"SpringTime" Has Begun

Spring has officially begun, but it has yet to start looking and feeling like Spring... here or anywhere I've been!

Started with a lovely weekend in North Carolina with my sutiemates to celebrate CAMMIE getting married! We stayed at a gorgeous lake, in a cute little house. We snuggled, giggled, ate food and danced together. And of course celebrated the special girl!

After this, time started flying by and it was almost Spring Break; and Mark and I did a crazy thing. We'd been looking at houses casually, and considered purchasing one we saw but it had a lot of work to be done on it so we were not sure. To help us make our decision we decided to look at another property to compare and before we even walked into the home, the 3 minutes walking distance to 2 beautiful parks with woods and lakes had me sold. We walked into the home and knew IMMEDIATELY we wanted it! Which is crazy, because Mark and I didn't always agree, and usually had to think things through more, but this one just felt right! We made an offer on the perfect home (with both a man cave, a beautiful kitchen and a craft room :) ) and our offer was accepted the next day! Unfortuantely we were scheduled to go out of town that weekend to Texas to start our Spring Break, but luckily Mark's dad Steve was there to help us through inspection and all other paperwork/decisions that have to be made immediately after purchasing a home! Needless to say inspection has gone through, things have been taken care of and we will close on our FIRST HOME on May 22nd! I made peanut butter brownies to celebrate! (This picture is for my sister-in-law Anne.... she doesn't like pictures of food ;) )

Recipe at end of article!

Me admiring our lake view from our deck

So we headed off to Texas, with a huge purchase in our minds, and entered the world of tons of babies and children. Mark's sister Sarah put it well "Why would you guys come to a house full of children and people to relax on your Spring Break?" But it was wonderful! We got to spend about a week there, and although the weather wasn't much different from MN (windy and 40's! They had a cold front) We still had a great time! Kaitlin had her 2nd birthday party, we played all day long, went out for an adult's dinner, and watched the Stockyards (cows walking across a road) in Fort Worth. We wanted to take a picture with a steer in the background... but it costs $5, Texas!

 So I got home from Texas and then to celebrate the end of my Spring Break, my mom came into town :) Which was VERY exciting! Her first time in Minnesota and over my birthday! And luckily it wasn't too cold. We got to show her our new house, we drove around the lakes, made yummy food, and celebrated Easter at Mark's parent's house. She also got to come with me to school a couple of days and see all my kiddos. And she was here on my birthday and got to celebrate with me! (Plus she brought me a cookbook organizer and permanent markers...she knows me so well!) It was a lovely trip but way too short, and I can't wait for them to come up again this summer to see our new house with all of OUR stuff in it :)

Me and Nancy and Mom

Almost identical.. kind of creepy

My easter tree and cupcakes

Mom watching me at school on my Birthday!

Although it was sad to see my mom go on my birthday, it was still a great day. Friends and family made me feel special all day long, starting with a phone call from my dad the moment I woke up, to three teachers coming in and giving my birthday hugs and a little gift, to my students wishing me a good day, text messages from old friends, videos from old students, facebook messages from family, a lunch note from Mark (very unlike him :) ) to homemade dinner AND getting to watch Food Network all night long! People know how to make me feel special and I really appreciate it! Oh, I forgot to mention my thoughtful brother and sweet girlfriend Susan's gift of a SLACK LINE which is something we spent a lot of time playing with over Christmas. Overall, it was a great 26th birthday, and we are continuing the celebrations this weekend, last night with a steak dinner in Uptown and frozen yogurt :) and tonight going to see the Timberwolves play, my first ever professional basketball game.

Mark's as surprised that he's making dinner as I was.

Beautiful flowering cactus from one of my students

So I'd say overall Spring is off to a good start. It may have snowed yesterday, it may still not have hit more than 55 degrees, the trees are all still brown and yes the lakes are still partially frozen; but the days are longer, my birthday has passed, there are two months left of school and I've got lots of flowers :)



(Brownie Recipe:

Skinny Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies)

Makes 12 brownies.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 6 oz. low fat vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup skim milk (or almond milk)
• 1 large egg (or 2 egg whites)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar (I thought this was too much)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

*I added less milk and yogurt and added black beans, (YOU CAN'T TASTE THEM!)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 8×8 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Place all of the ingredients except for the peanut butter into a blender or food processor. (Yes, a blender!) For easier blending, place the liquid ingredients into the blender first. Blend until mix is smooth and oats are ground up. You will have to stop the blender and scrape down the sides a few times.
3. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Batter will be thin. Microwave peanut butter for about 30 seconds. Drop melted peanut butter by spoonfuls onto the batter, swirling gently with a knife to create a marbled effect. (Try not to overmix!)
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Brownies will be extra fudgy, so be sure to wait until COMPLETELY cooled - I stuck mine in the refrigerator for 2 hours, which allowed them to be cut very easily. Cut into 12 squares and enjoy!

Springtime is almost here?

I was reading my current non-fiction book selection, "The Happiness Project" (which is excellent by the way, I definitely recommend it!) when the author mentioned her blog, and I thought to myself "Oh my! I have not blogged in quite some time." Of course once again, it's been about a month so I guess it's time I updated everyone on my life and how things are in my first year of marriage and Minnesota :)

Although it is March, the temperature has still yet to hit 40 and we are expecting 6-12 inches of snow this week! I hate to say it, but it still gets me kind of excited. Am I dreading the commute to work? yes, am I tired of being cold? Of course, but there's still something to be said about a fresh snow. Everything looks so clean and new, and it still makes me feel like a little kid again. I told Mark we should make a snowman and he said only if we do it in the backyard... he's jealous!

February sure flew by in our household. The first weekend we spent in Afton, MN with Mark's parents and then after that I got very very sick. I was out of school for 2 days (would have been 6 if not for a 3-day weekend!) And found out that I had strep, which I think turned into bronchitis as well. I'm finally feeling back to myself again, this past week was the first time I'd been to the YMCA again to do Cardio classes and was able to make it through my beloved Zumba :) The most unfortunate thing about getting sick was it was the weekend my good friend Ashley Schetter was in town, so I was somewhat out of commission. We still managed to have a fun time though, and I'm sad we didn't take any pictures!

Last weekend I was able to attend a neat workshop called Yoga Calm, it's a way of integrating mindfulness, breathing and calming techniques and yoga into the classroom. So far it's worked out really well with my kiddos (they are still crazy though!) Mark said to me this week "1st graders are soo bad! They never shut up!" I said, yes, that is true, but they are soo sweet.

This weekend we actually went out for the first time to look at houses for sale! We are hoping to be in our first home by this summer, but figured it's better start looking now and get an idea for what we want and where! We saw a couple that we liked, but of course weren't perfect, so we're not ready to sign anything yet, still looking.

I've been thinking about pursuing more education lately, and toying with the idea of a doctorate in education, but I'm not sure if financially it makes the most sense, or what to do with it when I get it. I have a program in mind, and it works with working adults, but we'll see if it's something that fits into our future :)

Looking forward to another crazy month coming up, heading to NC next weekend to spend some time with my SUITIES for Cammie's bachelorette party, parent teacher conferences coming up, heading to Texas for Spring break with Anne/Mike/Max to visit Mark's sister and family and then MOM is coming to Minnesota to visit! Needless to say we have a lot to look forward to!

(Also, sorry for the lack of pictures... apparently I did not want to take pictures in February? Who knows!)

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.