What fall tastes like...

My friend Nancy makes these wonderful pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and I decided that I'd give it a whirl. The recipe is from a blog called Joy the Baker. I thought I'd give it a try, and share my adventures in baking with you, my faithful and gentle reader. (BTW...I just tasted one from the first batch and they're delish!)

They look yummy already!

(This is only the second time I've ever used my mixer, and I've had it almost a year!)

Mmmm...looking more and more yummy by the minute!

Wow, those are big cookies!

The worst part of baking..

THE BEST PART!

Moving...

The time has finally come. It's time to pack up my tiny apartment and move. My lease is up at the end of December and I'm getting married in April so I can't stay here. For three and a half months I will be living in my childhood bedroom. This should be an interesting experience. I love my family very much, but they are a little different from me. I like to come home most afternoons and just sit in silence for a little while. (I teach in a high school. I hear this cacophony of noise all day long.) It's not so quiet at my parents' house. There's also the fact of living in just one room. Most of my stuff will be taken to Steve's house (where we'll be living after the wedding) now, but it will be quite an adjustment to live in just one room. I can't believe the wedding is only 5 months and one day away, and starting to pack up my stuff makes it seem that much more real and so much closer.

I love my apartment and I'm a little sad about selling some of my stuff or getting rid of some of it, but I just have to. Steve and I have a lot of stuff between us. Since I'm moving out, I thought I'd take this chance to share my little apartment. It's been a good place to live. (BTW, if anyone wants to buy or knows someone who needs a couch and love seat let me know!)

An open letter to Maura Kelly

This blog was recently published on the Marie Claire website and this is my response.

Dear Maura,
I am deeply offended by your blog. I find it to be ignorant, discriminatory, and narrow-minded. Being a big girl, I am used to stares, whispers, and jokes. I can even laugh at a genuinely clever fat joke, and occasionally make some myself. What you did in your article is not funny. It is mean spirited and hurtful. You claim that you have suffered from an eating disorder so you should know, better than anyone, that sometimes it is difficult to control your eating habits. Is the answer to lose weight to exercise more and eat less? Of course. But if it were truly just that simple there wouldn't be a single fat person in the world. Who would choose to be pointed at by children, have to wear ugly ill fitting clothes, wonder if the chair will support them (or even if their ass will fit in it?), or have to read hurtful blogs like yours? Am I making excuses for being fat? I am not. I just want you to realize that eating too much and exercising too little aren't the only factors at work here. There's also genetics, chemicals in your brain, coping mechanisms, learned behaviors, and there is even some research that links obesity to OCD. I understand that I'm fat and I take responsibility for that, but eating and exercising aren't my only problems.
Finally, fat people deserve to find love in their lives. I waited a long time to find it and I found it with a man who is also overweight. I love him for who he is, ALL of him and he feels the same way about me. I love the show Mike and Molly. I think it is a sweet show. I am always happy when anyone finds love in this world. There's not nearly enough of it, so why trash it when you see it? (BTW, I understand these are fictional characters. I'm speaking on behalf of all of us in big relationships). Celebrate love, no matter what it looks like, even if it's two fatties.
A.

TheKnot

TheKnot

Blast from the Past...

While looking back through my blog I came across the following post:
"I am almost 30 years old. I am single. I have never had a real boyfriend. I want to change that. I want to wake up on Sunday, July 12 (my 30th birthday) in the arms of a man that I love (or at least really really like), not staring at the dog's butt (you'd be surprised at how many mornings this is the sight that greets me when I open my eyes). This morning I subscribed to eHarmony. I've tried Match.com before, with little success, and want to try something new. Their prices are usually too high, but they had a sale (and I'm a sucker for a sale) so I decided to try it. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. So far all of the men seem to be most proud of "keeping physically fit" which is admirable, but I have a sneaking suspicion that those aren't the guys that are going to find me appealing. And besides, I like a man who's a little chunky himself. Anyway, I've paid for three months. I guess if I get at least one decent date out of it it'll be worth it. "
I posted this on February 21, 2009. Looking back, I can't believe how things have changed since then. Subscribing to eHarmony that day changed my life. If I hadn't I never would have met Steve. I wouldn 't be about to marry the most amazing man on the planet and my best friend. My favorite line is the last one. I can honestly say that that was the best $70 I ever spent.

