Being a Maid of Honor...

...is fun, wonderful, amazing, exciting, exhilarating, exhausting, stressful.... and well... an honor. 

  

Hanging up

Such cute shoes!

Seriously love these shoes.

December 26th - the saddest day of the year.

At the beginning of the month I made a goal that I would truly embrace the holiday season this year and love every moment of Christmas. I am happy to report that I succeeded with gusto! Christmas is wonderful and I can't believe I spent so many years of my life being such a Scrooge. The very first Christmas that Jonathan and I spent together he had said to me that "December 26th is the saddest day of the year because it means Christmas is over" up until this year I thought he was crazy. But now I agree 100%. It is so sad to see such a wonderful day come and go so quickly.

Here is a small recap of our wonderful Christmas celebrations. Both Christmas and Christmas Eve are very very busy for us. On Christmas Eve we go to three different parties. First we go to the Mullens. The Mullens have been Jonathan's neighbors since he was born. We stop there and visit with their family and spend some time with his bestfriend Katie. Then after a few hours of snacking and drinking there we head to his grandparents house where we take part in a HUGE Yankee Swap (28 this year) for all the adults and "big kids". Me and Jonathan left with the same gifts we came with, but it was still a score because we liked our gifts. 

Looks like a fun time to me - wine and Cranium!

 Then we headed over to my brother's girlfriend's family's house because they have a huge X-Mas Eve party every year. Unfortunately we didn't get there until 930ish and one brother was already asleep and the other was a little quite tipsy :). From there we went on home to find this: 

My cousin and her fiance were given a very important secretive job to do that night. They added their own fun twist to it. So an awesome new office chair isn't the only surprise Jonathan (and I for that matter) got on x-mas eve.

Christmas Day was fantastic. I woke Jonathan up at 8AM like a little kid, literally jumping on him in the bed and trying to shake him awake because I was SO excited to open my Christmas presents. I had every right to be excited since he got me a marvelous and thoughtful present: 

And this super cool pink jacket that has a built in book light!

 Then we went to his parents house for a Christmas morning breakfast and to open our presents. We got Google TV which so cool I can't even begin to explain it and Jonathan's mom gave me this gorgeous bracelet: 

She coined it as the "gift that keeps on giving" because now people need to buy me charms!

 From there we were off to Jonathan's grandparents to visit with all the kids and see them open their presents. We missed all the present opening, but the kids enjoyed the presents we bought for them. We hung out for a while and played with the kids and more importantly the kid's cool toys! Everyone also enjoyed all of my homemade treats! So glad I thought to be all cheery and make candy for all the amazing people in our lives :) 

Here is one example of the goodies I gave away. The fudge is hiding underneath.

We also stopped by and visited with my Grammy and Aunt Sandy for an hour or so. Some of my cousins were there as well so I got to see them too. My Grammy was very excited to see us, so I'm glad we made the trip over there too. I wish everyone would take the time to go and visit with her... The woman is amazing and deserves much more than some people give her.

Then we went home, set up or Google TV, played Epic Mickey, ate Chinese Food and relaxed! So I stand by what I said on Christmas - despite who you spend your holidays with - it's important to realize that the people who really matter are the people that will call and take the time to make the day special with you. I'm grateful for the wonderful people I have in my life.

The main reason I haven't blogged in a week

I have been meaning to update for the past week, but last week started off badly. This is what Jonathan found on Monday morning when he got up to go to work: 

Yes - to answer your question. That is his car, on milk crates, with no tires. 

 So this event sent me into a whirlwind rage. Now - first let me tell you this. THIS is not the first time something has happened to Jonathan's car. Last year around this time (Januaryish), his car was broken into. The driver's side window was smashed and his airbags were stolen, yes airbags. Fortunately, Jonathan is fantastic in crisis. He has been so calm through all of this bullshit which has been great. Unfortunately... his car is still in our driveway, with no tires, covered in snow :( 

Anyways... as pissed off as I was about the car and that low-life people would actually do something like this to someone... I was almost just as pissed off at the reactions some people had to this. Most friends/family were very sympathetic which is greatly appreciated, some people made jokes* (which is fine too... jokes are needed in times like these!) Some things that irritated me - were the comments about us having to move,  or Lowell being a shitty place to live, or our apartment complex sucking. The reason this annoyed me... is: 

1. We don't live in Lowell, we live in Dracut. 
2. Despite where we live.. it doesn't matter. Like I said this happened before and the kids were caught and they were from Lawrence! 
3. Yes - I agree that we live in a huge apartment complex and MAYBE there should be more security... but when you live in an apartment... security is almost considered in amenity. We could live in a gated community... but unfortunately we don't have that kind of money. Overall this complex is very nice and over the past year we have dealt with different matters, such as the bed bug incident and a mouse in our wall, that maintenance and management has responded to in such a great manner.
4. But again - this kind of shit doesn't matter... He drives a Civic SI. That's why this shit happens. Period. 

