Disc Golf, Tastings and Teeth, Teeth, Teeth

Having gone over the midway point in summer, it is now "crunch time" to make sure I get everything in before school starts again. With Eric having a more "normal" schedule, we get to do many fun things on the weekends.

This past weekend we avoided the strong summer thunderstorms that blew through our area, and managed to have quite a bit of fun disc golfing, and then later on going to a local vineyard for a wine tasting, some BBQ and a little live music. This summer Eric and I have visited a number of disc golf courses throughout Delaware. Many of the state parks have disc golf courses that host tournaments, but luckily for us, they are also open to the public! Our most recent disc golfing adventure took place at Killens Pond State Park, in Felton (website). We aren't very good (yet!), but we have fun, and we are at about the same skill level, so we typically compete against each other, rather than par. This time I had my camera and so I was able to get a few pictures during our time at Killens Pond.

Eric was the one who lost his discs this time!

He was also our trusted score keeper.

In the end Eric won by one stroke, but we both had fun.

After an afternoon of disc golfing we drove up to Dover (aka civilization) and Eric was finally able to find a new pair of flip flops that he liked. This may seem like a silly thing to point out, but we have been searching for ones that he likes pretty much all summer! After getting Eric some new shoes, we headed down to Marydel for a stop at one of our favorite places in Delaware, Harvest Ridge Winery. 

 

This was our second trip to the relatively new winery, and we were not disappointed. We started with a wine tasting during which we had the opportunity to try a few new wines that we hadn't been able to try last time. This time around we didn't get to take a tour of the facilities, but there were a number of other items on our agenda that needed to be taken care of. 

There was a food truck at the winery that evening serving some very yummy BBQ!

We also got to play some corn hole (we were horrible) and listen to some live music.

After a wonderful day out and about in Delaware we headed home to enjoy the rest of our weekend. Little did I know how much I should have appreciated every second of that relaxation, because this week... it is all about the dentist for me. 

 

Today I had a regular dentist appointment (which was far overdue) to get a check up. Thankfully, because of summer vacation, my schedule for follow up appointments is very flexible. Little did I know how thankful I would be for this flexibility. Over the past two weeks I had been experiencing some tooth pain, which ultimately resulted in me being unable to get hardly any sleep last night. At my appointment today my thoughts were confirmed and I will be getting to spend the rest of the week going to a variety of other appointments. Tomorrow I have an evaluation with an endodontist to address two potential root canals (yuck), then Thursday I head back to the dentist for (potentially) three fillings, and Friday I will be back once again for a cleaning. After that I will likely have more appointments to address the root canal issue, but it sure looks like the rest of my summer will be spent in dental chairs. I just hope that I am able to get everything taken care of before the school year starts.

Thankfully Eric got a clean report and only has to go back to get a cleaning at the beginning of September. We always seem to be opposites of each other, the perfect pair. Like our wine selections last weekend. So here is a toast to the rest of your summer, may it be fair less painful than mine!

Another Summer, Another Move

Well, my initial desire to keep up with this blog has flopped, but I am not going to just give up!

It is nearly the end of July, and since my last post much has happened, and I have even managed to get a few more things crossed of my list of goals for 2014! Let's start with "the list", and then I'll fill you in on what else has been going on. Here is the "updated" list.

1. Eric successfully passing the PT licensure exam

2. Katie's basketball team having a successful, positive season to send her out on a great note

3. Eric finding a good job that he enjoys and can be enthusiastic about

4. Me being able to find a job in the same geographic location as Eric

5. That Eric and I do not have to live apart (we spent 6 months apart last year)

6. Katie finding a good job after graduation

7. Ryan (my cousin) finding a safe place to live in Wisconsin for his new job!

8. My parents smoothly transitioning to Katie finishing her basketball career

9. My students have a successful school year (and semester finals in two weeks)

10. Eric and I can transform ourselves into the healthy people we want to be

11. All members of my family stay healthy and safe

12. All my friends stay healthy and safe

13. That I am able to stay better connected with my friends and family

14.  That in all things I try to stay positive, and find the good even if it all looks bad

So I highlighted the new additions to the "done" list, just so that they stick out and I remember to talk about all of them! I think, for ease on my own part, I will just go down the list and update you on how all of these goals were accomplished.