Lonesome Dove

Dear Lonesome Dove,
You are one of the best books I've ever read in my life. I love (and hate) your characters and your plots. Reading you makes me happy. Please don't ever end.

What makes you authentically you?

Last week my college roomated posted this question on her blog: What makes you authentically you? What makes you who you are? Different from everyone else? Well, here's a run-down of some of the things that make me authentically me.
1. I hate waking up early. If I had my choice I'd stay up late and sleep late.
2. I like the story. I want to know why and how about everything. And if you tell me about a person I'm going to make you describe him/her to me so that I can get a mental image.
3. As previously mentioned, I am lazy about the little things. Just today I didn't make file folders for vocab tests because I just didn't want to.
4. I've become more domestic since dating Steve and I like it. I cook, clean, do yard work, and I've never been happier. Even when I'm picking up pine cones.
5. I worry that people think I'm not smart.
6. I can never watch the following movies enough: Love Actually, Steel Magnolias, Sense and Sensibility.
7. I look at my engagement ring a million times a day. I really belived that I'd be single forever and I'm still amazed that I'm actually getting married.
8. I am a strict follower of expiration dates.
9. I like to be surrounded by pictures of the people I love.
10. I like to sing to my dog. I make up songs and put her name into other songs. "I love Grace, from her tail up to her face..."
11. I wish I was sillier (sometimes, not all the time).
12. Venice is my favorite place on Earth and think that I could live there even though it's so far away from my family.
13. I am a slow reader. I'm very thorough and can't skim anything: I have to read every single word. I used to be embarassed by that fact but now I think it helps me relate to my students.
14. I don't hate football. In fact, I have a fantasy team.
15. I have a hard time making decisions. I usually know what I want, I just have a hard time committing to it.
Keep this topic going. What makes you authentically you?

Random acts of blogging...

I briefly abandoned my blogging endeavor only to now be addicted to posting things that people may or may not read. So today I'm going to share some random information. Just random little facts that I feel compelled to share with the world.

1. I am a terrible speller. I have no idea whether compelled has one l or two. Usually I check this type of thing. And people always say to me: "but you're an English teacher! Shouldn't you be able to spell?" No, I shouldn't. I know lots of big words, I just don't know how to spell them.
2. I'm lazy about the little things. Laundry? Sure I'll do it. Vacuum? Okay.(BTW, who the hell knew that vacuum had two 'u's? It certainly wasn't me!) Put the Netflix movie in the mailbox? Check the correct spelling of compelled? No way. That's too much work.
3. I think my job would be absolutely perfect if school started at 9:45 instead of 7:45. Would it be too much to ask for a girl to get to sleep until 7:00 instead of waking up at 5:00?
4. That is all.

Going to the chapel...

As many of you know, gentle readers, I am getting married! So far the planning hasn't been too bad. Here's my checklist:
1. Find a church DONE!
2. Find a minister DONE!
3. Find a reception hall DONE!
4. Buy a dress DONE!
5. Find a caterer DONE!
6. Find a baker DONE!
8. Find a florist DONE!
9. Pick out invitations DONE!

There's lots more to do, but as you can see, I'm well on my way!

Off to a great start

This year is off to a great start so far. I have great classes and wonderful students. I really feel like I'm accomplishing something. I don't remember the last time I've been this happy professionally. Last year I really struggled. Part of it was my attitude and part of it was challenges I faced at work. Over the summer I had a come to Jesus meeting with myself and realized that I had to change: I can't control the challenges I face, but I can control my reaction to and attitudes towards them. I made up my mind that this year would be better. And it is! Let's hope this continues!

Venito: Bellissimo!