So anyways... when shitty things happen to someone. They don't need to be lectured and they certainly don't need to hear about how hard your day has been or how difficult your life is. Really, last week... all we/he needed was for people to say "dude, that sucks... I'm sorry man". The advice, the recommendations, and the complaints were unnecessary. So thank-you to all of our thoughtful friends and family who truly know how to be supportive. It's appreciated. :) 

Had I written this blog last week when I was still very pissed off about it all ... I would have been much bitchier and angrier... hence the reason why I waited. If this still came off as bitchy - then maybe you at least understand my frustration a little bit. And keep in mind sometimes a blog is meant for venting.

*Some of the jokes were absolutely fantastic. The one that topped them all was the x-mas eve prank. Stay tuned....

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Blog World!!! I hope everyone out there was able to enjoy a relaxing day with friends, family, and all the people that matter in life.

My day was fabulous and even though I do not have the most traditional time spent with family... I still have some pretty amazing people in my life. I couldn't ask for a sweeter boyfriend with such a loving family that makes me feel at home.

As promised...

A quick tutorial on delicious fudge:

In a glass bowl (that is safe for the microwave) dump in 1/2 stick of butter, 3 cups of milk chocolate chips, and 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (do not lick your finger if you get some on it....ugh gross... it resembles something white and sticky and probably tastes worse). Put all this in the microwave for about 3 to 5 minutes. I took it out about every minute or so and stirred... it only took my microwave 3 minutes to cook it perfectly and it looked delicious and smooth.

Next dump it all into an 8x8 glass pan preferably lined with aluminum foil that was sprayed with non-stick spray. It will make your life much easier, I promise.

Let it harden in the fridge for about an hour or so... Keep in mind this fudge is creamier and not as grainy as "traditional fudge" so it doesn't get super hard (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID).

After an hour or so take the fudge out and dump it out of the glass pan onto a cutting board. It will slide right out. Then you can start cutting. I cut mine into small cubes because it is so rich. It makes a lot. I have two containers that look like this: 

Since I have two containers of this size Jonathan will be bringing one to work tomorrow. When he messaged a co-worker to let him know he would be bringing in some fudge; his co-worker appropriately responded with "so you'll be packing fudge?"

Candy Creations for Dummies

Candy Creations... for dummies! Why I say dummies you ask? Because it was so utterly simple!!! Anyone who is looking for simple, easy gift ideas I'm telling you - Make some fudge and some delicious Saltine Toffee!  Today AC came over and we made a wonderful creation.  This was a very successful test run :)

Step One - Go to the grocery store and buy these 4 ingredients. 

1. Box of Saltine Crackers
2. Butter*
3. Milk Chocolate Chips
4. Brown Sugar (if you have brown sugar in your cabinet, please check it prior to going to the grocery store. Or else this may lead to a second trip since the brown sugar was hard as a rock) 

 Step Two - Go back to the grocery store to buy the ingredients you had - that you did not check first ;)

Step Three - Yay! The actual cooking!

1.      Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

2.      Arrange crackers in a layer on a greased baking sheet.** 

3.      In a small sauce pan heat 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 stick of butter. To a rolling boil.***

4.      This step was scary – pour the BOILING sugar liquid onto the saltine crackers (without burning yourself – I’m happy to say I was successful)

5.      At this step I got slightly confused because it did not spread very easily or coat all the crackers. HOWEVER – the recipe does not lie! It will spread out in the oven. So….

6.      ....Bake in the oven for 5 minutes....and....

7.      ....Be amazed that the toffee is actually moving over all of the crackers in the oven!

8.      Carefully take out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

9.      Watch the crackers mysteriously move on the pan.****

10.  Drop chocolate chips onto crackers.

11.  Let chocolate melt and then spread - it spreads very easily and smoothly. 

12.  Sprinkle extra crumbled up cracker bits on top!

Step Four: Place in the fridge to cool for a ½ hour

Step Five: Smash into smaller pieces – Perhaps using a safer method than I choose to use.

Step Six: ENJOY!!! 

QUESTIONS?? I came across:

*Does it matter if the butter is salted or unsalted?  This was one of the many questions I asked today.