2. Katie's basketball team having a successful, positive season to send her out on a great note.

I don't know how accurate all of the statements I made in this goal are, but for the most part, each of these happened in some way. After what initially appeared to be a disappointing season, the team pulled it together and won out to make it to the conference playoffs! Bonus basketball, as we called it. Although they lost in the first round, and as a result didn't make it into any national/regional post-season tournaments, it was still great that they made it to the conference tournament again. Katie, and her classmate Jordan, made it to the conference tournament all four years of their careers, and while it would have been sweet to win, finishing the season by winning 5 (I think!) games in a row was great. 

Katie (right), Jordan, all parents, and of course the Eagle on Senior Night

3. Eric finding a good job that he enjoys and can be enthusiastic about.

Eric has found a good job. His first day was Cinco de Mayo and so at this point he is almost three months in. As with any first job, there have been a few bumps in the road, and every day hasn't been rainbows and jellybeans. But, there are days where he enjoys going to work, and he is definitely happy when the weekends roll around. I hope that has he gains more experience, and falls into a better rhythm, that he begins enjoying his work on a more regular basis and can then get more enjoyment out of the other aspects of his life. He is nervous, however, to find out the new company name at the end of the month. When he was hired, the company was in the process of merging with three other companies from around the area, and now that the merger is complete, they will be releasing their new name.

4. Me finding a job in the same geographic location as Eric.

Luckily, this goal was pretty easy to tackle. In fact, before the school year even ended, I had a job just seven miles from Eric's work! This coming school year I will be at Woodbridge High School, in Bridgeville, Delaware. I will again have ninth graders, and I will be teaching Core Plus 1, which is what I taught during the fall semester last school year. One of the most exciting parts of this new job, is that I get to do it in a brand new school. Eric and I went in to see the school on Monday and it is beautiful! Here is a picture of what the new school is going to look like! I will take some pictures of my new room and post them later.

5. That Eric and I do not have to live apart (we spent 6 months apart last year).

I put this goal on here as more of a "gimme" than anything else, because it was very unlikely that we would have continued living apart, regardless of goals 3 and 4. We still live in Delaware, but now we live in "Slower Lower". Our new place is about 90 minutes south of where we were last year, which might not have been my first choice due to the distance from the rest of my family, but it is exciting to get a fresh start. Yesterday we turned in our keys to our old place, and "officially" became Sussex County residents. 

Although I am sad to be moving out of the old place, I am happy that it is over. As a teacher, with summers off, our moves the past two years have rested primarily on my shoulders, and so I am glad that everything is taken care of. Painting and cleaning are finished, and now I can just enjoy the remainder of the summer!

6. Katie finding a good job after graduation.

Somewhat against her will, Katie went back to her summer job again (one last time), but I think that it worked out the best because this week will be her last week there! Next week she starts her first "real" job, and guess what?! She is going back to the place she has so loved for the last four years. Returning to Juniata, she will have two new roles. First (and probably most exciting for her) is the role of assistant coach! Her assistant coach is returning to grad school, and Katie will be stepping in to fill her shoes. It will be a great experience and gain her qualifications that will help her in the future. Her second role will be that of "Resident Director", which comes with housing and food, and only nine duty nights throughout the whole school year. Katie is very excited to start and I am excited for her. Plus, it also means she will only be about half an hour away when I come home to visit!

Eric, Katie, Mom, Dad, and me at Katie's Graduation!

It was a little chilly that day, but all I could think was "When did my baby sister grow up?!"

8. My parents smoothly transitioning to Katie finishing her basketball career.

I was concerned about my parent's transition, although looking back I'm not sure why. They seem to have embraced their "empty nest". They go on "old person field trips" as Katie calls them, with their friends, and now that Katie will be coaching at Juniata, it will be a much smoother transition for them. Also, my Mom has said that they will always have Penn State basketball to fall back on when Juniata is away. Mom and Dad helped us with the "big" move of all of the furniture at the end of June and spent a few days visiting. Then over the fourth we had a mini family reunion at Aunt Joanne's and Uncle Johnny's in New Jersey. Not everyone was there, but it was still great to see everyone. Then at the beginning of August they might becoming down to visit again, but we will see. 