The last stop on our Italian vacation was Venice. Beautiful Venice. We turned in the rental car at Marco Polo Airport (thank goodness!) and hopped on a water bus that took us to the island that is Venice. Venice is an island (actually 117 of them connected by bridges) that has absolutely no cars. What a welcome change! We walked most everywhere we went while there. The only other option is to take some type of boat. On our first night there we found that the map given to us by the hotel was nearly completely useless: the millions of little side streets and alleys that makes up Venice are not on the map. This took some getting used to for Steve. I, however, liked just wandering down streets, finding unexpected things around each corner, hoping you were walking in the right direction. On our first night there we ate in an enchanting restaurant that had a back patio with a ceiling of vines with lanterns hanging from them. It was very romantic. (The food was also very good: tagliatelle with crab sauce...yum). We visited the Doge's palace, St. Marks Square and Basilica, and the Ponte di Rialto. All of these places were packed with tourists but as soon as you were away from these sights Venice was much less crowded and you could really take in the city.
The highlight of our time in Venice was the gondola ride. What is more romantic than a gondola ride? Our gondolier began the ride by pointing out some of the sights we passed and soon the gondolier in front of us began to sing. About halfway through the ride Steve proposed. (He did a very good job!) After the gondola ride we went for gelato (our favorite dessert!) and then walked back to the hotel. The perfect end to the perfect vacation!
There's not much left to tell of our Italian vacation. The next day we took a train back to Rome (on this trip we used every type of transportation imaginable: plane, car, bus, subway, boat, gondola, train) which was nice- we got to see lots of the countryside. We spent the night at a hotel close to the airport to make our early flight (turns out they would have held the plane if we'd been late- they held it for other people!) and headed back to reality (almost, we still got to fly home in first class). Our Italian vacation was amazing. Italy is more amazing and beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Oh, and while we were in Rome we both threw a coin backwards with our right hand over our left shoulder in Trevi Fountain, just to make sure that we go back one day!

Pisa

Ah, Pisa. Pisa was the second stop on our Italian vacation. In order to get there we rented a car and drove from Rome. This, I believed, was going to be the true test of our relationship. I'm not a fantastic navigator and driving in Italy is difficult under the best circumstances. I believed that if we could make it through driving in Italy we could make it through anything. Once we got out of Rome the Autostrada (Interstate) wasn't so bad. Once we got to Pisa our directions didn't work quite so well, though. We got lost and wound up having to go to the airport and hire a taxi to take us to the hotel. Once we were there we learned that the hotel had everything that it had promised...just down the street. "You need to park your car? You can do that just down the street." "You want to use the internet? Well, ours is down but you can use it at our sister hotel...just down the street." "You want to exchange money? You can do that at the bank...just down the street!" All other things considered, the hotel was nice and very cute. Unlike Rome, all of the sites in Pisa are conveniently located in one location. With one stop you can see the Leaning Tower, the Duomo, and the Baptistery. They are all very beautiful and the tower leans more than I imagined. While in Pisa I had the best food that I'd ever eaten. We had dinner at Osteria dei Cavalieri and it was amazing, even though when I first looked at the menu nothing excited me. For an appetizer we had the prosciutto and fried dough (if you've never eaten prosciutto you absolutely must. It's delicious.) For my main course I ordered homemade tagliatelline with duck, carrots, and juniper berries. I was hesitant to order the duck because I'd never had it before and let's face it, they're quite cute. Steve convinced me to take a chance and I did and I'm so glad. I've never tasted something so delicious in my life. For desert I had crunchy egg ice cream with almonds (I know, sounds kind of gross- crunchy egg ice cream?) and it was heavenly. That meal was the highlight of my time in Pisa. Pisa was a nice change from Rome, much slower and quieter. We enjoyed our time in Pisa (and definitely the food) but our favorite was Venice, which I will chronicle next time, dear reader.

ROME!

