Dogs!

Well, it's been awhile since we posted pictures of our dogs... They just got their haircuts (just in time for our awesome Christmas party yesterday evening!) and they looked so cute that I just had to get the camera out! So, while some of these pictures show their haircuts, I figured I should also go ahead and post some adorable shots that we've gotten these past couple of weeks. Top picture - Sandy and Clara love our kitchen chairs (and they love chewing up our kitchen table too... new habit I guess?) - so I caught them sitting on the two chairs one afternoon. Sandy was so excited to see me coming that you can see her tail wagging! The other shots were taken at my mom and dad's home. They love the outside patio and the floor of the living and dining room (they slide around on it, it's so funny!). Notice the toy that is missing it's arm - that happened on the same day they received that toy! But, at least the Happy Hanukkah Bones that they are chewing on in the other picture seemed to last!

The next pictures show their cute haircuts. (Although the one with Sandy's head out of the window was taken beforehand - she looked so adorable!) Below that, Clara seems to be glaring at the camera - she seems to be saying "Mom, it's been pouring outside for a week, and it's windy - and now I have no hair!!!" (This is what happens when the price of a dog's haircut costs more than double of what I pay for my own - all the hair gets shaved off!) So, I started getting creative with how to keep my dogs warm, and I created a coat for Sandy from one of our dog blankets - she looks like a queen! I did the same for Clara, but she took it off right away... She'd rather just scowl at the picture! Anyhow, hope you enjoy!

My directorial debut!

This year, I was given a drama elective to teach at my school. It's amazing to me how I can now incorporate my love of theatre with the students that I teach. I've always been a performer, and I was scared to death to be on the opposite side of the stage, BUT, the show must go on - and I had to teach this class...I had to teach students who had, for the most part, never seen a play on stage, let alone PERFORMED in front of people before! It was a challenge, and so much fun! I paired up with our school music teacher, and together we put a concert/performance together. Our kids learned how to sing together in a chorus and performed four songs, and they learned how to work with one another in four separate fairy tale skits. They learned how to project their voices, how to face front, how to be goofy (it was easier for some than others!), and how to have fun in the theatre/performance world. They peformed their songs and skits last Friday morning (December 10th) at the elementary charter school connected with ours for Kindergarten thru 3rd graders (there were several hundred kids in the audience), and they performed again that evening for a whole bunch of parents. They were a huge success! One skit even performed at our school assembly later on during the day. All of our performers were 7th and 8th graders (I teach all of them in my history classes) and next semester we are bringing in some of our high school students to join us too. We're going to put together a musical with songs from the fifties - should be fun! And, if things go as planned, I've been assigned to work with our school district's students on a musical theatre production that will take place at the Barn Theatre in Porterville (the oldest working community theatre in the western region of the United States!)
So, this first semester of our school year went so well, and now we're able to sit back, relax, and enjoy a fantastic winter break vacation! Yea!

LA Fashion Show for Men

Two years ago I wanted to attend a fantastic fashion show for men, but I had a wedding to attend, which meant no fashion show for me. Why do you ask could I not attend? Well, it was my wedding day and that is how it all starts men....just kidding! I absolutely love being married- it is a God given gift.

Well, this past November, I was finally able to attend!

To start the car show, at the front entrance you are handed a cup of coffee and get to walk around seeing all sorts of cars. We are talking cars ranging from mid range to multi-million dollar cars. The cars were simply in pristine condition and a major highlight of the car show this year was about electric cars. Can you imagine plugging your car into an electrical outlet in your home instead of filling up with gas? I was simply electrified about this thought.

Heck, I even found a minivan that had wood flooring and was considered a "stretch" minivan that will come out next year complete with a mini-fridge. You know... a family car. After perusing the cars for a few hours, I decided to step outside to get some fresh air saying hello to my friend "Chuck Hearn" (he was the announcer for the LA Lakers for numerous years), since we were across the street from Staples Center. We tried to find a moderate place to eat so we walk around and couldn't find a meal that was less than $15.00 a piece so we headed to the food court at the LA Convention Center, only $10.00 a person. All in all, it was a great day...and if you have not seen this show...you really need to go. We spent 8 hours viewing cars while my wife baked with Debby - we both win out in the end.

