew's advisor's 11-year old son. I'm glad I didn't pick Kansas or Villanova to win the National Championship! I didn't do any research on the teams this year, just picked and chose, which seems to work out the best. I love that Northern Iowa and St Mary's are doing their very best and beating higher ranked teams. It's great to see upsets, since I think that's what this tournament should be about.

I'm still in the search for a summer job but have pseudo-interview on Monday with the Collegiate YMCA at Pitt. I really hope it works out because then I'd be able to ride the bus or my bike (when I buy one) to work (it'll beat driving every day).

Matthew and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day with some wonderful friends from CMU.

Homeward Bound

2010-03-01T10:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I bought my tickets to go home to Wisconsin for Jake's graduation from UWEC. It was fairly inexpensive which I'm very grateful for. I called my granmda to see if she had purchased her tickets yet or if she was even still considering going. She gave me her information, I bought her tickets for her and she and I will be meeting at the Minneapolis airport on May 21 around 3pm! I can NOT wait! It will be wonderful to see her, my family and my friends, especially Ms. Emily! I can't wait to see her ring in person and give her a HUGE hug!

Jessi, my fashion consultant and personal shopper, and I went shopping yesterday at TJ Maxx. I got a bunch of great stuff for less than $100. I got some much needed sweaters, dress pants and a cute blouse with a belt that I loved. Jessi has such a great eye! I'm so glad I have a girlfriend to go shopping with; Matthew is completely useless.

We also played/danced Just Dance last night and it was amazing! I'm totally going to buy it for myself. It's a great workout and something that I actually have fun doing, which makes the idea of working out that much more appealing!

Subbing today, which is DVD watching and book work! Hopefully I can at least get an interview for the Long-Term teaching job that I applied for; any interviews will be GREAT practice for the future, even if I don't get the job. Practice makes perfect.

Happy Monday!

Absolutely Precious!

2010-03-01T10:09:00.007-05:00

Now, I'm a sucker for kittens. I'm also a sucker for the Lolcats website. This kitten is definitely melting my heart!!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

2010-02-28T20:48:00.004-05:00

Matthew and I made an amazing cheesy veggie chowder last week. The recipe I'm sharing serves about 32 so make sure you have a big pot. If you're only making it for two people, it might be a good idea to halve the recipe.

Ingredients

* 7 cups water
* 9 cubes chicken bouillon, crumbled
* 6 potatoes, cubed
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 large white onion, chopped
* 1 bunch celery, chopped
* 3 cups chopped carrots
* 2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn
* 2 (15 ounce) cans peas
* 2 cups chopped fresh green beans
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 3 cups milk
* 1 pound processed cheese, cubed

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine water, bouillon, potatoes and garlic. Bring to a boil, then stir in onion, celery and carrots. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, peas and green beans and continue to cook on low heat.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour all at once to form a roux and let cook 10 seconds. Whisk in milk, a little at a time, and cook, stirring, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in cheese until melted. Pour this mixture into the large soup pot, stir well and heat through.

Roux-ing...it was a new skill for us... a little weird, but fun!

Everything all mixed together

Finished product in the bowls. Yum!!

Too much snow!

2010-02-26T09:02:00.004-05:00

Today it is snowing, yet again in Pittsburgh. Personally, I'm a fan of winter, winter activities and being outside. I am not, however, a fan of driving on twisty-turny roads with two-wheel drive and limited experience. Also, it's almost March, can the snow just end, please? Besides, the city doesn't know what to do with itself. Needless to say, I stayed home from school today. I was supposed to be in for an aide at Burchfield Primary but I was just super worried about getting there, especially because there isn't a "nice" way to get there. I'll miss out on the money, but personally I'd rather be safe, just saying.