**My second question - does it matter if the top or bottom of the saltine cracker  is face up?? I decided to have the top facing up. It seemed scientifically correct when I thought about it real hard.

*** Question #3 – What exactly is a rolling boil?? I learned that it is when the butter and sugar gets very very bubbly.

****Did that REALLY just happen??? How did those crackers move on their own? The force of toffee is a strong one yes?

• AC also had the question - who knew that toffee was actually just brown sugar and butter melted?? Hmm? Not us - that's for sure. 

You think this is easy – wait to you hear about the amazing fudge recipe that involves a microwave and a refrigerator.....

Being Cheerful

So I have to say that I am definitely doing a good job "decking the halls". I think this is the first time ever that I really am truly embracing the holiday season. I've gotten about 1/2 of my shopping done, I sent out 33 Christmas cards, I decorated the tree with Jonathan and I even bought some cute Christmas hand towels. Today I wrapped all the Christmas presents that I have bought so far.  And I have been patiently hoping and wanting the first snow fall to happen!! It's nuts... I don't know where this cheer has come from, but it does make the holidays oh so much more fun! I haven't gone as far as to listen to Christmas music in my car alone... however when I'm in Jonathan's car I'm not only listening - but often singing along!

To top it all off on Wednesday I volunteered to go into my work (the Parker House Grille) on my day off and voluntarily decorate for 3 hours (I was there from 830 till 11). Me, the manager Billy and one of our regular customers, Jules decked out the entire dining room and lounge with Christmas decorations. We hung up garland and lights on all the borders using a hot glue gun (I burnt myself 2 dozen times!) and then we put up about 40 bows and bulbs all around the garland (Sp?). It actually was a lot more fun than it sounds... other than the fact that I was annoyed that me and a customer were doing this while two employees (who shall remain nameless) sat at the bar and drank.* How nice. I also got free food and drinks... and I didn't even abuse the privilege like those said employees totally would have. I only had two drinks and an appetizer.

Today I printed out a few recipes to get started on testing out what types of fun candies I want to make for treats for everyone. I have landed on a Simple Fudge recipe and  Saltine Toffee. Both recipes sound delicious and simple. Post to follow on the process and on whether it is indeed simple :)

Any-who - I feel very accomplished when it comes to my "embrace the holiday season" goal. With that said - please refrain from asking how the "exercise more" goal is coming :) 


*Need less to say - the people I work with piss me off quite frequently.

Today felt like a long day

First of all - let me start off by stating for the record that I LOVED second grade when I taught it... Today I substituted in a 3rd grade classroom. It was one of the most challenging classes I think I have ever worked with for a variety of reasons. I will not list all these reasons, but I will state that I am SO glad that the job I landed is in 5th grade. 5th graders are soo much more independent I definitely think they are more my speed these days. :) Now - I understand as a substitute teacher I don't get nearly as much respect as the regular classroom teacher... and I expect that going in. I expect that I will need to put my foot down from the very start of the day otherwise the day could be a total nightmare... But I felt as if these third graders never learned the concept of raising there hands and don't seem to understand how rude it is to A) - Interrupt the teacher and B) - Talk while she is talking. Those are the basics in school! It was utter chaos.... Funny thing is though - I did have someone come in the room at one point and say "wow, they are never this quiet for a substitute!"... so even though I felt like it was complete chaos I guess I didn't do half bad with this particular group of kiddos. Maybe I just have high expectations for proper behavior in school... with that said....  I can not wait for subbing to be over and to be in my "own" classroom for at least 12 weeks!!! :)

Hopefully this will be how my fifth graders behave!

Need less to say I was exhausted when I got home. I relaxed and watched soap-net for a while. Yeah I'm lame, but I love OTH and 90120 (old school) repeats. I did however get myself up and out the door to go and get in some cardio and do yoga! Take THAT exercise goal! My cardio was pathetic though. I could clearly tell I hadn't worked out recently. I had no stamina! AND can I ask the question - WHY DO PEOPLE WATCH THE FOOD NETWORK WHILE WORKING OUT? How BAD of an idea is that!?  Oh well - tomorrow I will go to the gym again! (and the food network better not be on!)

Tomorrow I will:

1) Go to the post office to buy stamps so I can mail the Christmas cards
2) I will go shopping for more Christmas gifts
3) I will clean the apartment
4) I WILL go to the gym
5) I might have lunch with Amy :)

Failing goals... :(

Okay... so it's December 6th and I'm already failing goals. 

