Lindsay hearts...

Some baby splurges ;)

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:13:00 -0400

The day we found out we were having a girl we left our appointment and went to buy an outfit. It was our first gift for her! Paul picked out Indians onesies….and we both chose a dress.

That night I had to order a frilly headband to go with it! ;) I found this adorable item on etsy ;)

I am currently working on a knit eyelet dress and a lavender baby blanket. I recently ordered labels on etsy with her name on them to sew in her handknit items from me and of course from her Oma who is already working on a knit dress for her ;)

Baby Blanket

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:33:49 -0400

I have never spent so much time trying to decide on a pattern and on yarn as I have knowing that this blanket will finally be for my little. I even made Paul go with me to the local yarn store to help me decide. I chose a self striping lavender yarn and I am double stranding it to really give it a rich texture and it is oh-so-soft! I plan to make her at least two baby blankets. I love working on it and talking to her as I am doing so. I cannot wait to wrap her in it!! Here is what I have done so far:

The List

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:00:42 -0400

When I was single, I once got advice to make a list of everything you would want to do with your partner. Once the list is made, don’t wait, and take yourself on these “dates” so you date yourself and it makes you that much more ready when the “one” comes along. I made my list. I even took myself on many of the dates I’d want to have. The one thing on my list I couldn’t accomplish on my own was “spending an afternoon cuddling on the couch each reading our own book”.

When my Husband and I first started dating, we had a lovely lunch date. It was January and cold and snowy in Cleveland and we came back to my place and made coffee and snuggled on the couch. He mentioned the book he had been reading (one I had recommended to him) and we ended up cuddling on the couch and both read our own books.

I remember thinking to myself that this was perfect. It was perfect. It was a perfect afternoon and one of the first moments that I began to envision a future with Paul.

I love that we still talk about the books we are reading, that we show no judgement when either of us is so engrossed in a book that HOURS may go by.

I love that I can share the love that was sparked inside me as a young child…the love of reading with someone else who shares that love.

We are both adamant to make sure our daughter has plenty of books of her own and are already reading to her while in the womb! We hope to instill in her a love of reading that we are both blessed to have!

ch ch ch changes!

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:12:52 -0400

I have been pretty busy as of late. My Husband and I are expecting a little miracle in the beginning of August! We are so thrilled and cannot wait to welcome our daughter :) We never realized how much we can already love someone we have yet to meet! She is already spoiled rotten and I’m pretty sure a Daddy’s girl ;)

(16 weeks)

(22 weeks)

The minute we found out we were having a baby girl, Paul had to buy her something special! :) Here is her first Tribe onesies and of course….first “chucks”:

We have been really busy planning for her arrival and the first thing on our list was a home. We were blessed to find a wonderful Realtor and we found our dream home. The minute we walked through the doors, we knew it was “home”. In two weeks we get the keys to our new HOUSE!

Lots of changes are happening for us and thankfully they are all welcome changes! I have always been one who pushes back against any type of change especially if it is out of my comfort zone, but I am ready for us to move on to this next chapter and begin to establish our home and our family. As Paul puts it, we are planting our roots.

God has truly bestowed so many blessings on us and we vow not to take any of them for granted but to enjoy every moment of this journey and appreciate all of our blessings.

Bethanybethinking....: How To Help A Local Cleveland School win a Sustainable Garden

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:16:56 -0500

Bethanybethinking....: How To Help A Local Cleveland School win a Sustainable Garden:

bethanybethinking:

Thanks to Burpee Home Gardens “Grow Anywhere Tour” select local schools in 23 U.S. cities will be splitting 30,000 lbs of fresh vegetables and 13,000 vegetable plants….

Take 10 seconds of your time to visit the Burpee Home Gardens Web site, Click on the letter “S” and place your vote…

Please help!!!!!!

Tribe Fest!

