new changes

so it has been quite awhile, actually I think exactly a year, since I updated. I figured it was time for an update and would like to keep this somewhat updated to share my new adventures with everyone! As most of you know, I have accepted a teaching position for 7th grade math (yikes!) and have completed my first full week of classes! I have to say, middle school kids aren't as scary as I thought they would be, probably because I have heard what a great group of students we have this year! I actually like the little kiddos and have enjoyed the time I spend with them! I have to say though, that every day in teaching is a new adventure...you really never know what is going to happen! Example: Friday, the first 5 minutes of class I had a student get stung by a huge wasp in my classroom. yep, my class, huge wasp. I am just thankful he was not allergic! I know that I went to school to teach but honestly, even after doing it for a little over a week, I just have so much respect for teachers. The time and dedication it takes to actually create a lesson and execute it....it's almost impossible. Yet, there are tons of teachers that do it day in and day out and they really do deserve credit for it. I can say that I have easily spent 10-11 hours at school each day just to prepare myself for the next day or two (just like a lot of teachers out there). It's a lot of work but I will tell you one thing, to hear a student say, "Mrs. Robertson, I'm starting to like math now" really makes it all worth it! Here's to 175 more days to go! :) As far as other exciting (ha!) things going on in my life, my hubby and I did go to the American Craft Beer Festivial. (Ok maybe talking about teaching and beer in the same blog isn't so great...don't judge!) But, we had such a great time! It was at Devils Backbone and the weather was so perfect. They had over 30 breweries, local ones at that, to try. It's just great to spend some time with him and get out of town, even if it is only for a few hours and plus we can support local awesome places! So, for now, I am trying to just keep my life together with this new job and still make time to enjoy other things. It has really consumed a lot of my time, during the week and on the weekends but I know it's worth it. I also know that my first year is my survival year so it's gonna be a long one but it will get easier! Well that is all for now. Sadly, time to grade a few papers then it's actually bedtime! Yes, I said it..bedtime...that 5:45 alarm comes quite early! Until next time...

food for the soul

so its' been awhile since I have last updated and I apologize! I know everyone is just dying to read my next blog! (a lot of sarcasm there) But I do want to share some great recipes I have come across over the past few weeks! So I am not a great cook, but thats only because I am learning. I hope to be one day, but over the past few weeks I have become interested and well, better, at making pasteries/desserts/baking. I wanted to share a few easy and delicious recipes for those that would like to try something new :) First off, I made some key lime tartlets. They are super easy and super wonderful! All you need is some Lime Curd (found in a jar in the baking isle, looks like lime jelly), sugar, and a block of cream cheese for the mixture. I used kroger brand fat free and tasted just as good!

You put those three into the mixer, mix well, and then fill each little tartlet with the mixture and put in the fridge until ready to serve. You can make them fancy and add some whip cream and a lime slice, but I just went plain for this batch! I found these little tartlets in the baking isle. They are little pricey but they are no bake and taste wonderful! Really worth the buy

So that is the final product and they are cute and bite size and just perfect! So another recipe that I tried, today actually, was my first loaf of banana bread! I had 3 really really ripe bananas and didn't want to throw them away so I found a pretty simple and easy recipe for banana bread. This is a recipe where you dont even need a mixer, if you dont have one, you can just mix it all by hand! First off, you mix butter and smash the bananas together. I used a fork for this to help get some of the chunks out but the rest I mixed with just a wooden spoon! Then I added sugar, vanilla extract, one egg, baking soda, and salt.

Once they were all mixed together, I added the flour, a little bit at a time and that helped make it more like a batter. Then I poured the mixture into a well greased loaf pan! It looks so wonderful and already smells good at this point!

And after that, all it had to do was bake at 350 for about an hour. Because I had a little bit bigger loaf pan than what the recipe called for, mine only took about 50 minutes to cook but just play it by ear and check with a toothpick, if it comes out with no mixture on it, its good! Then i just let it cool and it is oh so wonderful! I am excited to take this for breakfast this week :)

