Summer Time and the Living's Easy

Woooo not a whole month since my last post... ok just shy of it by 3 days but hey, progress is progress!

It is now officially summer vacation and as soon as I could I hopped on a plane and flew north to my parents house.  I took Portland with me so it would be easier on Jarrod's schedule as well as so I could introduce him to people and surroundings he'd never see in Texas and so far he's doing pretty well. My parents' dog Smokey is still somewhat leary of him and the cat has scratched his face twice (clearly he did not learn from the first time) but my family loves him and he's getting more love than he's probably gotten thus far in his life!

I arrived on Monday June 13th and the very next day went to visit my grandmother in CT.  She is not doing very well, so it was good to see her and talk with her between all of her cat naps.  She remembered who we all were and even was able to tell her nurse that I am a teacher in Texas!  Her biggest concern was that we had cold cuts to eat... That's the great thing about grandmothers, no matter how ill they are, they are always worried about feeding their grandkids :)

Wednesday I took Portland up to my Other grandparents' lake house on Sunapee Lake, NH.  My younger cousins were there for the week, so I got to spend the day with them as well as introduce Portland to my grandparents....and the Lake.  If you have read the post about the beach, you can already imagine how that introduction went.  The weather was B-E-A-Utiful and we even got a boat ride that Portland loved! So nice to be in New England!

He looks calm here, however let me assure you getting him in there took a good 10 mins of whining, dragging, and pulling.  He was looking for every oppurtunity out and once again had the "How could you do this to me?" look. Oh well, I guess some dogs just don't do water.

Looking out on the lake from my grandparents dock.  Not a bad view Aye?

 Much happier to be on solid ground.

New friends and new adventures make for a VERY tired pup!

The rest of that week was full of relaxing (some) and working on school work (lame).  A co-worker and I are rewriting all of the lesson plans for World Geography/Human Geography for next year.  Needless to say it is a much larger project than perhaps either of us thought.  There goes the rest of my summer once I get home to Texas.

It's amazing how sometimes you're just in the right place at the right time.  The first week I am home the Bruins (hockey team for those of you who don't know ;) ) win the Stanley Cup! That in it's self is pretty cool, however what was even better was being 45 mins north of Boston when they did it and being able to go to Boston to celebrate! Now I will admit that I do not follow hockey as much as other sports, but bandwagon or not a championship parade is not something to be missed!  So my first week home ended with seeing the Stanley Cup, braving 1.5 million people in Boston and then relaxing all day Sunday with my family for Father's day on the boat.  So far NH is treating me mighty fine....

WE WANT THE CUP!!!!



Home made t-shirts by my sister :)




The CUP!!!



Black and Yellow :)



And Then it was May...

Sometimes time really does fly... At this rate it will be time to blog about Christmas again soon.

What has our household been up to?  We have been attending awesome festivals, visiting with parents, going to the State track meet and getting a new bed!

The iFest was awesome!  International festival was filled with yummy food, very cool trinkets and AWESOME music!  The night ended with an hour and half or so show with Michael Franti and Spearhead.  What an awesome band! I first learned about them at Horton Center (summer camp) and it's so nice when that life crashes back in every now and again.

Both sets of parents came to town in late April/May. Tons of fun and glad we got to show both sets around our new home of Houston.  We ate so much food (haha), went to the drag races and celebrated Mother's Day and birthdays!

School has been flying by and feels like it has been going non stop.  Our students were reviewing for state testing and our athletes were practicing to go to the state meet.  Testing was a long process that took 4 school days.  They tested all morning and then went to classes in the afternoon. Needless to say we didn't accomplish much during those afternoons.  For track we were going to district and regional meets and all the girls' hard work paid off because 4 of our girls made it to the state meet.  The meet was in Austin and we took the girls on an overnight trip and over all we came 2nd in the 4x400m race.  Not bad considering the competition!

