Exploring

Hey ya'll! Happy Monday! The eCard above is exactly how I'm feeling right about now! This morning was rough because I'm still coming down from my weekend high. This weekend was GREAT! It was jam-packed with fun and spontaneous events and we even got to do a couple things I've wanted to do in Boston since we moved here! We also got to spend some time with our long lost friends Kristen and Stephen, which always results in a fun time! 

My weekend started off at Not Your Average Joe's with some friends from work, Jill and Rachel. We were all trying to kill some time after work before we had other places to be and decided sitting on a patio enjoying some drinks would be the best way to do so. Around 5:45 we all parted ways and I headed home to meet up with Ryan and get to our softball game. Ryan joined our church's softball team a couple weeks ago, but this is the first night I've been free to go. While at the restaurant, Ryan called and said that the team was going to be short a girl (They need two girls playing in order to put 10 people in the field) and they wanted me to be the catcher for the night. I didn't want to be put on the spot since I had never even seen a game before but I showed up ready to play! Fortunately for me, two other girls ended up showing up and I was off the hook! Now that I've seen how the league works, I'll definitely be more prepared for next time! Our team ended up losing their first game of the season 18-13..(I think) even though everyone played really well. Once we had said our goodbyes, Ryan and I headed back to the apartment to meet up with Jenna and Trevor for pizza and a game night. We ordered pizza from Domino's and played Domino's (We love a good theme) for a couple hours before calling it a night.

Saturday morning, Ryan and I woke up and got a good workout in (Workin' hard on my June goals!) before heading to Faxon Park for a church picnic. We spent a couple hours chatting with friends, stuffing our faces with hot dogs and hamburgers, and throwing the Frisbee around. Around 3, Ryan and I left to meet Kristen and Stephen in the Public Garden. We planned on hopping on a swan boat, but when we got there, the boats didn't seem as exciting as we thought so we skipped out on that idea. Instead, we walked around Boston Common for a bit and headed for our restaurant/bar for the night.

Ryan had been wanting to check out some rooftop bars in the city so I started asking around and doing some research. Kristen mentioned that she had heard good things about Rattlesnake, so we went there first for some drinks and ended up eating an early dinner there. Kristen and I split a carafe of Sangria which ended up being much stronger than either of us expected!

Once we finished up at the rattlesnake, we all got the crazy idea to walk over to the Prudential Center and grab desserts and drinks round two at the Top of the Hub restaurant while watching the sun set. Ryan and I split the Cherry Cheesecake, which was pretty good! Our final stop for the night was another bar (I can't remember the name) on Boylston where we met up with Eliot and Lauren and some of their friends. This night was an absolute whirlwind but we had a great time bar-hopping around the city.

We didn't get home until around 2 a.m. so we only got about 5 hours of sleep before our alarms went off Sunday morning to get to church on time. Needless to say, we were both pretty tired. As soon as we got home from church and the grocery store, we threw our bathing suits on and spent the rest of the day lounging and sleeping by the pool. It was the perfect way to end a pretty great weekend!

June Goals

The month of May was busy. Really. Freaking. Busy. After taking last week to just relax and get back into a normal routine, I quickly realized just how much I've neglected my interests not just in May, but really since January. I used some of my free time last week to catch up on a few of the blogs I enjoy and quickly noticed a theme. Bloggers everywhere were taking the time to write up some goals that they planned to accomplish over the next 30 days. As you know by my 101 in 1001 list, this is something that is right up my alley. In taking a page out of my fellow blogger's books, I've decided to write up some goals of my own for June in an effort to bring those interests back in my life.

This month, I will...

1. Read two books not related to elementary education. 
Man, have I missed extra-curricular reading! I almost always have a list of books I'm waiting to read, but recently, I have accepted the fact reading for the heck of it was going to have to come second to reading texts related to elementary education. Now that I have extra time, one of the first things I plan to do is finally get a library card and start crossing books off that list. (Does anybody else notice just how many lists I've got going on here. #listsfordays)

2. Get back into an exercise routine. More specifically four times a week for the whole month.
Exercise has always been a HUGE part of my life. I literally have not felt like myself physically for months now because I haven't been able to exercise the way I'm used to. I've had so many aches and pains that I've never had before and definitely believe that is a result of being inactive for so long. Ryan and I worked out a couple of times last week and my fire has been refueled. My family and I have a lot of vacations planned for the summer and most of them will require me to put a bikini on- so working out more regularly is a must for this girl!  During the month of June, my goal is to push myself to work out at least four times a week!

