Life Style Alterations

I realize I haven't blogged in quite some time. But I figured, what better time to pick it up again, than in a fresh new year?!

I'll first start off with my "life-style alterations" for 2012:
1. Take better care of my body and make more of an effort to being healthier.
I'm not talking crazy diets, but eating healthy foods and exercising. I know, I'm one of a million who resolve to "get in shape" this year, but it's more than that. It's about achieving a better lifestyle. I entered a "biggest loser" competition at work. My co-teacher and I are partners. I'm not really in it to win it, but I figured, if nothing else, paying into it will be motivation enough! Who wants to waste $25? I discussed my desire with Eric, and he jumped right on board! He also wants to be healthier and is making an effort to work out at as well this year. He mentioned how taking care of our bodies really isn't for us. It's for the people we love and for our future kids.

2.  Be more productive and less of a "noodlehead"
In our home, a "noodler" is someone who spends time "noodling" online. For me, it's facebook and my newest addiction, pinterest. For Eric, it's playing games and keeping up on the latest photography tips and trends. Rather than "noodling", I'd like to keep up with my scrapbooks, try new recipes, and read for pleasure. For Eric it's actually using his camera to perfect his photography skills. I recognize that come January 23rd, my free time will be pretty scarce, but until then, I'd like to at least finish scrapbooking the honeymoon!

Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2012!

Busy as a Bee!

Yes. I'm well aware. It's been a while! But here is why I have very little time to update:

Grad. School

I am taking three classes this semester. 

Understanding the ELL (English Language Learner) - Tuesdays 7-9

Language Acquisitions - Wednesdays 4-6

Children's Literature - Thursdays 7-9

Because school is only 15 minutes away from work, it doesn't make sense to come home in between.

I'm out of the house from 7:30-the end of class. 

Work/Fellowship

5 days a week I am a full-time intern at the Consentino school in Haverhill. I am mostly working alongside the kindergarten teacher but I also help out in first grade. I LOVE it! I love the administration and every one I work with! Amy (the kindergarten teacher) and I have become instant friends! They treat me like one of the staff. I feel so welcome and so involved.

Community Group

Eric and I have resigned from leadership and decided to create a rotating schedule. This way everyone gets a turn to lead and no one person/couple is responsible for the whole season. The series is called The Christian Atheist. We are really enjoying it so far; discussion has been great.

Sunday School

I committed to teaching the toddler (2s and 3s) class for the next nine months. Our children's ministry leaders recognize the importance of consistency and routine for little children and want to build strong relationships between the students and their teachers. I completely agree so I committed and am loving it so far! It helps that both of my nieces are in my class, too! It's been really fun. 

Quick Aside: Last week I taught about Moses, Pharaoh, and the frog plague. I explained to the kids that Pharaoh was a really mean king and wasn't nice to the Egyptian workers. I asked what they thought God should do to Pharaoh, and my niece Bella said, "Put him in time-out!". 

Homework. 

(Enough said.)

In my (very little) free time, I spend time with my family and husband. He's been wonderful during this stage of our lives. He has been picking up some overtime and always helps with dinner and house chores.

It will be a long, busy year. But in the end, worth it. 

Remembering August 7th, 2009

During our dating years, we would take turns planning date nights. August 2009 was Eric's month and he cooked dinner for me. As always, I like to put my hair up before I eat, so I ran upstairs to get a hair tie... and Eric followed me. I thought that was odd, but then as I entered my room... Eric's huge computer screen was set up on my desk, with the words "click me". So I sat down and watched the most beautiful montage of our dating life. At the end were the words I had been anxiously awaiting and a handsome man knelt on one knee behind me holding the best present I've ever received!

I can understand why he wanted me to go to my room after we ate dinner.... I was too excited to eat! So instead, we picked up a bottle of champagne and headed up to the boat where my family was and celebrated at the dock!

The cork flew into the water, so my uncle jumped into the dingy to save it!

