Christmas Activities

This holiday has been super busy for me! On Friday, Matt and I met up with Mona, Sujith, Ashwin and Sabrina at Cherry Blossoms, a sushi restaurant in Novi. It was really good food! We looked up reviews beforehand and everyone seems to pick this one as their favorite sushi. There's always Japanese businessmen there so you know it's authentic. So much so, that when Matt asked if they could make a certain roll served at their sister restaurant in Troy, they refused because it was "too American"! Luckily they had my favorite scallop rolls, and we also got salmon skin, lobster rolls, snow crab rolls, and vegetable tempura, yum! It was definitely a feast. Afterwards we bowled at Novi Lanes. I am not a fan of bowling and after sucking in the first game, I was unstoppable in the second! I got spares almost every other frame. Mona got 5 spares in a row! It was girls vs. guys so we won the second game!
For Christmas eve, after Matt and I went to church, my family played Texas hold 'em back at my parents' house. We played with pennies, but it was still a competitive game! I got a few good hands, but my mom is always lucky at cards. She got pocket aces several times, soooo unfair! Matt and I opened each other's gifts when we got home. After opening gifts on Christmas, I still think Matt's gift is my favorite! I got TIVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!





I've been wanting it for a while and I figured we would just wait until we get a house. Luckily, Matt thought otherwise. We're going to activate it tomorrow and then I'll have to play around with it to fully understand its capabilities.
On Christmas we spent the morning at my parent's house and the rest of the day at the Hersteins. Some good gifts I got were a coach purse, a Victoria's Secret peacoat, a few books I wanted, and of course the skis we got a week ago. I was really looking forward to seeing my family open their gifts from us and I didn't really care what I got (although it's still a plus).
Yesterday, Matt and I went out to dinner with Mona, Sujith, and her friends. I know them all really well, so it was a good time. We met up at Mitchell's Fish Market at Birmingham. I was going to get the shrimp and scallops but I wasn't super hungry so Matt and I shared Blakened Sea Bass. I had never had it before and really liked it. I don't think Matt liked it so much!
Tonight, we're supposed to get together with Erika and Pete in Troy. And on Friday, Heather, Steph and Courtney are coming over!
I'll be really sad when I have to start working again!
Sidenote: I had a doctor's appt today but he called in sick! Isn't he supposed to see this coming?

7th Book

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It'll be weird when the 7th book comes out and then there will be no more.

Matt's Birthday/Tree Pics

Today is Matt's birthday!!! Here's a picture of Matt getting his cake and in a few minutes, eating it too!



We're going to the Melting Pot for dinner, one of our favorite restaurants.

And while I was downloading pictures I also have our tree to show you! Isn't it cute?

Update on our skis!!!

My skis (I got the black version of the Olympia FOX): http://www.nordica.com/ski/scheda.php?s=8

Matt's skis (if it doesn't link directly, go to products->skis->speedwave 10): http://www.elanskis.com/pcc.asp?xpath=&xpathid=&xpathid2=&xpathid3=&lang=usa

I recommend the ski shop we went to (see my last entry) if you live around here. They were very knowledgeable and helped us out a lot.

I hope the weather gets a bit colder so we'll have snow on the ground!

Reindeer Quiz/Skis

You Are Cupid

A total romantic, you're always crushing on a new reindeer. Why You're Naughty: You've caused so much drama, all the reindeers aren't speaking to each other. Why You're Nice: You have a knack for playing matchmaker. You even hooked Rudolph up!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

I had to go through the list of reindeer to remember there was a Cupid!

Matt and I are going to buy skis!

"If you don't come across, then I'll feel down"

I just finished the documentary "Wordplay," which is an inside look at crossword puzzles. Specifically, it is about the holy grail of crosswords, the NY times, and the people behind it. It's really well done and because I love doing crosswords, it made it that much better. Each person interviewed confessed that they were "dorky" or "nerdy" but it really is an admirable skill to be able to complete the puzzles, especially a Sat or Sun one! The documentary doesn't make fun of any of these people, rather, it identifies "puzzling" as a fun, challenging pastime. It was interesting when they found out that statistically, the best puzzlers have been musicians or mathematicians (such as actuaries, teachers, programmers). Most thought it would be people in the field of English or History because of the vocab and facts, but going about filling a crossword out is methodical and more of a problem solving technique. Honestly, anyone can be a good puzzler if they practice enough. I started in college when Heather and I used to do the LA times almost daily, via the Michigan Daily. I sucked and then just got better and better, and I don't think it's because I do calculus. Anyways, I recommend this documentary to anyone who will appreciate it.
I wonder if there is a way to do the NY Times puzzles while in Michigan. I think there is an online version, but I prefer pen to paper. What was nice at UNL is that they put the Times crossword in the campus paper.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I've read a few books in the past month. Digging to America was pretty good. I was expecting some sort of plot, but the author, Anne Tyler, writes more about day to day experiences. The book was really well written and I'm amazed how she was able to speak from an immigrant's point of view when she has no first hand experience. I also read Tales from the Crib. The author is from UofM which is why I read the book in the first place. The book is pretty good but she only mentioned AA spots a few times. It was funny when she talked about going to Dominick's or shopping at Middle Earth. But most of it takes place in NJ or NY. There were a few others, but they're not worth mentioning. I joined a book discussion group specifically for a book they are going to discuss in January, which is Time Traveler's Wife. I haven't gone to the other meetings, haha.

All of the Christmas stuff in stores and TV is getting me excited for the holidays! Usually I am just excited about getting a few days off but this time I'm actually excited to celebrate! I think it's because I get to be with my family and we haven't all gotten together since my wedding.

I wrote out Christmas cards to family members from both Matt and I for the first time. It's amazing how many cards have to be sent when two families are combined! And I assume the list will just keep growing with more friends and family added down the road.
Matt and I put up our Christmas tree a few days after Thanksgiving and decorated it with all of Matt's ornaments that he received over the years. My family has theme decorating so one year we'll buy blue and silver tree ornaments/garlands and another year we'll have purple and gold, etc. Our trees always look like they could be on display at Macy's with all the effort we put into it. I told Matt that one year we'll have to do a "designer tree" in the Gupta tradition. But for this year, it's hallmark ornaments. We'll have to get an ornament symbolizing our first Christmas together, awwww. Our tree is so cute. It's small to fit in our apartment space and really easy to store. I don't do real trees, never ever.
I put up my nutcracker on our sofa table. I knew that it would come in handy as a decoration someday. I bought it when I went to see my ballet instructor in the Nutcracker downtown. She's in it every year and I always wished I could be in it when I was young, but you have to start on pointe when you're like 5 to get in.
I usually buy gifts starting very close to Christmas, but because we knew we were buying 80% of them online, I started right after Thanksgiving. Although our Christmas shopping ended a few weeks ago, we're still waiting for 2 packages. Now we have to wrap all of them, oy!

I gotta stop typing and get something to eat. See ya later folks!

My favorite college player today is McNeil of UCLA!

Over-rated!! All right Bruins, thanks for helping Michigan out

Update (12/3): Okay now we have to play against sucky USC, how boring.