3. Cross off three things from my 101 list. 
Speaking of lists on top of lists on top of lists! Not only do I want to be able to cross these things off of a June goals lists, but I am also trying to kill two (or three) birds with one stone, knocking some things off my 101 list finally. If I'm being honest with myself, the three things I cross off the 101 list this month will most likely be food-related, since I have really missed being able to experiment again in the kitchen!

4. Start making specific plans and reservations for our upcoming trip to Ireland! 
If you didn't know already, Ryan and I have booked flights to Ireland for the end of August and we couldn't be more excited! Neither of us have ever traveled to Europe and figured that now was as perfect a time as any to explore another part of the world! The trip is rapidly approaching and we haven't even begun to research specific locations we want to visit and stay near or booked a single bed and breakfast or hotel stay. Making some concrete plans in regards to this vacation is a definite must for the month of June.

There you have it. Hopefully these goals will help make my month of June the best it can be as I finish out the school year and ring in SUMMER VACATION!

Happy Hump Day!

Camping in the rain...Part II

Different location...same friends. Different time of the year... Same crappy weather!

For Memorial Day weekend, Eliot, Lauren, Ryan, and I decided to go camping in Wompatuck State Park for two nights! I thought about copying and pasting from this post last fall... Since things turned out weirdly similar. But in the end, I figured this adventure was worth it's very own blog post! 

We planned to go camping weeks in advance, but as the trip approached, the weather threatened to put a damper on the weekend (literally). We made a game time decision Saturday morning when we woke up to beautiful blue skies, warm temperatures, and a low % chance of rain. We (Ryan) packed everything up and arrived at our campsite around 2-3 in the afternoon, where we met up with Eliot and Lauren and set up camp!

We spent the rest of our daylight hours playing corn hole, gathering firewood, and getting a good fire going. As it started to get dark, we cooked some hot dogs and biscuits on a stick over the fire. 

Unfortunately, around 8:30 it started to sprinkle. And then it started raining harder. And then it poured. Lauren and I took shelter in the tent while the crazy boys roughed it by the fire. Eventually, we all found ourselves sitting in the tent, trying to figure out what to do with ourselves for the rest of the night. Unlike our last camping trip, this time we had the option to just drive home, which we decided was probably going to be the best idea for the night so that we could spend the rest of the night hanging out, playing card games, and most importantly, being dry. 

We woke up in the morning, drank a couple cups of coffee, and headed back to the campsite to assess the situation. It wasn't raining so we decided to try the whole camping overnight OUTSIDE thing again. Lauren and I made a killer breakfast while the boys tried to dry things out and start a fire. We ended up making EVERYTHING we brought, which included bacon, pancakes, hash browns, and eggs- it was QUITE a breakfast! 

Our very SPECIAL friend Bergie-berg. 

 Since the weather was SO beautiful, we decided we needed to make the short drive during the day to Nantasket Beach in Hull! It was too chilly to actually put bathing suits on, but we had a good time lounging on beach towels and throwing the football around for a little bit.

We grabbed lunch at Barefoot Bob's before heading back to the campsite for the evening.

When we got back, we decided to take a little hike to a reservoir nearby our campsite just to get out and move around some more.

Our evening activities pretty much mimicked the night before minus the rain. We cooked hot dogs, biscuits on a stick, and smores over the campfire before going to bed. While the night stayed mostly dry, we woke up Monday morning to rain, so we quickly packed things up and parted ways.

Even with the crappy weather, our weekend was still a pretty great getaway to help take my mind off the intensive course I was halfway done with. While on the subject, I finished the intensive course last night with a final exam. While the course went by quick, it was very exhausting. I can honestly say that the friends I've made at Bridgewater have made this master's program experience SO SO SO much more enjoyable... to the point that, as I drove away yesterday, I was actually sad thinking about how I might not have another class with them again. I really hope we keep in touch and get together every once in a while! Thanks for a great year, ladies!

To celebrate the official start to my break from classes, Ryan and I are heading into Boston in just a couple of minutes for a Red Sox game. While I love the Sox, I'm still a little bitter towards them for sweeping against the Braves.. Ya'll couldn't have let my boys win at least ONE game?!? Come on now! 