The saddest thing about our wedding day was the technical difficulties with the engagement slideshow not playing all the way through. So this is my simple way of sharing our special day with everyone. Sorry it's not a video, I'm not technically savvy and didn't know how to put it in! Click play on the youtube video while you click through the slides. That's what was playing in the background while I watched.

Eric and Donna Wedding Slideshow

More PowerPoint presentations from Donna

From teacher to student

This past spring, my wonderful friend Jamie informed me of a graduate fellowship program at Merrimack College. It's basically free grad school for my services as a student teacher for one year. Not a bad gig! So I applied and got in! The timing was perfect! Eric got offered the job at Noise Control right before I received my acceptance. God had it all planned out, knowing I would have had to decline if Eric didn't have a job, considering there is no pay stipend for me. It's a one year program. I take classes July-May and will be student teaching in Haverhill Sept.-June. And in May, I will have my Masters in English as a Second Language! I am so excited because I know this will open doors for me in the future.

I started my first class this week.. It's called A Successful and Positive Classroom. The professor is fantastic! She is a fourth grade teacher in Westford and is such a wonderful example of what a good teacher really is. She is very practical and knowledgeable and I am looking forward to learning from her. I also love the book she uses. It's called The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher. It's awesome! I recommend it to any and every teacher out there! So far, I've read about the effect high expectations have on children and how to set up a classroom that guarantees success and promotes high self-esteem. 

Along with life updates, I will also be blogging about what I've learned. Hopefully it is beneficial to you, but it is more of way for me to connect and think through the freshly learned material. 

1. Teachers should be the thermostat, not the thermometer. As a teacher, you have the choice to set the tone or react to that of the students. 

2. Always use please and thank you when speaking to kids. People who neglect to say please to children are teaching them that it is okay to bark orders and ignore the dignity of others.

3. Student success is limited by adult expectations. 

Our Business

Ours is not the business of producing doctors,

or lawyers, or teachers, or nurses,

or scientists, or policemen, or sales people,

or factory workers - or higher test scores.

Ours is the business of producing smiles on young faces, 

happiness in young hearts, and dreams in young minds.

The rest will take care of itself.

Top 10 of the past 4

It's been four months since my last post...here's a quick recap.  

1. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary...

in Prague!

2. Eric graduated with his masters in engineering in May! 

3. ERIC GOT A JOB! He is now working at Noise Control Engineering in Billerica and LOVES it! 

 4. Not necessarily a "top" lister, but it is a joy knowing mom is now in heaven with papa.

5. I received a fellowship and will be getting my Masters in ESL at Merrimack. 

(I will be taking classes at night and student teaching for the school year in Haverhill.)

6. We had an amazing trip to Europe!

7. We are expecting our sixth niece or nephew in November! 

(Congrats to Sandra and Dave!)

8. I finished up my second and final year as the second grade teacher at Mount Hope. 

(It was a fun ending to a great year! I am going to miss my students a lot!)

9. We re-signed our lease. 

(It was the right decision - Eric's job is 5 minutes away and my commute is about 25 minutes against traffic.) 

10. Loving my new summer venture as a tutor.

March Madness

No, I am not posting about basketball. But we did have quite the March.

After deciding to not live in the city or near the beach, I proposed an idea to Eric.  Just because we live in the suburbs doesn't mean we can't do exciting things! So I came up with a motto... An Adventure a Weekend! My goal is to do something out of the ordinary once during every weekend. Whether it be bowling with friends, dinner out on the town, or just taking a walk along a bike path, whatever it is, it has to get us out of our apartment. We need to embrace the time we have together and not take any moment for granted!

I would say we definitely accomplished my goal for the month of March!

The first week in March we lived as home and dog owners. We house/dog sat for some friends. We lived in Bedford and drove an SUV for a week! We also ate at some of the local restaurants and enjoyed a week of cable and DVR. We were livin the high life!

Meet our borrowed dog - Diego.