Weather

The weather was out of control today! The temperature was actually fine. But it was the downpour and wind that made it horrible. There was some flooding down Crooks so everyone had to get in the left lane, except the morons who think it's safe to drive fast in bad conditions and then collide with the water. And the wind got up to 40mph! My umbrella was useless. The wind would blow it everywhere and the rain would still manage to soak me. Needless to say, my 1st hour class looked like they had all been slip and sliding!

Tomorrow afternoon, we're looking at some houses so I hope the weather calms down. I'm having a few friends over tomorrow night so the weather definitely better be calm by then!

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

We had a great Thanksgiving. Both of our families met up in Frankenmuth for a German Thanksgiving feast at Bavarian Inn. Although it was a little ridiculous how long we had to wait AFTER having reservations. We didn't eat until 8:45 (our reservations were at 7). We went to the Frankenmuth shops, while waiting, and there were cute souvenirs and even German wine tasting. Once we were seated, we were able to eat, drink, and be merry. I ordered a raspberry daiquiri that had a ton of seeds in it. Luckily my mom switched with me and so I ended up with a strawberry daiquiri. I had a raspberry daiquiri before, but it was made with raspberry syrup, which is much better. We all ordered chicken and/or turkey dinners and the sides were really good. We had coleslaw, pasta salad, cranberries, stuffing, butternut squash, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttery noodles, and even pickled beets. I had to try a beet and it wasn't bad, but definitely not something I would specifically order. Our meals also included homemade ice cream.

Today I wanted to avoid all the craziness that is shopping. I decided to take advantage of all the Black Friday deals online, which are just as good, especially when there's free shipping involved. We got a lot of xmas shopping done, but I wasn't able to avoid the shopping madness on walmart.com. Their website does not know how to handle many customers at once, which I think is ridiuclous seeing how they could anticipate a high volume today and every other website such as target, amazon, toys r us, etc. seemed to have already mastered this. It took us a few HOURS to checkout, but we weren't giving up because the deals were so good. Perhaps Walmart will join the 21st century and fix their website in the future.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I am very thankful to have a great family, both the Guptas and Hersteins.

UM vs OSU

It was sad to hear about Bo's death. I didn't know who he was growing up since I had no affiliation with UofM, but after getting to college it was hard not to know who he was. He was talked about almost weekly at football games and you couldn't help but wonder why they would name a campus building "Schembechler Hall." And what an ironic time to pass, right before the huge UM/OSU game today. We're going to Brian's to watch it in HD. I can never tell the difference between HD and regular TV, but Matt says it's really obvious to him after watching HD for a whole summer in Boston a few years ago and then not having it when he came home. I really hope it's a good game, meaning we win. I don't like how OSU is favored to win :(
Sidenote: My new favorite facebook group title(although I didn't join) is called "I will go slightly out of my way to step on that crunchy leaf." TOO FUNNY

Half Day on Halloween

Happy Halloween! I went into school dressed as a teacher. I think the kids were impressed with my outfit, hehe. Well I wore an orange sweater with black pants, so I tried. I taught Spanish today and the students had their choice of movies to watch. Luckily the classes picked different ones so I got to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Shrek 2 in Spanish. They are not as enjoyable in a different language, but I have to say that it was much easier watching HP en espanol because there's more action and it doesn't rely on spoken jokes for most of its comedy. Although from watching Shrek 2, I now know that burro is donkey. That should come in handy.
Since we had a half-day, I went to Ichiyo Sushi and Grill. They have great scallop rolls. The best I've tried were in San Diego, and these are almost as good. Matt said he tried a tempura snapper roll the other day at Minato and liked it, so I may have to get that next time.
I've decided to add a bunch of Grisham movies to our blockbuster online queue. This is probably because everything I want to see aka anything that has come out in the last few weeks, has a wait. I have read several of Grisham's books in the past, but never thought to see any of the movies. The Firm came today so we'll see if it's any good. My fav Grisham novel was the Client and I've already seen that movie.

Halloween on the 27th

I am getting together with friends tomorrow night to celebrate Halloween. I'm not sure if Matt and I did anything last year. We certainly don't have to pass out candy because the kids in our apt complex trick or treat somewhere else. I bought a costume consisting of tiger ears and a tail (I probably won't wear the latter). I think this may be my costume for the next several years should I happen to be invited to a Halloween party. That way I can really wear whatever I want and put the ears on and say I'm a tiger, haha.

Today, my mom is coming home from her trip to India. Whenever we came back from a long trip like that, I remember sleeping for a few days just from the jet-lag and being in a plane for 24 hours. The trip back from New Delhi to Amsterdam is about 13 hours and then there's usually a 5 hour layover. Then from Amsterdam back to Detroit is another 11 hours. I think anyone would be exhausted! On one of our trips we actually came home going the other way. From New Delhi to Hong Kong to Seattle to Detroit. Luckily we stayed a few days in each stopover, but we were tired just the same. My favorite route was through Bangkok. Thailand is such a beautiful place to go! Whoa, I'm digressing. Anyways, I'm glad my mom is going to be back.

In good news, I got a job! Well, it's a temporary school year assignment in the Troy School District. I start in a few weeks and am very excited! I hope this leads to a position. Fingers are crossed...

Thanks :)

Thanks for the cards, wall posts on facebook, e-mails, presents, etc.
Sidenote: Heather where do you find such funny cards!

Matt treated me to an awesome b-day! I have the best husband.

I have been watching Animaniacs and Sex and the City Season 1 nonstop....jealous?!

Can't wait for the weekend to watch Michigan (hopefully!) beat Iowa :P

The day of my birth

It is my b-day today! I have a half-day today, which worked out really well because I can sleep in. Tonight, Matt is taking me to Bordeau Bistro. I really liked the food last time and the decor gives it a cozy, romantic feel. Today also marks the day our country's population hits the 300 millionth mark. According to this article our country hit that mark at 7:46 AM.

Yesterday, was my brother's birthday. He always used to tell me that we're not 6 years apart, but 5 years and 364 days, haha. He turned the big 19!

Matt and I found a house we really really like. Yeah! It's above our price range though so we're hoping we can get it for a lower price, or obviously, we can't get it at all. We're going to wait a little while before we put an offer in to talk with a financial planner and to look at more houses. Hopefully during this time the homeowners will lower the price so we don't have to ask! hehe

Teaching Article

I like this article. I didn't know some people thought teaching was easy! I'm always exhausted! But I still love the rewards (i.e. student progress, etc.) and fulfillment that come with it.

Pluto Cartoons

I thought these were funny re: Pluto's non-planetary status. I found one on facebook and the other through msn (obviously the political one).





My parents bought a few pounds of crab legs a couple days ago and Matt and I went over to help them eat! They were King Crabs so the legs were way bigger than the little crabs that I usually see crab cakes in. It was more fun to break them and get the meat out than to eat them! I was surprised to see that there were mini "spikes" on the legs so we couldn't hold them too tightly. Those King Crabs are probably ferocious predators of the sea! Matt had a bite of crab and decided to stick to the chicken on his plate. hehe.

Cider Mill

Matt and I went to Yates Cider Mill on Sunday. They always have really good doughnuts and it's fun to watch them make cider and fudge (They make the doughnuts too, but I don't think we can see it). I'm not a nature-y kind of person, but it was nice to walk around the river trail and get some fresh air. The weather was perfect since it was sunny and cool. This morning I noticed the trees had changed colors, which can only mean one thing. My birthday is coming up!!! woo hoo!