San Francisco Anniversary Trip

Jeremiah and I decided to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary this year in San Francisco! We can't believe it's already been two years, and we can't believe all that we've been through in the past two years! We decided to take a four day weekend because Veteran's Day (November 11th) fell on a Thursday this year... We also decided to travel by train this time, which we learned was a pretty big mistake because there just happened to be a Veteran's Day parade happening on the street right next door to the Fresno train station, and there weren't any parking spaces...or so it seemed.... God provided one just in time ... well, just before my minor break down turned into something more! Traveling by train is definitely the best way to travel to San Francisco. We'd never done that before, and it was so much fun. We got to sit on the 2nd story of the train, and for four hours, we looked out the window (at everything that Central California had to offer... LOTS of farm land!) and read our books. It was so much fun, and sooooooooo relaxing! The train dropped us off in Emeryville, just across the bay, and then we took a connecting Amtrak bus into the city (about another 45 minute ride). No toll fees, no parking fees (not at the train station in Fresno, and not the $40 a night hotel parking fee that the Holiday Inn Express would have charged us had we brought our car), no traffic to be stuck in, and absolutely no stress (well, except for the parking thing in Fresno!) We arrived in Fisherman's Wharf in the evening, and walked over to our hotel about one mile away. It was a wonderful location, clean hotel, and offered a very good hot breakfast both mornings that we were there. We decided to have a yummy dinner at the Fog Harbor Fish House on Pier 39, and we enjoyed delicious seafood - as pictured above. Perhaps what I loved best was the fact that there were no crowds - best time to travel. The weather was actually a lot warmer than it had been a couple of years ago when we visited in August. There was no fog, and little breeze - it was beautiful! We ended the night by sharing a butterscotch icecream sundae at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory - Yummy! (We also spent a small fortune buying a whole lot of our Christmas gifts there!)
On Friday, we took PUBLIC transportation (no tourism for us!...well, except for all the pictures!) to the Golden State Park. The trip didn't take very long (but it was definitely squishy - reminded me of NYC), and we enjoyed our walk through the park as we searched for the California Academy of Sciences - the ultimate activity that we'd planned for that day. On the way, we saw lots of pretty flowers just outside the Conservatory of Flowers, and we felt so in awe of all the beauty - similarly to Central Park in NYC, we forgot that we were in the midst of a crowded, busy city!

The California Academy of Sciences was wonderful - and it filled our entire day. Perhaps the most unique part of the visit was its Living Roof (pictured). The roof is literally covered with grass and plants where many little critters roam about and live. We'd never seen anything like it before. There was also this really cool white alligator that we thought was amazing as well - it looked like stone! The building also had an aquarium, a swamp setting, a huge rainforest and a planetarium inside of it, as well as a natural history museum part, and a penguin exhibit. The building seemed to go on and on. The only disappointing part was actually the planetarium. For all the high-tech technology that was in that room, we expected an unbelievable star and space/planet display with things flying in at us from all around. Instead, I think the entire audience fell asleep as we looked at a tree, it's leaves, and the cells inside of those leaves - and this woman with the calmest and softest voice that I'd ever heard spoke about how we, human beings, are connected with the cells in that tree. Then she talked about evolution and the big bang, and that's when I joined my husband for a nap :) The Academy had really good (but expensive) food, so we enjoyed a delicious lunch there before the planetarium...that may have contributed to the sleepiness!

We ate at another yummy seafood restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf that evening, then we got coffee at the nearby Barnes and Nobles, and turned in early that night for rest.

The next morning, we woke early again and took public transportation once again to Chinatown - wow, not what I thought it would be... I like NY's better! The streets were really crowded, narrow and dirty, and the shops sold pretty expensive "junk"...except for a couple of nicer

tea places... The best part about that morning, however, was finding an adorable Italian bakery/deli right inside little Italy - we had them prepare sandwiches for our journey home that day - and the size of those sandwiches was comparable to Carnegie Deli in NY - they were huge, and delicious! So, I think we can both agree that our eating fest in San Francisco was nothing short of wonderful! We also stopped by the Boudin Sourdough Restaurant/Factory, bought some bread, snapped some pictures, and caught the bus that would begin our journey back to the middle of...I mean... Porterville!

