Surprise Birthday

Just realized it's been almost a month since my last blog post! I can't believe time flies so quickly!

I've almost survived the TOUGHEST month in Minnesota, the January winter, and I'd say all in all it was quite a success :)

After Christmas break I started off Mark and I's first weekend with a nice dinner date downtown and a SURPRISE birthday party for him. Of course he hates surprises, I knew that, and did it anyways. I wish I had a picture that could capture the moment of his surprise right as he's heading to use the restroom and all his friends scream, not say surprise, just scream, and he jumps at our Christmas tree :)

The rest of the weekend we just took it easy and for the first time ever I tried making tuna steaks, which if I do say so myself were DELICIOUS. Thanks Pinterest!  See recipe below
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Balsamic-Glazed-Tuna-Steaks

The next week flew by like always and then the cold came.. right in time for my dad's trip to MN! Luckily the day he came in the weather was mild, a warm 36 degrees and sunny. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he got the tour of my house the first thing he got to do was trap a bat! He succeeded, however, it was not the first thing you want to find in your room when you are going to a place for the first time :) (To keep facts straight bat was not captured night one, however mark and dad did dress up like ghost busters to kill it).

Day 2, my dad and I started the morning off with a cold walk through Wirth Park. Still.. it wasn't the coldest it was going to be that weekend. We walked about 2 hrs and then came home to Mark to go on an adventure of finding ice skates! We finally found them for both my father and I and headed down to Wirth lake! Even though the lake is not kept up we enjoyed a people free ice skating experience, WITH CICI, until the ice started freezing to her poor belly. We headed back home and spent the rest of the windy evening inside. We got to see a movie that actually all three of us enjoyed, The Lorax, and then went to bed to enjoy spending the next day together.

Day 3, colder still. I believe the high this day was 11, but we decided it didn't matter we still wanted to head into Afton and spend the day at Afton State Park together. The day began with a trip to Mark's parent's house (even though sadly no one was there) and then we head to Afton state park. Now like I said... the temperature was around 11, with a windchill, but we were determined to hike some trails :) What ended up happening is we saw the St. Croix, and dad decided it would be a good idea to "walk on water" from MN to WI, so we did! Granted, I was pretty nervous, especailly when we were in the middle of the river with a good 10 minute walk to either end. But no one slipped through the ice, and we had quite a fun time skating in our shoes :)

Day 4, Coldest day in MN in the last 4 years... high I think -4. Dad and I decide we want to brave the cold and we walk on his last day here.. in -11 degrees. Yes, by the end we had boogers frozen to our face, and his eyelashes were icicles. But it was fun and neat to experience. Needless to say I'm sure he was ready to leave by the end of the day Monday, but it was a wonderful trip.

This past week at school was a 3 day week for me, what with testing and Monday off and report card work day Friday, but quite a busy week.

We got to enjoy a nice relaxing weekend after the crazy week in Afton with Mark's parents, Anne and Mike and Chris. As relaxing as little Max would let it be :) But we had a great time, played hockey, watched hockey, had good food and enjoyed family time. Cici had a good time too!

Today we enjoyed a nice relaxing day today, watching the snow fall down, we've had about 3 inches so far and it's looking like a pretty Winter scene :) Just hope the trip to work is ok....

Christmas Breaks as a teacher....

Oh, I have enjoyed the last few weeks getting ready for Christmas and celebrating time off, both in Minneapolis, Afton and in NC.

At the start of break Mark and I had one day together before we headed to celebrate the holidays with our parents. We spent the time opening up Christmas gifts from our students, watching Christmas movies and eating the Christmas gifts from our kids :) Below you'll see my Thank You cards I made, we decided (I decided) that it would be more fun to make our own cards than to buy some.

In addition, before we left I was able to make a present for my Secret Santa, a wonderful tradition my Suite Mates and I have had since we were in college. This year my secret santa was ANNA and I knew I'd be seeing her in W-S (See picture below for our New Year's Eve Celebration) So I painted her a quote I liked. Paul likes it so much I think I'll paint one for him too!

Our travels began as we headed to Afton, MN to celebrate with the Aronson side of the family. It was neat to get to have a mini "Christmas" day there before Christmas. Chris (Mark's brother) just moved back from Colorado, his 3 kids were there, Anne, Mike and, Max, Mark's grandparents, his wonderful uncle Bob who sang at our wedding, and of course his parents! We had fun playing with Max (see the picture of the stickers below, as well as his precious Christmas "dress") and opening gifts and having dinner. Nancy found the perfect gift of MITTENS which I have so badly needed over my $1 pair of target gloves I've been trying to get away with...Note does not work in MN weather!

Visiting Grandma

Playing Games

Rosie

New Pup

After we left MN Christmas Eve, to a white 12 degree day, we arrived safe and problem less in NC! We got to spend 10 days with my family: playing games, walking in the WARM 40 degrees with Dad, watching the Hobbit, going to the YMCA, opening presents (which Rosie ate... Thanks for replacing it mom!) visiting extended family (Thanks Christina!), slack lining, making sushi and meeting Paul's Girlfriend SUSAN!