Order of the Phoenix

First Harry Potter stills of the 5th movie coming out in July. I found these on pinkisthenewblog.com. The lady on the left is Professor Umbridge.

Allergies are Horrible

Boo I'm sick! Whenever I skimp on the allergy medicine, I'm more susceptible to colds. I had been having a relatively symptom-free hay fever season for a while. Ever since I started taking rhinocort, a corticosteroid antihistamine spray, a few years ago, hay fever season is not a problem anymore. I usually start taking the spray in mid-August before the season starts until the first frost. The spray is not like over the counter decongestant stuff, which has a lot of side effects.

Anyways, I forgot to bring the spray to Notre Dame so I missed two mornings of medicine and I was outside for most of the day letting the ragweed attack me. Now I have sinusitis, basically a cold started from allergies. It's weird how I was perfectly fine after work yesterday and when I come home, bam! I have a headache, runny nose and feel miserable. I guess it's better than feeling sick at work...

In other news, I have been finishing my Amazon birthday list. I want a few clothes items, but unfortunately Amazon does not have an H&M or Old Navy section, among other "normal" clothes brands. I might just have to get the clothes myself. I know Old Navy is having a crazy sale and we can stop at H&M while we're in AA this weekend. Matt and I also want to stop by IKEA and see what all the fuss is about.

Wolverines stomp Leprechauns

The UM/Notre Dame game was a blast! We had no problems driving in and getting a parking spot on the outskirts of campus. The campus itself is pretty nice, but boring. There's nothing around in terms of restaurants, shopping, etc. It's just a campus with no city life. The touchdown Jesus, which is a huge mural on a campus building of Jesus with his arms up so it looks like he's signaling a touchdown, was pretty cool. From our seats, you could see the building loom over the stadium. And the game was great. Michigan looked 100x better than the last few weeks and Notre Dame's offense was embarassing to watch. I wish I had worn shorts, but with the cool weather we had been having, I didn't expect a hot day. Luckily, our seats were a row from the top and whenever a top row person left for a little while, Matt and I would jump up a row and lean over the edge to get some wind. I would've hated sitting lower so our seats were perfect. I still think it's weird to have a mascot called "Irish." I would feel weird saying Go Irish, or Go Russians while attending a game in the US. Come on, the U.S. is better than Ireland, haha. Driving out of campus was a breeze. Although there were a ton of people on the road, the cops and routes that were set up were by far the most efficient and it was the fastest we have ever left a college campus after a game. We had dinner around 9 and were so exhuasted that we headed back to our hotel to sleep soon after.

I have been really busy subbing non-stop. Every school I go to, the math department is ecstatic to have a math sub in the system. Hopefully I meet a lot of math teachers because they make up half the interviewing team!

You've Changed 64% in 10 Years

Compared to who you were ten years ago, you've changed a great deal. In fact, you're probably in a completely different phase of your life - and very happy about it!

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

From Heather's blog. I'm glad I've changed because I wouldn't want to be the same person now as I was when I was 14!

Start of another school year

Matt and I looked at a few houses last weekend. They were okay, but each of them had something missing or something we didn't like. One of the homeowners thought it would be a smart idea to convert their 2 car garage into a one car garage and use the extra space as a laundry room/scary dark hallway. Not a good idea! Another house (the best of the 3) had hardwood floors, but decided to have a different hardwood floor pattern for each major room so the floors looked choppy. Also not a good idea! And the pictures on the website are way better than the actual property. Matt said he heard that when we find our home, we'll just know. We certainly didn't get that feeling last weekend.

Subbing is in full swing! The districts said that subbing is sparse in September, but I've already gotten called three times! Although one of the times I incorrectly put in my password and the system thought I was declining the job, grrr. It's tricky having 4 different passwords, one for each district. And I can't choose the password so my PINs are random sets of numbers that are hard to memorize. I should put the passwords near my nightstand so I don't have to run into the den to accept a job!

This weekend, Matt and I are going to Notre Dame for the Michigan game. I have never been to the campus even though I applied to Notre Dame for undergrad and was accepted. I wonder how my life would have been different if I accepted, but I know I would never choose the Irish over the Wolverines! I think I really just applied to see if I could get in.

Since it's September 11, I want to say Happy Birthday to Heather!!! I can't believe you're 25! I don't have a recent picture of us :( So I'll have to put one up when you come back to Michigan.

Labor Day weekend plans

Last weekend, Erin took Courtney, Steph and I to a Wayne State Med School party. The goal of the party was to raise money for funeral costs for one of the students who unexpectedly died. It was sad to know the events behind the fundraiser, although, I'm glad I could help. It was also nice to see my college friends after a long time.

I had a few interviews and am waiting for responses. I'm not feeling too frustrated anymore (although I still am) because after talking to some people at the Bloomfield workshop last week, I feel like I'm on top of my game! The girls I met have been waiting several years for a job while I've only been waiting for a summer. One of the girls said she waited two years to get into the subbing system! I haven't had any problems getting into districts.

On the housing front, Matt and I haven't really found a place we like. We are still looking though. We have been pre-approved for a mortgage so now we can search around and make appts for house showings. We've been advised not to get a realtor until we find a place we like because sometimes the realtors aren't entitled to show certain houses and like to push their own properties. Even though my parents were not sure if this was the right time for us to get a house, they have been very supportive. They realize we are really serious, ready, and not to mention the house prices have come down, so that's always a plus. They offered to tour any house we're interested in and help us make an offer. My dad said we can low ball the offer b/c people are getting desperate to sell. Matt and I are being picky though, but I think that's good so we don't settle for something we only kind of like. We have narrowed our cities down and no matter where we find our house within the cities, our commutes will be minimal since Matt works in Troy and the districts I'm applying to are in a 20 minute radius.

This upcoming weekend, Matt and I don't really have any plans. I want to check out Arts, Beats, and Eats. I feel like I've missed many Michigan events while being in AA since most of the "state-wide" events are around metro-Detroit (although I like the AA Art Fair). I haven't been to the State Fair, Arts Beats and Eats, July 4th Fireworks on the River, etc. in several years. My freshman year at UM, my friends tried to go to the Arts Beats and Eats to see Blessed Union of Souls' free concert, but one of my friends was tired of trying to find the place since we had bad directions so we ended up turning back. This Friday, Blessed Union of Souls and Verve Pipe are giving free concerts so hopefully I won't miss it again! There are art exhibits and great restaurants setting up booths also.

My mood is scared b/c I may have seen a cricket in the apt. I swung at it and think I killed it, but there is no body to be found!

Newsworthy

I've had an eventful week. I went to the Bloomfield Orientation Workshop on Tuesday and LOVED it. The district treats their faculty very well and I met a few people who I hope to stay in touch with. We were trained on district policies and had really great speakers. They even handed out gifts to the subs that had been in the system for 10-20 years. Wow!

I am also subbing at Troy, Royal Oak, and Berkley so I have been running around. It's hard to stay on top of things when I technically have four jobs. I'm still hoping to find a permanent job in the next few weeks though. Keep your fingers crossed.