Our first stop on our Italian vacation was in the Eternal City: Rome. Rome is amazing and I loved being there (even though it was in the middle of a heat wave and felt like we were on the surface of the sun the whole time). There are so many amazing things to see in Rome. My favorites were Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. One of my favorite things about Rome is its contradictions. One minute you're admiring ruins that are thousands of years old and were once the center of nearly the entire known world and the next you're nearly run over by a taxi. (Crossing the street in Rome is like a high-stakes game of dodgeball and driving is an extreme sport. Doing either entails risk to life and limb and is not for the faint of heart.) We spent 3 days in Rome and both agree that if you ever find yourself in Italy Rome is definitely somewhere that you must visit.
(A side note: The picture above is one Steve took of me at lunch one day. Behind me is Piazza Navona, one of the most beautiful in the city. It was certainly a wonderful setting for lunch. Just a week later we were back in Clayton and had lunch at Wendy's where I had a wonderful view of a gas station. Oh how things change!)

Who'd have guessed?

In January 2009 when I started this blog, the goal of it was to write about getting off my butt, out of my house, and meeting new people. Who knew then how much things would change? I just returned from Italy (an AMAZING trip about which I will post soon!) where Steve asked me to marry him. 20 months ago when I started this blog if someone had told me that I'd be here now I would never have believed them. I would have laughed at them and asked them how much they'd had to drink. But here I am: blissfully happy, in love with and engaged to the most amazing man in the world. Isn't it amazing how quickly life can change, and just when you least expect it? (BTW, the picture was taken on the gondola just a few minutes after he proposed. He did a good job!)

ITALY!

Many of you know that I'm off to Italy next week. I could not possibly be more excited.

Too fabulous for words!

I saw this clutch on the Kate Spade website and fell completely in love with it. It's too expensive to own but too cute not to share with the world. I wonder if Daisy Buchannan would own one if she was a real girl.

LOVE IT!

I saw this today while I was browsing the web and fell completely in love with it. Kate Spade, you're a genius!

31?

Can it be? Will I really be 31 in just 4 days? It seems impossible that 30 has just flown by. You may remember that I handled 30 pretty well. No crying or moping involved. Well, turning 31 isn't going quite so well. There's been a little crying and some moping. 31 just doesn't seem as cool as 30. 30 and I'm still young and fun and not old. 31 and I'm now actually in my 30s. In an attempt to bring myself out of this funk I've decided to make a list of 31 things that make me happy. Hopefully this will cheer me up and help me focus on all the good stuff that I have instead of the stuff I don't.
1. The world's best boyfriend. I couldn't have ever hoped to find someone so amazing.
2. A wonderful family with whom I am close.
3. Great friends, most of whom are teachers, that help me avoid insanity during the summer months.
4. Summer vacation. Enough said.
5. My wonderful dog, Gracie, and Steve's wonderful dog, Boomer.
6. A trip to Italy. (Just 11 more days!)
7. A job I love.
8. Books.
9. Homemade ice cream (is it just a Southern thing?)
10. Nachitos, chicken only, no quacamole.
11. A glass of wine.
12. Long baths.
13. Crappy summer television.
14. Air conditioning.
15. Cotton dresses.
16. A new haircut.
17. Snazzy sunglasses.
18. Sunday mornings.
19. Phone calls from someone special.
20. Catalogs in the mail.
21. Email coupons.
22. Uno.
23. NPR.
24. Naps.
25. Sweet tea.
26. BBQ sandwiches.
27. Sleeping in.
28. New school supplies.
29. Swimming in the pool.
30. Crocheting.
31. Turning 31. (In the wise words of my dad "It's better than the alternative!)

Literary characters I love...