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 07:00:54 -0500

Paul planned a day of fun for us last Saturday! Okay, let’s be honest, he was excited and drug me along to help stand in line and get autographs…but we still ended up having an absolute blast! The Cleveland Indians held Tribe fest at Progressive Field and for $10 a ticket we definitely got more than our money’s worth of Tribetastic fun!

When we arrived there was quite a long line waiting to get into the stadium. Luckily the line moved fairly quickly and the “condiments” were there to keep the Tribe Festers entertained!

Once we got in the stadium we were ushered into the underbelly of the stadium and the fun began….

We quickly found the line which was already very long to stand in line for player autographs. Paul had purchased two new baseballs with cases. The line took 2 hours….yet we were never bored!! There was so much going on around us! Tribe Alumni players were being interviewed on the stage beside us, we saw different players making there way to different stations and we met many people during our wait. Then we saw Terry Francona the GM heading to the stage and I took my moment. I managed to be one of the handfull to get his autograph on one of Paul’s baseballs….score!!!!

We finally made our way to the front of the line and were able to meet and get autographs from Zach McAllister, Jason Kipnis and Drew Stubbs!

We then roamed around and even got honorary “contracts” with the Cleveland Indians signed by Chris Antonetti!!! Our nephew Logan was beyond excited when we brought him his!! :) We also saw Mike Aviles walking around!

It was a wonderful day and basically like Disney World for Paul!!

Dippin' on Date Night

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 07:00:45 -0500

Paul’s know-how of twitterverse (@psrados) finally paid off….literally!!! He answered a question to The Melting Pot saying what his favorite Christmas Movie was (A Christmas Story of course!!!) and he was the winner of a $50 gift certificate!!! A dream come true!! $50 of free dipping? YES PLEASE!

We feasted on shrimp, pork, chicken, and two types of steak with many dipping options and “fondoued” our hearts out!

The best, however…..was definitely dessert!

YUM!!! Full bellies by all! :)

Happy 1st Blogiversary!

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:35:00 -0500

A year ago I started this blog to try and focus on the things I love and to bring more focus on the things in my life to make me happier. I want to continue with that theme throughout 2013! Many fabulous things happened over the past year, here are some of my favorites from each Month!

January:

*Browns/Steelers game in the freezing cold with my Paul :)

*Book Club at Rizi’s house (Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’Easter)…lots of wine and laughter with friends!

February:

*Superbowl party and Drew and Dianes! Great time with friends, lots of laughter, and easily ate 2 lbs worth of meatballs!

*Met college friends from out of town, Lisa and Jennifer for breakfast and spent a couple hours really catching up!

*Spring Awakening at the Beck Center….date with Paul!

*Memphis at Playhouse Square with my Paul! Amazing show!

March:

*Book Club at Christy’s (Bossypants)

*I turned 35!

*Paul and I had a date to go see The Hunger Games!!!

*Passed my comprehensive exams!

*Attended Playhouse Square launch party

April:

*Took and passed my TESOL Praxis Exam!

*Had both of my amazing bridal showers!

*Attended bridal shower for dear friend Jen.

May:

*Dinner with girls at my friend Kristy’s beautiful home :)

*Took a surprise staycation with Paul and stayed at the Ritz downtown and checked out new casino.

*Celebrated my bachelorette party on Kelley’s Island!

June:

*Book club at Sharda’s (The Secret Daughter)

*Our friends Brian and Jen’s wedding!

July:

Oh What a Month!! GOT MARRIED!!!! HONEYMOONED IN PUERTO RICO!! Also, book club at my friend Anita’s where we discussed Fifty Shades of Grey! :)

August:

*Indians game, school started!

September:

*My cousin Melissa’s wedding :)

*Birthday party for our friend Jen’s 30th!

*Browns Home Opener

*Home for the Bellville Fair :)

October:

*Indians game

*Went to see Anything Goes at Playhouse Square!

*Met my friend Jenni’s baby boy Charlie!!!!

