5 days

I absolutely cannot believe I leave for Italy in just 5 days. I have a zillion things I feel like I need to do/remember to get/pack but little time to do it all. I'll manage somehow but I bet Sunday will be a bit nuts. Our flight doesn't leave till 3:45, we then have a layover in Frankfurt (6 hours I think, good god) and then onto Milan. We start in Venice, then onto Florence and then almost a full week in Rome. It's gonna be kickass. Oh, did I tell you there will be around 30 high school students on the trip too? Glad I'm not a chaperone:)

Tonight Jon and I are cooking for my mom and dad. It's going to be a shrimp and asparagus pasta toss. The recipe is up on the fudblog if you want it. Hopefully it'll turn out ok and they'll like it.

I can't remember if I mentioned that I'm doing an interview with Sum 41 for Revolt. They're not my favorites or anything, but it's still kinda neat to have gotten an interview with a band that's on a major label and has a number of full-length albums behind them. I also have another feature up on the main page of Revolt from an interview I did with National Product. Check it out.

I broke down and ordered three new books from Amazon yesterday and can't wait for them to come. I've been invited to join a summer reading contest and need to get crackin' if I want to even stand a chance. Jon lent me Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko and though I just started it, I'm already having trouble putting it down.

Ciao.
Listening to: Punk Goes Acoustic Vol. 2

Bwah, hah, hah, hah...LOL cats!

These are just too ridiculous. For more, go here. I waste so much time looking at this site...

Hello Monday

Ugh. I hate Mondays. Not only is it such a letdown after the weekend, all the nutjobs seem to come out and call the clinic after doing stupid shit (like punching walls) and getting hurt over the weekend. Aargh.

Friday was a trip to Dominick's with Kelly and Peter which was a lot of fun (perfect Dominick's weather). A summer weight-loss challenge was proposed and thus begun. The deal is this: girls have to try and lose 10 lbs by August 24, guys are to lose 20 lbs by the same date (the theory being it's easier for guys to lose weight than for girls). Rules are: no diet pills and SO's can eliminate a contestant for unhealthy practices. At first it was just between Kelly and Jon but a few of us have decided to join the race. Whoever reaches the goal first wins. Losers have to pay for the winner's spoils at Dominick's at the end of the summer. I decided to go in on this. I don't care if I'm the first to make the goal, I just wouldn't mind losing 10 lbs by the end of the summer.
Anyways, after Dominick's, we headed to Leopold's to help celebrate Rodger's b-day. Vicious rounds of Uno were played (no idea who won, I wasn't paying too much attention which pretty much guarantees I DIDN'T win:) and fun was had.

Saturday was Ben and Jessica's wedding. It was definitely a lot of fun and they had a perfect day for it. I really give them credit for doing it exactly as THEY wanted, not how other people wanted them to do it. Good friends, good food and some bocce ball.

As for this week, I think it's going to be pretty insane. Tonight is trivia, tomorrow Jon and I are having a night to ourselves before our busy social calendar kicks off. Wednesday we're cooking dinner for my parents, Thursday might be either going to the Lyle Lovett/KD Lang concert with my mom (ugh, I REALLY am not into their music, but my dad won't go with my mom) or seeing the new Die Hard movie with Jon and a bunch of his friends. I'm not sure which is the lesser of the two evils;) Friday is a friend's birthday bash, Saturday is the Wolfmother show, Sunday is packing and getting ready for Italy and Monday afternoon I'm off for bella Italia. Whew. I'm tired just looking at all that.

Listening to: Virgin Radio

Bad English Teacher! Bad!

Mental Note: Stop using the word "fun" so much. I was re-reading the last few posts and noticed I'd used that word excessively. I'd mark my students down for using the same word too many times in close succession, I should be paying more attention. My apologies:)

T-minus eleven days

11 days till we leave for Italy. I'm finally getting excited about it:) It was just one of those things that seemed SO far away for SO long that it was like it would never come. Now it's actually around the corner which is exciting but also a little nerve-wracking in thinking of all I need to do before I go. Eh, it'll all get done. It always gets done.

