Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy (almost) New Year!

First off, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year even though its tomorrow because I don't think I'll be on at all tomorrow.

My plans for today and tomorrow are as followed:
Lunch at FreshCity to celebrate my fall semester grades
Packing for tonight
Mass in Littleton with the Aunts (friendly reminder: tomorrow is a Holy Day of Obligation!!!)
Sterling for New Years Eve with the Drumms and Gleasons (and Rosie is coming!)
Staying over night at the Drumms
Breakfast with the Drumms and Gleasons
Sweeney Todd (Doug has been dying to go)
Dinner with Doug's parents ( I love my in-laws!)

In terms of resolutions, I feel that I always set myself up for failure when I set them up. Instead, I've been a few goals/a checklist that I hope to use in 2008:

~Get an A in student teaching
~Workout/Exercise more often (I've been using one of my workout dvd's I bought for the wedding this week and I already feel the difference)
~Eat healthy (more whole grains, fruits and veggies, and more water like I did before the wedding)
~ Do one fun thing a weekend (so I don't get burned out this semester like I did last semester)
~ Be a better wife, daughter, sister, niece, cousin, etc.


Those are my top 5. I think anymore than that and I won't be able to focus on accomplishing all of them to the best of my abilities. On top of my goals, I'm very excited about my parish and my involvement. I hope to have a proper Lenten season and get involved with that at church.

On that note, I'm going to get ready for lunch and get geared up for a fun night at the Drumms. We are bringing Cranium!!!! I also hope I'll stay up til midnight. I tend to fall asleep at 10 so this should be interesting!

Happy New Years!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Grades are in!

All my grades are officially in and I have (drum roll please...) straight A's for the third semester in a row. Thank the Lord!

Here is the breakdown of the grades, giving me a semester GPA of 3.85 and an overall GPA of 3.75:

Professional Prep/Field Study II: A (highest grade in the class)
Professional Prep/ Special Education: A
Seminar in Literature: A-
Contemporary World Lit by Women: A-

I'm a little sad that I got two A-'s but Dougie says it still counts as straight A's which means I deserved my teacher bags (The deal was I would get one for Christmas if I had straight A's) and hopefully dinner out tonight after Uncle Ray's birthday party... I'm thinking Joe's at the Pheasant Lane Mall :-)

I want to thank all those people who supported me this semester and encouraged me along the ways and also understood when I disappeared from time to time. All those late nights and weekends paid off! A big thanks to my husband, who was so understanding and helpful when I had homework every night of the week and gave me the support and confidence I needed.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

What a nice day...



Ah, what a nice day I had today. Dougie is up at the Lake with Dave and his friends for a ski weekend so I've been home alone this weekend. It's been so relaxing. Last night I read my favorite book, The Cheerleader, and watched some tv. Today I registered to vote (finally), had a very successful day of shopping for my student teaching (three skirts, a cardigan, a pair of khakis, and a nice pair of dress shoes) plus a little online shopping as well, a nice nap while watching Stuck on You, and now watching one of my favorite movies, The Departed.

Here are some pictures from Christmas that I forgot to put up before:



Dougie and I at Christmas Eve


Rosie in her new dog bed


Rosie playing with my stuffed animals



Rosie passed out with Uncle Andrew on the way to my dad's for Christmas


Okay, movie is getting to the best part.... Gotta run!

Friday, December 28, 2007

What the Holidays Mean to Me

What The Holidays Mean to You
For you, the holidays are about generosity. You give as much as you possibly can to friends, family, and charity.
You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items.
During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in.
You think the holidays should be comforting and relaxing. You don't like the holiday rush... you just like the simple pleasure of the holidays.
Your best holiday memories are warm and intimate. You remember special moments more than gifts or parties.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

I need some time...

Whew, I forgot how crazy the holidays were. We have been non-stop since Christmas Eve day and finally have a few moments to breathe.

Christmas Eve: Overslept first of all (not good), finished last minutes shopping until 1pm, made a batch of my Grammy's pumpkin bread, got ready, and then headed to the Seeds. We then drove to Westford to Doug's Memere's house (still calling it that for a while I guess), dropped off the gifts, made my famous rosemary potatoes and threw them in the oven. We busted down the road to Uncle Ray at the nursing home, had a quick Christmas with him and then busted back to Memere's for Christmas Eve dinner with the Aunts. We had as lovely time, but it was different without Memere. Got lots of fun stuff including some books, teas, and Fondue stuff. We finally got home and in bed by 1:30am.

