Moving On

Romans 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~the passage our Pastor preached from on Easter Sunday

We were actually in PA for a holiday. I think this may have been the first one since we moved here some two and a half years ago. I hadn’t really thought about it either, until people at church were saying they were surprised to see us there on Easter Sunday. Why? I asked. Well, you’re always in CT for holidays, so we didn’t think we’d be seeing you here today. Made sense. However, it was the first weekend in a month that we didn’t have anything planned, so I was enjoying our time together.

That is until I looked at my List of Things To Do which seems to have “Portfolio” permanently etched in it. This is the last week of actual classes, which means I won’t have anymore excuses as to why I can put off working, full force, on it. There are so many fun distractions, like…anything! We still have our Netflix subscription (can I recommend Tristan & Isolde (A+++)?, the first romantic pick of our entire subscription). And Facing the Giants (A), Flags of Our Fathers (A), and Flyboys (A-) have all kept the DVD player warm lately. And then there’s Instant Messaging and TV shows and outings that all seem much more interesting than thinking hard about what I have learned about Elementary Reading and Literacy.

All this to say that I was actually looking forward to a quiet Sunday, after church of course, where lots of work would be accomplished. That was not to be…in a good way, though. David sang in a 45-minute cantata at church and did exceptionally well. The choir was so glad to have him back. I love his voice. My mom does, too. She’s always jostling me aside in church to get closer to David so she can hear him sing. After church, different people were asking about our plans, and I told D that I didn’t want anyone to know we weren’t going anywhere or doing anything because a) I had work to do and b) I didn’t want anyone to feel like they had to invite us over their house. Well that plan didn’t work so well.

Our friends Keith and Julie were going over Keith’s brother’s house with the rest of his family, whom we know from church. They are always so welcoming and are always inviting us to do things with them, a lot of which we turn down. D really wanted to go because he felt bad we say no a lot and we didn’t have a good excuse this time…not that we try to avoid them because we totally don’t! So we accepted and the plan was to meet them at 4pm. We got there right on time and had the best 4+ socializing hours in a while. The house and the people reminded me of my house and my family: warm, entertaining, happy, sociable, and just all around nice people. We could have stayed another four hours, but, well, duty called. I was telling David later that these are the type of people we will make a point of seeing when we come back to PA for a visit.

I couldn't decide which ticker I liked better. The first one is more accurate: the eggs are coming on Monday the 16th. Our class is hatching a dozen eggs again this year (since I had SO much fun with it last year!) and they are very excited. We have them for two weeks. The first week we have to rotate the eggs twice a day, I believe. The second week is when they should start hatching. So I guess the second ticker would be more accurate if I added a week to the countdown. Anyway, I posted a countdown in the classroom, too, which got the little people even more excited. It's so much fun being a kindergarten teacher...most days!!

Picking up on Saturday morning – all of us gathered around 10:30 to take our family pictures. Mom has wanted to do this for a while and finally she set the date in stone. It was a lot of fun. Ryan set up the front room to look like a studio, since he has all this camera and lighting equipment. They put the camera on a tripod, set the timer for 7 seconds to take two pictures in a row, and there’s how we got over 170 pictures. Counting in fooling around time, it took about two hours before all was said and done. Dad rewarded us with a deeeeelicious steak lunch. I got some behind the scenes photographs:



Auntie came over around 2pm and made it just in time to watch our slideshow of pictures on the Wii. The Wii is a very talented machine…so talented in fact that D is trying to convince me that we need one. We just got new tires for his car, went to the doctor, and went to the dentist. So we just might have to put that need off for a little while longer, right honey? Right? Honey? I’m not so sure he’s convinced. Anyway, Auntie, Mom, and I went to this little spa in Avon for our 3:00 hour-long facials. Never having had one before, I was completely excited. It didn’t totally work out the way we had hoped in that they were running behind. Mom didn’t even get a chance to have hers and I think I got only part of the package. But, boy, was it niiiiiiiiiiice!! I’m wondering how we could work them into our budget… Two hours later we were zooming back home because D and I had dinner plans at his house. I literally jumped from one car to the other.

I got to see Ari-girl at D’s house. She is so lively and interactive. I love this age. She was smiling and talking and hanging out. Quite the entertainer. We played together practically the whole time I was there. I was surprised she went to me so easily because D said he had seen her earlier in the week and she gave him this, “Do I know you?” look. It was fun. Sara and Tony ended up dropping me off at home, while D stayed at his house a bit longer, because I had plans to hang out with Kristina. We ended up watching Happy Feet (A++) with Mom…and Yana was there for part of it, too. I once again managed to fall asleep during the movie. I was so tired. I kept waking up for a minute or two but couldn’t force my eyes to stay open. Sorry Kristina! :)

Where was Dave? Hanging with Ryan and Dad, mostly. He had some homework he did here and there to prepare for his Psych rotation, but I told him he had to have more fun time than reading time this visit. When he wasn’t hanging out with the guys, he was over his house. We managed to make a Wal-Mart run together on Friday afternoon. We’re used to not seeing much of each other when we’re in CT for a short period of time. That’s what the car rides there and back are for.