So those are just a couple to share. I really have enjoyed making them and look forward to finding more recipes to share! I really want to learn to cook but I don't know, I just really enjoy baking more! We'll see! SO other than that, things have been pretty good around the robertson house. The husband made me breakfast this morning, a totally surprise! Eggs, bacon (with brown sugar and syrup-- if you haven't had it, you really should!) fresh fruit and cinnamon rolls! He's such a great husband and I am lucky to have him in my life Alright well I suppose that is all for now! about to start yet another long week! Oh and P.S. I know it's still August but Blue Moon already has their pumpkin beer out and it is wonderful! Gets me excited for the fall! Plus, first UVA home game this weekend -- so looking forward to it!:) Well, until next time..xoxo<3

life changes

So a lot has changed in my life since my last update! A big change to my life is the fact that I got married almost two months ago! I guess I shouldn't say its a big change because not much seems different. We have been together for over six years so we basically just made it official! I don't mean to brag but I couldn't be more happy with my life. I have a perfect little house, a wonderful husband, an adorable pup, and friends and family that care about us and support us. I just really don't know what else a girl could want! So speaking of what a girl wants,my wedding was perfect! It definitely goes by way too fast so its a must to enjoy every second and not get stressed about the small stuff. It was a beautiful day and we had everyone there that meant the world to us to help share in our special day! The food was wonderful and we truly enjoyed every minute of it. Our parents really gave us the wedding of our dreams! I will tell you one thing, I don't think there is anyone else in this world as giving and amazing as my parents. We recently lost power in a freak storm for five days and the things my parents had to do to help out with the family, especially with my brother..its just beyond words. They have really taught me how to have compassion,patience, and to be unselfish. I hope to be half as good of a parent that my parents are one day! so as being a new wife,I am attempting (keyword is attempting) to be more domesticated..really that just means to cook more because I do most of the cleaning because I am too OCD to let anyone else do it. But anyways, we have been trying to cook more and have enjoyed it! We got so much awesome kitchen stuff for the wedding so we need to use it! Tonight we made pasta with an olive oil sauce and mussels! It was very light and the mussels were awesome! (Of course they came from my family's seafood shop!) we cooked them in some olive oil, a little butter, garlic,parsley,and some white wine! It was definitely a perfect summer dish! Alright well that's all for now..I would love to write more often. So I will work on that! Until next time...

countdown!

 (just an FYI, this post might be long and seem cramped because my enter key is not working as of now!) so my wedding is 18 days away! How exciting is that?!  On April 23rd, Jeremy and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. It's hard to believe that we have actually been together that long, but I am so thankful for all that time to get to know him and us grow together before we make this big change in our life! I couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else though :)     I must confess, I have been in such a weird mood the past two weeks. I don't know what my deal was...I have so much to be excited for but the only thing I could do was be in a bad mood! The feeling was awful! I felt so selfish but couldn't snap out of it! Finally I made myself sit down and think what could be causing it. I mean, anyone could really answer that question of what caused it....stress. But why am I stressed? I mean (knock on wood) everything for my wedding is pretty much ready to go, the honeymoon is booked, and I have been having amazing showers and gatherings with friends and family. But the more I thought about it, it was more than that. It was the small tiny details that were bothering me. I'm not just talking about the small details about my wedding day, but the small, insignificant details about the whole process. For instance, I can't believe how much society has changed and lost some manners. Is it really a polite thing to ask about invitations to the wedding? Is it really polite to want to know who all is going? I mean, it's our wedding. We already had a hard enough time trying to narrow down the list to 200. If we had our way and an unlimited amount of money, we would surely invite everyone! But we can't. And I just wish people understood that. But they dont, because it's all about them. They want to know why they weren't invited. So I had a lot of built up stress about already feeling guilty about having to chose then people making it worse. I am sorry. I am not trying to offend anyone. It's just what we had to do. So I told myself to let it go, that there was no point in worrying about it and that the people that would be there would make that day very special to us and thats all that matters! So believe it or not, after explaining that to a few people and letting it go, I've felt a lot of weight being lifted from my shoulders!    Ok so enough of that rant! I am super pumped about the big day! It's going to be perfect no matter what! I am also very excited about the honeymoon as well! Any chance to get out of town and just relax, I'm in!     I had my bachelorette party this past weekend in DC with my friends and it was amazing! We got to spend a whole day shopping then ate at this wonderful tapa's bar, Cava Mezze in Arlington! It was so good to spend some time away from home with some of my closest friends! Note to self: if you plan on going to a club, make sure your license is NOT expired... fail. But at least the bar let me drink so all in all it was a good time :)   alright well thats all for now, until next time! xoxo

Celebrate more!