Christmas: Woke up at 7:30am, did a quick Christmas morning with Rosie and Dougie. This year we had a five gift limit because of the circumstances and I think it was the best Christmas ever. It made us think real hard about what we were getting each other and I think the gifts were more thoughtful. I got a teacher bag (!!!!!), awesome books (including a grammar book), a school house for my village, a beautiful cardigan from JCrew, and a few movies. Then I hauled butt to Mass where I did the first reading. It was so beautiful being in church that morning and being a part of the Mass. I love sharing my day with the Lord! Then we headed to Methuen to my mom's to have Christmas with her and Andrew (my brother). It was a nice small Christmas because we both don't have the money. We had stockings and Dougie and I gave them small gifts. My mom made an awesome batch of crepes and it was a nice time all around! Then we headed to Doug's parents for our Christmas dinner which included a rib eye roast, mashed potatoes, peas, and sparkling grape juice! We had an awesome Christmas with them too: I got another beautiful teacher bag, pj's (a tradition), some nice linens for my tea parties, and the best part: a complete bone china tea set! Needless to say, I'll be having a tea party real soon! Then Dougie and I caught a late showing of National Treasure II and hit the hay again around 1:30am.

Today: Slept in til 10am, then dropped Rosie at my mom's, headed to the hospital to see Grammy (Doug's grandmother) who is going the same exact path as Memere (same infection and same kidney issues), then went to my mom's again to have Christmas with my godmother and my cousins. We did a secret Santa thing so we didn't have to buy for everyone and it worked out well. I had my brother so I got him a cool calendar and some candy. My mom had me so she got me car mats (which I needed so bad!!!) and a gift card to Borders. We just got back from that and we are looking forward to a relaxing night. Tomorrow we have to visit my dad and his wife in Rockport and hopefully clean up the house and put our stuff away.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of happy memories and many blessings. I know I did!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

4th Sunday of Advent... we are almost there!

I must admit, I have been a horrible Catholic this Advent. I didn't go to church the week like I wanted to, I didn't pray more like I wanted to, I got behind in my Blue Book of Advent meditations, and I didn't light my Advent wreath every night. These are all things I really hoped to do this Advent, since it is my first as a Catholic. But life gets in the way and I just need to make sure that the same doesn't happen for Lent (just because I'll be in student teaching means I should put everything on hold).


That said, today was my first official reading as a lector at my parish. I read the first reading from Isaiah, which I think was a great one to start with. I felt so proud and happy to be up at the front, reading the Word of the Lord and being part of the parish.


Here is a picture of the Advent wreath:
And a picture of the text around the wreath (I used the fourth week):


Well, the husband and I are getting ready for a holiday tea at my favorite tea room, then watching the Pats take on the Dolphins, and I'll probably head out late to finish my Christmas shopping. I am so behind this year!

Many blessings to you and your family this Christmas!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

One Crazy Semester

Ah, fall semester is quickly coming to a close with my last paper and my final exam bright and early tomorrow morning (9am) so I figured I would start updating again. Shame on me for not writing more often. My goal was to document this semester and I haven't done a very good job.

Anyways, some good news to share. First, I'm 26. My birthday was a week ago today and I do not feel like I'm a twenty-six year old. I don't even look like one... I still get confused for a high school student. But it was nice to celebrate it with my family and I even saw my dad last night so that was nice as well.

My first grade of the semester is in. I got a 100 in my Professional Prep/Field Study II course which was the highest in the class. All that hard work paid off, especially to finish my portfolio at 3am last Friday so I could go to Memere's funeral.

I also found out my placement for student teaching. I will be at Ashland High School and I am super pumped. My CP from Framingham lives in Ashland and she offered to meet up a few times during the semester and my advisor has worked with a lot of the staff at Ashland so I know I'll be learning from the best.

Tomorrow I have my Contemp. World Lit by Women final exam and I have to pass in my seven page paper that I am feverishly finishing (2 down, 5 more to go). I'm also waiting to hear about my Seminar grade, which I'm a little worried about it. I'm not sure how my professor will like my 18 page paper and if I was on the right track. But I did my best and I know I worked really hard for that course. Whatever grade I get, I know I deserve.

So after the excitement of tomorrow I start working on the holiday shopping I've left to the last minute (so unlike me) and dive into some fun reading I had to put aside. I also have some work to do for student teaching that needs to be ready for January 24 including setting up some time to meet with people down at the high school. I am really looking forward to that.

In terms of the holiday, Christmas Eve will still be with the Butterfields although Memere won't be with us. It will be a hard one, but she is in a better place now and I know she is happier there. Christmas Day will be started with Mass, then presents with Dougie, then off to my mom's, and then the Seed's house. I am also hoping to see my Dad and Donna during the week between Christmas and New Years. We also have planned a ski weekend with Dave, a birthday party for Uncle Ray, and rockin' New Year's eve bash (well, maybe not rockin' but more exciting than last year), and relaxing in between. Dougie has the week off between Christmas and New Years so that will be nice. Some quality time together.

I think that is about it for an update. Once I hear more about grades and student teaching, I'll be sure to post it!