What a great anniversary!

Sheep and Friendship Bread

This week went by super fast, and part of the highlights of the week included the sheep that you can see in our pictures. (Well, the first picture is merely the fog that lay over the field when I got to school one morning - I thought this was beautiful). As for the sheep, one morning we had a bare green field, and the next day, we heard lots of "baaaaing" from our classroom. The third picture down shows the proximity of the sheep from my classroom door, so you can imagine how fun it was to teach over their noise this week! If I didn't realize how rural our area was before, I definitely realize it now!

As for the bottom picture... I've been getting in this habit of making Amish Friendship Bread. My friend Kristin brought me a loaf of friendship bread and a starter to make my own when she came up to visit a couple of weeks ago. This bread can not be made without a starter, so you either need to get it from someone, or you have to save yours and continue to bake every 10 days... Well, for the past month, I've been doing just that! The bread is so good (it's more like cake then bread) and we've become addicted. Yesterday was my third day making the bread, and I decided to get creative by putting chocolate chips and cranberries in it - and I don't think I'll ever go back to the orginial process - it's delicious! And every time I make it, I create 4 more starters - so I keep one and give three away to friends - hence the name. All you need to make it are your basic baking ingredients, plus instant vanilla pudding... as pictured... I tried to capture each step this time around (the back picture is the starter for the recipe - it doesn't look to appetizing until you realize what the final result tastes like! It's been fun giving it away to friends and being able to eat a declicious dessert every day! :)

It's Been Awhile!

To all of our blog readers - it's definitely been awhile! We've already completed our first quarter of the school year, and we are almost halfway done with the 2nd one - CRAZY! We've been so busy this quarter, but thankfully everything that has been going on in our lives has been wonderful. Jeremiah has been working on his lessons for 2 different classes at his school, finishing BTSA (a teacher induction program that requires 2 years of added work in order to receive a teaching credential that will never expire) and his masters classes - he's almost finished, looks like he'll graduate in March if all goes as planned! I have been working on my own lesson plans including a new drama class that I've been assigned to teach this year, I'm also finishing BTSA, and I've been taking classes sponsored through my school district to get certified in a program that we are about to implement at our school called IB - International Baccalaureate - it's a very rigorous academic program that we'd like to offer - we just changed our name to Summit Charter COLLEGIATE Academy, so we're trying to live up to our name! The class I'm taking is currently online, and my other classmates are literally from all around the world, it's pretty amazing! I've also found myself the coordinator of all sorts of other programs at my school like field trip coordinator and ASB (Associated Student Body) Leadership coordinator for 7th and 8th graders - which means I'm helping to get together fund raisers, school dances, and other activities like the Spookfest that we had on Friday night - we set up a ping pong table, and had kids try to bounce a ball on one side of the net into one of three "fish bowls" on the other side of the net - and if they did, they won a goldfish - it was lots of fun, we made lots of money to help fund raise for the kids...but I am so tired!!! Anyhow, can you tell we've been a bit busy??!! But we're both having a blast this school year.

Regarding the pictures, we've made some new friends here! I met my friend Nancy at the church we attend in Porterville last year before the school year even began. Turns out that she is a substitute for my school district, and she has subbed for my class almost every single time I needed a sub, and she is WONDERFUL! Well, we've gotten to know one another pretty well over the last year, and this year I finally had a chance to meet her two daughters - one is my age, and one is just a couple of years older. They are both married and both have a child. Last week, I went up to Nancy and her husband's mountain cabin that they've been building for the past 2 years and had a scrapbooking party with her daughters, and this week we brought Cindi, Steve and Charlene up to that home and hiked around the area. (It's called Camp Nelson). The weather was beautiful up there today (about 45 degrees, so chilly!) and the hike felt so great! We brought Sandy and Clara along as well, and they've never seemed happier - but it wasn't much fun cleaning up their muddy paws and fur afterward! Pictured above is the living room of their mountain home, and Sandy and Clara are sleeping on my lap with Jacob, one of Nancy's daughter's sons, posing with us! Nancy is the lady in the chair to my right. They are the greatest family, and we feel so blessed to have friends! (Below, by the way, is a picture of a bunch of ladybugs on a log - perhaps they're trying to get warm??? - well, it looked pretty neat) You can also see the snow-capped mountains in one of the pictures - the scenery is so beautiful up there -it's hard to believe it's only 35 miles north of Porterville!