Goal # 1 - Blog more. Given that this is the first blog since writing that goal... I consider that sad, maybe not quite a failure, but sad. 

Goal #2 - Exercise more. I went to yoga last week and I plan to go tomorrow - does that count? Yea... I didn't think so either. Where the hell did my motivation go??? I promise to be better.

Goal #3 - Embrace the holiday season! YAY To sticking to this goal! We have a tree up and decorated and I bought a festive table clothe and festive hand towels for the kitchen! AND I did some Christmas shopping today AND we got 1/2 of our cards written to send out in the mail this week! At least I can be successful at being cheerful :)

With all this failing I must now mention something so extremely positive! I have accomplished one of my long term goals! Today I was informed that I was hired for the 5th grade position that I interviewed for in Reading :) It's only 12 weeks, but hey it's a job! AND I can really teach again :) So that's huge excitement.

Goodbye November

Is it me or did November go by so much faster than it normally does? I feel like November just started, yet it's actually over already. Time is moving too fast for me. I have too much coming up in life that is going to cost money (i.e. Xmas,  Jeni's wedding) and I have no money and no prospect of having much money for any of these events. Ah well... no need to stress about the inevitable, eh? 

Here are some things that made November (short as it was) a pretty great month:

• As you know I started off the month finishing my very first vacation at Disney... so that was pretty wonderful. 
• I substituted a lot... which isn't exactly thrilling, but it did mean $$ which is a positive in my current unemployed state. 
• A had a few pretty decent waitressing shifts as well (and quite a few shitty ones - but let's stay focused on the positives)
• I got to hang out with Ashley and Rachel more than I had been recently - which was nice. I have missed them. I have also learned that even though friendships fade and flicker sometimes - if the friendship is true you should be able to find your way back into the light of it. 
• I also had a few lunch/dinner dates with new and old friends. 
• Dinner and wine nights with my cousin - have remained wonderful. Even though we missed last week! 
• Things with Jonathan have been generally great - with the exception of me REALLY starting to hate WOW and getting sick of the constant computer addiction he seems to possess when it comes to that game. Sometimes I think we don't spend enough time together.....
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 came out. It was amazing and watching it made me commit to re-reading the book. Which I finished in about 2 days. haha.
• Thanksgiving was relaxing- even though I'm disappointed that we didn't have any leftovers since we had dinner at the Woodstock Station.... but it is very nice to feel part of Jonathan's family 
• The Pub Crawl was epic as always. 
• And I had two interviews for a long term position that I'm hoping to get (I should know by the end of this week). 

With November being wonderful there are somethings that lurked in the background to make it... well not so wonderful. Somethings I consider unmentionable in my blog.... but I will enlighten you on 3 of the months downfalls...

1. As frustrating as things have been with my mother... it's a little very disappointing that her only attempt to work things out and get a hold of me was on my birthday (which has now been over a month ago). Granted... I didn't make an effort to call after-wards and I did say to her that I would get in touch when I got home from Florida and I didn't... but I don't think that excuses her. Parents - you call your kids on holidays! It's your job as the parent, to act like one. I think she might be being stubborn because I haven't made an effort with her. BUT I find it VERY frustrating... because when you are a person who messes up and disappointments the people you supposedly love - then YOU are the person who should put in that extra effort. As I will continue to think (until my anger has completely subsided and I can't guarantee when that will be) it is her responsibility to reach out.. since she is the one who royally fucked up. Am I wrong?
2. I completely and totally slacked off when it came to working out this month - well at least these last two weeks. I need to get my ass back on track with that. 
3. As much as I enjoyed Thanksgiving with Jonathan's family - it kind of bums me out that I didn't see my family at all that day. I should have at least seen my brothers. Come to think of it - I don't think I saw them the entire month :(

With December coming in full force tomorrow I have three goals for myself: 

1. Blog more! I'm not going to give myself a #. I'm not going to say I will blog everyday or anything crazy like that... But more. November was weak on the blogging.  October was weak too...
2. Exercise at least 4 times a week! (With the exception of Christmas week - cause it might be hectic)
3. Try my damnedest to embrace the holiday season. Since I have been with Jonathan I have tried each year to love Christmas as much as he does. Now - I personally don't believe "it's the most wonderful time of the year". But for him (and for my own sanity) I will again try to love it. Maybe one of these years it might actually work and I will turn into a fanatic Christmas lover. 

• As an extension to goal #3 - I plan to be super jolly and create small Christmas gifts for people. The reason is two-fold. One - I feel like being crafty and making fudge/candy type treats and Two - I'm broke. And I've heard that it's the thought that counts :) 

Farewell November, Hello December. 

