Celebrating Veteran's Day

Today marks the holiday in observing our Veterans.  I am thankful to all of the Veterans. For without them who knows just where we would be.

I thank the men and women serving today, I thank the men and woman who plan to serve in the future, I thank the men and women who have served in the past and I especially thank the men & women that paid the ultimate price for this country. Thank You and God Bless You.

Both of my grandfather's served in the military. 

My grandpa Bill was in the Korean War.  After he passed away (not from serving- medical issues), my grandma gave me one of his dogtags. 

My other grandpa Ron served in the Navy.  He went when he was 17 years old and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. 

On a side note, Kit-Kat won the Candy Bar Election!

Candy Election

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!!

Today in school, my students participated in our primary election for our Candy Election.  It's the Chocolate against the Fruit/Chewy candy.  We made a list of all the types of candy that falls under that category and then voted on one from each.  And the winner is......

Kit-Kat vs. Starburst!!

It was a great activity for Halloween!  Students will write speeches as to why their choice of candy wins!  I will share with you the final results! 

Sometimes, teaching can be so fun!!

Ghetto Bedford

For the last 3 years, my family has gone to Bedford, PA to stay in a cabin.  The first year we celebrated my dad's 50th birthday, second year was my mom's 50th birthday, and this year was my sister's 30th birthday!   We went this weekend and had so much fun!  I call this blog "Ghetto Bedford" as an inside joke about my dad's reaction when we found out we were going there for his 50th birthday.

Since when we go it is someone's milestone birthday, we create a PowerPoint slideshow of their life.  It was my turn to make Kara's slideshow and I am so proud of myself because I did it!  I have never done a PowerPoint slideshow before, so I was quite impressed with myself (there was even music in it!).

Some things that we do in Bedford, is see the windmills, Gravity Hill (Google it), shopping, have bonfires, and drink.  This year was really no different. We went to the Johnstown Flood Memorial, drank Sam Adams Octoberfest out of a pumpkin keg, Kara and I sang and danced to New Kids on the Block, did some antiquing, played "Name that Tune 80s Style", created Bendaroos, drank, had a bonefire, grilled out, and drank some more.  One of the best part about Bedford, besides the breath-taking view, is that we always come home with delicious Delmonico steaks.  :)   

It was a nice relaxing few days away from work.  Here are a few pics from my mini-vacation.

The amazing view from the deck!  I watched the sunrise twice- no photo could ever capture its true beauty!

The windmills on our way in.  This was a cluster of them by the road.  I like the rustic meets modern look of this picture.

 



Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire

Another tradition that my BFF, Kori and I do every year is attend the annual Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire in New Stanton, PA.  We dress up, drink at the Pub, and have a blast!  This was my 6th year attending the faire, and every year is just as fun as the last. 

I was really excited this year because I got a new costume.  Here are a few pics. 

They have the neatest shops and gift ideas.  I got Toby's dad a family crest picture with the history, and my sister a candle that is actually a moisturizing lotion.  It's a great place for families, or 2 pirates trying to get some ale!  Huzzah!!

New Year's Resolution Updates

I can't believe it is almost the end of September. Crazy to think that only 10 months ago, did I compose these resolutions. Where does the time go??? Here is my New Year's Resolution update...

1.) I will maintain a healthy lifestyle. The exercising has not been happening, but I'm eating good. So technically, that is maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I am eager to try out the walking trail by my house, but I need a buddy, because I've heard horror stories if you go by yourself. I'm making good choices in eating, so I'm still succeeding at this goal.

2.) Once a month, I will donate to an organization of my choice.
January- Money Donation to Relay for Life for our 2nd grade fundraiser.
February- Money Donation to the Empty Bowls Project of Monongalia County (a school fundraiser as well)
March- 2 1/2 bags of clothing and shoes donated to the Goodwill
April- Goodwill donation
May- Goodwill donation (gotta love moving!)
June- Cory's Kidz $10 donation in honor of a high school classmate that passed away. RIP Joey Burkland~~~~
July- $20 donation towards spay and neutering of stray animals in OBX
August- Goodwill donation and $30 donation to Cameroom Football Development Program
September- $5 donation to St. Jude's hospital and purchase from Pura Vida bracelets, which proceeds go to providing full time jobs to folks in Costa Rica and helping clean the shorelines.

 3.) I will pay off my credit cards. It's a work in progress.....as always. Haha. Balances are still low, even though unexpected purchases always come up! LoL.

And this last goal is just for this blog: ~I will post on my blog at least twice a month.- So far, so good!!! (Except for February! Hey, its a short month!)

