Winter in NYC

I was on blogging hiatus from October until now. While in school this semester, my schedule looked a lot like this: School-->Work-->Sleep.

But now I am back and taking some time to myself this winter break.  Mostly because working so much has taken a toll on my health and now I work to pay a chiropractor :)

This past weekend was William's 21st birthday, so Saturday we spent the day celebrating. On Sunday, we went to the city to see the tree. First we had lunch at Chipotle, then we walked around and purposely got lost, which was all part of the "adventure" as William put it. We saw some gorgeous shop windows, bought chocolate at the Lindt store (my favorite chocolate ever, and now they make them in adorable bear shapes for Christmas!!!), and stopped in some stores so I could show William some expensive gifts I plan to one day acquire.

There's certainly something special about Christmastime in New York City. If you've ever been there during this time of year, you can feel it wherever you go. New Yorkers know what I'm talking about. I can't imagine feeling that way in any other city, either.

Pumpkin Picking

Hurricane Irene ruined pumpkin picking this year, too. It took us forever to find three decent looking pumpkins, and as I write this a week later, I can officially say that the three "good" ones we picked last week are started to rot.We'll probably carve them this weekend instead of the night before Halloween so they're not a total waste.

We still had fun scoping out the good pumpkins and wound up walking the entire patch. The weather was beautiful and cooperative. It was chilly and breezy--the perfect fall day to go pick pumpkins. We were aiming to get an armful for $25, so poor William had to carry three large pumpkins only to find out that they'd cost us $18. We planned on going to the market too, but it seemed like everyone else had the idea of going pumpkin picking that day and it was just too crowded. Instead, we just got ourselves some more roasted corn and a baked potato. Afterwards, William took us out to dinner at Applebee's.

Apple Picking 2011

Back in September (yes, I'm aware I've neglected the blog since then), William and I went apple picking. Like everything else, Hurricane Irene ruined that, too. All of the rain towards the latter part of the summer affected the apples and Lewin's Farms didn't get as big of a yield as they normally get. They pre-picked the apples and set them in bins for us to "pick." No, it wasn't as fun as previous years, but we had to keep the tradition alive.

We drove out to Wading River one Saturday, which wound up being our first cool, breezy, fall day. The sky was looking funky, but luckily, it never rained. After picking and making our routine trip to the market where we ate roasted corn and a baked potato, we went out for a late lunch/early dinner at Chili's. It wound up being a very wonderful date.

The "smile" before this one was absolutely ridiculous, so I made him laugh and this is what I got.

And this was the attempt at a more "serious" picture after laughing in the previous one.

The following week I made an apple pie with the apples we picked and it lasted a mere three-four days.

The Unchanging Sea

For my silent film class I'm writing a paper about this early D.W. Griffith film. We watched this in class before viewing The Birth of a Nation, and although I've now turned this 13 minute short film into a 3 hour movie because I've watched it soooo many times, I really do love and appreciate it. It's stunning, and so interesting to think about what Griffith did for film.

Unfortunately, this version doesn't feature the soundtrack, but it still captures its beauty.

Top Ten: Favorite Songs (for now)

School has been consuming my life, and when I'm not at school, I'm at work. Therefore, there was no Tuesday Top Ten last week. And this week's is on a Wednesday now.

Here's a list of (some of) my favorite songs right now. Enjoy!

 

1. Kings of Leon- Back Down South

 2. The National- Bloodbuzz Ohio

3. Joe Cocker- The Letter (live)
Do take note of that crazy looking piano player.

4. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros- Home

 5. The Drums- Let's Go Surfing

6. Band of Horses- No One's Gonna Love You

7. Passion Pit- Sleepyhead

8. Adele- I'll Be Waiting

 9. City and Colour- Confessions

10. The Joy Formidable- Whirring

Life Changes

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Well, not lately, more like since the end of my Spring 2011 semester. And even more thinking back in mid-July when I was taking a New York State teacher certification exam.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just plain tired of and disgusted with the education field. I'm fed up with being discouraged by the state of education in the United States. I've grown to resent education professors and faculty at my school, and will even go as far as to say that I've despised teachers that I have observed and worked alongside in a certain New York City public high school.

When this semester started and I attended the first class of my Special Education class, I decided that I was done with being an English Adolescent Education major. It just isn't for me right now. Maybe when education in America is taken seriously again and a new wave of reform begins, I will go back to school to complete my certification. And maybe, just maybe, then, I will begin to teach English in a New York State high school, like I once aspired to.

For now, I am changing my major back to my first love--English. I plan on continuing my education in graduate school immediately after I receive my bachelor's from St. John's University in the spring of 2013. I'm also looking to either double major or minor in film studies, a field I've become extremely interested in after being exposed to film genre and film history classes at St. John's. I decided that becoming an expert in a certain field of English and teaching that specialty in a college setting is more in the direction that I want to go. I want to be able to enlighten future English majors with the knowledge I've absorbed and researched for so many years. I have been eagerly awaiting graduate school and my doctorate degree. I can't wait to start talking with professors that I've grown to admire about my future studies.

