Kodak Moments

Finn & his new friend Charlie

Two of the most important men in my life


Finn at Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester

After the woods & the beach, Finn was out cold before we left the parking lot!

Rain, Rain go Away

It has poured since we picked up Finn on Sunday morning. Today finally stopped raining, & I couldn't wait to get home & take Finn out! I was so happy that when I got home from work, he hadn't had any accidents in the house. However, the little sneak broke out of the hall where we had left him! When I opened the door, he jumped off the couch & sat on the floor looking up at me with this expression that said something like "What Momma? It wasn't me! I wasn't on your couch where I know I'm not allowed!" It was so damn cute. Anyways, we went out to play for a while. He loves the sun, his big backyard, & watching the cars go by from the front steps.

Finn enjoying his big back yard
Hiding his face
Watching the traffic backed up along our street because of the road closures

Introducing the Newest Member of the Family!

We adopted a pup! Meet Finnegan! Matt has wanted a pup since the moment we moved in the house (& even before), so we finally decided to start looking. I've always loved rottweilers; they're by far my favorite dog. Matt's last dog Bear was a part rottie mutt. Naturally we decided to search for rotties. We found this precious dog on Adopt-a-Pet.com early in the week. I was in love. Ten week old Travis was down in Tennessee staying with a foster mom through Critter Cavalry Rescue. He was driven up this morning to Rhode Island where Matt, & I picked him up. Finn is 11 weeks old, & he is part rottie, part hound, part Irish, and all ours! I'm in love! AND I'm even more in love with Matt after watching how absolutely adorable Matt was with him!!

First Tuesdays Book Swap: Letters to Juliet

I've always loved to read. Even when I was too young to read the words, I used to memorize the stories & pretend to read. It's probably my favorite way to pass time. Around November Mariel & I sort of started up this book club. It's not the kind of book club where everyone reads the same book & then sits around & answers discussion questions. Instead it's more of an excuse to get together & have dinner & borrow each others' books while we're at it. I love it. There's probably about 7 or so of us (mind you, some months I think we've been up closer to 12 or 13). We have a themed dinner & chat about everything under the sun & occasionally bring up books. I do love getting books from others & not having to purchase them myself, borrow them from students, or go to the library, but I think the best part of the First Tuesdays Book Swap is the dinner. It's potluck style, and we decide each month on a theme & see where that takes us. So far we've had a Mexican night, breakfast for dinner, Chinese night, Appetizers, & most recently, Italian night.

The entire point of this post is actually not the food or the book swap itself but really just one book that I borrowed from Zosia and just recently finished. I just finished the book Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magcal City of Verona, and the Power of Love by Lise & Ceil Friedman. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, & I'm not trying to write a book review. Instead, I guess I just wanted to share what I learned because, as an English teacher and a hopeless romantic, I feel like I should have known about this.

Everyone knows of Juliet & her love Romeo. In fact, I'm not sure you can graduate high school in America without having to read Shakespeare's famous play. And if you're my age, you probably made sure you saw Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes's version of the famous play. Although Shakespeare's characters are fictitious, anyone can visit the home of Juliet in Verona. It is here, at what I think is considered her tomb, that people visit. Well for years and years, like since the beginning of the 1900s, people have left notes for Juliet & even mailed letters from all over the world to Juliet. Verona has appointed people, now called the Juliet Club, to respond to these letters. Can you imagine? They actually respond to every single letter in an effort to keep the fantasy of Juliet alive. Some men actually write in to tell of their love & ask that a letter be sent to their lover from Juliet. Others write for advice. I'm not sure why this idea completely mesmerizes me, but it does! I think it's so interesting, and I thought I had to share! A letter from Juliet's secretary? How romantic!

Ladies in Red

Tonight we went to try on bridesmaid dresses. I'm trying my hardest to not be a Bridezilla. I want my girls to be comfortable & beautiful & not have to break the bank to do it. My only requirements for them was that they all wear the same dress, that I like it, & that if it's short, they all wear the same shoes as well. On top of that, I had some color opinions... but I'm trying to sort of let them decide on their own. Tonight Marissa drove up from Rhode Island to meet with us at David's Bridal, & she & J picked out every dress they remotely liked (and some they didn't). I had them try them all on to see what they thought of each. In the end, this is the one that they both loved & that they looked fabulous in. Now to make sure the other bridesmaids look as beautiful! :) I love the skirt & how flattering the dress is on their bodies. We decided to get rid of the boring red sash & instead, try a white ribbon.
I love the pick-me-up skirt & the simple elegance of the dress. Originally, J & Cole had really liked some shorter dresses, but I'm glad (so far) they've changed their mind to this dress. I think it's beautiful. To be honest, if I had gone to the store & picked out their bridesmaid dresses without giving them a say in it, this is what I would have picked.
I can't wait for Cole to get home from San Francisco so I can take her to try it on!!