Progress

When I started this blog it was mainly because I was in a funk. Well more than a funk.... I was... emotional, depressed, drowning in my own self pity, generally fed up with life. I started this blog to gain some perspective - to focus on the positive aspects of life. Now - I can't really attribute my "feeling better about life" lately to my actual blogging... since it seems to be few and far between that I actually sit down and focus on blogging, but nevertheless I am happy to report that overall I do feel much more content in life. (holey run-on sentence Batman!)

The summer was hard. Which is odd - because I genuinely love the summer. But not having a job and the bullshit with my mom being so fresh I just wasn't dealing with disappointment very well. And for a few months there I felt like every time I turned around I was disappointed by something else - my mother, my family, my job, myself.... What's funny is - nothing has really changed since the summer. I still really don't have a job and things are still pretty much on the outs with my mom. I'm still stressed about money. I still worry about the future. But I think I have developed a more "zen-like" attitude to all these failures mishaps in life.

Here is what has changed since the summer: 

• One I'm working - Granted I don't really have a full time job per say, but I am substituting in Dracut nearly every day. So I am busy and I am making some money. Not as much as I would like, but enough to get by that I'm not a complete stress maniac. I'm also enjoying substituting much more than I originally thought I would. I like the schools I sub at and I'm getting to know a lot of people... which could be helpful come next year when I apply for a job (yet again) in Dracut. I think in general keeping busy - regardless of what it is that is keeping you busy - will also keep you happy or at the very least distracted.
• Two I'm not seeing a counselor anymore. Now some might thing that this is a bad thing and because I was so stressed and upset and depressed that I should have continued to see my counselor. I disagree. I have decided that therapy is complete crap (unless you have major issues and you feel that it does help you. I don't want to offend anyone.) For me though - it's complete and utter crap. I was seeing my counselor mainly because I couldn't deal with my issues anymore. I would break down and cry... I'd get upset anytime I thought about things too much. But I think that is stuff that you might just have to deal with on your own. It's simple shit really.  So for simple shit, for shit that really can't be fixed... therapy is pointless.... The only real fix to the simple shit is to deal with it head on.  Seeing my counselor every two weeks had negative effects on me. It simply made me dwell on shit that I just can't change (mainly my mother). I think my new way of dealing with it is much better for my mental health. What happens will happen... and none of that is my fault. My mother made certain decisions and all that happens after those decisions were made are consequences she will have to deal with... that I should in no way feel guilty for. So if she doesn't understand why I don't want to dive into a relationship with her again.. that's her cross to bare. She has to deal, not me (well I have to deal too... but this is how I have decided to deal for now). 

In conclusion I'm happy with the progress I have made in the past few months. Do I love my life and am I thrilled with how things have turned out thus far? No, of course not! But I have at least learned to live with it and be content. On most days I'm more than content, I'm actually happy. I still have hope for my future though. I still have hope that things will get better, but if they don't - I have a lot to be happy about and grateful for. I'm perfectly complacent being a...

Keeping Busy

Lately I feel like my life has been all about keeping busy. I feel like I'm always doing something lately, which is fantastic... because doing nothing leads to boredom and basic self-loathing. But literally since I got home from Florida I feel like it has been "go, go, go". Maybe it is cause when I got back I immediately worked 4 days straight... who knows. 

*Side not - sorry I have been scarce on the blogging... but I feel like I never have all that much that is interesting to say. I want people to read my blog - but then I feel this responsibility to keep people entertained...  I hate writing about nothing because I can bet that , that must be boring to read. But if you are reading - thank you :) There are some things I would love to vent and write about - but I think maybe the internet might not be the best place to "air my dirty laundry" per say. Anywho...

Last week I spent a lot of time catching up with friends which was nice. On Tuesday I caught up with TWO friends... had a lunch/coffee date (in which we didn't drink coffee) with my friend Amy and then I had dinner on Tuesday with my friend Katey. I had dinner with my cousin, Jeni on Wednesday and then we went to buy her wedding shoes - MOH responsibilities. On Thursday I had a lunch date with Taryn at the Olive Garden. Then Friday I went to Rachel's jewelry party with Ashley. Last week was a friends week. So thanks to all my awesome friends for being awesome and keeping me busy to boot!

On Saturday I worked and on Sunday I visited with my Grandmother. She just turned 91. Isn't that amazing? 91! My grandfather was 91 as all... I hope I get their good genes and live a long happy life like the two of them. My grandparents are both amazing. I miss my Grampy everyday of my life. And I worry about my Grammy. They are the best people I have ever known. They are also my only true example of true love. People can only wish to be granted with the kind of love they shared. It's remarkable. They were married for 68 years. Incredible. 