November:

*Went to see friend Olivia dance in the ballet Dracula in Columbus!

*Book club at Diane’s house!

*Went to see Beauty & the Beast at Playhouse Square :)

*Went to dinner with girlfriends and then to see final Twilight movie!

December:

*First year not IN Bazaar Bizarre, but went and shopped :)

*Girl’s Christmas and Secret Santa reveal at Meg’s new place in Battery Park!

*Girl’s Christmas spa day and dinner at Hyde Park ;)

*One of the BEST Christmases EVER!!! :)

*Spent New Year’s Eve with great friends and lots of laughter!!!

Reading...a year in review!

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:54:00 -0500

2012 was a wonderful year for me! I started this blog, finished grad school, married the love of my life, and found time to do some of my favorite things!!

Reading is by far one of my favorite things and this past year was no different, even though I was busy busy busy….I still found time to read a good book! Here is my 2012 reading list:

Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter by Lisa Patton

Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson

Bossypants by Tina Fey

The Immortal Life of Henritetta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark

11th Hour by James Patterson

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson

Gone, Girl by Gillian Flynn

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (reread)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (reread)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (reread)

Guilty Wives by James Patterson

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Zoo by James Patterson

NYPD Red by James Patterson

Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson

I hope to read even more this coming year especially since there are no more graduate reading assignments! :) Cheers to a new year’s worth of books!

I haven’t blogged in awhile, and the tragedy in Newtown...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:46:44 -0500

I haven’t blogged in awhile, and the tragedy in Newtown shook me. Then today I received this card from an 8th grade student. THIS is why I so what I do. THIS is why I put up with the teacher bashing and pay cut after pay cut. Best. Christmas. Present. EVER!

On Monday

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:39:55 -0500

On Monday:

katy-mylady:

For everyone in #education

Thankfulness Day #22 - Christmas ornaments!!! I love Christmas,...

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:54:20 -0500

Thankfulness Day #22 - Christmas ornaments!!!

I love Christmas, it’s my favorite holiday and I especially love decorating our tree and the ornaments that each hold meaning!! Paul and I started the tradition of getting an ornament for every trip or special event we had thy year. We have a suitcase from our trip to NYC, an ornament from our weekend in Ann Arbor, an engagement ornament…and this year we are adding these three. Top left is an ornament my cousin Caroline made us as a wedding gift…it’s our wedding invitation stripped inside!!! LOVE! The bottom left is a map of our honeymoon destination (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) in a heart shape! The far right is our first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs. :)

As happy as I am to spend today with family and count our blessings…knowing that when we get home it is officially Christmas is THE BEST!!!!!!!!

Thankfulness Day #21 - The Westside Market I am so thankful and...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:06:03 -0500

Thankfulness Day #21 - The Westside Market

I am so thankful and blessed to live so close to this iconic and fabulous public market. There truly is nothing else that can even compare and I am so thankful!!!

Thankfulness Day #20 - Oh Baby

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 07:00:48 -0500

I am so grateful for my friend’s little ones. I have found so much joy in watching them grow up and being “Aunt Lindsay” (or Aunt Winzy, or Aunt Yinzy…). In particular, two new cuties that have made their arrival recently.

Charlie on October 2nd joins big brothers Cole and Will.

Tabraham came last night! He joins big brother Tristen and big sisters Teyha & Taryn.

I am thankful they are healthy and beautiful and both mommies are doing well!

Thankfulness day #19 - Girls Nights Out

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:00:46 -0500

There aren’t many things better than getting to have a Girls Night Out! This can be dinner, meeting for drinks, book club, movie nights and so much more! In the last week I had two GNO. One was a little different that what we have done in the past, we met at a local Medium’s house and had readings together over appetizers we brought in. It was very casual and we had a good time! Some readings were dead on accurate which made it more meaningful! Here is a picture of Cousin Bethany & I there!