 Also if you don't know what Slack lining is, look it up, super addictive and fun, kind of like walking on a low bouncy tightrope.






















In addition, in true Gerlach fashion my parents got a new dog! (As if Crazy Rosie was not already enough!) But luckily Buddy/Tony/Teddy (he takes after Cici/Riley) is a VERY good dog, super laid back, super mellow and very sweet!







To start the new year 2013, back in MN Mark and I are staying positive and peaceful :) (More me than Mark, he doesn't make New Year's Resolutions, and he's already laid back enough). We had people over last night to watch the Vikings game, and although the loss was sad we had a fun time. Today I made a smoothie to pay tribute to my brother and his girlfriend, who's diet consist of smoothies, bagels with cream cheese, and sushi. Go figure :) And also made a Christmas wreath out of on sale Holiday materials... I think it could almost work for Valentine's day too? :) So I'd say we are starting out 2013 right! Let's see how things continue as school starts tomorrow.... Wish me luck!

My other blog....

As a side note if you want to see about my classroom life, curriculum, kids, field trips and more, go to:

http://firstgradeinformation.weebly.com/sra-aronson.html

First Big Snow

So as we speak it is snowing up a storm.... We've got about 6 inches on the ground and it's supposed to snow all day, it's beautiful! We just got done hiking through the woods by our house and it's amazing how beautiful the area becomes, like a magical place, with everything covered in white. We are so thankful that it is snowing today, and that tomorrow the roads shouldn't be nearly as bad (although the high is 11..) 

Other than a beautiful snowy December it is a quick December! I can't believe it's already here! We are finally starting to really feel settled here in MN. We both are enjoying our jobs, I'm feeling like I really understand my first graders and the curriculum. I know I need to appreciate this time that should be chaotic, but which has actually been quite calm and fun decorating, because the new year is going to bring a lot of travel and business!

January: I'll be in NC the first week, and then two weeks later my dad ventures into the coldest/snowiest time in MN :)

February: Either I'll be heading to NC to celebrate Cammie's bachelorette, or I will have a visit from some KC friends

March: Headed to Texas with a possible visit from my mother at Spring Break.

April/May: Trip to Charleston to celebrate Nicole's bachelorette, and then Cammie's wedding in Colorado! (Did I mention I am in 4 weddings within a one year span? with 4 other weddings to attend as well?)

June: NC for NICOLE'S wedding, at the end of the month Afton for our friend Charlie and Shelby's wedding.

July: Hopeful visit from my parents to MN! And at the end of the month our last wedding for the year in Nebraska :)

Needless to say things are busy, and I'm traveling like it's my job, but that's part of what makes life fun. Knowing so many different people in so many different places gives you things to look forward to, things to be excited about and new places to visit and call a home away from home.

Breaks Make You Think...

So tonight I had a 3 hour class... in this class this phenomenal speaker spoke a PHd in Psychology spoke about cognitive psychology and how it impacts your affect (your feelings) which impact your actions. It made me miss psychology a lot and realize that as much as teaching has been a huge part of my life, it's not going to be the final thing.
-This is not to say I don't love my school, or my students, I just don't see myself as a teacher forever.

So I started thinking about options. There were a few different ways I could see things going.


With a Masters in Education I can:
1. Stay Teaching
2. Become an educational consultant
3. Become an instructional coach
4. Pursue a Doctorate

I can see pursuing a Doctorate in Psychology or Education.
Pros for education-much easier to get into the schools, pass tests because that has been my speciality.
Pros for psychology-room for further advancement, ability to practice as a psychologist.

Ultimately my perfect life would be
1. Mark and I buy a house, in a perfect location for under 200k :)
2. A few more years in teaching ( to perfect the craft of course)
3. Have a kid
4. Start my new career/educational pursuit. 

Of course like all things, this will happen, because life always occurs according to plan. :) Excited to see it all unfold!

It finally slows down (warning 3 weeks of craziness)

The past few weeks have been non-stop. Traveling every other weekend to weddings and to visit family have been so wonderful, but I'm glad for it to finally slow down!

It all started with Julie's wedding, in Pella, IA. Small dutch town, known for Pella Windows, tulips and windmills. It was a neat reunion with a few Kansas City friends and an excuse for my new husband and I :) to go to our first wedding together! Food was great, bride was beautiful, dancing was fun and 4 hr drive there not bad at all.

Weekend after that I got to my first Minnesota sporting event, we got a free ticket to see the MN Golden Gophers play football and went with a few friends. It was neat to be at a college football game (even it if wasn't the Deacs) and lucky for us they killed Purdue, so aside from being a tad chilly (a nice 40 degrees) it was a fun time! We grilled out with the friends afterwards at our place, so it was really nice to finally have a place bigger than a box so that we could host people for a second week in a row!