Today was another busy day. I ran errands. Went to the gym and had a KICK ASS work-out. Then I made delicious meat sauce to go with delicious stuffed shells.

Then I had an interview in Reading MA for a fifth grade maternity leave position. I feel like it went well. Hopefully I hear back within the next few days to see if I made it to the round two interviews. I'll update when I find out. 

That is all for now. 

Blissfully Bored,

~Tracy~

"What I Did On My Disney Vacation" essay!

Since I am so incredibly bored at work today I figured I would get
caught up and write a blog. Since Blogger is blocked at school I had
to result in writing my blog in my email that I will then copy and
paste at a later time :) On a side note - subbing for a computer
teacher has to be the best/easiest day of subbing ever. Love it.

As promised I must write about how wonderful and fun Florida was. Here
is a brief summary of what we did.

This is the entrance to the area where our room was at the All Star Sports Resort.

Arrived Thursday night. Thursday kind of sucked because it was a day
of traveling. We woke up at 430AM and were at Manchester for a 730
flight. We then had a 2 and 1/2 hour layover in Georgia. We didn't get
till Florida until 230 and didn't make it to our hotel in Disney until
after 3. Once we got there it was wonderful though. We stayed at the
All Star Sports Resort. That night we decided to not waste a pass
hopper day on going to a park so we took the shuttle to downtown
Disney and ate as this delicious Italian restaurant called
Portebello's. Then we walked around a little bit, took some pictures,
and went in stores. We were exhausted from our day of traveling so we
went back to the hotel and fell asleep pretty early. Evan and Jim
flight landed late that night. They got to the hotel around 230AM.

Me with the brooms at down town Disney 

Jonathan with lego water dragon

Friday we went to Magic Kingdom. I think I liked Magic Kingdom the
best. It's classic and just makes you feel like a little kid again. I
loved all the rides and being able to see the castle and all of that
cool stuff. We went on Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Thunder
Mountain... along with a bunch of other classics - including the
Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We pretty much
went on everything.

I was sooo excited to see the castle :)

Saturday was awesome. Saturday we went to Universal. Now Universal and
Islands of Adventure are not Disney parks so we had to drive their
with Jonathan parents and pay for our pass-hopper pass for those two
parks. Universal was pretty awesome. The first ride everyone went on
was this Mummy roller-coaster, which I stupidly skipped out on cause I
saw in the description that it went backwards and I was afraid I'd get
sick. Jonathan said it was AWESOME, so I really wish I wasn't being
such a wuss. We did go on the Simpson's Ride that USED to be Back to
the Future and I HATED that. It made me wicked queasy! We went on a
bunch of other stuff including E.T. which was classic and fun.

At Universal :)

Then we went to Islands of Adventure and to Harry Potter Land - that was
incredible. The Hogwarts ride was probably the best ride we went on in
all of Florida. We also bought all of our souvenirs here. I got a
scarf, a mug and a wand. Jonathan got a mug and a wand.

Hogwarts Castle - enough said. 

 

 

 

My Scarf and our WANDS! Yes we got wands! Be jealous.

On Sunday we went to Epcot and MGM. Epcot was alright. Not much to do
there though. We went in the big ball, on the "test track" and
soarin'. None of those rides were really all that impressive. MGM was
awesome, but the Aerosmith Roller-Coaster was closed :(. We did go on
the Tower or Terror and we were part of the show in the Back Lot Tour,
which was wicked awesome :)

MGM - Hollywood Studios

Epcot

Monday we went to Animal Kingdom. We went on the Everest
Roller-Coaster and on the Safari which was wicked awesome. We also
watched this Bug's Life Show which was really entertaining.

Animal Kingdom

Tuesday we just relaxed and went to lunch with Jonathan's parents. Our
flight was at 445. We got home Tuesday night after midnight... then I
worked Wed, Thurs, Fri both jobs! It was exhausting, but such a blast.
Jonathan's parents are the absolute best and I will be forever
grateful :)

Turning 26 - Being a Grown-up

Hello Blog, 

So this past Wednesday 10/20/10, I turned 26 years old. Now, normally getting old is such a huge drag, but this year I embraced turning 26 simply because I felt that my year as a 25 year old was a complete bust. Shitty stuff seemed to keep on happening! So I thought - becoming older might not be such a bad thing. Although I did cringe a little when I went to the gym that day and the elliptical forced me to put in my age and for the very first time I had to put 26. At least I can still consider myself in my mid-twenties though... 27 and 28, not so much.