I am doing good with my goals. I would say my weakest is the credit cards. Hey, what can I say!? This girl likes to spend money! LoL.

FYI Note: Today marks the 7th Anniversary of Toby and my first date. We went to TGIFriday's and then saw "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"

Tomorrow I will be going to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival with Kori, which is a yearly tradition. I am very excited about it and will post about it before the end of this month! Until then! ~

My Best Friend's Wedding

Wow, what a busy, busy month is has been.  Between weddings (yes, mulitple), a bachelorette party, and school starting, I can't believe it's the end of August already. 

On August 11th, we had Kori's bachelorette party in Marietta, Ohio.  Kori had no idea about it and we had a blast!  We went to a Mexican resturant for dinner, stayed at an amazing hotel, and went bar hopping and dancing.  It was so much fun!

Then finally, on August 18th, Kori's big day came!  Being the Marton of Honor, I was by Kori's side all day, and was so nervous about my speech!  As mentioned in earlier posts, Kori and I have been friends for 22 years.  We have been through everything together.  She is such a special person in my life.  As I had been practicing my speech, I would always cry.

Needless to say, not even 20 seconds into my speech, I got emotional.  I totally winged my speech and made it short and sweet.  Then, I gave my speech to Kori to read at her own time.  LoL.  Oh well, nobody remembers speeches anyways. 

All in all, it was such a beautiful day.  The ceremony was great, reception gorgeous and fun!  The food was delish, decorations outstanding, and everyone had a wonderful evening.  Here are a few pics:

I was snapping pics as the photographer was too- this was a photo where Kori posed for me.  LoL. 

This was the gift from all the bridesmaids.  A bottle of wine for each occasion- First fight, First Anniversary, First dinner party, First baby (which was beer for Andrew), First Christmas, and Wedding Night.  Also, there was a bottle of wine from each bridesmaid with a note from each attached.

I got the idea from Pinterest and actually, the labels came right from there.  The crate was from Michaels and I stained and painted their name.  Last, but not least- the sign.  It totally descirbes thier relationship and love for football.  I found that at Wings at OBX.  It was very appropriate for them.

 

Life's a Beach

This past Sunday, Toby and I returned from our trip to Rodanthe, NC from a week's vacation.  It was the first time that we had been to Rodanthe, but we have previously stayed in Nags Head (aka OBX) years before.  Rodanthe is just about 30 miles South.  My mom, dad, sister, her boyfriend, and his mom, dad, and aunt all went.  It was a lot of fun and our house was very nice- and more importantly, right on the beach! The only bad thing was the mosquitos!! They were horrible and I guess that area is known for them being bad because the sound and ocean are so close (less then 1/4 mile apart) and because their are a lot of swampy areas. 

So for this post, I decided to do somewhat of a photo diary, showing some parts of my trip.




This is my favorite part of being at the beach- sitting in a beach chair, with a beer in my hand, soaking up the sun.  I did this daily.

On Tuesday, everyone but my mom, sister, and me went on a deep sea fishing trip- or as Toby likes to call it, "Puke Feast 2012".  They were 35 miles offland and EVERYONE got sick.  They ended up catching 4 big tunas (which were delish).  So they had to get up ealry and leave by 4:30am.  This was the only day I got to watch the sunrise and I captured this beautiful picture before the sun appeared.  After the sunrise, my mom, sis, and I walked the beach, went shopping, and had lunch at a great restaurant called Top Dog Cafe ~ I highly recommend it if you are ever in Rodanthe.

On Thursday, we went to Cape Hatterass Lighthouse.  This is my dad's favorite lighthouse and is the tallest in North America.  I have climbed it 3 times now, but this was my first time with Toby and it was a stuggle.

 Here is a picture that shows the narrowness of the stairs, and there are 257 stairs in total, with 8 landings for breaks.

Here we are on a break on one of the landings.  We were sweating like pigs and Toby was not sure he could make it.  The heat index was above 90 degree Fahrenheit in the lighthouse that day.

This is the light that they now use in the lighthouse.  In 1999, the lighthouse was moved more inland, with fear of the shoreline rising and damaging the lighthouse.  I think then, they got rid of the original light and replaced it with a new age spotlight.  I'm not sure whether or not the light is on each night...

We made it to the top!! (Ignore my hair blowing- The wind speed was 25 mph at the top!)

It was a wonderful trip and a nice relaxation.  I must say though, I was very happy to be home, since we were only in our new home for one week, and then we left again for a week. 

The house is coming along good.  I will post pics soon.  I still really can't believe we are in it!