Happy Friday, ya'll! 

Life Before the Intensive

My intensive class is officially in full swing! We started on Monday and are already almost half way through the course! Because we are spending so much time in the classroom, the professor has been gracious enough as to not give us homework every single night, so I've found myself with a little extra time to write up about our super fun weekend last weekend! 

Knowing that I was going to have to put my social life on hold for two weeks, Ryan and I really wanted to make the most of last weekend. We started the weekend off with a drive down to Plymouth, where we spent the night at the John Carver Inn and paricipated in an overnight marriage retreat with Life Community Church! It was a video-based curriculum and Ryan and I both really enjoyed learning about how to build and strengthen our marriage! Friday night, we went to dinner at CabbyShack, which was right on the water. After dinner, we drove around for a bit exploring the town. In between sessions on Saturday, we were able to walk around Plymouth, finally getting to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower 2! Around 4, the retreat ended and Ryan and I headed to Brighton to help celebrate Eliot's 25th birthday! 

                                  

          

                                         

       

We spent the night grilling out, playing corn hole and other games, and hanging out with Bergpot and their friends! Sunday morning we woke up leisurely and walked down the road to Develin's for brunch before heading back to Weymouth to get ready for my crazy week ahead. Happy birthday, Eliot! 

                              

I have five more hours of class standing in my way of a three day weekend! If the rain holds off, we have some big camping plans. Everyone do the sun dance for us! 

Happy Memorial Day weekend, y'all! 

The Calm Before the Storm

The past few days have been pretty great! I had forgotten what it's like to come home after work, exercise, and eat dinner all before 7:30! Unfortunately, these days are once again going to be put on hold while I complete one summer intensive course to bring me three credits closer to my masters starting Monday! Knowing the week and a half I have ahead of me, I have been trying to make the most of this time off!

To kick off my break, Ryan and I, along with Jenna and Trevor, headed into Boston to cheer on the bruins with the rest of the towns crazy hockey fans near the Garden. In order to beat the traffic, we decided to drive in early, catching a glimpse of this sign along the way...

Once we parked, we walked around Quincy market, enjoying the beautiful weather and crazy street performers. While it can be entertaining, I'm not really sure how anybody gets in the business of climbing 12 foot poles to juggle machetes and chain saws.

We ate dinner at Boston Beer Works and cheered the B's on to a pretty victory before heading back home for the night. This weekend made me realize just how much I've missed going into our city!

The rest of my evenings have been spent experimenting with new recipes, getting caught up on some recordings, and spending quality time with my husband! I'm so not looking forward to spending the next two weeks in class until 9:30 but at least that means some more quality time with my BSU friends! (If that's not looking at the glass half full, than I don't know what is!)

Alright, time to go cheer the bruins on to a game 7 win!

I'm Back!

Hello Blogging world!

It's been quite a while since I last had the time to sit down and write about my life... even though my life wasn't really worth writing about for a while there. As of Wednesday however, I turned in my last pre-practicum and final exam for the semester! Hello FREEDOM! As I was walking out of the building, one of my friends I met through this Master's program, Risa, reminded me that I can FINALLY update my blog again, so here I am!

While the majority of the past four months were spent knee-deep in lesson planning, reflections, and other various assignments, I was able to participate in SOME fun activities, which I will have individual recaps on soon. Since I'm still in grad school recovery, I think for now I'm pretty content to just give ya'll a sneak peak of what my life has looked like outside the classroom these last few months!

In February, we celebrated Ryan's 25th birthday and Eliot and Lauren's engagement:

 We also took a weekend trip to Foxwoods with Rachel and Chris and some of their friends!

In March, I drowned in school work and apparently didn't surface long enough to take a single picture...

In April, we took a trip to Maine for Eliot and Lauren's engagement party:

Later in April, I got to go home to celebrate two huge life events. My sister-in-law, Rachel, is  pregnant with their first child, so of course we had to shower her and baby girl with love! Also, my college roomie and one of my best friends got hitched!! (More on both of these later!)

And there you have it.... my social life boiled down to ten or so pictures over the past four months.

I know my first post back is short and sweet, but since I'm still recovering from the HUNDREDS (literally hundreds) of pages of writing I've done over the past few months... this is good for now!

Happy Saturday and GO BRUINS!!!!