Last weekend was the Winter Party at CMU. Jessi, Matthew and I were on the decorating committee and spent many hours coordinating and organizing decorations/orders/flowers etc. Thankfully it didn't take us too long to take care of things on Saturday morning so we were able to have a few hours to get ready before dinner and the dancing. The Twentieth Century Club is stunning! Even the bathroom was decorated so lavishly. I loved it! It would be an awesome place to have a wedding reception! Lots of room to eat, dance and hallways and floors for kids to run around. After dinner there was dancing which quickly turned into Indian music hour; one of the Indian guys brought his iPod up to the DJ who continued to play that music just so people would be out there dancing. As Matthew said, "I think we were just out-cultured." We, the silly Americans, did the Macarena, Cupid Shuffle and Cha Cha Slide. I'll put some pictures up when I figure out how to upload pictures using Linux

Valentine's Day was very uneventful. Matthew had a migraine in the morning and I worked 1-9:30. I feel so horrible that he gets migraines and there's absolutely nothing I can do for him except bring him a glass of water, an extra blanket, tuck him into bed and leave him alone. He did go to the doctor last week and got some medicine to try. My friend Emily carries around Excedrin Migraine in her purse in case her finance(!!) Michael needs one. Last night Matthew asked me to carry one of his pills in my purse all the time, which I'll gladly do. I want him to not feel worse, especially if we're out and about.

My friend Emily got engaged on Valentine's Day!! Now I think proposing on Valentine's Day isn't the most original thing in the world, but they're doing the long distance thing and they weren't going to be seeing each other again until May, so it's totally warranted. I'm so excited for her and for Mike! They've been together for such a long time and I'm so glad that they're making wedding plans. October 1, 2011 can't come soon enough! She asked me to stand up for her and I feel truly honored and privledged to even be part of her special day. I'm also psyched because it means we'll talk at least once a month, which is great because both of us kinda suck at playing phone tag:) The only bad part is that I'm in Pittsburgh, far away from EC and the day to day planning. I can't just spurt-of-the-moment go wedding dress shopping with her, it has to be planned around when I'm home and stuff like that. I'm not going to be in EC again until May (Jake's graduation) but I'm going to do the very best I can from here because Emily deserves the very best. I can't wait :)

Some friends of Matthew and I are expecting their first child in September! It's weird to me that people our age are having babies; I mean I know that I very well could have a child by now, based on my age, but personally, I'm just not ready. It's all well and good (and totally normal) when my cousins have children but friends that I know having children just seems really out of the ordinary. I asked Jessi if she thought it was a little strange to have her friend Callie (who sounds amazing btw) having a baby and she admitted that at first it was a little strange. *phew* I'm not totally abnormal for thinking that. I mean N&A got married in October 2008, got a few pets, bought a house, have stable jobs...I guess a baby is the next step! Congrats to them and best of luck!

I can't believe the Olympics are over on Sunday. I must say that the past two weeks have been amazing; I'm so glad that I'm not in school, with homework, projects and studying to do (like I did in 2006) so I can enjoy the Games! Matthew and I watch them every night (for the most part). I got really sucked into Snowboard Cross, it was so interesting! I think I like the Winter Olympics better than the Summer Games; there are less sports, but I enjoy watching almost all of the sports/events (Curling, though a totally MN/WI sport, doesn't hold my attention the way skiing and snowboarding do...also Ice Dancing could totally be removed from the Winter Games, this coming from a girl who actually likes Figure Skating). It will definitely be interesting to watch the Summer Games in London. I'm wondering where on earth they are going to fit all of the incoming athletes and spectators, since London is already a really busy city.

In nerd updates, I switched my computer to use Linux instead of Windows as an operating system. So far, so good. My dinosaur of a computer, okay it's from 2005, is running a little faster than it was with Windows, but I'm sure that I'm going to have to get a new one within the next year. Here's to the winning the lottery (or maybe the job lottery).

Last night Matthew, John, Jessi and I went to see Broadway Rocks with Marvin at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It was an absolutely wonderful show and Heinz Hall is a stunning building, inside and out! The orchestra was accompanied with 4 phenomenal vocalists who have been on Broadway! Check it out! I loved it and got to be really nerdy about musicals, surrounded by other people who were excited about them as well. I spotted this show in July last year when I was looking for cool stuff to do in Pittsburgh. Thank goodness we actually got to go!

I'm wishing and thinking Spring. Hopefully it'll arrive shortly, without flooding the entire city when all of the snow melts! Spring!