With track officially over Jarrod and I have been trying to sleep better and relax and we finally realized that wasn't going to happen in our little full size bed!  Not to mention the hot weather has arrived and settled in and so the furnace that is Jarrod is overheating things even more. We began shopping around and found an awesome deal at Mattress Firm that we couldn't say no to.  Introducing the reason I am totally sleeping better than I have in a long time....

It's a king size bed, (go big or go home, right?) which almost fills our bedroom, but so far it is totally worth it!  I love it soooooo much :)

I'd like to say it won't be a month before I blog again but with the way life has been going it may just be that long.  Finals are next week, I have to go back to Austin for training once school is over, we are house/dog sitting for our awesome friends who are tying the knot back east, ANNNNND I'm heading home to the north east for a month...PHEW!  I am super excited to go home for a month to see friends and family.  I am especially looking forward to spending time with my sisters and celebrating life milestones with friends(engagements and weddings oh my!!).

So sorry if it's another month, but you can be sure the next post will be a good one :)

There is a first time for Everything!

A few weekends ago I think I hit my breaking point.  While our home made coffee was proven ok, I was tired of having to go to Starbucks to get something that was quick and resembled ice coffee.  I was feeling the itch and even though it is totally out of the way I convinced Jarrod that we simply NEEDED to go to the ONE Dunkin Donuts here in the Houston area.  MY WAS IT GLORIOUS!!!  

Until you live without it for 8 months you may not understand just how good this East Coast staple is.  I know that I should be finding that perfect local coffee shop, and I have, but I don't know what it is... No one has ice like Dunkin!  It's magical or something.  While going to Dunkin was absolutely wonderful I am afraid I have "Broken the seal" so to speak and want to make the 15-20 trek for the coffee all the time now.  We have only gone one more time, so I guess that's a good sign.











The next "First" was taking the dog for a good long "hike".  I use quotes because let's be honest, we're in Houston Tx and so by hike I mean a nature walk.  It was such an awesome day! Great weather, nice 2 mile walk and a great way to walk the dog with no hands.  Portland did great and even allowed me to stop him from his sniffing for a few pictures :)

 Can you tell from the photo that Portland is UBER excited to be in the woods?! He pulled quite a bit but we couldn't fault him... we love the woods too!

What a cute pup!!

Clearly Portland has hit his teen years and feels too cool to be in a photo with his pops ;) (I am sure it was just a bird...)

After lots of pulling we realized I could just put his leash around my waist and he could roam as he pleased and I could walk with both hands free.  It worked really great and was a good work out when he decided to go in the opposite direction...

I'd just like to point out that my pup doesn't mind taking pictures with him mom :)















Clearly the walk worked it's magic! He was out
before we got home!!

And my favorite first of all.... PORTLAND SWIMS IN THE OCEAN!!!! As you may remember Portland less than likes water.  We've tried to get him to chase balls into the dog park pond and he just won't do it!  He hates hoses and don't even get me started on baths...  On Sunday we decided that if Portland was going to go home with me for the summer that he needed to be introduced to the ocean at least once before we left.  Luckily Galveston is only about an hour or so away and so to the beach we went.

I will be honest... he did NOT like the ocean.  However his instincts did kick in and we saw some real swimming action.  Though the water was not his favorite, he definitely found another beach activity that he LOVES! You'll see what I mean in the photos and video :)  I will say that when we do have kids, this new love will be quite helpful!!!  Our day at the beach....

This look says "I can NOT believe you're making me do this!"  He was not excited at all and eventually Jarrod had to pick him up and bring him further out.  It had to be done...

In the deep end!

And now to the new favorite activity... DIGGING!!!!

Wait until you see the video!!!

The aftermath of his new favorite activity....

Just a man and his pup... at the beach :) (each with their own markings ;) )

"Maybe this beach thing isn't so bad"

Again another job well done... Out like a light for the rest of the afternoon :)
















Behold! The video footage...

Please excuse my high pitch voice... I swear my phone's video camera hates me....

And the Digging.... Not sure what the sniffing thing is.  Perhaps checking for gold?!

