Happy Weekend!

Aaaahhhh! I finally feel relaxed after two weeks off. It's odd how long my body takes to re-adjust to sleeping in. I've been anxiously waking up at 6 something in the morning for the past couple of weeks and feeling vaguely restless during the day.

I decided to set some summer goals for myself to help me be a little more productive this summer and not so restless. I've already been planning for next school year, but I want to work toward some personal goals as well. 

One of my goals was getting and training a dog this summer, which I jumped on a little early :) My husband and I took her to the dog park this morning to tucker her out. It worked. 

Sleepy puppy

I hope everyone has a fun Fourth of July weekend. I plan to eat a lot and watch some fireworks. We just have to figure out where we're going to do these things!

Until next time :)

School's Out for Summer!

Well, I made it. I have to say that this was the most draining school year I've had so far. WASC meetings and preparations took a lot out of me.

All in all, I feel a sense of success about this year. Did I get to everything I had planned with my class? No. I'm not sure is there will ever be a year I get everything done that I had planned.

I am happy to be on a much needed break though. Hopefully I'll get the blog up and running again. I have so many ideas for it and so little time!

For now, it's time to relax, pet my puppy, and sip a mojito.

Via here.

Europe!

Greetings! 

With school winding down (9 more days!!!!!...not that I'm counting), I can't help but daydream about my summer plans.

Last summer, my husband and I had the most amazing honeymoon in Germany. This summer, we might be going back to Germany!!! Nothing is final yet, but I would love to have a "second honeymoon" almost exactly a year later. What a great way to celebrate one year of marriage!

Speaking of Europe, I've optimistically entered to win a trip to Paris through Oh Happy Day (fingers crossed!). Probably won't win, but it doesn't hurt to try, right? ;)

Have a wonderful week! A special shout out goes to all the teachers who are still chugging along. Hang in there!

A New Addition...

Sorry for the extended break again. I really needed to focus on work and loved ones the past few weeks.

Also, I have some exciting news! My husband and I are parents!!!

Whoa! Hold on, we're not having a baby or anything. Not yet anyway. We are the proud parents of a brand new puppy :)

Her name is Aska (which means "ashy" in Swedish, Icelandic, and possibly other Scandinavian languages). She is a five month old dachshund/something mix.

We just got her last Thursday and are so excited! I'll dedicate future posts to the process of adopting her and the crate training ordeals we've been through in the past few days, but for now I'm excited to share some pictures of her.

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Mother's Day

A very happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I am incredibly lucky to have such an amazing woman as my mom. In addition, I feel incredibly blessed to have gained an incredible mother in my mother-in-law.

I love you guys :)

Wedding Moments

Ah, relaxation. I've loved having the past week off. I feel so rested and relaxed. It will be hard to adjust to work schedule again on Monday but I am exited to see my little ones and hear all of their Easter break stories :)

So...did everyone watch the ROYAL WEDDING?!? OMG!!!

I didn't.

To be honest, I got kind of disgusted with the ridiculous amount of media coverage and the hyperbole of the whole thing. Yeah, it's kind of romantic but I think we may be over-stressing the importance of this marriage just a teensy little bit.

After all, every marriage should be a representation of true love. We just had an extremely public example of it.

I couldn't help but look at the pictures online though. Kate looked radiant and I loved her dress. I was so impressed with how calm she looked throughout the whole thing!

From Elle via A Cup of Jo. Check out the little girl covering her ears. Heehee :)

The whole royal wedding thing reminded me of my own wedding. I thought I'd share some our wedding moments in pictures. Hey, it's not a royal wedding, but it is a representation of true love. And really, what is more important than that?

My wedding band was connected to my engagement ring. Here it is, nestled in my bouquet.

I got ready at my parents' house and I love that the backdrop to this picture is a place where I grew up. I loved playing princess for a day and giving my dress a good twirl :)

I was soooooo nervous at this moment. There was no waiting room in the church so I had to wait in the "cage" with my bridesmaids standing guard so no one would sneak a peak.

Waiting to walk down the aisle with my dad. I really thought I would be bawling at this point but the nerves kept it away. I couldn't wait to see my husband!!!

Our church was beautiful! I was actually baptized here. 

Our priest was a family friend of my husband's. He is from Haiti and he is amazing! It was a very special mass.

Our vows. I was actually most nervous about this part. We both got through them perfectly though. I was just glad I wasn't crying the whole time!

Our first kiss as a married couple :) We went in for a second kiss afterwards. We were grinning like idiots the whole mass.  I remember calming way down once I saw E and we got through the ceremony together. 

Love this shot. At this point I was just so thrilled and was kind of in disbelief. It wasn't quite sinking in yet that E was my husband. The whole mass seems like a dream now. I mostly remember the emotions and nerves of the day.

I love this shot too. Our nerves were gone because we had done it. We were married. We couldn't help but sneak another kiss on our way out.

My husband on my right and my grandpa on my left. Oh, and look, you can see my manicure too :) (Confession: I had never gotten a manicure before the wedding!)

Right after the ceremony, our photographer whisked us around Pasadena for some pictures of just us. This was a blast. Here we are across from Pasadena City Hall. We didn't mind having to kiss for any of the pictures. Not at all ;)

My colors were navy and magenta. Thinking back now, it seems so silly to even have worried about that. Our reception hall looked great though and I'm glad they got some shots of the decorations.

Our cake topper. It kind of looks like us, right?

Another gorgeous shot. We just saw this building and loved the European look of it. Our photographer just went for it and we got some beautifully romantic shots like this one.

Our first dance. We didn't practice at all and didn't care! My husband managed to twirl me just fine. Dancing with him was one of my favorite moments of the night. There's just something so intimate and romantic about slow dancing with the one you love.

We played this hilarious game. It's basically a version of the Newlywed Game. The DJ would ask questions like, "Who's family is crazier?" and we would either hold up our own shoe or our partner's shoe to answer. Our guests loved it and got some great laughs!!!

Cutting the cake. Surprisingly challenging.

Not the neatest cut :) Oh, well. The cake was delicious!

Towards the end of the night (evidenced by my hair starting to fall out). It's interesting how I have no memory of the photographer taking this. I just remember looking into the eyes of my new husband. Sigh.

Photography by Epic Imagery.

Easter

Happy (early) Easter everyone!

My husband and I are attending an Easter Vigil mass tonight. One of my friends is officially becoming Catholic at the mass and I look forward to celebrating with him.

My very pregnant sister-in-law and her husband are also coming into town tonight. We're heading over to my in-law's house for a steak dinner with them before mass.

Tomorrow, we're going to attempt to see both sides of the family for lots of food and catch-up time.

I haven't dyed eggs or had an Easter egg hunt for years :( Everyone has grown up and the next generation of kiddos isn't quite old enough yet.

To be honest, I didn't do a lot of Easter crafts with my class. We did a mini classroom Easter egg hunt and several Holy Week crafts.

However, here are some Easter-related links I'm inspired by. Maybe next year :)

Natural dyes from Martha.

Beautiful eggs from here via here.

A wonderful religious Easter egg activity. I did this with my students. Found at Catholic Icing(a favorite).

Beautiful naturally dyed Easter eggs.

I love beautiful soap!

Super cute from here via here.

I love poppytalk! Via here.

I want to do this with my students. Via here.

Cuteness! Via here.

Marble eggs from here via here.

Cute Easter lamb craft.

And I want to decorate my house with everything from Terrain!

Happy Easter!!!

Found on the best website ever.