So anyhow - sorry we've been so busy, we'll try to be better with our upcoming posts...so continue visiting!

Big Sur

To end our summer nicely, Jeremiah and I took a trip to the Big Sur campgrounds with our friends Melissa and John. The ride was long, but the beauty of the area and the Redwood trees were worth it! We stayed for three nights and explored some hiking trails at Pfeiffer State Park and drove the infamous 17-mile drive around Pebble Beach State Park. John and Jeremiah traveled the mountains of our campsite for wood, so we really felt like pioneers...that, and we had to walk 10 minutes to get to the restroom! :) (at least it felt like 10 minutes at 2:00 in the morning in pitch blackness!) While the trip was definitely enjoyable, I'm still getting used to this idea of camping and being covered in dirt for three days straight... there was no grass at Big Sur... but there WAS a really nice river to go tubing down! The river felt like ice, and it was oh so fun stepping out of the river and into the 60 degree weather... and then waiting IN LINE for a shower while my body trembled in the cold.... but we DID have fun :) :) :) Next time, Jeremiah promised me that we'll go for two days at a time and then stay at a hotel... The things we do to show our husbands we love them!

Mexican Riviera Cruise

Yesterday, Jeremiah and I came home from an incredible Royal Carribean cruising adventure that took us to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Everything was beautiful on the cruise ship, and our destinations were beautiful too...and everyday was definitely a complete adventure. We went snorkeling in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, horseback riding on the beach, ziplining across the Sierra Madre, we climbed down waterfalls...and we're still alive to tell the stories! We relaxed on deck, ate some amazing food, played miniature golf, swam, ice skated, worked out in the gorgeous gym almost every morning, ate some more amazing food, read some good books, talked with lots of friendly people, saw some incredible entertainment (musical theatre productions, comedy acts, jazz music, singing performances, etc), ate some more amazing food, and slept (and dreamt about the amazing food we ate)! The trip was for 7 days, 3 of which were simply at sea. The weather was beautiful outside, though windy on deck quite often. The trip was fantastic in every way possible, and it made the 6 weeks of summer school work well worth it! :)

As summertime begins to draw to a close, we have found ourselves back at my mom and dad's home, and we look forward to seeing some friends and family this week. Next week we travel to Big Sur campground with our new friends.

Please visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/MPodczaszy/2010MexicanRivieraCruise# to see all of our photos from the trip!

Adventure Park, Visalia

Jeremiah and I just got home from a wonderful cruise... but before getting to those pictures, we thought we should share a few of these miniature golf pics that we took prior to cruising. Jeremiah and I had been sitting in our apartment all day long and we both decided we needed to get out, so we checked out the Adventure Park in Visalia to see how their miniature golf course was. It was definitely a fun evening, but next time when we go back, I'll have to try harder to beat Jeremiah! We also enjoyed ice cold icees which felt good considering it was about 95 degrees outside while we played golf! Then, we challenged each other once more playing our favorite two arcade games: ice ball, and air hockey. Jeremiah beat me at everything that night...but we found another air hockey game on the cruise and I finally beat him!

Just reminders of a wonderful summer together!

5 weeks later.... Summer!

So, it has been about 5 weeks since we've last posted, and a lot has been going on! I've been teaching summer school and am getting ready for my very last week (hooray!) I've been teaching students entering 11th grade who are taking my 6 week US History class in hopes that they will pass it and not have to take the class this year. While the class has been fun and rewarding for me, I definitely must say that I am thrilled to teach middle school students throughout the school year. High school students, while a bit more independent, have a lower energy level than middle school students (which most normal people love) but my energy level matches middle school students much more! Jeremiah has been working hard on his master's classes. He is attending California State University Bakersfield and continuing his Masters in Education: Curriculum and Instruction. He should be finished by next June!!! In his spare time, he has also been the best husband in the entire world! He's cleaned the whole house each week while I've worked, he's done the laundry, he's taken care of and trained our puppies, he packs my lunches, and so much more! And on top of all of that, he picks me up each and every day at 2:45 on the dot showing me all the love that a wife could ever ask for!