Besides my personal life, there have been some national newsworthy events that I feel I want to address. You know I'm going to address Senator Allen's derogatory comments to a UVA student. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching the video, also located on the link, since it's the actual story and not just based on the aftermath. I'm not going to bash political parties here, but hopefully this Senator is NOT reelected. I would hope Americans, no matter where you live or what you believe, do not want to put a racist person in office. I like how his apology isn't an apology at all. Instead of placing the blame on himself, he blames the student for being offended. The last time I checked, calling someone a monkey and assuming a person isn't American because he isn't white/black is offensive. You can give him your two cents here because Senators love to here from the people. Here is a video of The Daily Show mocking it.

I was also informed (by Mona) that Pluto was downgraded from its planet status to a dwarf. Sorry Pluto, maybe if you bulk up and straighten out, you can be reconsidered. I think it's funny when the article tells readers "not to be disappointed" and to "look on the bright side." I'm definitely not depressed by the news. And it looks like the science books have to be changed because of the conference in Prague, where the term planet was officially defined. I have a feeling it's going to be a while before the texts change...

Tomorrow, Matt and I are hanging out with Erin, Marc and friends in Royal Oak. It's been a while since I've seen them because med school keeps Erin busy!

Also, it will be 6 months of marriage for Matt and I tomorrow! In honor of this, we're going to get the top tier of our wedding cake on Saturday to celebrate. Usually you wait a year, but we were given 2 gift certificates so we'll still have one to use 6 months from now. Yessss

Starting to look for houses! And random interesting news.

It's my dad's b-day today! Happy Birthday Dad! We're celebrating at Kruse & Muer tonight :)

Matt and I started looking for houses a few days ago! Our lease ends in 6 months so we have plenty of time to look around and find a place that we both love. We've been getting lots of advice, which is alway nice because we have no idea what we're doing! Because I'm still subbing, we're looking at cities that are close to Matt's firm as well as the main school districts I am applying to.
Janette, Dan and Morgan also paid us a visit to T-town a few days ago. We went to Bahama Breeze and I tried a drink called Madras that I liked. I asked for the drink without ice and the waiter looked at me like I had three heads! Afterwards we came home and hung out. It's always nice having visitors!
I thought this article was weird. I wonder if Pluto is going to be downgraded from a planet to just an "orbiting body." And apparently there is a celestial body beyond Pluto that is orbiting the sun that is "more like a planet."
Also, CNN announced that Hispanics have become the largest minority (sounds like an oxymoron) in the United States. They make up 14.5% of the population while African Americans make up around 13%. And in California, Texas, Hawaii, DC, and New Mexico, Whites are a minority. While I do think this is interesting info, I don't know what the fuss and worrying is about. Native Americans used to be the majority, then Whites, then who knows? It's a changing world...
This weekend is the Woodward Dream Cruise. I suggest if you're not planning on going to it, that you stay AWAY from metro detroit. About 1.5 million people attend and it's a mess if you're just trying to pass through. Hmm...maybe Matt and I should leave town and go to AA this weekend?

Harry Potter what?

Apparently the 5th Harry Potter movie is coming out in July 2007 and the 6th installment was just slated for Thanksgiving 2008. Annnnnnddd, I read an article that said JK Rowling is killing off two major characters in the final book, one of them being Harry so that the franchise can not go on without her...
I'm not sure if the last sentence is true, but if it is, it's sad that he might die :( Hopefully the other character is Voldemort.

Up North and Chicago Pics

Matt and I went up north to spend time with his family. We played golf and relaxed the entire weekend. I was horrible on my first few holes and was pretty decent near the end. I think I would probably be more consistent and better if I played golf more than 1-2 times a year. I'm looking into finding a beginner's workshop so I can have the "right" swing from the start.
I also found out that I passed my Economics certification test right before we went up north so now I am on my way to having another endorsement on my certificate.

I promised to post pictures from Chicago and now that I had some sent to me, here are a few from my trip a month ago.

Me, Courtney and Nupur


L-R: Me, Dawna, Jenny, Steph, and Courtney on the boat in Lake Michigan


The Chicago skyline from the boat

Is there an afterparty? -Zoolander

Matt and I went to a martini bar in Pontiac called ILounge. It's a really nice space with modern decor. They were having an opening on Saturday (that also was Ashlee Simpson's afterparty, but Matt and I left before she came, haha). We got on the guest list since Heather knows someone whose company was sponsoring it. They had a camera crew and red carpet, very un-Michigan like! We had our picture taken while we were at a table so I'm going to check the website soon to see if we made it up there.

I got a yes on one of my interviews! There were two subbing positions available and I know they had several people interviewing for it. woo hoo! Now I'm waiting to hear back from the permanent position I interviewed for. Math teachers are supposedly more in demand than other types; I can't imagine how the social studies/english teachers are doing! I have another interview tomorrow morning so we'll see how that goes.

Today is HOT. I heard there was a heat advisory from 1-8pm today and tomorrow since the head index is 105. I hope it cools down by next weekend since we're going up north and golfing. I definitely don't want to get burned again!

I think this shirt is hilarious.

Interviews

Whew! I had two interviews this week and I just got back from my second. I hope one of them comes back with a positive response! I was nervous for them and wished they were done with. Now that they are, I wish I was back in the interviewing room saying more to the interviewers!

Concert

Recap of Concert at DTE Pine Knob:
Yesterday, Matt and I went to the Goo Goo Dolls/Counting Crows concert. I actually was able to find the set lists for both bands and they basically played off the lists in the exact order. I had seen Goo Goo Dolls before about 7 years ago. I was wondering if there would be many people there since both bands are kind of washed up. Apparently, it was sold out and there are still a ton of fans. I remember seeing John Mellencamp last year and the good thing about seeing semi-retired bands is that they always play their #1 hits so there are several songs that EVERYONE loves. I have been to many a concert at Pine Knob so Matt and I got there at the perfect time, found a great spot on the lawn and because we knew the set list, we left after all the good songs had been played (mainly we wanted to beat traffic). Pine Knob has stupid rules on what you can bring into the venue. You can bring food, but no bottled water, even if it's sealed. Cameras are not allowed, but it seemed like camera phones were totally fine. Also lawn chairs are fine, but they must be less than 25in high. Geez, they are so anal.
Anyways, the weather was not too hot and not too cool, and we had a wonderful time!

Chicago Trip

Chicago was really fun, by far the best Chicago trip ever. I'm allowed to say that since Matt and I have never gone together . I got back on Sunday and am finally ready to post since I have some time.

Courtney, Steph, Dawna and I drove into Chicago Friday night. We were expecting a lot of traffic and construction, but surprisingly there wasn't much and we arrived within 4 hours. With the time difference it seemed even earlier! Courtney and I stayed with my cousin Nupur, while Steph and Dawna stayed a few miles away with Jenny. Nupur's place is really cute! She has a doorman and a lobby in her building. It looked like a hotel! Her neighborhood is called the "Gold Coast." That night we decided to head downtown, which is a few miles south of her place. All 7 of us (including Nupur's roommate Carolyn) spent most of the time at Soundbar. It's the club featured in "The Break Up," which I'm sure you all went out to see!