It's funny though. When you envision your life when you are a little kid it is so much different. I feel like when we are kids we truly do dream big or we simply have such a skewed version of what reality is actually like.The likeliness of being a baseball player, an astronaut, or a rocket scientist (is this a real job?) is not very likely at all. But as kids no one tells us these things. Who would've thought that becoming a teacher would at times seem just as unrealistic as becoming a rocket scientist. Hmph. 

Anywho, when I was little I remembering having conversations with my cousin Jeni. I remember we would say things like "I want to have kids when I'm 22 because I don't want to be OLD when they are teenagers." hahaha. This is hysterical simply because at 26 I still think I would cry if I woke up tomorrow and was pregnant.I also always assumed I would have a career and a house at this point in my life - and alas I do not have those things either. Maybe by the time I'm 30?? That seems like a reasonable enough goal - wouldn't you say? 

Part 2 - Being a Grown up. So with turning 26 - for the first time ever(?) I did not take off any time this weekend to celebrate. I did have a wonderful family dinner at my brother and Jen's house on my Birthday, but this weekend I am literally work, work, working.Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday day! No time to party - but lot's of money. Definitely the grown-up decision -"make money, instead of spend money".  I have also been subbing like crazy! The only day I didn't sub was my birthday - but I still went to the gym. Look at me - mature adult, I think so!

That's all for today - I don't want this blog to be enormous. But future topics: 

1. Two minute conversation with my mother for the 1st time in months (still digesting)

2. Subbing as opposed to being a TA in a town too far away. Tough decision.

3. Florida and it's excitement :) 

4. As always - random shit. 

Farewell for now. 

Hodge Podge Entry

I had full intentions of blogging yesterday and then we lost power from about 7pm till midnight. It suuucked. Not having power is the worst, there is literally nothing you can do. Jonathan was a complete basket case with out power. He was supposed to be doing a raid on World of War Craft and of course he could not be part of it since our power was out, but he insisted on listening to the convo's between all of the people that were playing on his phone (and consistently talk about just how awesome his phone is!). After listening to all the people talk about this online game where people have magical powers and fight dragons and whatnot... I realized that it's nice to know that Jonathan should be considered one of the cool kids who plays that game cause let me tell you the rest of them sounded like complete tools. So anyways - he paced around the house for at least the first two hours of having no power and called the electric company twice, even though I insisted that it would make no difference whatsoever. The 2nd time he called National Grid told him the power would be back on by 10... and alas it wasn't turned on till 1230ish. We went to bed around 1015 out of plain old boredom. Prior to sleeping we had many silly conversations - including our top three favorite cereals. I think I landed on Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Frosted Flakes, and Raisin Brain Crunch. 

So in general this week has kind of sucked. I haven't gotten any phone calls to substitute. When I took my hiatus from blogging a big reason is because I had started to work a lot. Subbing has sucked though... a lot of the subbing I have been doing is for para's (one on one aides) so I'm really not teaching... just babysitting kids that make me want to tear my hair out. Okay not all the kids... but one in particular who I have subbed for 3 times now.. He is such a difficult child... on those days I question why again I am in this field and why I don't just give up already. I had a job interview on Tuesday for a teaching assistant position in Sudbury. Not something I really want to do... and I know the interview sucked cause I was all flustered cause I got lost on my way there... and I got frustrated cause the drive was annoying. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't get the job because I don't really want it anyways... but then at the same time... it's like... I can't even get hired for a TA position. Ugh... sucks. After my vacation at the end of the month I am going to re-evaluate my current job situation and finally make the big decision as to "what's next....".
 

My weekend up north with Jonathan, Jeni and Mark was a blast. We had a lot of fun and overall had a chance to just all hang out together which in my opinion we don't get to do nearly enough. We got there late Friday night and just hung in. The boys had a few beers (and played with their phones... of course). Me and Jeni shared a bottle of wine and had some girl talk. Then on Saturday we woke up early and went to Peg's for breakfast (mmmmm)... then we went back to the condo and all got ready to head to Oktoberfest on Loon. We rode the Gondala to the top of the mountain and took a little nature walk through the "bear caves". We had some hot chocolate and took a bunch of pictures. It was gorgeous... I started to understand why people who don't experience the changing of the seasons drive up this way. If you have never seen the foliage I bet it is even more beautiful then we think it is :) Then we came back down the mountain and had some beer. Mmmm... Jeni even had some. There was this Harpoon Hard Cider, that was delicious! That night we went to Woodstock Station for dinner. The wait was forever! But worth it.. the food is sooo good there. The next day we went and had bagels and coffee in the morning, then we walked around the craft fair that they had in town. Then we walked around the little shops in North Woodstock. We bought candy at the Candy ShoppE! And Jonathan bought me a candle and a pretty necklace at the Sunburst store :) Then we had a late lunch at Truants and a few hours later we all came home. Overall it was a blast! I love my family <3 