It's pretty weird not having piles of papers to grade or lesson plans to write. I'm not complaining though! It's also nice not having to get up at 5:20 and being able to goof off in the evenings. Sure, it would be best of all if I wasn't working, but plastics, though I dislike a lot of things about it, still could be worse. And I got a whopping $2/an hour raise, so that's fun.

I'm really excited about Ben and Jessica's wedding this weekend. I'm so happy for them and I think it's going to be a fun party on top of that. I hope the weather holds out for them since the whole thing will be outside...

Not much else really. Jon and I went to Aubree's for pizza and beer last night which was fun. I love being able to sit outside at restaurants during the summer and just people watch. It's so fun:) The Wolfmother concert is next weekend and it should be even more fun since The Hard Lessons are opening. I've got a couple more concerts later on in July and August, but not much before Italy.

Good summer thus far, I've got no complaints:)

Listening to: The Automatic, Not Accepted Anywhere

I'm baaaack...

I survived the end of school and had a full but fun weekend. Friday at school was the mad dash to get final grades done, tidy up my classroom, sign my contract (yay, a raise next year!), and get everything squared away before the summer. I wanted to be out of there at noon, I was out by 12:30, so no real complaints.

Friday afternoon/evening was all about being done. Jon and I headed to Dominick's for sangria and pizza, followed by seeing "Daywatch" at the Michigan Theater and a brief stop at Alley Bar with Martin, Kelly and others.

Saturday was a lot of running around after getting my ass out of bed at noon. Quick visit to an art exhibit my mom had two drawings in and then Jon and I ran to Bed, Bath and Beyond for Ben and Jessica's wedding present, Hiller's, the Dog-o-mat and back to Ypsi. We were going to head to the dogpark with Fina, but ended up having to save that for another day. Back to A2 to meet my parents, Husband and Wife for a birthday/Father's Day/Anniversary dinner at Mediterrano (really great food), home for dessert and presents and then to Alley Bar and the Fleetwood. Another loooooooooooong day and late night.

Sunday Jon and I headed to his parents' for another Father's Day celebration. We cooked (black and bleu burgers, yam oven fries and mango chutney), played Apples to Apples and had a grand old time. I think all the running around and late nights caught up with me because by the time we were heading home not only did my head feel like it would explode (headache) I was SO tired.

Mostly recovered today for my first day back at plastics. Nothing has changed there, big surprise, although I got a $2/hour raise (woot!). Heading to trivia tonight after Jon and I attempt to make chicken with coconut sauce, possibly saffron rice and the leftover mango chutney. I think Husband and Wife are heading to trivia tonight too...I'm looking forward to it.

Oh, and Husband, Wife, Jon and I are starting a food blog with recipes and such. Check it out here.

I'm SO glad it's the summer. We leave for Italy 2 weeks from today!

Photos from Thursday

In case the hilarity at the 8 Ball isn't quite clear, here are a few photos from the night. Also, in other news, we WON TRIVIA last night!!! Woo! It's only the second time I've ever been on the winning team and it was pretty great. The only down bit of the night was when some asshole almost ran me and Jon over as we were crossing the street to Conor's. Had my reaction time been even a hair slower, I'd have cracked my head on the street. Ugh. Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive.

Tomorrow is my last day with 4th hour! Yay! Only 3 more days of school! We leave for Italy in three weeks! Yay!

Oh, and how could I have forgotten to mention this...Friday night (prior to nearly killing us both) a certain someone surprised me with flowers. And not just any flowers, my favorite flowers, irises. I'm still grinning about that:) Not to brag, but I'm pretty damn lucky.

The End is Nigh...

Only one more week of school. I can't believe I made it to the final stretch. Exams start tomorrow, go through Thursday and Friday is a records day for teachers. I am SO happy it's the last week...it can't go quickly enough.