Some of my other goals, I won't be able to "accomplish", they are just ways that I hope to live my life in the future, but I will be sure to keep any updates coming. Other than my goals, here are the "highlights" from the last five months:

• I successfully finished my third year of teaching and, although the new school changes it slightly, I am no longer a "novice" teacher in the state of Delaware.
  
  
• Eric and I spent Memorial Day weekend camping at First Landing State Park with some friends. It was a lot of fun, and we had PERFECT weather.

• We also had a great weekend in June with another set of friends in Bucks county. We went tubing on the Delaware river (I got stuck in the rapids, but it's ok), and played some very intense games, as well as an insane game of badminton.
• Katie came to visit for the week of her birthday and we went to the pool and the beach, and just had quality sister time.
• And of course, I have been trying out plenty of new recipes. Some have been much more successful than others. Here is a sampling of a few of the better ones:

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole (recipe)

Top: Strawberry Lemonade Bars (recipe)

Bottom: Key Lime Shortbread Bites (recipe) ~ These are AMAZING

Left: Peach Cobbler Muffins (recipe)

Right: Pizza Bagels (no recipe required!)

With the first half of the year over, and the last year of craziness behind us, I am looking forward to a calm and "normal" remainder of 2014. Whatever that may bring... I also hope to continue working toward my goals, and keeping up with postings on here more frequently! I think the next goal on my list will be to really focus on becoming more healthy, so I should probably go for a walk now!

~ "Eighty percent of success is showing up" -Woody Allen

One month down, eleven more to go

2014 is a month old. Well, a month and a few days, but close enough! So far this year is proving to be .... interesting. Thanks to mother nature we have had 4 snow days, 2 days with one-hour delays, a two-hour delay, and one early dismissal. School has been quite chaotic thanks to all of these schedule changes, and so the year doesn't really feel like it has even started, let alone it being 1/12 of the way done already! Even with an inconsistent work schedule, I have managed to keep myself plenty busy. We had Eric's graduation, the meat of Katie's final basketball season (just three weeks to go...), a little bit of car excitement, and a new semester at school.

Between it all, I have managed to check a few things off of my 14 goals for 2014 list. So far...

#1. Eric passing his PT licensure exam! We found out Tuesday night and went out yesterday for a celebratory dinner at Outback. I could not be more proud of him and he hasn't even taken a second to be happy about it really, he is just worried about finding a job.

#7. Ryan has found a place to live in Wisconsin and really seems to be thriving in his new job!

#9. Although the school year isn't over yet, my students were able to find a lot of success on their finals for the fall semester. Everyone did very well and I was very proud of all of them.

Probably the one that I have been struggling with the most is trying to have a positive attitude about everything. When I switched high schools over the summer, everything was new and exciting. Now that things have become more routine, I am finding it much harder to stay positive. With Eric job searching he is home during the day, and a lot of times I would much rather stay home with him, then come to work. I am so thankful to have a job, with good benefits, in a relatively safe place, but I am ready for a new adventure I think.

The other major stressor in my life is the fact that I have no idea where we are going to be 6 months from now. I don't know if I will have a job, if Eric will have a job, where we will be living. I feel that the last three years of my life have been spent in limbo just waiting to get to this point, and now that it is only 6 months away, it is much more stressful.

As a teacher, and especially as a math teacher, I always like to have a plan, and be organized. It is very challenging to do those things when you are in limbo.

Well, another Thursday is upon us, soon I will start my countdown to the end of the school year. Or should I say I will publicize it, because let's be honest I have had a countdown since about Christmas.

Hopefully the next month of 2014, can be as successful as the first month.

~Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Thomas A. Edison 

Top 14 Hopes for 2014

It appears that my tendency to write blog posts is directly correlated with my lack of motivation to plan for school. But, with 2014 being just five days old I figured I would follow in the footsteps of most people and write a post about my hopes for the new year. It promises to be an eventful year: my baby sister will graduate from college, I will finally not be a novice teacher (in DE), and Eric will FINALLY graduate from PT school. I'm sure there will be many other exciting moments to come, but those are the ones that I know of for now.

