Elizabeth

04:20 pm - Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend. Here is a quick recap...

Friday Night- Date night with Chris
-tried sushi for the first time... didn't like it
-got caught in a HUGE thunderstorm and got soaked
-saw the The Simpsons Movie... liked it quite a bit

Saturday
-went shopping at the teacher store (yay for coupons)
-ran errands
-made a yummy italian dinner complete with wine, but no garlic bread because it caught on fire, yes on fire, in our oven... that was not so fun.
-walked to the frozen custard place near our house... yummy... but then realized we were locked out when we got home because Chris had locked the storm door from the inside, but with his manly strength he broke the door so we could get in... hahahaha...

Sunday
-cleaned our house
-collected a bunch of old clothes for Goodwill and Consignment
-plan to make steak for dinner :-)

05:11 pm - Long Time

So I have definitely been a slacker with updating the ol' livejournal lately... oops. I guess thats what happens when life gets busy. I am going to try to do a lame summary of the past few months to catch everyone up (that is if anyone even reads this anymore).

-I finished my first year of teaching and won the First Year Teacher Award for my entire school district (147 schools)

-Chris finished his first year of graduate school at Duke and has been doing a summer internship with Environment Defense wokring on hog waste legislation.

-I have taken up running again and also have become a bit of a Yoga freak

-I have taught summer school all summer... next week is my last week... to typically developing kids that will be attending kindergarten at my school in the fall but have never been to preschool before. It has been a lot of fun and not too stressful. Well, except for the whole referring a child to CPS thing... but I am not in the mood to get into that.

-Chris and I have gone on a lot of road trips... Atlanta, Wilmington, Charleston, Ohio... which is always fun. And in two weeks we are leaving for a delayed honeymoon/first anniversary trip to Disney World for a week. Hooray!

-I have started volunteering at a no kill cat shelter twice a week, which I really enjoy. The people are really nice and it makes me feel like I am giving back to my community.

-I finally tried sushi... which I HATED... just as I suspected I would, but atleast I tried it. Ewww... just thinking about it still makes me gag.

So there is the quick summary of my ever so eventful summer. Hopefully I will get back into the habit of updating this thing.

07:20 pm - Ernesto is Coming...

Duh Duh Duh.....


The Raleigh area is supposed to get 6-8 inches of rain starting tonight. Apparently the school I teach at is also really near a creek that loves to flood. It could be an interesting night.

In other news... it is my birthday and Chris brought home dinner and beautiful flowers for me... Yay!! Plus I got my first "wife" birthday card....

I also got my North Carolina driver's license today (after failing the written test the first time...) and my North Carolina plates.

So I guess I am an official southern girl... or something like that :-)

Current Mood: cheerful

04:26 pm - So...

I am moving to NC in 3 days and counting...

Then I am coming back to Ohio for a week...

Then I am getting MARRIED  (11 days and counting)...

Then I am moving to NC for good...

Good God... what did I get myself into...

Just kidding... all is good but it will be even better two weeks from now when I am married and settled into our townhome in Raleigh :-)

Ya'll should start practicing my new last name... Nida... pronounced with a long /i/ sound/ and a short /a/ sound.

10:28 pm - Happy News

Chris got into Duke's MPP program and they offered him a full fellowship!!! YAY!!! Now we just have to wait and hear from the other four schools he applied to.

Meanwhile, I am trying to picture myself as a southern girl... although I guess North Carolina isn't all that southern.

Current Mood: ecstatic

10:32 pm - Student Teaching Story of the Week

So I started student teaching this week... so far so good. I am in a CPS Pre-K room that is comprised of 5-6 years olds that weren't quite ready to head onto kindergarten. There is a wide range of socio-economic statuses and backgrounds as it is an urban district.

Anyways... here is my story of the week....

We were sitting with the kids at the lunch table all was going well. All the sudden a little girl in the class "Julie" touches a little boy's "James" milk carton. Instead of asking Juile to stop touching his milk, James yells " Get your hands off my milk b*tch". Remember this child is 5 years old...

I am looking forward to an interesting quarter :-)

Current Mood: good

09:26 pm - Long time No Post...

I have not posted forever because there really hasn't been anything all that exciting going on in my life. I have been crazy busy with grad school, working with my clients, and planning the wedding... but none of that is particularly exciting (well atleast not exciting enough to warrant a LJ entry). But today we got our engagement pictures back so I thought I would share some since most of you have never seen a picture of Chris or me for awhile :-)

( Pictures :-) )

Current Mood: loved

08:06 am - Birthday Fun

Last night Chris and I went to the Coldplay concert with some friends to celebrate my 24th birthday (I am so old). The concert was AMAZING. I have always been a Coldplay fan, but Chris really isn't. However, he thought they put on a great show too. They played all of my favorite songs and the lighting effects were just awesome. It was defnitely one of the best concerts I have ever been too!

Current Mood: cheerful

11:35 pm

Alright so here the is proposal/wedding update...