Back to Reality...

So after a absolutely wonderful time in Mexico it seems that life was waiting for us the moment we returned with no rest for the weary.

In school news, 20 people were given tentative pink slips yesterday.  I say tentative because I have heard that those 20 people were given more of a warning that if the budget could not be improved, their positions would be the first to go.  A very gray area for sure.  Gladly I can say I am not one of those people.  Still it is very hard to hear about people you work so closely with losing their jobs even if there is a chance they'll get them back.  Just knowing some of them for a short 8 months, I wonder what we will do with out them...

In dog news, Portland appears to have worked himself into a tissy between being boarded all week and coming home.  Without sharing details that no one wants to read, lets just say since 2am this morning we have been cleaning the carpet.... the saga has continued all day and luckily with Jarrod's schedule this week Portland was only alone for about 2 hours.  To add to this craziness, I spoke with my mom and she mentioned that our family dog Smokey had the SAME problem this am... weird!!! Here's hoping for a better night sleep both here in Houston and in Hampton...

In weather news, Houston is warmer than it was in Mexico and I feel as if by being south of the border Jarrod and I may have missed the 1 week of Texas Spring ;)  No complaints really... I moved here for the heat, but one week in the 70s rather than 80s would have been nice.  Oh well, at least we got a good base tan to work on while in Mexico and it won't be wasted in snowy tundra :)

Well that's all the news that's fit to print... Take care and good night

Hola Amigos!

Jarrod and I are back safe and sound from our "honeymoon" in Cancun, Mexico!  While we had to wait until this March to go on a honeymoon, it was totally worth it to revisit being newlyweds and to just spend time together.  No phones, no email, no animals, no school and no work made for a perfect week.

We stayed at the Casa Magna Marriot hotel which I would highly recommend, especially if you can get an ocean facing room.  Total beauty every morning!  The hotel was right on the beach so every morning we just packed our awesome cooler that we got from Nola and hit the sand to catch some rays.  There was always a strong breeze (almost too strong a few of the days) so it never felt too hot and if we wanted the hotel pool was a few steps away to cool down in.  Why the pool and not the ocean you may wonder? The pool had a bar in it :) Which would be a neat trick for mother nature I must say....

Each day was pretty much the same and we decided to not really do anything touristy so we were pretty much on the beach every day.  In the afternoons we would venture further up the Hotel Zone to where more things were happening (It was Spring Break, so there was  A LOT happening) and we'd grab dinner and find a fun bar or two.  Some nights were loud and crazy and a then there were the few quite ones we spent just at the hotel.  Both were great and very much needed :)

It was a real bummer to come home after such a relaxing week, especially with an overnight lay over in Mexico City, but we're so glad we went and are already looking forward to our next vacation!!!

Now on to the photos:

This was looking right off our balcony.  How amazing is the color of the water?!  These photos don't do this place justice since they were all taken on my phone :P forgot the camera!

 Sand, sun, flip flops and some cold Coronas... what more do you need?!

CHEERS!!!
















Hard Rock Cancun

Fun times at Carlos & Charlies!

Last night dinner at the Thai restaurant at our hotel... SOOOO Yummo

 

A little cell phone fun... I put an "old" affect on this picture.  Totally 70s!

What a great trip!!!

What a Wonderful Week

Yay alliteration :) This week, though busy as always is definitely wonderful in many ways.  Allow me to explain day by day:

Monday 3/7- Today is my Nana's Birthday!  I believe she is 30 or 31, I can't really remember, but she totally doesn't look or act a day over 29 ;) Moving away means missing the month of Birthdays in my family (All the women in my family have their birthdays within a month of each other!) However I think what is super fun is sending fun, thoughtful gifts and cards to let my family know Jarrod and I are thinking of them even from afar.  We sent Nana bright yellow and orange flowers to remind her that Spring is on the way and hopefully the florist will deliver them tomorrow!  Happy Birthday Nana!!!