500 Days to the Wedding

500 days! It's amazing how fast time flies. We've been engaged for about 10 months now, & we're about a year & a half away from tying the knot. I'm starting to get back into planning mode. I feel like it comes & goes. For a few weeks, I'll be doing a million wedding things. Then for 3 months, I won't even pick up a bridal magazine or log onto theknot.com once. Tonight I went with my mom & my Maid of Honor to pick out my dress. We went to David's Bridal, & I honestly didn't think I'd find my dress on the first night, but I think I did. The first dress I walked out in immediately brought my mother & J to tears, which I think was mostly due to the fact that it means I'm getting married & had little to do with the fact that it was an especially flattering dress. I tried on quite a few & still can't get over how heavy & uncomfortable some dresses are or how much a bride will spend on a dress. It's absolutely insane. I found a dress that I think is the one. Everyone says, you just know. They said that about buying a house, too. When I walked into this house, I was not convinced whatsoever the first time but the second time - I was in love. I wasn't 100% on the dress when I first tried it on, but I think that's because the dress was in champagne, & I just don't like champagne-colored wedding dresses. I have said for years that I wanted a white dress so champagne doesn't do it for me. However, the dress has to be special ordered in white... so I special ordered it, & when it comes in, in about 12 weeks, I'll go try it on again... Then, I think that I'll feel like it's The One. :) I'm just excited to have one less thing to worry about.

On top of the dress, I'm meeting with a caterer on Saturday, a cake bakery on Monday & Wednesday, & taking the bridesmaids to look at dresses on Monday night. It's going to be a busy week but I'm in the excited stage again, & I can't wait!

Valentines Weekend Tradition

Valentines weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. I'll admit it; I'm a sucker for Valentine's Day. I don't care how commercialized it is. I also love it, though, because it's our anniversary. We go away every year around this time. We take turns planning it and this year was my turn. It's a nice tradition because it gives us something to look forward to every year. Last year, Matt and I went up to North Conway & stayed at Adventure Suites. It was really exciting because before we left, we checked out open houses & found our house! We had just put in an offer before we left for our night away so we had been waiting by the phone to hear the news. When we found out that they had counter-offered, we were so disappointed... but it all worked out!

This year, we headed up to spend the weekend at Steele Hill Resorts in Sanbornton, New Hampshire, right near Gunstock Mountain. It was great because we got to spend two nights instead of the usual one, & we got to go on a sleigh ride at Gunstock because my college roommate Meredith is running them this year. We had such a nice time. I can't wait to see where we end up next year!
In honor of our anniversary, I contemplated making a list of the reasons I love Matt, but I don't think I could list them all or put them all into words. I can say, however, that I am lucky enough to be engaged to my best friend. I love you, Matt - Happy Anniversary!

Great Teaching Moments, Take Two

Student 1: Miss Clifford! M****** said a bad word!
Student 1: He said prostitution!

Student 2: It's not a bad word; it's a career.

Oh, how I love these kids [sometimes]!

Great Teaching Moments, Take One

A few friends have convinced me that the things that happen in my classroom are so unbelievable that I should share them with others. I guess here's as good of a place as any.

This month we're learning about the Holocaust & reading the play The Diary of Anne Frank. The other day, the students were given various things to look at including newspaper articles, things from official websites, & the brochure given to you when you visit the actual Anne Frank House (now a museum). This is the conversation that took place during this class.

Student A: So the Anne Frank house is like a museum now? Why don't we go there for a field trip?
Me: Sure.... but not with me! I can't afford to fly you all over to Amsterdam!
Student A: Where's Amsterdam?
Me: It's in Holland, in the Netherlands.
Student A: The Netherlands? Isn't that where Peter Pan is from?
Me (after a moment of awed silence of course): No, that's Never Never Land.
Student A: Ohhhh.
Student B: You would ask that.

There's no making this stuff up, folks.

Engagement Photos

Thank You Bryan, Habitat, AmeriCorps, Seacoast, & South Carolina

Time is so funny. Sometimes a day seems to last forever; other times it's hard to get a breath in. Around this time every January I am reminded of South Carolina & my year of service. I always remember that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a National Day of Service, & I will never forget that chilly Monday when I dragged Bryan to work with, & we led a group of high school honor society students as they painted the interiors of Miss Stacy & Miss Diane's houses, as well as working on the yards of all five Blitz Build houses & Miss Minnie's. I can't believe it's been almost four years since I moved back up here. I can't believe it's been almost 4 years since so many things changed.