So, what are all these pictures...well, we couldn't leave out Sandy and Clara, could we? During the course of these 5 weeks, Clara finally got her first haircut (as pictured) and we love the short hair so much better. We tend to agree that she likes it better too, considering that the temperature outside has been over 100 degrees! The funky picture of Sandy with the "cone of shame" around her neck was just too adorable to pass up... she'd undergone major surgery and this 'pillow' protected her from licking her stitches! She wore it for 10 days straight and handled it pretty well too! The picture of me holding the dogs was taken to introduce you (our blog viewers) to our newly found friends, and their dog, Panda! ...

...A couple of weeks ago, Jeremiah and I finally found the dog park in Visalia where we took Sandy. Well, Sandy wasn't the only one to find a close friend that day, so did we! Almost immediately, I started talking with the other girl in the dog park, and found out that her name was also Melissa, and she was married to a man whose name starts with a J like Jeremiah's name (Johnny), and whose last name starts with a P, like our last name! Then I found out that both she and her husband were also teachers, and she taught 7th and 8th grade history this past year (like me!). They've also known one another as long as Jeremiah and I have (just about 6 years now - which is crazy! - and wonderful!) So, we became FAST friends, and the following day we went to church together, hung out all afternoon, had dinner over our home together on Tuesday, and joined them for a long church event night together on Wednesday. We've since gotten closer and closer, and the four of us are all planning to go camping at Big Sur in a couple of weeks. Sadly, however, they are both moving away for a time (due to lay offs in their school district), but because of their friendship, Jeremiah and I have had soooooooooo much fun this past few weeks. staying up way too late, but loving every moment. I've seriously felt like I've been in my freshman year at college again! Sandy and Clara definitely love their dog, Panda, as well. As you can see, they were all cuddled up together on the couch (Panda's arm is on top of Clara and in the other picture, Clara and Panda are cuddled in Panda's crate!)

So what else has been going on? Well, as the next picture shows, we've been making some yummy foods! One of our fun nights involved making this pizza... nothing special, but super delicious! So, even though I've been teaching summer school, we've definitely been enjoying our summer break to its fullest as well!

Next week, we leave for a week-long cruise to the Mexican Riviera, and we both admit that we're looking forward to getting out of this heat and RELAXING!!!

San Simeon Camping Trip

School let out on Friday!!! I can't believe I finished my very first year teaching in my own classroom! Time flew so quickly, I can't believe it's already been a year since our first post on this blog! To celebrate, Jeremiah and I joined our cousins, Rebecca and Nolan, at San Simeon State Park in Cambria for a weekend of camping on the beach! With delicious food prepared by Rebecca, a beautiful walk on the beach, a fun walk through downtown Cambria, yummy s'mores by a cozy campfire, and nights of the Quidler card game, fellowship, and star-gazing, we couldn't have asked for anything better. This was also a wonderful way to spend my 27th birthday! We brought Sandy for her very first camping trip, and she was loved by all. The camp ground insisted that dogs remain on a leash, so we attached the leash and let her walk wherever she pleased! She loved eating all the dirt, the grass and the leaves. In fact, she hardly had any appetite for her dog food! She never barked as I feared she might during night time, but she slept through both nights completely! I'm not sure if she missed Clara or not, but she sure seemed to love her freedom and all of the attention!

Our new 5-person tent worked out really well, although I would be miserable if we tried to fit 3 more people in there! The two of us and Sandy filled up the space quite nicely as is! Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the adventure was waking up at 3:30AM, cuddling with Sandy as if she were my stuffed animal, and listening to the very loud sounds of the ocean waves filling the air. I felt so relaxed, and I know Jeremiah can completely agree! It was a weekend well worth waiting for!
To check out more pictures, please visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/MPodczaszy/SearchResultsFor2010CampingTripSanSimeon#