Tuesday 3/8: Tuesday is my birthday... 27 I believe.  Oddly enough I am not even typing that to be funny.  The other day someone asked me how old I would be and I had to stop and think for a split second.  27?  Nothing major happens when you're 27 other than you're one step closer to being 30.  This school year feels like it has aged me past 27 so perhaps that is why I forgot how old I'd really be.  Though I won't see Jarrod at all on my birthday, he has already made it very special by taking me out on Sunday for a fun day of shopping!  I have a mani/pedi set up with a friend and we're going to have a glass of wine afterwards.  No birthday cake, no party hats, but nails and wine.... I'll take it! Bring on 27, I think I kinda like this older person thing :)

Wednesday 3/9: Nothing major is happening this day other than I get to finish my birthday shopping with Jarrod.  While shopping was what I asked for, it turned out to be far more difficult than I thought it would be.  I want to get special things but I also need certain things.  I think another sign of growing up is allowing ones self to buy certain things you want rather than only what you need.  Perhaps life is too short to only have what you need.

Thursday 3/10: Jarrod and I are going to see Cirque Du Soleil!!! They are coming to Houston and Jarrod actually got me these tickets for Christmas.  It worked out perfectly that it fell the week of my birthday.  Double bonus!  I will definitely be taking photos and will share them here as soon as possible!  It's the first time for both of us to see Cirque, so we are SUPER excited!!

Friday 3/11:It's Friday which is enough reason to celebrate.  I think I may have a track meet, though it has changed 20 times,  so I am not certain.

Sat 3/12: Track meet all day... Then it's Wine and Ice Cream night!!! The ladies from school are helping me celebrate my birthday with two of our favorite things!! It's also an excuse to stay in one night in comfy clothes and begin our Spring Break week relaxing :)

Sunday 3/13: Packing all day for Mexico!!!!  Monday 3/14 can't happen soon enough!!! Adios USA!!

Backtracking... Merry Christmas 2010

It is time for me to recount Jarrod and I's very first married Christmas!  While I was very worried about how I would feel being away from family this year (First time EVER) I realized we both were away from our families and we had each other and so things would be OK.  My sisters were very good about keeping me updated with the normal holiday happenings and even sent photos of the cookies they decorated.  While I love change in the sense of adventures (uh we moved to Texas...) for some reason holiday traditions seem to be the one thing I never ever want to change.  In order to keep things as normal as possible Jarrod was gracious enough to allow me to try to recreate those traditions in our home.

It all began with Christmas Eve.  Jarrod was lucky enough to switch with someone and get Christmas Eve off and so we slept in and then went to the grocery store to get all the materials needed for our holiday meal and bakings.  At home we always bake tons and tons of cookies and Jarrod and I both felt that was something we wanted to do as well.  We made snickerdoodles, World Famous Crowley Balls and Surfer Squares.  Jarrod was an excellent sous chef and the day went by so quickly we were almost scrambling to get our Christmas ham in the oven on time!  Here are some of our delicious creations...

Zeee Sous Chef!

Zeee Real Chef ;)

Snickerdoodles

Crowley Balls!!! aka Peanut Butter Balls

Christmas Eve Dinner! Ham, Risotto and Carrots :)

After a delicious dinner it was time for the next tradition.  Though Jarrod and I don't go to church often, we both felt it was an important tradition to keep up on Christmas Eve.  I love the feeling of people coming together to celebrate, families reconnecting and the carols... I LOVE THE CAROLS!!!  So we headed downtown to the Episcopal Cathedral and it was beautiful!  Packed... but beautiful.  After church it was time to set out presents and head to bed, we had to be up early for East coast Christmas :)

Now that Christmas 2010 seems so far away it is starting to all blur together.  Jarrod and I were both very loved and well gifted with some favorites being kitchen pots and pans as well as tickets to see Cirque de Soliel!  There was lots of clothes, kitchen gadgets, books and even some custom labeled Crowne for Jarrod :)  All and all a good day spent with each other and some Jarrod's family in Tomball!