Chris proposed to me last Thursday night at Inniswood Metro Gardens, which a garden that we frequently go for walks in. I kinda knew a proposal was coming because I knew he had been looking at rings and we have been talking about getting married for awhile now. Anyways, we took a walk around the gardens and then stopped to rest on one of our favorite benches in the rock/water garden. He got down on one knee and did the whole proposal thing, which was incredibly sweet and then pulled out the ring (it has three princess cut diamonds, one big one in the middle and two smaller side diamonds, set in a white gold band... I think it is beautiful). So, of course I said yes and things just went from there. We spent most of the night on the phone with friends and family which was a lot of fun.

My parents were due in Columbus the next morning because they were dropping Sam off at OWU. So I spent the weekend with them in Ohio. Then my dad flew back to Boston on Sunday and my mom left tonight. During the time my mom was here we managed to find both a reception and a ceremony location and set a date!!! We are getting married August 12, 2006 in Columbus, which is very very exciting. I can't believe how fast everything is coming together. There is still a TON more to do, but Chris and I are trying to take things slowly and just enjoy being engaged.... YAY!!!!!!!!!

Current Mood: loved

09:35 am

I AM GETTING MARRIED!!!!!

A more detailed entry will follow soon...

Current Mood: ecstatic

01:33 pm

FIRSTS
First best friend: Kelly
First car: 89 Honda Accord hatchback
First real kiss: Tom P.
First screen name: ETeasdaleS
First pets: Squeaky the hamster
First piercing/tattoo: my ears in 4th grade
First instrument: Clarinet
Last cigarette: Never had one
Last car ride: last night
Last kiss: this morning
Last library book checked out: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Last movie seen: Wedding Crashers
Last beverage drank: Diet Sunkist Orange
Last food consumed: Cottage cheese
Last crush: Chris
Last phone call: Some telemarketer
Last time showered: This morning
Last shoes worn: Watermelon flipflops
Last cd played: Counting Crows
Last item bought: Food for Boo
Last annoyance: Chris's grandmother
Last disappointment: Not seeing River Fire because it was storming
Last shirt worn: a Nantucket Nectars t-shirt
Last website visited: cnn.com
Last im: with Kristen
Last song you sang: Goodnight Elizabeth by the Counting Crows
What color socks are you wearing?: none it is the summer
What color of underwear are you wearing? pink
What's under your bed? Storage boxes
What time did you wake up today? 9am

FUTURE
Where do you want to go? Somewhere that I will be happy
What is your career going to be? Special educator
Where are you going to live? I have no idea, probably Ohio for atleast a few years
How many kids do you want? 2 or 3
What kind of car(s): I have no idea

CURRENT
Current mood: Cheerful
Current music: None
Current taste: toothpaste
Current hair style: wet
Current clothes: jeans and a t-shirt
Current annoyance(s): None, really
Current book: I am not reading anything at the moment
color of toenails: pink
Current hate: my math class
Current Love: Chris

UNIQUE
1. Nervous Habits: rubbing my fingers together
2. Are you double jointed? in my shoulder
3. Can you roll your tongue? nope
4. Can you raise one eyebrow at a time? nope
5 Can you blow spit bubble? nope
6. Can you cross your eyes? yes
7. Tattoos? Nope
8. Piercings and where? my earlobes and the cartilege of my right ear
9. Do you make your bed daily? nope
10. Which shoe goes on first? the left
11. Speaking of shoes, have you ever thrown one at anyone? yes
12. On the average, how much money do you carry in your wallet? $40
13. What jewelry do you wear 24/7? My earrings
14. Favorite piece of clothing? My grey hoodie
15. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl
16. Have you ever eaten Spam? Gross, no way
17. Favorite ice cream flavor? chunkey monkey
18. How many cereals in your cabinet? Cheerios plus a bunch of oatmeal
19. What's your favorite beverage? Chocolate soy milk
20. What's your favorite restaurant? Cap City Diner
21. Do you cook? Yes

GROOMING
22. How often do you brush your teeth? twice a day
23. Hair drying method? air dry and blow dry
24. Have you ever colored/highlighted your hair? Never

MANNERS
25. Do you swear? yes
26. Do you ever spit? nope

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE
27. Animal? penguin
28. Food? pasta
29. Month? december
30. Day? sunday
31. Favorite Cartoon Character? Stewie from the Family Guy
32. Shoe Brand? New Balance
33. Subject in school? Psychology
34. Color? Green and blue
35. Sport? to watch on TV gymnastics, to play myself horseback riding
36. TV show? Law and Order
37. Movie? Beauty and Beast, Cruel Intentions, Dirty Dancing

IN AND AROUND ROOM
41. The CD player? DMB
42. Person you talk most on the phone with? Chris
43. Ever taken a cab? yes
44. Do you regularly check yourself out in store windows and mirrors? Sometimes
45. What color is your bedroom? white and blue
46. Do you use an alarm clock? yes
47. Window seat or aisle? I switch back and forth between the two

LA LA LAND
48. What's your sleeping position? laying on my right side...on the left side of my bed...with Chris's arm around me and me holding a pillow
49. Even in hot weather do you use a blanket? If i can get it cold enough with the fans and ac's yes. I love blankets
50. Do you snore? Chris says I do sometimes
51. Do you sleepwalk? Yes, all the time
52. Do you talk in your sleep? Yes, all the time
53. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Yes, a penguin named Pengy
54. How about with the light on? Nope
55. How about with the radio on? or the tv? Nope

Current Mood: cheerful

10:58 pm - Summer Update

Things that I am Loving About Summer...