Today on the NPR website I saw the article "Fictional Beings Bella Swan Should Fall Madly In Love With." This inspired me to make a list of fictional beings that I am completely, madly, utterly in love with. I don't love all of the characters on this list in the same way. Some, like Rhett Butler and Atticus Finch, I want to marry. Others I just want to protect. I think the mark of a good book/movie/TV show is caring about the characters and what happens to them. Here are some of the characters that I absolutely adore.
1. Rhett Butler: I have had a crazy mad crush on Rhett Bulter ever since the first time I saw Gone With the Wind when I was a child. Not only is Clark Gable possibly the sexiest man to ever live, but the character is also so wonderful. There is no way in the world that Scarlett deserves him but he loves her unconditionally anyway. I love Rhett in the movie and I love him even more in the book. In addition, he has one of the greatest lines in movie history: "You need to be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how." Yes, please.
2. Atticus Finch: Atticus Finch is a close second behind Rhett Butler. I'm not sure many people would agree with me, but I believe that Atticus and Rhett are similar in many ways. It's true that on the outside Rhett is a scoundrel, but when it comes right down to it he is a good man who does what is right. That's what I love most about Atticus Finch. He is kind and loving and wise and always does the right thing. I've often said that I hope one day to marry a cross between Rhett Butler and Atticus Finch. (If you haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird shame on you. Stop reading this blog and go buy a copy as fast as you can and read it immediately.)
3. Edward Rochester: He's grouchy and set in his ways and hid his crazy first attic (I hope I didn't ruin it for anyone who hasn't read Jane Eyre.) but I love him anyway. He is a good man who is afraid to let others get close to him but once he does he loves them wholly.
4. Jay Gatsby: The Great Gatsby gets better every time I read it and I fall more in love with Jay Gatsby every time I do, too. He is blinded by love and makes terrible choices but he is persistent and willing to do anything for Daisy, even though she doesn't deserve him. (Do I see a pattern here?) He's one of my favorites, old sport.
5. Mr. Darcy: Who doesn't love him? He is madly in love with Elizabeth Bennet but can't show it. She loves him too and doesn't know it. (When did I slip into verse?) Like Edward Rochester, he's grumpy and difficult to get along with, but I love him. (Another pattern?)
All of these characters are wonderful and the books they are in are truly amazing reads. While I did enjoy reading the Twilight series and am on Team Edward, those books and that character can never live up to these truly great literary men. Now tell me, which fictional characters are you in love with?

Sweet Baby Gracie

It has just occurred to me that I haven't posted any pictures of my sweet baby, Gracie. She is a 9 year old black lab mix and for now she is my child.







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Songs for Summer

It seems that now that I've started writing again I just can't stop! I was driving in my car today thinking about the songs that just scream SUMMER IS HERE! Here's a list of my songs of summer.
1. California Gurls- Katy Perry: I wasn't sure if I like this song at first, but after hearing a couple times it has grown on me. I just downloaded it from iTunes and find myself listening and singing along.
2. Summertime- Will Smith: As a child of the 80's and 90's, I don't think there is a song that reminds me more of summer than this one. It's a little cheesy but boy do I love it!
3. Soak Up the Sun- Sheryl Crow: I don't know if this song actually came out during the summer (one would assume that it did), but it makes me happy during the summer. Soaking up the sun is one of my favorite summer pastimes.
4. Waterfalls- TLC: Who from my generation doesn't remember riding around in their first car on a summer night, hearing this song come on the radio and turning it way up and singing along?
5. Under the Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers: I remember turning 13 the summer this song came out and listening to it in the car with my parents. My friends and I liked to sing along. My poor parents were horrified, both by the song and by the singing.
6. Kiss From a Rose- Seal: Who doesn't love this song? And Val Kilmer's lips under that Batman mask?
7. School's Out- Alice Cooper: As a teacher, I have to admit that this is one of my favorites.
8. Summer Lovin'- Olivia Newton John & John Travolta: I love musicals and I love this song!
9. Kokomo- The Beach Boys: Again, I don't know if this song came out during the summer, but who doesn't want to make their way through the destinations of this song: Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahamas, Key Largo, Montiego, Kokomo...Sounds good to me!
10. Margaritaville- Jimmy Buffet: Let's go!
Which songs always remind you of summer?