Lately on Facebook there have been a lot of people positing the links to articles like "23 things to do instead of getting engaged before turning 23"(read here), and "24 things to do instead of getting married before turning 24" (read here). As someone who was engaged at 21 and married at 23 I have a slightly different perspective on those topics. Perhaps I will share them another time. But, these lists have inspired me to make a list of my own: my 14 hopes for 2014. I am planning on coming up with these as I go, and so I'm not even sure if I have 14 hopes yet, but I will do my best. Here goes nothing!

1. Eric successfully passing the PT licensure exam

2. Katie's basketball team having a successful, positive season to send her out on a great note

3. Eric finding a good job that he enjoys and can be enthusiastic about

4. Me being able to find a job in the same geographic location as Eric

5. That Eric and I do not have to live apart (we spent 6 months apart last year)

6. Katie finding a good job after graduation

7. Ryan (my cousin) finding a safe place to live in Wisconsin for his new job!

8. My parents smoothly transitioning to Katie finishing her basketball career

9. My students have a successful school year (and semester finals in two weeks)

10. Eric and I can transform ourselves into the healthy people we want to be

11. All members of my family stay healthy and safe

12. All my friends stay healthy and safe

13. That I am able to stay better connected with my friends and family

14.  That in all things I try to stay positive, and find the good even if it all looks bad

Well I did it! (only a few "repeats") I know that 14 goals might be a bit much (better to do a few things well, then a lot of things poorly?), but I feel confident that I will be able to keep up with most of my goals (at least the ones that I can have control over). I hope that in 365 days when I look back on this list, I will be satisfied with the year that I have had. I am excited to be at a point in my life where I have a "plan" for the next few years, but I am also able to very much live in the moment. The future looks very bright and I am excited to enjoy all the experiences that I will be lead through in the near future.

Right now however, I need to do some planning so that I can successfully lead my students through the last two weeks of the semester. Did I mention I get a whole new set of students in two weeks? Talk about a challenge. I have no idea who reads this (or if anyone reads this), but if you are reading, I have a 15th hope to add to my list: I hope that you are able to reach your goals for 2014 and that you have a healthy, happy, and successful 2014!

“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” – Walt Disney

Mid-November Blues

So Friday is the middle of November, and while there are a lot of things that I love about this time of year. There are an equal number of things that I tend to dislike, and this year I feel that there are even more negative things on the list (try as I might to stay positive!).

Christmas is almost 40 days away, which is SOOOOO far beyond exciting I can hardly contain my excitement. After doing a bit more Christmas shopping (although I already had a good bit done), I decided that it was time to wrap the gifts I had so far. Christmas is by far my favorite time of the year, and so the fact that I wrapped gifts just lifts my spirit and makes me smile. Although Christmas is nearing, it apparently is still not close enough for most people, and so there are a lot of grumpy folks out there being down on Christmas! :(

In addition to being so excited about Christmas, I also have been very excited the past few weeks because this past weekend I was able to take a trip up to Providence to visit with family. It was so great to get away for a few days, and it was very exciting to fly to Providence, rather than having to drive! I nearly had a silent nervous break down on the flight up to Providence just because I haven't flown since I was 12, but on the way back I was actually able to enjoy the flight, and even relax enough to take a short nap. The flight was an hour and the drive back from the airport only about an hour as well, so that was well worth it.

I am feeling somewhat refreshed with the three day weekend (thank you veterans!) and attending a math conference today it has been a nice (and needed) break away from my students. I think we were all really starting to push each others' buttons. With just two weeks until Thanksgiving break I feel that we will be able to push through to the next break.

Dealing with Eric finishing grad school has been stressful, but he graduates two months from yesterday, so I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel! It feels amazing that we are so close to the end considering where we have been. However, this final push is proving to be a very challenging one. I have faith that we will get through to the end though, and as his Nana constantly reminds us, we will be much stronger for the experience.