 Here are a few of the many pictures taken over the weekend:

Fall Foliage

The mountain and lake from the top of Loon

Riding on the Gondola

Jeni and I on the top of the tower

Jonathan and I on the top of the Mountain

On our nature walk

Boys enjoying their brews at Oktoberfest

The four of us out to dinner at the Station

Yoga

I'm back! Tomorrow I will write a longer post dedicated to where I have been these past three weeks. I promise you it is not all that exciting. I took a hiatus from blogging and a sojourn this weekend (if you do not understand the meaning of  these words please refer to - amyanncall.blogspot.com) ;)

For today I would like to blog about Yoga and exercising.  A few weeks ago I wrote a blog focusing on me getting healthy and working out the proper way. I did not include in that blog the fact that I have been trying my damnedest to become dedicated to Yoga and my Tuesday/Thursday night Yoga classes. My gym offers Yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I try very hard to go every Tuesday but within the past month and a half, or so it seems, something always comes up that makes it so I can not go. A few times I have been called in to waitress because people need their shifts covered. Then I get extremely pissed that I agreed to cover the shift because I only end up making 30$ and I would much rather be at Yoga. Thursday nights it is near impossible to go to Yoga... mainly because I work every other Thursday... and the Thursdays that I don't work I am typically drinking wine and eating dinner with my cousin (I assure you - giving that up would be a lot more detrimental to my health and stress than skipping out on Yoga). 

Wow! It seems when I don't blog for a while I become very rambley (I invented this word just now).

Anywhoooo.... Today was an exciting day for Yoga because as an early birthday present I got brand new Yoga pants from Jonathan! Since I had Yoga tonight he let me open them, so I could wear them... and let me tell you... I think I would live in yoga pants if I could... SOOO comfy! 

My boyfriend is one of the best gift givers in the world. He ALWAYS knows which purse, pants, necklace, you name it - he know what I will like best... Check out the print on these pants: 

Anyone who knows me... knows I love purple and I looove stars. He is the best. <3 He also took these pics just so I could blog about my awesome new yoga pants!! haha

So aside from the excitement of the new pants.. Yoga was very nice and relaxing tonight. It was a fairly small class tonight... only six of us. I love the way my body feels completely stretched and relaxed after I leave yoga. It is a wonderful feeling. But here is a few things I have learned about myself since I started yoga: 

1. How is it that women that are at least 2x my age have WAY more flexibility than I do?? I mean I can HARDLY touch the ground when stretching my hands to the floor. And my "downward facing dog" - I can not get my feet to stay flat on the floor for the life of me. Yet these other woman are completely stretched out and for the most part have better balance than me too!!! I think I am getting better though... I definitely felt a little more stretchy tonight. And my tree pose was hardly wobbly at all!
2. I have ZERO ability to concentrate. During the namaste (???) (those of you who don't do yoga - this is like the meditation piece) I can not focus on my breathing or keep my mind clear. Tonight we were supposed to be listening to this gong thing ring and only be focusing on that sound, which was extremely difficult (especially when it became so faint you could barely hear it!). During the time that I was supposed to be listening this is what I was doing - thinking about wanting pasta for dinner when I went home, listening to the noise of the fan, listening to the sounds of the gym outside of the yoga room, I then thought about how I had to do my laundry and how I don't really want to sub tomorrow, but I should if they call me... I also thought about how cold my feet were and how cold your whole body becomes when you are just lying still on the floor. I also thought at one point that I felt like I was at the dentist because my mouth was open partially (because it felt relaxed- she told us not to clench our teeth), but then it got dry like it does at the dentist.... and then I even thought about how I couldn't stop thinking about things and just focus. Just for some perspective - namaste only lasts about 5 (at most 10) minutes. My mind really can't shut the hell up for 5 freakin minutes???
3. The meditation piece is not called namaste - that is just the prayer greeting at the end. I can not find the actual word... hahaha. I think it starts with an S though. I am clearly a yoga novice.

Moral of the story - I love my yoga pants, but I think I suck at Yoga. I will persist though :)