The second week of March, Eric went to San Diego to present his paper at a conference. He experienced more adventure than I did that week, but I lived vicariously through him, so it counts. I also slept over at my parents', which was a nice change of scenery.

Eric sent me flowers while he was away! Isn't he the sweetest?!

A real thrilling adventure was going out to eat at 9:00 in Boston on a Wednesday! It was restaurant week, so we lived it up and went to the Oak Room at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. It was fun getting dressed up and being treated like VIPs. My uncle arranged to surprise us with a bottle of wine when we got there! It was so nice. It felt good to slow down for the night and talk. With everything going on in our lives, we have a lot to talk about but very little time to talk.

The weekend of the 18th, we went up to Loon with my family. We all stayed at a condo... yes, 14 of us in a one bedroom condo with a loft. It was a lot of fun! Eric and I went skiing on Friday. It was the perfect day! We were skiing without layers and got sunburns! We took Isaac and Caleb which was so entertaining! They are great skiers! We swam, played the marble game, watched movies, and laughed. A lot.

The last weekend in March we went to Kittery to hang out with Eric's sister, Liz, and brother-in-law, Pete. They cooked us a delicious lunch and then we practically stole clothes at the outlets! We ended the night at a cool music festival.

I think I'm going to like this new goal of ours. It's working so far! Next month will be quite the adventure! We're going to Europe for 2 weeks!

Piece by piece

So I've been doing a lot of thinking as the deadlines have been approaching, Eric is graduating in May, his thesis is due in a few weeks, he's applying for jobs, I am considering a transition, our lease was up, and the thought of moving out of state was on the table. It's all so overwhelming! But God is in control. We are taking care of everything piece by piece.

1. Without any job offers, we decided to sign another year of our lease. This was a hard decision because our rent increased, we didn't know where we'd be working next year, and I had this urge to move someplace where I didn't have to get in my car and drive everywhere. We thought about living in the city. We thought a beach would be nice. But... we decided to stay where we are. It's convenient. It's cheaper than the city. And most importantly, it's within an hour from every single member of our family. We chose not to leave the most important people in our lives. So we're here in Billerica for another year!

2. Eric's thesis is almost done!

3. Eric got a job offer. He has to decide by Friday. (It's looking good!)

4. I have started to apply to grad. school. I'd like to get my masters in either reading or teaching English. I am also taking an online class to get my certification in teaching English. I have until August to finish it.

It's amazing how everything is working out.  Listen to this... At one point Eric said, "Worst case scenario, you take someone else to Europe". He was scared that he'd have to defend on one of the dates that we were going to be away. I said that there is no way that I would be on our vacation while he was home defending his thesis! And guess what?! I get to bring my husband with me!  Eric's thesis is due April 13th. We leave for our trip on April 14th. He gets to choose the date that he defends it and then the final draft isn't due until May. God is good.

Doing the Limbo

As most of you know, Eric is job hunting. It is exciting and nerve-racking all at once!  We fasted TV for the month of January to ensure that this next life journey is God-centered. It was much easier than I thought it would be! It's amazing how productive you are when TV isn't an option. Rather than watching TV, we read books, exercised more, and of course, spent time in prayer together. After the month, we heard God telling us, "Okay, time to take action". We still don't have any clear vision of where to apply but we have faith that God will take care of that part by opening doors and closing others. Eric applied to one company this week with a job description that fits him to a key. His professor/boss recommended him for the position... and the best part is... it's right down the street in Billerica! Our heart's desire is stay in state where our family and friends are but, of course, we are willing to go wherever God calls us. We joke, and secretly hope that God calls us to Hawaii!

As for me, well, I'm stagnant until we decide where Eric will be. Because his job is more narrow and specific, we decided to let his next job be the deciding factor of our next move. We have faith that God will provide something for me. I decided to get certified in teaching English. Urban teaching is still a desire of mine and having that certification makes me more marketable. It is an online class that I have 6 months to pass. After taking the beginner course, I will be able to take the "Teaching Young Learners" course. I am excited to start studying!