As much as I would love to continue, four days off of school means that I have tons of work to do before school tomorrow!

A Mid-October Summer's Day

I don't particularly enjoy the extremes of weather. Extremely hot, extremely cold, extremely windy.... However, I can be tolerant of those things when the season matches the extreme. Extremely cold in the winter, while not pleasant, it's winter, what do you expect? Extremely hot in the summer. Well, I don't really enjoy sweating profusely, but at least you can go to the pool. Near 90 degree temperatures the first weekend in October.... that is a problem. I'm ready for the crisp fall air, and jeans and sweatshirts on weekend outings!

Even though we had summer weather (it was very hot), Eric and I spent Saturday touring Delaware and checking out the many things that were going on all over the state. We started off by driving down to Wyoming, DE and going to the Fifer Orchard Fall Festival (website). We had a great family day, just the two of us! Here is a picture recap of our time at the orchards.

We made our way through this six acre corn maze! There was an observation deck that if you could find you could see the whole field! Here is a map of the maze!

Here we are on the observation deck, after making through the whole maze!

We also played a few frames of pumpkin bowling, raced rubber ducks through a track, and found the most addicting ring toss game in the world! (I didn't get pictures of these last two) 

Eric took a ride on the zipline!

We each got to paint our own miniature pumpkin!

There was a farm store where we found some homemade jams and salad dressings that we are excited to try. We also ate some pretty delicious  (and reasonably priced) lunch thanks to the Lions Club of Camden Wyoming (website). But the best food we ate at the festival was a pumpkin funnel cake, with cream cheese frosting, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar! It was even better than it sounds!


After we were done at the fall festival we headed a little further south to Rehoboth beach (since it felt like summer!). They were having an end of season sidewalk sale, so we figured we would check it out. In addition to walking through town and the shops, we walked along the boardwalk and played a round of mini-golf.

After a looooonnnnggg day of traveling south, we got back in the car and made the drive back home. Along the way we stopped at Dover Downs to have dinner at Frankie's (website). During dinner Eric decided to play some practical jokes on his family members on the trip home.

All in all it was a great day, although somewhat bittersweet. With Eric getting ready to finish his final internship for PT school it was a glimpse into what our future will be more like, but a nagging reminder that he still has nine weeks of internships left until we get to that point.

In addition to all those wonderful Saturday activities, Sunday involved a bit of Christmas shopping, Eric got a haircut and we stayed snuggled in bed watching movies on Netflix until 11:00. Now it's time to try and get some work done for this upcoming week of school.

Here's hoping that the next nine weeks go by very quickly!

If you fall off the horse, get back on

So, my first attempt at this blogging thing was quite unsuccessful. I hope that this time around, I will be more consistent and productive.

Exciting things that have happened since my last post (which was a while ago, so it's quite a list):

Eric and I got married. AND we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. We ate our saved piece of cake, and if you didn't eat the icing, it really wasn't that bad!

I started and finished my second year of teaching at Howard.
I transferred to another high school in our school district (Saint George's) and have finished about a month of my third year of teaching.
Eric and I moved to a new apartment, which we painted, so now we are really grown ups!
Many of our family and friends have gotten married as well, so congrats and shout outs to Megan and Paul, Karen and Michael, and Julie and Eric!! Their weddings were beautiful!

Although there have been many very exciting events, not everything has been easy. Eric is wrapping up grad school (finally!), but to finish up, he has been going through a number of internships which have taken him away from home :( We know we will make it through him completing these internships, but I know we are both VERY ready for him to graduate in January! (I think I am more ready than he is!)

I hope to use this blog as a way to motivate myself to be productive in school and life, and to help get me through these tough times, as well as celebrate the good things!

This past weekend my parents came into town for a visit to see our new place! I put out quite the spread for their arrival (pigs in blankets, recipe here, veggies and dip, and pita chips with hummas) and made a delicious dessert (apple crisp, recipe here, pictured below). In addition to catching up, and attending the UD football game (they made a miraculous come back to win in the end!), my Mom and I also did a little Pinterest craft to celebrate the new season (directions here). Please enjoy the pictures!