The next week flew by and I headed to NC to have the first visit with my family since I had been married! Of course, I left Mark at home :) I got to see my brother's new house, walk and play games with the family, we headed to the Blue Ridge to catch the last bits of fall colors (mainly brown) and visited with my Grandmother. Even though the weekend was short, it was wonderful to get to spend the time with my family. (My dad took some better pictures... I can't find them right now but they were good !)

The next week was one of the craziest weeks of my time here in MN! I got into the MN airport Monday afternoon, took public transportation (light rail + bus) into our little Minneapolis neighborhood and slept the day away because I had woken up at 3:30 to get to the airport! Then Tuesday night I had my first "grad' school class I'm taking with my district. Wednesday was Halloween and we went Trick-or-treating with Max and went to Pizza Nea for a last minute groupon date night! (about to expire of course). Thursday night and Friday morning were parent teacher conferences and Friday afternoon I left for Denver to go to CATHY's wedding!

Wow, it was such a neat time. I enjoyed my wedding of course, but there is something about being in wedding with some of your best friends, not having to worry if everything is going to go right, or about logistics, that is just fun and care-free! Cathy looked beautiful, we went for a hike in Boulder, had snuggle and giggle time on beds, and danced the night away. It was just perfect!

 Andrea and I like to be silly model poses :)


Luckily this week things finally slowed down (aside from the election-which went exactly how I wanted it in MN!). I was able to get back into normal routine, gym, clean house, cook, walk dog, watch silly reality tv, and we enjoyed a pretty relaxing weekend! Last night we went to celebrate a friend's end of being on campaign, but today another day of lazy do nothing but cook and watch football :) It's snowing which I still find exciting, but tomorrow's high is 29, so we'll see how much I like MN winter in a few months :)

neat view from our walk this week of skyline

Suffice it to say, I'm excited to do nothing the rest of the day, and may finish the leftovers from this morning's "Steve Aronson" breakfast for lunch with some homemade soup!

                            black bean and butternut squash soup

bacon, eggs and potatoes

His friends...My Friends

So this weekend we finallly hosted a "house-warming" party at our new little rental house for "Mark's" friends. It was funny.... because I said this to my parents, and then thought about it and realized when you're married a weird thing happens. Instead of it being, my friends and his friends, things start to combine. When you have someone who you care about, and respect, you WANT to know their friends and in the process they become your friends too. So this weekend we had a party with OUR friends. I wish I had taken some pictures, I made Halloween Cupcakes (AKA vanilla cupcakes with halloween sprinkles) finally used our chip/dip tray and had a nice little grill out. Of course the boys stayed up too late... of course we were exhausted the next day but it was  great time!

Next day Mark and I came up with a fair compromise.. he wanted to go out to brunch and I had been begging to go to an apple orchard and go apple picking (a tradition that is not very common in NC! There we pick strawberries :)) Anyways, we had a lovely little brunch on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Uptown; that only cost us $140....thanks to a silly parking ticket for not having my front license plate posted. We've been meaning to do it, but the car was bought in KS where they don't have front license plates, and we've been afraid to drill into the car, but this may be the catalyst. Mark looked in his "hardware" haha... and he did not have the screws we needed. So we will be getting those soon. Luckily to cheer us up we had our precious nephew Max come over... yes we are wearing our beautiful sweats.

Luckily, the apple orchard was much more successful. We made it to a less comercialized one in Stillwater, where there was no entrance cost and $7 for 1/4 peck... not a bad price for 15-20 apples!  We made it there on their last apple picking day, and Cici ate enough apples off of the ground to pay for double what we got. I've been hoping to make something with the apples, but after making all the cupcakes this weekend (I also made some GF pumpkin cupcakes..recipe below! So good Mark ate them!) I don't feel like I should make anything else yet!

I'm looking forward to a nice three-day week up ahead. Heading to NC on Thursday :) and looking forward to a weekend of Wake Forest Football Game with some suities, seeing fall happen all over again, walks with my family, visiting relatives, potential trip to the mountains, Thanksgiving dinner and getting to see the full-grown pup! Can't wait and the only thing that would make it better would be to be bringing along the man. I guess I'll just leave him here to have fun and hang out with "his" friends.


GF Pumpkin Cupcakes:
Ingredients
For cupcakes:
1/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup nondairy milk (soy, almond, or rice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chocolate chips
For glaze:
1/4 cup brown rice syrup or honey
1 tablespoon margarine or coconut oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
Directions

1. To make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Whisk together oil, sugar, nondairy milk, and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently whisk flour mixture until well combined. Fold in pumpkin, but do not overstir or the batter will become gummy. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Fill liners two-thirds full. Bake for 24-26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely.
4. To make icing: Whisk together rice syrup, margarine, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a fork, drizzle icing atop completely cooled cupcakes.