I will admit that for quite a while, I didn't want to admit to all of this. I kept telling myself, "I love what I'm studying. Once I start doing it, I'll love it. I just need to go through these requirements over the next few years." But despite this internal encouragement, I still experienced a sinking feeling in my gut. I wasn't happy doing what I was doing, and I feared that I wouldn't enjoy my future career choice. Finally, I admitted my doubts to William. He was surprised, told me it was just a phase, and that once this semester started and I began observing again, I'd fall in love with teaching all over again. But it never happened, and I began putting some serious thought and research into changing majors.

This is a good change, I know it. I already feel so much better about it, and will rest a little easier once I officially switch over. I feel better in my English classes, and know that studying literature and writing literary criticism is what I appreciate and enjoy most. It will take a lot of hard work, studying and writing, but I'm ready for it. I'm already anticipating the English department emails regarding internships for next summer.

Ultimately, I will still be an educator, but I'll feel more at ease knowing that I will work with some amazing professional experts within my field, and will be teaching students who appreciate English just as much as I do.

New Bed Clothes

William's brother, Joe, once called a bed comforter "bed clothes." In fact, when William got a new comforter, Joe stated, "Those are some sexy new bed clothes."

I will admit, I have an obsession with getting a new comforter set for my bed every year. It's not my fault that I see pretty ones in Target every couple of months!

So now that school has started, I'll be needed lots of sleep and rest to maintain my awesome GPA and keep up with my new workload. So every night I'll be catching some z's in my stylish new bed! The full/queen comforter was on clearance for $20.98.

Top Ten: Shopping Loves

1. Pink Hunter Rain Boots

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I discovered that my current rain boots had a leak when I went wading through the floods caused by Irene. How adorable are these babies?! I LOVE this color pink and I plan on asking for these for Christmas.

2. Hunter Basketweave Boot Socks

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Of course I need the matching cream socks! I love the extra "basketweave" detail at the top of the sock.

3. Keisha Steve Madden handbag

 

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If only this bag wasn't so expensive! I've been searching for the perfect bag in this color, and I have finally found it. I'm just hoping to find it in a Steve Madden store because I just can't fathom paying this much...

4. Zorrba Madden Girl Boots

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Okay, so I've always been in love with Steve Madden, but I plan on making these hot looking boots mine when I get paid this week. I already planned out what I can wear them with.

5. Target Floral Comforter

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I've been meaning to buy this comforter for the past few months, now. I even got a rain check for it when it was on sale a few weeks ago, but I lost that rain check... But I still plan on buying this because my old comforters are shot and this one would match my lilac walls wonderfully!

6. I heart Long Island necklace by Truche

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After reading about the Urban Outfitters scandal against this truly talented Etsian, I plan on buying this necklace more than ever. I was bummed when her shop went on hiatus during the summer because I plan on buying this creative little necklace as soon as possible. I love Long Island, and I love the concept that this amazing jewelery maker has thought up!

7. Dinosaur Planter

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Yet another amazingly creative Etsian! I feel as though this was made for me... a pink triceratops planter?!?!

8. Fossil Watch

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Going back to school has made me realize that I could really use a watch. I'm thinking I might add this to my Christmas list, as well.

9. Wanted Leopard Print Flats

 

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I have these flats in black and they are so comfortable! I want to buy them in every color, but these are my current favorites.

10. Forever 21 Lace Trim Flounce Top

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A certain kitty of mine just put a hole in one of my favorite Forever 21 tops. I know given the material, once I was it, it will only spread and cause a huge rip in the front. Therefore, I figure this top will be a sufficient replacement. This top will also look great with my new flare jeans!

Two Years

August 14th was my second year anniversary with William. We decided to go to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut because they were having a dinosaur exhibit for the summer. We went to the aquarium for our anniversary last year, and plan on going to either the Atlantic City aquarium or the Mystic aquarium in Connecticut for our third year anniversary (don't judge, I love aquariums/marine life).

How could we pass up Dino Summer?

I can't understand how they did this, but all of the dinos made sounds!

Flounders make me laugh hysterically whenever I see them...it must be those crazy eyes.

These were just the cutest little things and the sounds they made were absolutely adorable!

How cool is this blue lobster? 

Whatever this huge fish was, he laid at the bottom of the tank, looking dead. When he finally moved, he startled William and I so much!

This little guy was taking a nap! We also caught a bit of the seal show.

I would love to one day have a seahorse tank...

I wish I knew what these things were. They were stuck to the side of the tank.

The shark tank was a little disappointing. It was very small, and the aquarium doesn't own that many sharks. The room was also too dark for any good pictures.

I did however, LOVE the jellyfish room that the aquarium had!

I'm glad the Myspace-esque photos we took of ourselves outside came out decent.

The aquarium was located in a quaint little town with a beautiful view of a river? the Great South Bay? (I really don't know my Connecticut geography, sorry)

We also enjoyed the history and photographs of the Long Island Sound. However, it only featured Connecticut fisherman. Excuse me, Maritime Aquarium, but it is called the Long Island Sound, too, you know. Show us some love!

All in all, we had a very enjoyable second anniversary. I made chipotle-mango chicken on the night of our anniversary and for dessert I made this tasty recipe from the always enjoyable baking blog, Sprinkle Bakes! I highly recommend this recipe (it isn't as difficult as it may seem at first) and I always enjoy looking through her recipes!