On Sunday, we went to church and then came back to the house to celebrate Nick’s 20th birthday. No more teenagers in our house! In true Nick fashion, he didn’t want a fancy dinner or lots of people in attendance. We had a three-foot long grinder from Blimpie’s to split between the eight of us and Auntie and Anie. I think Dougie might have managed to get tomato slice or two. The cake was the boxed yellow kind with chocolate frosting. His tastes are simple.

I usually need a vacation from my vacation when we visit Connecticut – and this time was no different…

We arrived Wednesday night after an eventful five-hour ride. It all started when we were crossing the Commodore Barry Bridge ten minutes into our trip. A guy was standing on the other side, preparing to jump. A ton of policemen were simply standing there looking at him. The newspaper said he was there at 1:30pm with a water bottle. We passed him around 5:15pm. I would have felt bad for him except he was wanted in two states for crimes against minors. David told me this because the guy was admitted to the local hospital’s Psychiatric unit – D’s current rotation. Then we passed two accidents in New Jersey and had to take the Lincoln Tunnel to avoid the 90-minute backup on the George Washington Bridge in New York. All on a Wednesday night. We arrived safely, thank you Lord, around 10:00pm.

I didn’t stay up too much later because I had a 8am doctor appointment followed by a 10:30 dentist appointment followed by a 12:00 hair appointment. Mom took me to the hair appointment and we got our nails done after that. I had just enough time to go home and say hi to David before heading out to Pizzeria Uno’s for dinner with one of my friend’s from church. Two and a half hours later it was back home to visit with some friends over a cup of nice, warm tea.

A longer, more detailed post is on its way, but I figured this deserved an entry of its own since there are lots of pictures involved. On Saturday morning, the eight of us gathered together in our uniforms, decided by Mom, and took over 170 pictures of various combinations. Here are just a few:

The two don’t mix. At first, Echo was terrified of 3 pound Douglas, but that soon wore off once he realized he was in a cage and couldn’t do much except scurry around in fear. Last year when Nick and Kristina visited, Echo was only a few weeks old and Dougie had the upper hand for the entire visit. Not so fortunate this time around, are ya Dougs?

Echo will just sit and stare Dougie down because he knows he’ll get in trouble if he does anything else. Every once in a while, though, he’ll forget to be good and Douglas’ lunch or dinner or snack is interrupted by a white and gray paw inching its way toward Douglas’s face. Which he promptly gets yelled at for and runs away. No sooner does he return to repeat the process. If we walk by when he’s still in his staring-at-Dougie stage, he’ll turn and look at us with this, “What? I didn’t do anything…” look.


Two nights ago, had to be around 3AM, I felt him jump up on the bed. No big deal, so I started to fall back asleep. The little stinker climbed over David and sat, purring loudly, between our heads, managing to sit on both of our pillows in the process. I couldn’t believe his nerve! When he got no response, he climbed right on over me and jumped down. I woke up this morning to see him perched on the window right beside our bed. I said good morning to him, which he quickly took as an invitation to hop onto the bed so I could pet him. When he felt that he had allowed me to pet him enough, he returned to his spot at the window. We’re going to miss the little guy come Wednesday…though, I don’t know if I can speak for Douglas.

Nick and Kristina arrived here on a rainy Friday afternoon. We haven’t been welcoming our guests with the best of weather, but there are some things that are just out of our control. Sorry!

Hope everyone enjoyed their FREE Rita's water ice today!! I did. Actually we did, as in all my kindergarteners. We braved the cold weather and wind to stand in line and get our ice. Somehow it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but free is free. I guess Dunkin' Donuts was giving away free iced coffee today, too. D didn't take them up on that offer either (he didn't want Rita's!!) because he said it didn't feel like Spring. He's right, but free is free. I got a pina colada flavored water ice. They have some new flavors this year, too, like Root Beer and Island something or other. The kids got: Blueberry, Green Apple, Vanilla, Cookies 'n' Cream, Lemonade, Kiwi Strawberry, and Cherry. I thought it was a pretty good variety for five-year-olds who are usually very plain (boring) in their tastes. We only had two droppings of the water ice, one was salvageable and the other happened when we were still at the window so we were able to get another one. I don't remember when I've gotten so many hugs and kisses and "You're the best teacher EVER!"s...I'd like to think it was just a coincidence...

Footnote: David decided that he DID want Rita's at about 8:15pm. We made the three minute ride and stood in line with other crazy people who were shivering and jumping up and down trying to stay warm while waiting for their water ices. He got the pina colada flavor, too, and I got a second free water ice, Root Beer. I ate some, which was very good, and put the rest in the freezer. I guess there is such thing as too much Rita's in one day!

Wednesday night was D's last call night for surgery, "Wahoo!" to use Mom's word. I was used to the schedule, so it'll seem weird to have him around all the time now. If he had call during the week, I basically wouldn't see him for two days because he'd go in really early one morning and I wouldn't see him until I got home at 4 or until he got home around 6 the next day. So I won't miss that.