On Saturday, Courtney, Nupur, and I walked to Michigan Avenue where all the shops are. It was really hot outside so we decided to stop and see "Devil Wears Prada." I had been dying to see it, and I think it was really well done. My sister didn't like how they changed major plot points from the book so in that respect, it's not REALLY well done. Let's just say if it was just a movie, I would've given it an A. I'm still going to buy it when it comes out :) Then we headed to North Avenue Beach. I noticed that wherever we went, the age group was usually between 20-30, with virtually no older people or families. Apparently, Chicago is the city for young professionals to go to. There's nightlife and starting jobs everywhere. The beach was pretty cool and Lake Michigan is beautiful! We saw a guy holding his large pet snake. He got a lot of attention, which is probably why he brought it, but we just thought it was weird. That evening, we went out for sushi, yum! It was in walking distance to Nupur's apt and they actually had spicy scallops on the menu! It's my favorite and I rate sushi places based on if they have that on the menu. That evening we joined the other gals (Steph, Dawna, Jenny) at Wrigleyville. It's a whole bunch of restaurants and bars outside the stadium. One of the places we went to had a cover band that only played one hit wonders. I requested "Chumbawumba." They didn't play it; I guess they thought the band had more than one hit which is highly unlikely...

And Sunday was the BEST day! Jenny's friends owned a boat (don't ask me how 20 somethings can afford to buy a boat) so we did that most of the day. It was more like a motor boat and from the marina to the "play pen" the driver topped out at 70-80 mph which is REALLY fast in water. We were holding on to the sides and whenever we hit a wave or drove in someone's wake the boat would jump. It was like a rollercoaster, so fun! At the play pen, which is an area of Lake Michigan where boats just anchor and hang out, we just treaded in the water. There were tons of boats anchored and you could just swim over to another boat to say hi. We got life vests out and instead of wearing them we just held onto them in the water so we could float without treading. After the "roller coaster" back to the marina, we drove home.

Because it was so hot out last weekend, I burned a little on my back and stomach... Not cool. I even have a mild sunglasses tan, which isn't very flattering either. Yesterday, I felt so itchy that Matt took me to Target to buy some anti-itch stuff. I'm glad we did that because I feel much better. Matt burns all the time so he gave me some burning advice, hehe. I usually tan everywhere and burn only on my nose, cheeks and shoulders. The back and stomach burning are so much worse!
Well, I had a really good time in Chicago and as soon as my friends send me pictures I can post some. I thought my camera broke so I stopped taking pictures after the first day. After reading my manual when I got home, I really just pushed a button that turns off my LCD screen and I just had to push it again, oops!

Chicago, oh yeah and an INTERVIEW!

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Chicago to visit my cousin, Nupur. Steph, Courtney, and Dawna are coming with, so we can all spend the weekend together. Steph's sister, Jenny, also lives in Chicago so Courtney and I are staying with my cousin, while Steph and Dawna are staying with Jenny. Nupur lives across the street from the beach of Lake Michigan and we're also planning on seeing the "Devil Wears Prada." YEAH! Although it's supposed to be deathly hot so I might just stay in with the AC .
In other good news, I got an interview today, woohoo! It's for subbing again, but it's in a closer school district who *might* have a math teacher leaving at the end of the school year.

You Are A Maple Tree

There's not anyone in this world quite like you. You are full of imagination, ambition, and originality. Shy but confident, you hunger for new experiences. You have a good memory and learn easily. You are sometimes nervous and always complex (especially in love).

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

Sounds good...

I should start packing!

Done with Econ, Junior League

Freeeeeedddooom (a la Braveheart)!!! My Econ Test is over. I am glad it's over! Yesterday night, Brian and Jackie were in the area so we met up with them for after dinner drinks. It's always nice when Ann Arbor friends come here for a change.

I was thinking of joining the Junior League of Birmingham. Mona got me into the idea since she's joining the Shreveport chapter in Louisiana. The league promotes positive community needs and leadership and it's for young women over 21. They only recruit once a year in September so I might go to a recruiting event to see what it's all about. I think it'll be a good way to meet people around here and get involved in the community.

We're thinking of seeing the Pirates sequel tomorrow.

Back from Vegas

We're back from Vegas! We had a great time. Here are some pics:


Matt and I on the gondola ride at our hotel, the Venetian


Las Vegas Blvd. (The Strip) at night


If you would like to see our whole album, let me know. We got back on July 4th and before we went to bed we looked out our window and could see the Bloomfield firework display! What a nice way to end a great vacation!

This weekend I have my 4-hour certification test :(

Happy Fourth of July

My favorite holiday will be arriving shortly...the Fourth of July.



I hope we will be able to see some fireworks on vacation. We had to miss the Detroit ones last night b/c we had to pack, etc. I used to go every year since my dad gets tickets through work. However, I got to catch the last bit of the show on NBC when I randomly turned the TV on. I hope everyone has a good weekend and Independence Day!!

Off to Vegas! :)

Golfing. Bills. Hermione.

So yesterday was supposedly the longest day of sunshine of the year, but because of the heavy rain and thunderstorms, we missed it! Tomorrow, my hubby and I are heading up north. Luckily, it's supposed to be nice. I can't wait to try out my golf clubs! I've never had a set, but Matt's mom gave me her old set. They are lightweight and have a purple tint to them.

I am not excited about paying all these bills associated with electricity, cable, phone, etc. And whenever we switch in companies/plans, the bill is all messed up. Luckily, I'm good at complaining (in a nice way) if I see a problem on our bill. The other day, Comcast charged us a fee for not paying last month. I was shocked b/c we always pay on time. Apparently the check was returned for NO APPARENT REASON. When I called, I made the guy feel so bad he took off the fee, plus gave me a lower price. Our sprint bill came the other day, and we were charged an extra $18 on activation fees. After calling customer service, I got almost $60 off! And when we were charged for Matt's cholesterol test, I looked in our healthcare benefits book and helped the Blue Cross lady retype her codes in so we were covered. Sheesh, I should be a negotiater or something.

I friended bebopics on livejournal because she somehow gets all these pictures of the harry potter clan. I thought this one was interesting:

It's Emma Watson (Hermione, my fav character) on her way to her school's "ball" aka prom! awww... I think Britain has a lower minimum age for drinking alcohol, and I'm thinking she's above that minimum age??


I bet she read Hogwarts: A History during the afterparty.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

Matt and I got to try out our pool on Saturday night. It was ridiculously hot, but the pool was really cold! We lounged around on chairs until most of the kids left and then went for a swim.

Today, I'm going to check out the VS semi-annual sale and make a quick stop at my parent's house to send out more resumes on their fax machine. Tomorrow marks the first day of summer!

From Heather's blog:

You Should Visit Argentina

Cowboys, European food, beaches, and skiing. This country is like no other! Learn to tango, hike across Patagonia, eat at fine restaurants... you'll never be bored.

What Latin American Country Should You Visit?

Studying...again

My mom's birthday was yesterday! Happy Birthday Mom! I went over yesterday to wish her a happy birthday and a happy father's day to my dad since they'll be in Niagara Falls this weekend. It's hard to believe that way back when, Niagara Falls was THE honeymoon spot. Now it's all islands and hot places.
Matt and I nixed our plans to go up north this weekend because his court dates were pushed back, so he'll have to work this weekend. Lawyers have really demanding jobs; I'm so proud of him! We're going to try next week, otherwise, we're busy until the last weekend in July!
I have been studying non-stop for my Economics certification test. I am endorsed in Mathematics, but since I majored in Economics as well, I thought I'd tack that on. I had to apply for the endorsement through UofM, so my test scores will be sent there. It's been so long since I studied! I can see why it's hard to go back to student mode, and I've only been a non-student for 6 months! I bought a few econ textbooks from the library bookshop and have been reading them for several hours a day. I hope it all comes back to me during the test! I totally forgot about marginal rate of substitution, consumer surplus, etc. EEK!