The other fun GNO I had was for opening night of the final Twilight Saga movie!! This has been a tradition over the last 5 movies…dinner and drinks beforehand and then watching Taylor Lautner’s abs. ;)

I am looking forward to our annual Girl’s Christmases this season as well as any GNO I have the opportunity to connect, laugh & share with my girls!!

Thankfulness Day #18 - Prayer

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 09:06:18 -0500

I am thankful to have a relationship with God and to speak to Him in prayer. I was taught Faith as a child and have always held onto that Faith. I was blessed to have an amazing Pastor who is still in my life who encouraged me always to seek growth in my Faith and encouraged me to find a home church in Cleveland. I have learned that prayer can be in many forms and it has always been a source of comfort and peace in my life. I continue to use prayer to be thankful, to seek guidance, to seek comfort for others and to build my Faith.

My heart has been heavy as I have witnessed some using their Faith as a tool to justify judgement on others and to seek rights being TAKEN from others in the name of prayer. I continue to pray to continue my own personal relationship with God and also pray this season and always that everyone uses this tool as a personal relationship and not another means.

I am thankful for my faith and my prayers today are for everyone to respect each other’s Faith. My friends who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddist all use prayer in the same ways I do. We have more in common than we do different and we all pray. My friends who have differing political views all pray. One doesn’t make someone “more Christian” than another etc. I pray that everyone find peace and tolerance and love. That’s what my Faith shows me.

Love one another, be patient with one another for we do not know what lies heavy on each other’s hearts.

Thankfulness Day #17 - teaching

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 08:41:19 -0500

I am thankful to have a job that I love (most days). I am a teacher. Which means that I am a teacher, a counselor, a therapist, a nurse, a lost & found, a tutor, a data analysist, a referee, an IT tech, a custodian, and a social worker all in one.

An example of my day today (that I’m typing this post).

I arrived to have a parent meeting about a child who has shown signs of extreme anger and shutting down. This young lady has experienced a house fire in the last year and her family has been moving around to different shelters and she takes a couple (yes more than one) busses with her younger siblings in tow to get to school.

Next I gave a test on the novel we have been reading with my 6th and 7th graders. My homeroom did a great job. No major issues today besides my autistic student was my shadow, literally….not 6 inches away from me for both periods. I was able to give a few of my English learners a mini lesson on idioms (which is tough for native speakers to get let alone second language!!)

Next period was a slightly different story. While switching classes, one of my 8th graders stopped by my door on his way to another class to let me know the results of his older brother’s court appearance the day before. He plead gulity to avoid an 8 year sentence and is going to now only serve a 2 year prison sentence. His brother was charged with aggravated assault and robbery. Can you imagine what this young man faces on a daily basis?

He went on to his class and while my next class for the most part did a nice job, there was an incident of the ever-so-popular rubber band paper slingshot device which has been causing ruckus. Once confiscated, things settled down.

Next class were my 8th graders who had a speaker today who is oing a 6 part series on the dangers of drugs. His topic the last two sessions have been focused on cigarettes and the dangers that come with smoking. I had two burst into tears because they are so afraid that their parent/grandparent/sibling is going to get cancer and I was able to console them for awhile until the topic turned to dangers of second hand smoke….and now they fell apart again. Another student who has a LOT of anger issues was doing okay until he made a snarky comment to another student (who happens to be twice his size) and they both stood up and began yelling back and forth (yes, speaker still trying to do presentation) and I was able to get in between them both and get them to sit down and not fight. This was a success. The child who began the argument then told me he wanted to eat lunch with me and in the same breath told me to stop talking to me and leave him alone. Confused? Me too.

