Wedding!!!

Katy got married in Chicago this past weekend!  I skipped school on Friday (yay, skipping, lol).  Charlie and I made our way by plane to Chi-town in the a.m.  I was honored to be Katy's Matron of Honor and stand next to her on such an important day.  Wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The day was effortless... because the couple was so happy, how could it be anything but?. :)  Strong wind gusts, ominous clouds, and sprinkles of rain couldn't wipe the smile off the bride's--or the groom's--face.  The bridal party even took pictures outside and turned to popsicles.  All for the sake of love!  I'm so happy for Katy.

Katy lived in the same dorm room for 4 years and only 20 minutes apart in N.C....but now 700 miles separate us.  That's hard.  It's difficult to be away from the people that you love.  Katy and I always said, though... "BFF, maid of honor, and godmother of the firstborn."...and that's not even something  700 miles can separate!

 Life is so seasonal and changes so fast.  When I think about how much has changed since we moved to Charlotte, it makes my jaw drop.  Not every day has been perfect, but we are still so honored and humbled by what the Lord has provided us with.  We have more blessings than we can count and friends--like Katy--we treasure are among those.  I hope all of you have a friend that you'd freeze like a pospicle for.  Those are the best kind. :) 

Off to Chicago this weekend!

My best friend from college, Katy, is getting married!  Charlie and I leave on Friday for the wedding.  I can't believe this day has come.  I miss Katy with over 700 miles between us, but I'm so honored to fly to Chicago and stand next to her as her Matron of Honor.  :)  Let the good times roll!

THE crock pot.

We are obsessed.  Officially.  We received a crock pot for our wedding, and after moving it into the new place, it sat on a back shelf in its box for almost a year.  One of those things we knew we would use, "just not right now."

When we broke it open a year into matrimony, we were bored with the same 'ole stir fries.  I hate baking because it makes the house hot, and I really just don't have time for it, frankly.

Crock potting is great... you chop and throw in.  Why had I not discovered this simple pleasure before!?!?!  And you do it early enough in the day that when dinner rolls around, it feels like you didn't have to even cook and you somehow cheated out of actually working.  This this always a bonus.

We have the exact crocker pictured above from BB&B.  We've only made one bad recipe so far, and that was because Charlie and I discovered that we just don't have a taste for tomato paste.  Yuck!

Other than that we've been enjoying all sorts of chicken recipes, and tomorrow is Pork Tenderloin.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce freshly ground black pepper to taste


Directions

Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.  
 
Let you know how it turns out. :)

mi casa es su casa

Part of me wishes we could be homeowners.  There are many pros to this scenario...

1. a downturned market...we could find a deal
2. teacher breaks/discounts
3. tax breaks... there is even talking of the $8,000 tax credit coming back
4. our own space and yard
5. not having to take Luna down 3 flights of stairs just to go outside; not having to lug groceries 3 flights up stairs
6. HAVING A GARAGE!
7. decorating on a dime (only one of my favorite things to do!)
8. having a craft table / a creative room.... which may also dub as the so-called "man cave"...with a girly corner ;)
9. escaping from our Saturday night party neighbors and the crying baby downstairs... and all the other crappy parts of apartment life
10. being part of a community
11. making an investment

There are also cons...

1. breaking our lease
2. upkeep is all on us!-- and we might suck at that.
3. having to mow a yard
4. the extra $$ you pour into a house when you first buy
5. time-- to do it all.

We are not in the business of looking for a house at this immediate juncture, but our short-term plan is beginning to look in January, closer to when our lease is up (knocking a con off the list!).

So, just for fun, here are some ideas I've seen over the past year or so that I thought were really inspirational...



http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/

 I love this girl's blog and living room... I think it's so cute.  She's witty and funny and has a really great, frugal sense of style.  We would *die* with a white couch + Luna (that would drive me bonkers), but the whole aesthetic is great.  The best part: most of the items she got at thrift stores, Goodwill, or consignment shops.  (With some IKEA thrown in for the modern feel).  She sewed all of the pillows herself.  I really love the colors, too.


I'm obsessed with floating shelves.  I think they are really cool.  Functional, too.

http://www.younghouselove.com/

The bonus room/man cave might rock (they really don't have basements in the south)...