We ask that you keep us in your prayers as we need to make a decision about our lease next Monday. Our lease is up and we have to decide whether to re-sign for the year or sign something shorter but more expensive. So our lives are a little bit in limbo, but we're excited about what's to come! Thanks for all of your support and prayers!

"My heart is happy..."

Those are the words of Josiah on his way down to spend the night at our place! He told Sandra, "my heart is happy because I get to play video games tonight".

I begged Eric to have a slumber party with my three favorite little guys... and because he's a sucker for some quality uncle/nephew time, he said YES! We had such a fun time! We had chocolate chip pancakes for dinner, ice cream for dessert, and some serious "screen time"!

Click on this picture. Isaac and Josiah's faces are priceless. 

Playing Mario

I make the BEST chocolate chip pancakes, Isaac said. 

Cycling

Watching Winter Wipe Out with Uncle Eric (Look at the 40 year old man sitting on the edge of the couch lol)

Snuggling and watching Toy Story 3

Apparently I am not ready to be a mom... I was excited to sugar them up but then expected them to fall asleep by 9:00! Whoops! I ended up having to sleep on the couch to quiet their giggling so they'd sleep. At church, the first words out of Caleb's mouth to Sandra were "I'm tired". But... at least they had fun and we created some great memories!

A Quick Update

It is my third week back to school. I have one new student, so now I have 8. She is a really sweet girl and seems to fit in with all the kids. We had two snow days last week, plus MLK Jr. day, and another possible snow day on Friday! Days off are always more fun when the snow is falling and there is no where to go -  especially when I get to spend the whole day with my wonderful husband! I mean, don't get me wrong, snow days definitely put a wrench in my lesson plans, but quite honestly, I love them! We'll catch up, we always do, so why not enjoy the season! (However, I might think differently when I don't live in an apartment where people plow and shovel for you!) 

This past weekend was Eric's 24th birthday. We are now the same age. I always tell him, I'm wiser and "wear the pants" because I'm a WHOLE 28 days older than him! ;) We had a fabulous time celebrating his life on Saturday with family and friends! I invited all of Eric's family over. It was the first time they were all over. My parents came, and two of Eric's best friends and their girlfriends. It was a great time! We played video games and ate really good food! We had a slumber party with Eric's sister, Liz, and her husband, Pete. Eric and Pete stayed up all night playing Madden. Eric was glad to have a play-date! On Sunday, we went to Eric's dad's where we had the best brunch ever: homemade cinnamon buns, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, and eggs benedict with crab cake. (My first time trying eggs bene, and mmm mmm mmm!) EVERTHING WAS DELICIOUS!!! Then we went over to my parents house for an unfortunate ending to a wonderful weekend... the company was great but the Pats game could have been better.

For Eric's birthday present, we put some money towards printing and framing some of his favorite photos. The apartment looks 1 million times better now that we have pictures on our walls! It's so nice to look around and see 1) the beauty of God's creation in the photos and 2) Eric's amazing photography talent! So if you want to see some amazing art, you should stop by and visit! We love company!

(I was too busy hosting to take pictures of the weekend but as soon as I get them from Alan, I will post them.) 

December was quite the ride

This months was filled with a roller coaster of emotions...

December is normally a fun, eventful, and joyous month for me for numerous reasons: my birthday, school break, and Christmas. However, this December was a bit more melancholy. My papa died on December 11th. Americo Picariello would be 97 years old next month. He was a fun, wise, patient, proud, loving, giving, kind, selfless man. He is the only grandfather I ever knew and it was extremely hard to lose him. This was my first experience with a loss so dear to my heart so all the feelings were unfamiliar to me. I am deeply saddened for my grandmother who is now a widow after 70 years of marriage. I cannot imagine the loss she must feel. My entire family was together the week before and after his death and the support I felt during those times is indescribable. He died at home, in his own bed, surrounded by those who loved him most. He went peacefully and painlessly, praise God.  And though he lived a long and full life, it was still hard to see him go. He was a constant, always there. And it is hard to live without him. However, it does bring great joy knowing that we will be reunited in heaven one day.