you know, most days it's hard to believe that i'm actually 24 years old (and for all those older people reading this, I know what you're thinking..so young!) but i still feel like i'm 18, getting ready to graduate high school and start a new adventure in college..not knowing what to expect. But really, those college days have come and gone and now even three years out, living with my very-soon-to-be fiance, in our own house, with our own dog, working our own full time adult jobs, paying our own bills. Some days I just stop and think, wait...when did this all happen and why did it happen so quickly? I'm not saying this as a bad thing, because trust me, I am in a very lucky place in my life right now. I have so much to be thankful for, and I truly am. But when we were young and looking forward to all the grown up things, it's here and it's nothing like I thought it'd be. I didn't think it'd be "fun", but I guess I felt it would feel more like a milestone. And I suppose at the time of each event, there was celebration but that celebration has since worn off! I think we should all celebrate special times in our lives...not just once, but over and over. Because to me, every day you get up and work and take care of a house and family and yourself and do what you have to do, thats something to celebrate and be happy about! I think people could use some more celebration in their lives! so why not? you've accomplished something and have earned it! enjoy it! :)

" There are two things to aim for in life: first, to get what you want: and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." --Logan Pearsall Smith

mini vacation!

First off, good news! My grandmothers surgery went very very well! She's already up and moving and back to her normal routine! Such great news :)

Ok so lately I have become more interested in taking pictures. I guess due to the fact that I'm starting to move up in the world and actually got a smart phone the end of last year, I can actually take pretty decent pictures with my phone! I also found this pretty awesome app that does all these effects so i've been playing around and took some pictures of our weekend getaway!

This is the best bloody mary I have ever had! Besides, what else do you drink at 11 in the morning on vacation?

If anyone has ever been to Bryce, there is nothing there at all besides the ski resort and a tiny diner where all the locals hang out. Well, about 20 minutes up the road there is a small town that has a few more places (the biggest thing there being a sheetz) but they have this adorable little duckpin alley! I had never heard of duckpin until my mom told me that she used to play when she was younger so (no offense to my mom) it's an older type of bowling game. So we went and played one night and it's a lot harder than it looks! There were also no electronic machines or anything. Had to keep score by, get this...an overhead projector! haha tells you how dated that is, but none the less, adorable and fun!

So we always go up to Bryce for their end of the season winter festival. I think the winter part was a joke this year but at least the weather was perfect for pond skimming! People would start at the top of the mountain and go down and try to ski or snowboard across the pond. Surprisingly a lot more people made it than I expected! It was fun trying to watch them make it though!

This is the only view I managed to get of the mountain from where I was sitting. You can see the extreme lack of snow there was! But it's still a beautiful place to go!

Alright well thats all for now. Just wanted to share some photos from the trip! So happy that tomorrow is Friday!! Until next time..xoxo

spring is here!

I'm sorry that my updates are getting spread out more than my original intent. I don't really have a reason as to why that has happened..work, wedding, life in general all play a role in that but I will try to update more!

So wedding is two months away! Everything is falling into place and I love it! We only have a few details left to take care of so I'm not worried yet..they will get done! Tomorrow we meet with the Minister to talk about the actual ceremony. I'm excited to meet with him because he is a family friend and used to be the Minister at the church I grew up in (also the church we're getting married in!) He even baptized me when I was much younger so I consider it an honor to have him be part of our special day!

Today my grandmother had surgery and everything went well! She is not your typical grandmother...I don't even like calling her that! We call her Gee and that fits her more! She's such an active fun lady who can entertain a crowd! She has definitely taught me important lessons in my life and am so glad that I have gotten the chance to spend many years with her and many more to come!

The fiance and I were able to sneak away for a few days this past weekend to head to the mountains for his family's annual ski trip. It was so nice to get away (Lets face it, any break from work is appreciated). I really do love being in the mountains. It's such a peaceful and calm place. The term "breath of fresh air" is definitely how it feels being up there! I do have to admit though, getting home yesterday, I had a feeling of relief. It was good to be back to our own house and pick up the pup! I surely did miss him like crazy! But the fact that we have a place to call our own to come home to, there really is no better feeling! I know a lot of my friends and people my age can appreciate the fact when you can find a permanent place to stay, it's such a relief! For the past 6 years, I have moved every single year! It gets old after awhile and you feel you can't really buy nice things! So this August, unlike the previous 6 years, I can stay put! No moving, no deadlines when to be out, nothing! How awesome!

Well I suppose that is all for now. Can't believe it's almost 11 and I'm really not even tired. I love the fact that it stays lighter later but my sleep hours are all out of sorts! I'm sure it will resolve itself soon because I cannot live without my sleep! Until next time...xoxo!