Okay...totally kidding!!!  Haha.  I don't think I could stand having a giant football player on our wall, but I would be open to the idea of having a D.Lions accent wall and a framed jersey.  Or even some fun throw pillows.  For fun for my husband, who will probably gladly have little to say in how we decorate our home, but who does so much for me and deserves something he loves.

Okay, that was an enjoyable waste of 20 minutes.  LOL.   In the mean time we will continue to live life in our little place and enjoy spending time at other people's houses. ;)

Off to the races...

...literally. I've been so busy these past few weeks. It's been insane. It's such a different busy than this summer, too. Nothing can prepare you for teaching. And I mean nothing. It's a give-it-all-you've-got-all-day kind of thing. Rewarding but hard. I'm barely keeping my head above water with the workload, and this other prep is killing me (6 classes, 4 preps), but leading kids to learning is something that never gets old.  Not even for a second.


One of my books...
the one I'm most excited
about. :)


Starting my thesis has also been on my mind, and I finally sat down to buy the books I'm going to use as my resources. I scoured amazon.com for about 3 hours, and tons of research later, I settled on $77 worth of books about reading in foreign language. I told my students about my "memoria final" and a 500 page book that I bought to learn more about teaching Spanish and how their brains work! Some were amazed, others baffled, and still others confused, but regardless, they are all sooooo excited when I take pictures of them in action to use as an appendix/documentation of my research. They so desperately want to be "famous in Spain."

"Take one of me, Mrs. S! I'll make it such a good picture!"

"The point is to act natural..."

"Okay, I'll act natural with my pose."

I empathize with this, though. I, too was that kind of child.

Drugs and Puzzles

Well, for about the last 14 days or so Charlie or I (or Luna) have been sick. It's been a long trek that we wish not to repeat any time in the near future.

I came home from Spain with a bad, dry cough which later morphed into a cold. Then Charlie came down with the same thing as soon as I was starting to feel a bit better. The doctors weren't quite sure exactly what was making us sick, but it was some form of bronchitis, ear infection, strep, and a bacterial infection that required antibiotics and steroids. Oh joy. Our kitchen counter makes it look like an ad for a pharmaceutical company.

So what does one do couped up in an apartment for so long when sick???  Start a 1,000 piece puzzle of course that renders your kitchen table useless!  Vicki had bought us a personalized puzzle for our anniversary (of the wedding party).  We've begun to work on it, and slowly but surely we are making progress.... hopefully the grand reveal to come.  Yes, we know we're so interesting.  :)

Home Sweet Home

It's been a while since I've updated--but with a legitimate excuse... I've been in Spain for a month and a half. I was getting the first part of my Master's degree in Spanish Education through a Cursos Internacionales program in Salamanca. I hardly had any time to sleep (let alone blog), so "Snearlytales" took a back-seat. But fear not... I'm baaaaack!

Palacio Real, Madrid

The experience. was. out. of. this. world. I think any time you visit a foreign country it changes you. I've lived in Spain before several years ago, so when I flew in in late June, a part of me felt like I was going home.  I missed the language, the food, the people, the atmosphere, and I couldn't wait to find myself in true language immersion.  It was beautiful.

This time around wasn't exactly a vacation, though.  Our 6 weeks was jam-packed.  Class all day, studying, adjusting to dorm life, excursions, city visits, seminars... you name it.  And trying to fit in a little bit of fun here and there. ;)

View of Salamanca, Spain

My University was built in the 13th century.... so walking to class every morning was such a joy (we definitely walked a LOT!).  The city streets are so rustic and unique...I just love them.  Beauty is everywhere... over half a century of students have passed under the same doorways I did to get an eduction. I'm honored :)  Here's a little video I made of the last 5 minutes of my walk to school... I hope you enjoy and are able to experience a piece of the beauty of Salamanca.

Spain wins the World Cup!  Gooooooool!

Salamanca by night

Catedral de Segovia

My journey was the experience of a lifetime, but by the end, I was so ready to come back home to my husband, my pooch and my life in Charlotte. I remembered all the things that I love about home and why I'm so proud to be an American. A piece of my heart will always be in Spain, but my one true love will always be home and my family :)

See you next summer, Salamanca!