Bryan passed away four years ago on the 23rd, & it's always a bittersweet memory. That's odd to say about the untimely death of someone you care about, but I can't help but find the good in losing Bryan. It's not all good, & I know that. My heart breaks for his beautiful children - Ryleigh & Drake - for his parents, sisters, ex-wife, friends, & other family. But I decided when Bryan died that I needed to find the good in it, somehow, & understand that God just needed him more than we did. Losing Bryan taught me things about religion & faith & friendship & love. Losing Bryan made me realize that my best friend in all of South Carolina was my almost 50-year-old boss. At 5:30 on our one day off, he & his wife were at my side in a heartbeat. From then on, I recognized what a wonderful friend I had in Steve & in his family as well. It was losing Bryan that made my friendship with Matt via the internet become much stronger, eventually leading to our dating & my life now. It was losing Bryan that taught me how good some people are... when I felt like I had no one, my friends from Seacoast (the church I attended & miss terribly!) were there in a heartbeat. Pastor Larry & his lovely wife Nan were there with phone calls & kind words. Suzanne stepped in as a grief counselor for me & met with me each week in the children's rooms at church to help me deal with my sadness. Connally & Beth were amazing & gave me their frequent flier miles to send me home to be with family for a few days. I couldn't believe the overwhelming kindness of my Seacoast friends - Larry & Nan, Suzanne, Beth & Connally, KT & AnneMarie, Grange, Katie, Mr. Dave, Rich, & so many others were so wonderful. I'll never forget their kindness. I owe them much more than they will ever understand.
I also found kindness in the hearts of my co-workers, homeowners, volunteers, & fellow AmeriCorps. I'll never forget Kelly, Simon, & Ben coming up to our place & staying the weekend to cheer me up. We drank too much & went mini-golfing & rode go-carts & climbed some rock walls. Those friends, along with Steve & Julie & their entire family, Anna, Ken & his family, Sam & Tammy, Roy, Melanie, Ramsey, Sonya, the 'Grumpies,' & even my homeowners, Frank, Miss Diane, Miss Minnie, Miss Pat, Miss Carla, Miss Stacy, Miss Mary, the Katrina families, & so many others, were so unbelievably kind to a damn yankee from Massachusetts.
Imagine where my life would be if not for the events of January 23rd, 2006. I had intended on completing a second year until that day. I had considered staying down there permanently. I would not have begun studying for MTEL tests to teach in Massachusetts. I would not have moved home in July or moved to an apartment in Reading with Cole. I'm not sure I would have developed the wonderful relationships as I did. So many things stemmed from that one day, both good & bad, that I can't help but remember Bryan around this time every year & say a little thank you to him.

540 Days to Go

A little clock on the side of my Facebook page has been quietly counting down to the wedding for well over 600 days. It's much too far off for me to truly worry right now about the big day, but little by little, I'm trying to plan. I'm already overwhelmed, but I guess that's bound to happen. Our Maid of Honor (J) & our Best Man (Rey) were asked months & months ago. Back in October(ish), we asked my cousin Tony to be one of our groomsmen. Then we sort of hit a wall. It's rather awkward to ask somebody to be in your wedding. How does that come up in conversation? Should it be something special? Should I take each bridesmaid out to dinner? Should I write it in an email? I've heard of people texting the question but I feel like that's a little ridiculous. I don't know what the proper etiquette is. I remember when Mal asked me to be her bridesmaid, she did it over the phone. Everyone else went to dinner with her & she asked them as a group but I didn't live in the area & couldn't get out to be there. Tuesday night I accidentally asked Cole to be my bridesmaid over AOL Instant Messenger. I wanted to ask her on Christmas Eve, but she didn't make it by the party. I was going to write it on a Christmas card & attach it to her gift, but I forgot. Then I was going to ask her the day I went to her place to exchange gifts, but I didn't know how to say it. How do you come out & ask someone to be in your wedding, all out knowing how much it may potentially cost them & without making other people feel left out? The frustrations! Well, the other night, I basically told Cole I wanted her to come to a Bridal Expo with my mom, J, & me because I thought it would be nice to have a bridesmaid there with me. It took her a sec, but she got it so now we've got a few down & a few more to go!
I found my DJ back in October, & I love him. He seems fantastic. I met with my photographer in October & again in December. On Saturday Matt & I are going to Saco, Maine (where our photographers, Scott & Kristin, live) & are taking our engagement photos. I'm so nervous. Neither Matt nor I are very big into getting our pictures taken. I don't even think I'd be doing engagement pics if Scott didn't think it was such a good idea. I feel like it's going to be so awkward. However, it will be wonderful to get the contract done & get some time in kind of experiencing the photographers & getting to know them. I've known Scott for years, but I don't know Kristin very well & Matt doesn't know either of them very well so I guess we'll see how it goes! 540 days to go!