As hard as it is to move on in this blog, and talk about the happy times of December, I know papa would want me to. So here is a snapshot of the joys of December:

My family used to cut down their tree every year, but by the time I was born, my dad quickly got over that idea, and started ordering it from a company. I remember getting off the bus, seeing the big brown box on the deck, and running into the house, saying, "THE TREE IS HERE!" Though it's ridiculously expensive, I talked Eric into cutting down our tree so I would have new tree memories... more than a brown box delivery! (This was the first and probably last year we'll do it, but it was very fun!)

Tim's birthday is on December 13th and mine is December 17th so we celebrated them together. It's always fun doing joint birthdays.

Because we are going to Europe in April, Eric and I decided not do gifts for each other this year, which was fine because Santa Claus filled our stockings! Every year, my parents go to their kids' houses and fill their stockings. This was our first time being part of that tradition! Santa even helped himself to cookies and milk!

On Christmas morning, we started our own tradition of drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies while opening our gifts. We opened our stockings then went to my parents' house for a delicious breakfast and presents. Afterwards, we went to my grandmother's house to spend Christmas with her. My uncle George made home-made raviolis which were delicious! It was a hard day, especially spending it at my papa's house without him there, but God carried us through it. It helps having the kids around because they bring out smiles and laughter no matter what the situation is!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families! 

A day fit for kings

Last Saturday, Eric and I went down to Mansfield, Connecticut to visit my friend Ashlee and her fiancé, Michael. I haven't seen Ashlee since my wedding, and before that, not since Lesley graduation! Ashlee is that friend that you can not talk to for a year, but once together, pick up like you haven't been apart.


We have never visited them and really haven't spent any time in CT except for traveling through it. First, we visited their brand new town house. It was beautiful! Then we had lunch at The Vanilla Bean Cafe. It was quaint, and had awesome soup and sandwiches! Then from there we went to the Sharpe Hill Vineyard. Eric and I have never been to a vineyard and it was such a great experience! Unfortunately, because it's November, the vineyard itself looked pretty dead, but it was cool to walk through. We did a wine tasting (our first time).After the tasting, they wrap up your glasses, and you get to keep them!

Afterwards, we went to the Altnaveigh Inn. Michael's parents bought it nine years ago. (This is where Ashlee and Michael's reception will be.) His parents run the whole place and his father is the head chef. It was the most exquisite restaurant experience we have ever had! Don, the chef, gave us a sample of the menu! We had SEVEN mini courses! We tried a lot of new things which we loved!

1. Shrimp Bisque

2. Maryland Crab Cakes
Crispy Maryland-style crab cakes, bedded on field greens tossed in fresh lime, olive oil and cracked black pepper. Served with a tangy aioli of garlic, lime and chili peppers.

3. Duck spring rolls 

4. Citrus & Herb Scented Cornish Game Hen
Semi-boneless Cornish game hen marinated with fresh rosemary, thyme, tarragon and freshly squeezed citrus fruits, char-grilled to perfection. Served over grilled vegetables.

5. New York Sirloin Bourbon Style

Center cut New York strip steak char-grilled to perfection. Served with a smoky bourbon sauce and a compound butter of golden raisins, shallots and chopped herbs. Finished with panko-encrusted onion rings.

6. Grilled Swordfish with Tomato Beurre Blanc
A swordfish filet, rubbed with grilling seasoning, coated with pesto crumbs and char-grilled over an open flame. This light and flavorful dish is served over wilted spinach and a wonderful chopped tomato beurre blanc.

7. Filet Mignon Wrapped in Bacon & Gorgonzola

Char-grilled e filet wrapped in bacon and grilled over an open flame to your request. Served with our classic demi glace and Béarnaise sauce, then topped with crumbled gorgonzola cheese, grilled till bubbly brown.

Don would have kept going but the restaurant got busy and he couldn't keep up.