This Past Weekend

This past weekend went by really fast. Mona came to visit, so I spent most of my weekend with her and my family.

On Sunday, Matt and I met up with his family at The Whitney for brunch. The food was amazing and the place looked like a mansion. It was hard to believe something that beautiful was in the middle of Detroit! We then went to the Masonic to see Wicked. The play tells the story of the Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch. It was cleverly done.

Yesterday, Mona and I went to see The Break Up. I wasn't expecting much because Jennifer Aniston was in it. But I was mildly impressed. The movie was more realistic than cheesy, and it had its funny moments. Definitely rent-worthy...I wouldn't say it's theatre worthy though.

I also read a few books, Mitch Albom's The Five People you meet in Heaven was really good. It's an interesting way of what happens after you die where five people that have influenced you explain your life to you. I also finished The Nanny Diaries. It's about a graduate student at NYU who takes nanny jobs to pay for tuition/rent. The parents are filthy rich and basically care more about themselves and how they look to upper-class society than loving their kids. It was really funny, and the parents were so pathetic. I thought it was weird how the main character's name is Nanny. Why would the author name her that?! The movie is coming out later this year with Scarlett Johansson.

On the job front, no leads. However, I am going to be tutoring a student for ACT/SAT prep for 5 weeks. That should be interesting.

I'm off to the library and then grabbing lunch with Jen.

666= Nothing

As a math teacher, this is the only time I will have subject heading like that. I think it's so annoying how people are making a big deal about 6/6/06.

Today, Crystal and I went to Happy Hour at Max&Erma's. I have only been to this restaurant once before and have never been to any Happy Hour! The appetizers were all half-off. I may have to come back some day for dinner, they had some tasty things on the menu.

Your Ideal Pet is a Little Dog

You're both high strung, hyper, and cute. You're one of the few people who can get away with carrying your little dog in a little bag.

What's Your Ideal Pet?

I wouldn't do the bag thing, I would put it on a leash like a normal person. Now, I just have to secretly get one without Matt knowing, hmmm...

Summer is Coming

I am officially done subbing for the year. I really liked working at Avondale. They are not going to have a math position for next year, so hopefully this summer will be the time I secure a job. I've heard so many stories from teachers where they get hired a few days before school starts. I can't imagine waiting that long, sheesh.

I've decided to tutor this summer. That way I can work around my schedule if I have interviews to go to. I applied to a few tutoring companies and put up signs in the my building because there are a ton of families here. We'll see what develops.

I am so excited for Vegas! We're leaving at the end of the month and staying here. Even the smallest room, which is what we booked I think, looks amazing. We got a pretty good deal booking online through travelocity. I want to see Cirque De Soleil, but we're going to try to get last-minute tickets while we're there b/c they supposedly sell them cheaper.

I hung out with Steph and Courtney, and Courtney's friends Catherine and Sandra on Friday. Driving into AA is always tricky in the summer because of all the construction. The worst part is that M-14 is down to one lane for several miles and being behind a truck or slow car can up your drive by 10-15 minutes!

Today, Matt and I made Chicken Gyoza and tried edamame for lunch. It hasn't really grown on me yet. We ate them boiled and lightly salted. They look a little like peapods. The first time I popped a bean out, it went up and landed in my Kool-Aid. Matt laughed at me for a few minutes; it really was hilarious. We didn't eat that one, especially after it stayed red. haha I remember trying sushi and not liking it at first, and now I love it and try to eat it once a week. The other day, I thought I'd try eel sushi and it wasn't bad. I had Matt eat one, and he didn't mind it either. I'm glad more sushi places have been opening up, so I can just pick up an order of rolls for $5. I really like how all these new foods that people never used to eat in the US are so easy to find now. I love EVERY type of food, you name it, I'll eat it. Kids now are really lucky to be growing up with such a rich diversity of food.

Reena's LASIK surgery

My LASIK (not LASEK, that's different) surgery went well. I had it last Friday morning and I really felt fine by that evening. Every day, my eyes are feeling better and better. Several of my friends want this surgery, so I decided to write up the surgery details. I've told the story a few times, so I figured I would type it in here just in case others wanted to know :)

Matt and my parents came with me to Royal Oak Beaumont at 7:15AM. It was the hospital where my siblings and I were born, and everyone else and their mother from the metro-Detroit area as well! The hospital is spread out with a lot of buildings and I asked my dad where I was born and he pointed to the exact building and said "Third floor." I thought that was so cute.

Anyways, we had our own little waiting room and before the surgery I was given Valium. Yep, valium. I was super nervous and the nurse said that the valium would only make me feel less jumpy and once the surgery was done and my nerves were lessened, I'd really feel the valium kick in and make me loopy. I had to put my hair back and under a blue scrub hairnet. I was taken to the surgical room, which looked like a dentist's chair with tons of equipment around it. They put a ton of different medicine drops in my eye to numb, water, etc. My top and bottom lashes were taped back and a wrench utensil of sorts was put under my lids to hold them open. I bet it looked painful, but I didn't feel a thing. Then a circular suction was set on the whites of my eyes, around my retina. The doctor explained everything before it happened so I wasn't surprised. He said the suction would make me see black for 20 seconds even though my eyes were open.

After I could see again, I had to focus on the red dot above me and not take my gaze off of it. He made a flap in my cornea (The outer layer of my eye). The red dot was blurry, but I could still see it.

He held my head and had to lock the LASIK machine on my eye. Then the laser went off. It sounded like a bebe gun firing at my eye. I couldn't feel it, but I smelled burnt something.

The flap was replaced. And a second later, the wrench was taken out. The most painful part was probably him ripping the tape off my lashes/eyebrows. The same process was done to my left eye. My dad said I was gone for about 15 minutes. It seemed a lot longer, but I guess the actual laser part was like a few seconds in each eye. And the nurse was right, I was really loopy after the surgery when I felt calm again.

(The images were taken from http://www.lasersite.com/lasik/index.htm which has more pictures and information on the technical aspects of the surgery)

The doctor said that contact-lens wearers have the easiest time during the surgery since we've trained ourselves to look off into space without blinking. That's so true. I can put drops in my eyes and not blink even after the drop is in my eye. I wasn't like that before contacts. For a few days my eyes got tired and I had to rest them every so often. It's amazing how even eye muscles can get sore! When Matt and I went to the mall, just scanning for a shirt or a size, made my eyes tired and I had to remember to move my head with my eyes so I wouldn't have to roll my eyes as much. Yesterday, (Sunday), I was ready to drive and watch a movie. We went to see DaVinci Code, which I will talk about later since this entry is now a novel! By habit, I always feel I need to take off my contacts at night, or I'll try to grab my glasses from my bedstand in the morning. It really hasn't hit me yet, but it's nice not having to worry about contacts/glasses. I got a check up today, and I have 20/15 vision now, which is better than 20/20. I have to put antibiotic drops and anti-inflammatory drops in my eyes for a week, but with LASEK, drops are needed for a couple months! The details above may scare a few squeamish people, but it was really very easy! I am happy with the results and I recommend this surgery to anyone who needs it.