1. The warm weather
2. Long walks in the park
3. Running through the sprinkler with Mikey
4. Gardening
5. Halter tops
6. Eating at outdoor restaurants
7. Thunder storms
8. House sitting
9. Lots of cookouts
10. Naps
11. Concerts- James Taylor July 27th and maybe Coldplay on my birthday
12. Playing putt putt


Things I am not Loving About Summer...

1. My terrible terrible math class
2. Working so much
3. Bug bites
4. The price of gasoline
5. Sweating a disgusting amt when I go running
6. The lack of summer blockbusters that I want to see
7. My pale-ness


All in all I think I am having a pretty good summer thus far.


5.

Current Mood: awake

01:42 am - Stolen from JoJo...

A – Accent: none
B - Breast size: B
C - Chore you hate: vaccuming
D - Dad's name: Richard Owen
E - Essential make-up: Blush
F - Favorite perfume: I don't wear it
G - Gold or Silver?: White gold
H - Hometown: H-town
I - Insomnia: Only when I am really really stressed
J - Job title: Special educator/Grad student
K - Kids: none, unless you count the 3 autistic kids I tutor
L - Living arrangements: a townhouse in c-bus with my kitty Boo
M - Mum's birthplace: Illinois
N - Number of apples you've eaten: today none, but I did have some applesauce
O - Overnight hospital stays: 1, for multiple days
P - Phobia: driving in tunnels
R - Religious affiliation: protestant
S - Siblings: Sam, my little bro
T - Time you wake up: 7:45am
U - Unnatural hair colors you've worn: none
V - Vegetable you refuse to eat: cabbage
W - Worst habit: talking too fast for midwestern people to understand
X - X-rays you've had: teeth, lungs, toe, finger
Y - Yummy foods you make: chicken stew, french toast, berry trifle
Z - Zodiac sign: virgo

Current Mood: bored

12:52 pm

I miss my boy.

But atleast I am getting a lot of school work done.

My goal is to get most of the work I have left for the quarter done this weekend so I can spend lots of time hanging out with Chris and rest of the gang this week...

Current Mood: calm

10:43 pm

I wish I could find my motivation....

Normally I am so on top of things, but all I feel like doing is watching movies and lounging around...

Oh well... I am sure I will get all of these papers done eventually...

Yay for graduate school and the endless amount of work I have to do...

Current Mood: worried

09:34 pm - Intriguing... but not all that suprising...

Current Mood: okay

11:57 pm - Sigh...

This song is so beautiful... I need to find a copy of it...

( Ben Folds Five  )

Current Mood: loved

08:25 pm - Weddings Weddings Weddings

Sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by weddings...

Joy and Brent are getting married April 2006

Dan and Holly are getting married September 2005

Melissa and Dan are getting married June 2006

Emily and TJ are getting married June 2006

Melissa and Pete are getting married June 2006

Maggie just got engaged this weekend

Danielle should be getting engaged anytime

IT IS CRAZINESS!!!!!!!!!!!

But I am so happy for all of my friends :-)

Current Mood: cheerful

10:18 am - Winter Quarter Report Card

Teaching Reading Through Phonics Instruction A

Teaching Children with Moderate/Severe Disabilities A

American Schools in American Society A-

Field Experience A

Behavioral Consultation in School and Clinic A

IMPACTS Seminar A

Overall another good quarter. I still think it is amusing how my grades keep getting better and better, even though keep placing myself in more and more challenging programs. Maybe I am finally learning how to apply myself. I think my problem in high school was that I just didn't give a shit about what I was learning, plus I strongly disliked a lot of my teachers. Undergrad was a lot of fun and I did well there, but I wasn't pulling 4.0s every quarter. Maybe part of it has to do with the fact that I am truly interested in learning everything in graduate school so it doesn't seem like "work" to do my assignments (most of the time). I don't know, but I hope that I can keep it up for the next 6 quarters :-)

Current Mood: cheerful

12:40 pm - Long Time, No Post...

So I have been incredibly bad about updating this quarter... I think taking 23 credit hours, plus working with three clients, plus trying to have some assemblance of a social life, really through me for a loop. In any case things are going fine... tomorrow starts finals weeks so I am almost done with my winter quarter classes. Then next Sunday I am heading down to Charleston, S.C. for a week to visit Chris's family. I am definitely excited to get out of Ohio and spend sometime where is it a little bit warmer...

Here are some happy things in my life at the moment...

1. Chris and I having all sorts of serious talks, but feeling closer and closer everytime we have one.
2. Maggie moving to town.
3. Losing weight.
4. Getting a new computer.
5. Getting over being sick with bronchitis.
6. Being asked to participate in my academic advisor's $4 million grant project.
7. Almost being done with my current classes.
8. American Idol.
9. Going running and training for my first 5K.


Hopefully I will be better about updating this quarter... I don't think my classes will be as demanding...

Current Mood: giddy