 (Good thing, or they would have had to roll us out of that place!)

Ramon Caraballo was our live entertainment! He'll be singing at Ashlee and Michael's wedding. He was excellent!

It was a great time with great friends, great wine, and great food!

These are a few of my favorite things...

I love Christmas. I always have. It follows one week after my favorite holiday (my birthday). I have grown to love it even more since there's been little ones in the family. I did a little Christmas shopping today and my favorite people to buy for are the kids! I love finding the "perfect" gift for each kid and picturing their expression when they open it.

Anyway, all that shopping got me thinking...there are very few titles that truly matter in the grand scheme of life. Here is a tribute to one of my favorite titles: Auntie.

Top 10 reasons I love being an aunt: (there are many more... but I don't want to bore anyone)

1. Watching each one develop into their own person, with distinct personalities

2. Watching my older sister and brother be a mom and dad

3. Snuggling on the couch watching movies or reading books

4. Being able to spoil them and then send them home!

5. Nieces and nephews give the BEST hugs and kisses

6. Being a preferred babysitter

7. Getting attacked with love as soon as I walk in the door

8. Talking to them and listening to them talk to each other and then quoting them during my days

9. The fact that there is NEVER a dull moment when any one of them is around!

10. Hearing them call me "auntie"... melts my heart every time!

I know I'm biased, but they are the cutest kids on the planet!

A tribute to their younger years! 

It is such a blessing to be able to watch our nieces and nephews grow up. 

We love them so much and are so blessed to be part of their daily lives!

Meet Chilton... He's the life of the party!

Eric and I did some more Fall things last week. We carved a pumpkin and made leaf and acorn shaped sugar cookies! 

I bought the pumpkin for my class, to weigh, measure, and estimate the seeds. It was a great activity for the class, and the best part was, the kids did all the slimy work and Eric and I just had to carve it! :)

Of course, the engineer had to sketch his design first. 

Then, draw it with pen. 

THEN, carve. 

The pumpkin was at least 2 inches thick, so it was hard to carve! I could only manage carving the nose.

SMILE!

Meet Chilton. He has a VERY positive outlook on life! 

Our first hike!

The couple's ministry at the church planned a hike up Monadnock a few weeks ago. Even though Eric and I are completely out of shape, non exercisers, and hiking newbs, we wanted to embrace the beautiful Fall weather and enjoy God's creation!

Mount Monadnock is the second most hiked mountain in the world! (Second to Mt. Fuji in Japan). It was hard but so worth it! We hope to do more hiking next year. (Click on the pictures to make them larger)

I'm looking up at the daunting task. 

It was quite the climb!

Beautiful views!

WE DID IT!

A New Appreciation for the Fall

Sorry for the delayed post. It's been a busy but wonderful past few weeks! Our goal was to really embrace this new season. I've never been a fan of the Fall... school starts up again, the weather gets cold, frost on the windows, rainy days, and it gets dark earlier. Eric, on the other hand, loves the Fall! It's his favorite season and he loves it even more now that he has his new camera! Our goal was to get outside and enjoy God's creation!

We started this new adventure by heading out west... to Montague, Ma! Montague is a small town next to Greenfield and Amherst. My dear friend, Emily, lives there and we had a super fun visit! We had never been there so we did everything we could in a day! Here are some great pictures Eric took. There were so many to choose from, so I had to condense. (You can click on them to make them larger)

The Book Mill. Apparently, it's a really famous used book store and people come all over to visit it.

These are from the Bridge of Flowers. 

It used to be a trolley bridge, but after it stopped running, the Women's Club made it a Bridge of Flowers. It was beautiful!
(The top left is Emily and her mom)

                            

                            They call these potholes. They are huge deep holes formed by the glaciers. 

We went to Mike's Maze. Good thing Eric knows how to read a map... otherwise Em and I would still be in the maze!

We drove up Mount Sugarloaf. Beautiful view!

Biggest tree this side of the Mississippi!

What a marvelous day!!