My doctor was highly recommended to me by my sister's friend (who is a doctor) and her mom (who is also a doctor). They both had it done. The package includes all the medicines, after surgery eyewear, evaluations, the actual surgery, and follow up appts for a year. I also like how it's not an eye center that advertises on TV with discounts. This is through the hospital, which makes me believe the doctors are more respected and qualified.

My surgery is TOMORROW!

I took today and tomorrow off since my surgery is tomorrow. I'm nervous about it, but the actual surgery only takes five minutes. Five minutes! It's tomorrow morning and then I have a check up the same day at 4. Matt's going in to work late to take me to the hospital, but my parents are taking me to their house and I'm supposedly just going to be sleeping until my check up.
If I'm back to 100%, Matt and I might go to his condo up north for the long weekend. If I'm not quite better, I think we may just spend the weekend at our apartment and watch movies. Either way should be fun!
I'm off to work out, it's been a while .

Bridesmaid Dress

Matt and I came back from Morgan's 2nd birthday party in AA. We had lunch, cake, and opened presents. We bought her two books, Tikki Tikki Tembo, and Caps for Sale. Those books are really great children's books! I think my favorites were the Disney fairytale ones like Snow White, and Cinderella, especially when I was starting to read. I was actually more of a tomboy growing up. My sister always wore dresses and had ribbons in her hair, and I wore the pants and had crazy hair! But I always liked thosed fairytales.
Ashley and AJ's wedding is moving right along. Since Ashley asked me to be a bridesmaid, I am listed on her theknot website! I'm excited one of my friends is getting married! Most of my other friends are not even thinking about it yet. Although Ashley's wedding is next June, meaning in 2007, she already picked out her dress and bridesmaid dresses. Here is what I will be wearing, except mine is going to be lilac (the same color my bridesmaids wore!), with an ice blue ribbon and it is strapless.





This wedding is a great excuse for Matt and I to visit Nebraska again. Even though they are getting married closer to Omaha in Bellevue, I would love to visit UNL again. Even though I was in Lincoln for only two years, Ashley and I became instant close friends and it's nice to know that I will always have a friend in Nebraska.

Book Reviews

The only nice thing about being a sub is that once I leave school everyday, there is no extra work I need to do afterwards so I have time to read! I also subscribe to UsWeekly and Glamour so I have plenty to read in my spare time!

I finished a few books in the past few weeks. I read The DaVinci Code, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Wedding. The DaVinci Code was good. It was easy to tell what was fact and fiction and I'm not even Christian. I don't know why Christian leaders are afraid the book might sway followers to turn their backs on their beliefs. If a fictitious book can do that, then the believers weren't very faithful in the first place. I, myself, enjoy conspiracy theories so the book was entertaining to the point where I thought Dan Brown did an amazing job trying to line up his story with historical documents. I will be seeing this movie. I told Matt, perhaps this could be the first movie I see once I have "perfect eyes!"

The Devil Wears Prada is definitely a chick lit book, but really well done. I love fashion and having the main character work for a fashion magazine owner was really cool. I am excited to see this movie when it comes out this summer. I can totally see Meryl Streep playing the "Devil." Even though the fashion assistant is supposed to be blonde, I'm glad Anne Hathaway is playing Andy. I hope the movie is almost as good as the book! I say "almost" because I think books are virtually always better than their movies.

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks was sappy, but good. It's the follow-up book to The Notebook so I anticipated high sappiness levels. The book is about an older couple whose kids have all grown up and they are not in love anymore. With the kids suddenly gone, they have to learn to live together as a couple and not a family. They are both unhappy and the husband decides to try and make his wife fall in love with him all over again. The pair could totally be Matt and I in 30 years! Not because of the unhappiness! Because the husband is a lawyer, the wife is a teacher, and their personalities are similar to ours. There is a happy ending so it wouldn't be all that bad if it were really us!

Some other movies I want to see this summer: X-Men, Pirates (The preview didn't look good, but b/c the first one was good, I'll give this one a try), Click, Over the Hedge. Going to the movies is getting super expensive so I wouldn't mind waiting for these to come out on DVD and just seeing DaVinci Code and Devil in the theater.

I didn't get called to sub today. It's senior exam day and their last day so I have a feeling that's why most teachers are in school. I need to go to the library today and pick up new books. I also am closing my account at Comerica. I saved enough for the surgery and now I'll transfer that into our joint account so I can pay for it using my Disney Card!

I thought these were funny. I got them from Erika's blog.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street) Brenda Troy Center Drive...that doesn't sound very rock star to me

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your mother's side, your favorite candy) Kamal Reeses Pieces Peanut Butter Cup

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color,favorite animal) Purple Bengal Tiger

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, town you grew up in) Gupta Troy (hmmm that sounds more like my driver's license)

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name) Herade Bre (I don't have a pet, so I used Brenda, my goldfish again)

6. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards) atpug edanar

7. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile you drive) The Purple Saturn

Happy Mother's Day

We celebrated Mother's Day with my mom today. We went to Kruse and Muer and saw Mission Impossible III. The movie was pretty good. I actually think I like the second one better. It was really fun to be able to do all that with Matt, my parents, and Ashwin. I think my mom enjoyed it too! The weather has been realy blah these past couple of days. I mean rainy, cold, windy. And it's supposed to be like this for a few more days. EWWW
Tomorrow we're celebrating Mother's Day with Matt's mom. We're heading to Ann Arbor for brunch and hopefully golf, weather permitting. It's been a relaxing weekend so far.

Still a sub...

I have been subbing for the same teacher all week. It's actually my cooperating teacher who I student taught for. She is pretty sick and so she requested me because who better to take over the class for a little while? I have been giving lessons, quizzes, etc. It's definitely a more demanding job than subbing, that's for sure. It's like being a teacher! Speaking of, I have FINALLY been finding math jobs around here. Schools are starting to figure out what additional staff is required for the following school year. Hopefully I get an interview soon!!

Matt is at his second to last blueprint class. It is an 8-week class, so I'm glad when he will finish next week. The class goes until 9 and he is so tired Thursday nights!

This weekend, Steph and Courtney are coming to visit!! We'll probably go to Somerset, and then who knows what? With Matt, that's four for euchre.

Pistons

Matt and I got to go to a Pistons Playoff Game on Wednesday! Not only did we get seats, we got seats in a Luxury Suite AND Free Parking. You can't beat that! My parents get tickets from time to time from their financial planner so they invited us to go along. The playoff games are definitely more intense and more exciting to watch. The Pistons are obviously really good too.
Here are some pics:

Our tickets. Do you see the PRICE for each ticket???



Inside the suite. There weren't too many people in the suite that day, so we all fit in the viewing box.



Matt was trying to get a nice slam dunk shot, but someone blocked it. It's still a cool action shot!