I picked A up around 5:30 that night to have a little birthday party for her since it's her bday next week. After we ate dinner, she opened her gifts. I got her a 100-piece puzzle, a 3-D book, a bunny purse with candy in it, and some fuzzy pencils. All dollar store items, but you think I'd spent a $100 on each one! It was cute. We put the puzzle together, she LOVES puzzles and is very good at them. Oh yes, Dougie. She played with the guinea pig for bit and fed him some carrots for which he was very appreciative. At the last minute we remembered that we were supposed to make brownies and did so in a hurry. The only mishap occurred when A cracked an egg and missed the bowl. This gave me the idea of having a kid-friendly counter in our future house. Actually I have a lot of ideas for our future home, so hopefully it'll live up to my expectations. :) Anyway, I left David a "honey-do" list for the next day so I wanted to make sure there were brownies there to easy the workload. And my brother Ryan and his girlfriend Yana were coming the next day so brownies would serve another purpose, too. I think they came out yummy, I still haven't tasted them though. When I got home from dropping A off, I found a note she had left me: I hope I come over again. I love you. Love, A. It is now hanging prominently on my fridge.

I've been spending a loooooooooooooooot of time on my portfolio. It'll be so weird not to have it hanging over my head come May 15th. I've never been so busy in my entire life and I hope never to be this busy again. It's like every single minute of every single day is spoken for or could be spoken for if I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing! I'm looking forward to our impending trip to CT, although we do have a few dentist and doctor appointments. We haven't been back since we left on January 1st. It doesn't seem possible. When we get back, D'll start his Psychiatry rotation, which, he has heard, is a piece of cake...which is nice to have in between Surgery and OB/GYN. And after OB/GYN, he will officially be a fourth year medical student, or MS IV, as they say in the field. And I, hopefully, will have an M.S. Ed to add to my degree title. Wow, there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Eating habits have always interested me. I remember, growing up, I would never, ever be able to eat breakfast when I just woke up. The thought would just make me sick. Even now, I don’t eat breakfast until an hour after I’ve gotten to work. D, on the other hand, eats when he gets up. Then there’s the whole three meals a day that have been whittled down to two smaller meals with snacks in between and one big meal at dinnertime. They say it keeps your metabolism steady, which is a good thing. And this is what I’ve been doing for a while now: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, big dinner. However, I’ve never been totally okay with all that food just sitting in my stomach as I wind down my night. Well, D told me about this cool “solution” which makes total sense to me. It’s not so much of a diet, in my opinion, as a way or schedule of eating. It doesn’t fit in, at all, with our way of life in America, but D and I kind of tried it on Sunday. We ate a normal breakfast of cereal, then, when we got out of church around 12pm, we ate a snack and didn’t eat our big lunch until 3pm. I made us a good-sized salad around 7pm that filled me up.

This “solution” is called The Reverse Diet Solution.

It’s not so much this specific diet and all the foods it says to eat and not to eat, that intrigues me, it’s the schedule of eating. It makes sense. I just may try this on a more regular basis…well as much as possible.

I haven't been on one of these in a while. It seems like we do lots of couples things, which is never boring, but I loved having a good ol' fashion girls night out. The cook from my work, Stella, met me at my apartment and I drove us to the restaurant where we met Jen, the preschool teacher. Stella had been saying we needed to go out and Jen overheard and jumped right in, which was no problem. I think other people heard about it, you know how that goes, and wanted to come but we didn't open the invitation up because then it gets to be too crowded and mirrors a staff party instead of girls night out. And the three of us, plus Lela who is out on maternity leave, are the closest, so it's always more fun with just close friends. Not that I have to reconcile our decision to leave people out, but I almost feel bad...not bad enough to do anything about it...but almost.

Anyway, we had a corner wrap-around booth for the three of us that we planted ourselves there around 7pm and didn't move until after 10pm. I couldn't even sum up our conversations because they were all over the place. We decided to make this a once-a-month thing and we even picked out our next restaurant: Steve's Prime.

Our girls night out coincided with D's second-to-last call night, yaay! This week was a "bad" call week in that he was on call all day and night Sunday and then all day and night Friday. Matter of fact, as of the typing of this entry, he's still not home and should have been by 8am! Wednesday marks his last call day for his surgery rotation. He won't have any for Psychiatry and then he will wrap up the year with some calls for OB/GYN. I can't get over how time is still flying by! We'll be going home at the end of this month for the first time since we left on January 1st and it doesn't seem possible that three months will have passed!

Ok, fine, I will tell you another event that resulted from girls night out: the leaving behind of Dougie at school. I was in such a rush to get home, get changed, run some errands, and be back in time for dinner that I rushed right out the door without the little pig. I realized this when I walked by his cage when I got home and it was empty. Fine, I'll pick him up on my way to do some errands. Of course I entered the building with some people saying, "You forgot Dougie!" "How could you forget poor, little Dougie!" Yeah, yeah. Which is exactly what I said to them. On the way out the door, I faintly heard one teacher getting her one last jab in, "I don't think you should be having kids anytime soon!" Yeah, yeah. But that's not the worst of it. I did my errands, brought some bags inside and continued to do some stuff before Stella arrived. That's when, again, I walked by Dougie's cage...and it was still empty! I had to run back outside to my car to retrieve the little pain in the neck! Sorry Dougie!