Kudos from a friend & feelings of guilt...

So I posted a hello a couple weeks ago and promised to write more, but have not done it yet. So imagine the guilt (and happiness) I felt when I read my friend Nancy's blog and found that she had awarded me the Versatile Blogger award. I appreciate the recognition and am glad that someone is reading. I feel bad about not blogging more, though. Now that the summer is here I plan to blog more. I don't have too much else to do (except for an AMAZING trip that I'll blog more about later) so I have plenty of time to get some blogging done. Now, the rules of this award, as I understand them, are that I have to tell seven things about myself and then pass the award along to bloggers that I enjoy. So here are my seven things:
1. When I find something I like I stick with it. Movies, food, restaurants, songs on the radio...I stick with them until I've had/heard/been to them so much that I can't stand them any more. Then I have to stop it for a while. But when I go back to whatever it was that I'd overdone it's like visiting an old friend. The only exception to this so far is Mexican food. I could eat it every day to the week and never get tired of it.
2. I have never had a full time regular job during the summer. I went from public school, to college, began teaching, stopped briefly but was unemployed for the two summer months, and then returned to teaching. Of course there were summers where I held down part-time jobs, but I have no idea what it's like to work a full-time regular 12 month job.
3. I am about to go to Europe for the first time and I am so excited I can barely stand it. In less than a month Steve and I are setting out for 9 days in Italy. I've never left North America before, and the only time I've left the US was when I went to Mexico on a cruise. I can't wait!
4. I don't have just one favorite book. There are so many that I have read that I absolutely love that I can't possibly narrow it down to just one favorite. I have been able to narrow it down to a top five. They are: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If you need some summer reading any of these are wonderful choices!
5. During the summer I watch more crap TV than anyone should ever be allowed to. I am absolutely addicted to The Real Housewives of New Jersey and last week I discovered You're Cut Off. I can't explain why these shows appeal to me, but they do, and only during the summer months.
6. I long to be a person who does crafty and domestic things but I am terrible at them. My mom quilts and crochets and sews and my friend Nancy (see her great and crafty blog at voulezvouscrochetavecmoi.blogspot.com) is one of the most talented and craftiest people I know and I want to do those things but I am terrible at them. I'm also not a great cook. The food is always edible but I don't ever think it's as good as other people's food. I plan to keep trying and hopefully get better at these things.
7. Conflict makes me physically uncomfortable, and I don't even have to be in it to be uncomfortable, sometimes just watching it on tv makes me feel anxious.
So there are my seven things. It took me a while to come up with seven things that I thought someone else may find interesting. (Probably why it's taken me so long to blog anything!).
Now it's time to pass the mantle on to blogs that I enjoy. So here they are:
Courtney @ Life These Days
Tiffany (Crafty Fanny) @ Live Happy
Traci @ Pictures and Posts of Life and Art
Thanks for the great blogs ladies! I enjoy reading them all!

Hi!

Hi everyone! I've been gone for quite a while. Has it really been 5 months since I've written anything? I don't have time to post all that is going on right now but I will be posting more soon.

Soup!

It's soooo cold here right now! What is better on a cold winter day than a big bowl of soup? Nothing! I'm making one right now and am soooo ready to eat it. Here's my recipe (it's adapted from my mom's recipe). It's so easy!

2 large cans of stewed/diced tomatoes
2 med cans of Vegeall
1 lb hamburger
1 c. elbow noodles
Sugar to taste

Bring cans of tomatoes to a boil. Add Vegeall and return to a boil. While this is going on brown your hamburger. Once the tomatoes and veggies are boiling add the hamburger and cook for about thirty minutes. Last, add noodles. Continue to boil soup until noodles are done. Add water as needed and to taste (more if you like thin soup, less if you like it thick). I like to eat mine with saltine crackers.

I'm trying it tonight in the crock-pot for the first time. I started the tomatoes and veggies first, then added the hamburger once I'd browned it, and added the noodles when I added the hamburger. I'll let you know how it turns out.