Our first dinner guests, Spring Break is over

My parents came over yesterday for their first dinner at our apartment. They were also our first guests over for dinner. I was super stressed about it, but it went really well and my parents were impressed! We made sangria, enchiladas, mexican rice, and chocolate mousse. YUM! My parents brought over a Rachel Ray cookbook for me so I can take that off of my amazon list. And my mom gave me a huge folder of my old reports, etc. I saved a few of my favorite projects throughout the years, but I never realized my mom was doing the same. They were funny to look at!

Spring break ended for Avondale Schools so I'm hoping to get the sub calls again every day this week. As a teacher, I wouldn't mind spring break. As a sub, I did not like having a week off. I know, it sounds crazy! :)

Sidenote: I do not like how facebook.com combined all my friends into one category instead of keeping it separated by school!

Boston

Boston was really fun. Steph and Dawna completed the marathon with an awesome time of 3:45:37. The weather was a bit chilly, but excellent conditions for the runners. There was a considerable drop in heat stroke cases because of the 50 degree weather. We also went to the famous Cheers bar. We passed a lot of sights I remember from visiting Matt when he interned in Boston for a summer, like Boston Common and a historical graveyard. Here are a few pictures:

Steph running the marathon. I was too excited when I saw her so she's not centered (she's at the left wearing pink shorts). At least she's smiling! This is mile 21!


After the marathon, a little more dressed up. From L-R Steph, me, Jenny, and Dawna.


While sightseeing the next day, we saw the smallest bar! There was a funny sign inside that said "Maximum Occupancy: 8000 persons" when it could really only fit 2 or 3 tables!


Something that has to be talked about was the dinky plane I was in from Flint to Cleveland, and from Cleveland to Flint on the way home. My connecting flight to and from Boston was a normal 737. Here are some pics:

The plane


I was in seat 2, here is my view of the front. I could see the pilot the whole time she was flying! When there was some turbulence I could really feel it. I felt better when I looked up and my pilot was sipping her coke and acting like nothing was shaking.


The back of the plane. There were only 8 or 9 rows so that means there were only about 16 passengers!


The propeller from my window. Even the small planes with the 2-1 seating don't have propellers! It was kind of cool though...

Poker and Easter plans

Yesterday night, Matt and I hung out with my parents and their poker gang. I thought it was going to be boring, but it was really fun. They play with chips so it's more about the game and not the money. The deal went to the next person every hand and they got to make a new rule such as "for this hand, 3's are jokers," or "for this hand, a 'kissing' hand, i.e. a 2 and 3, a 4 and 5 etc. together is a joker," or you can "buy" cards if that rule is in that hand. I learned a lot and one of the best parts was that it's a potluck so we got to try different Indian dishes!

Today, we're doing a lot of things around the apt. We bought a few wedding/honeymoon pictures online, specifically for the frames we received from our registry. So those are finally being diplayed. We might watch the 40-year old- virgin later. We heard great reviews from critics and friends.

I'm really excited to go to Boston tomorrow. I checked the weather and it's actually cooler there. This is the course Steph and Dawna will be running:


Matt and I are still going to celebrate Easter and have an early brunch (like 9:30!) so I can make my flight in Flint at 1. I wish Matt could come :( but I'll only be gone for about two days since I come back Tuesday.

Matt and I finally picked the pictures for our Indian wedding album. Now we have to tackle the Church wedding/Reception pictures which could take several hours! We have to pick 50 out of 900 for this album! Luckily, we have all of the pics on a CD so we can always just buy more through kodakgallery.com. We actually did pick a few 8x10s for our wedding frames to display in the apt. And we bought a few honeymoon pics. We received this long frame that holds 3 4x6 pictures and we decided to update them with our most recent trips, which in this case will be Jamaica.
Today was a really relaxing day for the first time since the wedding it seems. We went out to lunch at Maggiano's to celebrate Sabrina's birthday as well as my dad's retirement. It is so weird that my dad is retired, but he was counting down the days to my wedding so he could do it. And he got a really great package with GM since they're having all these buy outs. His retirement party will be on Tuesday in his former office. After lunch and picking out pictures, Matt and I looked at each other and realized we didn't have anything to do! We finished "chores" and everything else. It was a REALLY GOOD feeling.
I started a free one-month trial with Blockbuster. There are all these movies I have wanted to see in the past few years. Because Matt works long hours and subbing leaves me extra time since I don't have to make lesson plans, etc. I thought this was a good way to knock some movies off my list. Matt added "Saw" to the list, which I have no interest in seeing. But I'm sure he has no interest in seeing Elizabethtown.
Oh and I finally bought DaVinci Code. I was waiting for it to come out on paperback because I don't like hardcover books. It took FOREVER. Apparently the book has sold over 40 million already, so I guess I would keep selling the overpriced hardcover books if people were still buying it! Anyway, I'm going to start reading that in time for the movie, which is supposed to come out in the next month or so.

Happy Spring

As you can see, I updated the journal for a more spring feel. I hope the weather catches up!

Upcoming Events

Matt and I met another couple in our building and we all hung out last night. It was nice getting together with friends and not having to drive to Ann Arbor to see them! We definitely need to meet more people around here. In a few weeks, I will be going to Boston for a few days to watch Steph run the Boston Marathon!! I'm so excited to go. That week happens to be spring break for all the districts I'm subbing for, so I don't have to take any work off. It's only from Easter Sunday to Tuesday, but I think it'll be a busy trip. I was hoping Matt could go, but he can't take any days off of work. Luckily I can still spend Easter with him, since I'm not leaving until the afternoon.

Tomorrow we're going to Milas' Martini Party. I think this may be one of their last get togethers since they are moving to Texas soon. How sad! And on Sunday we are going to Jenny's confirmation and to dinner with Matt's family.

I totally sound like Frank the Tank right now, but I'm hoping we can go to Home Depot sometime this weekend, but I'm not sure if we'll have time.

Weight quiz, subbing

You Should Weigh 140

If you weigh less than this, you either have a fast metabolism or are about to gain weight. If you weigh more than this, you may be losing a few pounds soon!

How Much Do You Weigh?

Hmmm, I definitely don't weigh this. It's more than 20 lbs off, stupid calculator. I'm not sure why it didn't ask me for my height or some other key questions that helps determine weight. For fun, I put in all the answers for a ton of exercising and eating right and it says that the person should way 91 pounds. Sick! Anyways, I hope I have the fast metabolism and I'm not about to gain weight!

I am now working at 3 school districts as a sub. I hated having a day off and 2 of the districts have this neat sub-finder thing where I call in and sign up for jobs so I don't necessarily get called in the morning. The third school still has the call in the morning thing, but I want to stay in their system because I student taught there and they know me best.

Applying, And Weekend Stuff

I have applied to several positions while subbing. I hope something comes through. However, not one job has been for a secondary math teacher! I'm still looking every day though.

Matt and I went to see V for Vendetta. Besides having a few minutes worth of cheesy parts, the movie was powerful and complex. The Wachowski brothers made the film (the same people who did the Matrix trilogy) so you can imagine the complexity I'm talking about. It was very political and agenda pushing, but done really well.

Right before the movie, we watched George Mason beat the number one seeded UConn. We can't believe they pulled it off. Although I'm doing horribly in the March Madness pool I entered (not one of my Final Four made it!), I'm really glad George Mason is going far. A true underdog!
Here's a funny poll done by ESPN:



Everyone wants George Mason to win except fans of LSU, UCLA, and Florida which are the only states not maroon :)