After lunch I had another group of 8th graders. Again, the speaker was there to present to this class as well and I noticed I was missing a few girls. They came in late, red puffy eyes, and sat down silently. I was able to get one girl to open up and explain to me that one girl’s phone was stolen at lunch and somebody blamed them and thus a verbal fight began. While the office said it was resolved, I have a feeling this won’t be the last I hear of this. During this class I had another student ask me for a recommendation to a specialty high school she wants to go to and I was able to print out the data she needed to include (thank goodness the speaker was there!!) Next two boys started shouting at each other from opposite sides of the room and I was able to get one removed to another class and have the other boy right beside me until the speaker was finished. Once he left I was able to salvage a mini lesson on the novel we are reading and then was able to dismiss them for home.

At dismissal I saw a former student who I talked to for awhile who is a freshman at The University of Toledo. He was very discouraged and said he wasn’t doing well. Myself and three other teachers were able to talk to him and hopefully gave him advice to help him end his semester on a positive note including giving him my personal email and telling him to send me anything he would like an edit or help on…especially his English papers.

I then was able to copy a quiz for tomorrow and heard the secretary call my name, two of my students (Aunt and nephew) wanted to know if they could help me. Such sweethearts but I was already ready to finally head home and it was starting to get dark so I had them get permission from Mom and drove them home so they weren’t walking in the dark.

Tomorrow I get to do it all over again. I have more teaching than counseling days, but hardly ever does a day go by that I don’t see one of my student’s in crisis. We have very few resources besides “us” in the inner city and thankfully most of my students feel comfortable opening up to me. Sometimes they say more than I need or want to know, but I want them to know that somebody cares….even if it takes every ounce of my strength not to want to strangle them. ;)

With all the work, disruptions, stress and heartache my job brings me. I wouldn’t trade it for the world because I know I was meant to do this. I am thankful that I am able to call myself a teacher.

Thankfulness Day #16 - Travels

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:18:59 -0500

I am beyond thankful to have had the many opportunities I have had to travel. I have been lucky enough to travel to some amazing places. States like Louisiana, Nevada, Massachusetts, New York, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and I’m sure there are a couple I’m forgetting.

I have also been lucky enough to travel outside the United States which include, England, France, Canada, Spain, Morocco, & Puerto Rico.

Paul and I both found out while we are dating that we both love to travel and have been to New York City, Ann Arbor, Boston, Provincetown, & honeymooned in Puerto Rico. We hope to travel more and are planning a trip South this Spring and want to head to the West Coast as well as Europe in our future travels.

Here are a few pics of some of our travels:

Thankfulness Day #15 - Ring Bearers

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:00:50 -0500

I am so thankful to have these two cuties be a part of our wedding!!! Cole is one of my best friend’s sons. He has had my heart from the moment he was born and as he would say, “I love his guts”! Logan is Paul’s nephew who is sweeter than sugar and smart as a whip! (I’m working on similes and metaphors with my 6th and 7th graders, can you tell?)

Both boys did such a fantastic job and looked BEYOND cute in their tuxes and of course their own chucks to match the “big boys” :)

Aunt Lindsay loves you both over the moon and back!!!

Cole and Logan walking down the aisle!

They looked so adorable!!

The two boys being introduced at the reception!

Logan and I at a family reunion

Paul & I with Cole

Thankfulness Day #14 - The Library

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:00:30 -0500

I am over the moon thankful for the public library. The Cuyahoga County Public Library has been such a blessing for us. CCPL has an AMAZING ebook selection which Paul and I take great advantage of on our Nooks as well as I use the overdrive app on my iPhone and then plug in to my car and listen to books on my commute to and from work. I always put my favorite new books coming out on hold and I am able to freeze it until I am ready to pick up! We love going and browsing books and always bring home plenty!

As a teacher, the class sets they have available are a Godsend as well especially with larger class sizes. Basically it’s a win win anyway you look at it!!

The CCPL has been really doing a fabulous job with social media as well and I love when they do live book recommendations on facebook…you put in your last three reads and a librarian will give you a book suggestion!

As the daughter of a retired librarian, I have grown up with a love and respect for libraries and I still continue to participate in the summer reading programs and still find the same excitement and enjoyment!