Whirlwind of a weekend (aren't they all?) Quick rundown:

Thursday: After a dinner al fresco at ABC and then drinks at Old Town, Jon and I headed to the 8 Ball and Blind Pig for an evening of music and revelry with the Ganon boys. It was a hoot but getting home close to 1am and having had too much Oberon and Old Style to drink made Friday a pretty difficult day (for the first hour I was at school, I pretty much sat there with my head in my hands thinking "how am I going to make it THROUGH today? Good thing I have a first hour prep;)

Friday: Hungover and tired I made it through school. After a quick nap at home, I was ready to go. Pepper encrusted steak, asparagus and a mustard sauce and some red wine made for a good meal (though a little too peppery...word of warning: cayanne pepper + hot pan - liquid = tear gas). We watched "The Holiday" and had a fine night.

Saturday: After a wonderfully luxurious sleep that lasted till noon, I finally hauled myself out of bed and, upon finding it a beautiful day, suggested to Jon that we wander around downtown. The wandering was cut short by a visit to Dominick's where we ran into Kelly and Martin (friends of Jon's) and we convinced them to stay for more sangria. We then headed to Belleville for a shindig thrown by one of Jon's co-workers which included pizza, bowling and Apples to Apples. Just don't ask me to play euchre;)

Sunday: Grading essays like a crazy-woman since I'd goofed off most of (ok, all of) the weekend wasn't too terrible since I got to sit outside at ERC and enjoy the gorgeous day. After a break to see "Knocked Up" (very funny, go see it) and a slightly garbled invitation to dinner with my parents, Jon and I joined them for marinated, grilled pork, roasted veggies and roasted potatoes. Mmm. Good eats this weekend:)

So, I'm in the home stretch. I figure I'll make it if I made it this far. Trivia night tonight (woot!) and fingers crossed that Geoff will be back asking the questions.

I know, I know...

It's been forever. I've been really horrible about posting lately, but I guess that's the end of the school year for you.

9 days to go...woo hoo! Last week was insane. Last weekend was a camping trip with Jon up to Mears, MI (Mears? Hell, yes! I've been there!) which was a lot of fun, followed by a Memorial Day BBQ at Husband and Wife's house. There was no rest from the weary with a baccalaureate mass on Tuesday night for the seniors and then graduation on Thursday night. By Friday I was ready to drop.

Of course it was another weekend of much revelry and running around. Friday ended up just being a night in with Jon and the movie Charade (such a good one, you definitely should see it if you haven't) and a pizza. If Friday was low-key, Saturday was a bit of a marathon. Brunch with Jon, trip to Meijers for tandoori chicken fixins', back home to throw together the marinade, a matinee showing of Pirates 3, back to the house to start cooking dinner with a bit of an impromptu invite to Husband and Wife whose Ann Arbor plans fell through. Dinner was a lot of fun and I think the chicken came out well (though it needed a bit more pepper...ah well, next time). Unfortunately, I drank a bit too much wine and had to be put to bed before I fell asleep on the sofa (some hostess I am). Needless to say, I felt a little rough on Sunday and accomplished next to nothing for this week. I'm not complaining though, any headache and work to be made up this week will be well worth it.

Tonight? My return to trivia at Conor's (I missed it two weeks ago for the Bright Eyes show and last week was Memorial Day) which I'm excited about. I've got three shows lined up for the summer through Victory Records, Husband, Jon and I are going to see Wolfmother on the 30th, Ben and Jessica's wedding is coming up on June 23 and, oh yeah, I'm going to Italy in a month (hard to believe that's so soon!) I start working at plastics again as soon as school lets out which doesn't thrill me, but the prospect of the money IS tempting enough to keep me from sitting on my ass all summer.

Looks like I'll be a busy girl. The perks to plastics though are: 1) I can listen to Virgin radio all day, 2) I don't take home ANY work and 3) I can blog at work:)

Righty-o. Here's to hoping I survive the last 9 days...