Snowpocalypse!

2010-02-07T09:28:00.005-05:00

Holy Crap! It snowed 20 inches in 24 hours. Friday it started snowing and we woke up Saturday to see everything buried under about 20 inches of snow. I've never seen some much snow fall in such a short period of time. It's insane! I couldn't even go to work at Kohl's today because our street isn't plowed yet.

I've never seen so many people out and about in our neighborhood as we did yesterday; we walked to Home Depot to get a shovel and saw tons of people shoveling out their vehicles parked on the street. It's pretty snow and makes Pittsburgh look lovely! The buses aren't running, power is still out for many people in the city and there was a water shortage yesterday. There's definitely a state of emergency in Pittsburgh, but people seem to be handling it quite well. There's not a lot that we can do when we're snowed in. I said to Matthew today that if we were in Wisconsin, the roads would be clear and our street would have been plowed twice.

I filed my taxes on Friday and can't wait to get the return. I'm hoping to get PA and MN done today but we'll see; they seem a little more complicated:) Oh well, I'll call Dad if I have questions since he's my go-to guy with tax questions.

I’ve been subbing pretty consistently this week, which I’m thankful for. I’m getting all of my PA Educator stuff finished up today. It’s a website where you put all of your teacher information, experience and clearances and districts can contact you for employment or substituting. It’s also a fantastic way to find jobs in PA since I think all (or almost all) of the districts use it. On Thursday I heard about a long-term sub position opening up at the high school in the English department. I’m really hoping that I can at least get an interview; eve if I don’t get the job, it would be nice to have the interview experience.

The view from Negley down our street

There was not a car hiding in this big pile of snow

Pretty trees!

The car before we cleaned it off!

Matthew was excited to have the car cleaned off!

Big Update

2010-02-04T12:40:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting; I've been busy with school and work and getting this squared away in Pittsburgh again.
1. I've started subbing at the Shaler district, the place where I was subbing as an aide before. The teaching pays more money, though the work isn't as interesting because I'm not chasing around younger kids all day. High schoolers are so interesting, especially what they talk about. I don't remember hearing stories about parties, drugs, pregnancies and kids getting kicked out of prom because they brought some coke to the dance (not the lovely carbonated beverage...)
2. Things are getting pretty invovled with the Winter Party decorating committee. It's becoming a little frustrating, but I'm glad to be doing something active, like committe work, to occupy my time.
3. Matthew and I took a trip to Harrisburg and Hershey, PA over the MLK weekend! It was a blast and super fun to have a mini-vacation
4. My cousin Meg and her husband Mike had their third child on Tuesday! Welcome George Sullivan Hatton! You are entering into a huge family that is full to the seams with love for new babies. My other cousin Mike and his wife Jess are expecting twins this spring as well! Hooray for more babies!!
5. Jessi and I spent this most recent Saturday having a Girl's Day In. We made pancakes (and grits, yum!), watched her wedding DVD (which I loved!) and baked some delicious chocolate chip cookies from scratch. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday (not to mention the Friday night of staying up late with popcorn, beers, girltalk and "Sex and the City"). It reminded me of being in college and how much I loved my roommates and how much I do miss them. I loved waking up on Saturday, making breakfast (or lunch) and chatting about our Friday nights or what was planned for that Saturday. It's different living with Matthew, not bad, just different.
6. Kohl's has scaled back our hours so I'm lucky to work twice during the week. Thankfully, substitute teaching has been plentiful so I haven't had to worry too much. Thankfully, all the bills are still being paid.
7. I bought a book called Nightlight which is a parody of Twilight written by some snarks at Harvard. It is HILARIOUS! Matthew and I were laughing really hard last night when we read the first chapter out loud.
8. Trying to eat healthy and exercise more so that I can be healthy and have more energy; going to bed earlier will also probably help that. 5:30 is very early to get up to get ready for teaching each day.
9. Happy (almost) birthday Jessi! I'm so glad we've become such good friends! I don't know what I'd do without you:) Loves!
10. An even ten points always looks good on an update, though I don't have another bullet point...lol