Think Happy Thoughts

I had a rough little day of self-esteem. I won't go in too deeply, but let's just say a bad dressing room session and horrendous skin situation (it's bad, people) combined forces to shake my pride pretty badly today. I've decided to not feel guilty when I whine write about these stupid feelings because they are, although stupid, 100% real. I am trying to live well in spite them instead of ignore them. Maybe I'll let you know more about that soon (hint: it has a lot to do with a book I've freshly finished called Daring Greatly). Anyway, one of my solutions to a big self-confidence setback is bouncing that energy off of my main man, who tends to reflect back to me a healthy vision of my worth. Brian is good at helping me through a bad day, as long as I am willing to let him help me through it. Funny how, if you make up your mind to be, you can stay miserable as long as you'd like. Today, though, I decided to let him help me through it. We talked to each other over (I must say, delicious) dinner (high-five Anna, you domestic goddess, you) and he listened to my fears and problems without making me feel like a crazy person. Isn't that all you could ask for to sort through a bad day? A real conversation and a "no-I-don't-think-you're-nuts-and-in-fact-I-love-you" attitude? I appreciate him so much for that.

Another solution I have to bad days is remembering the really good ones. This weekend was a string of some really good ones. I'll share them with you in case you need to borrow some good day vibes, free of charge.

Saturday was a whirlwind of a day, as Karley and I had the privilege to be our cousin Becky's personal attendant. Now, sometimes the job of personal attendant gets a bad rap, but in our case, it was a long but fabulous day. It was basically an excuse to hang out with Becky, one of my favorite humans on the planet, and share in her joy as she married the man of her dreams. Kaleb really is the exact guy I would have cooked up for Becky, and I'm so glad they found each other. My day was spent following the photographer's second shooter (I may or may not have dubbed myself the "third shooter") and saying things like, "Okay so what shot are we looking for her'e? and "Are we trying to get the groomsmen getting ready in the horrible lighting?" I kept saying "we" in hopes that I could pretend that I was getting into wedding photography. Or just photography in general. I suggested one angle for a picture of theirs and immediately felt like I should start charging people thousands of dollars for my services. See, this is why I can't be an artist. The ego would just consume me.

Needless to say it was a day of dancing and happiness and peacocks. Yes, there were peacocks. The best part? Seeing my family, this ever-growing, ever-changing organism, come together and support one another, as they always do. I love being a part of a family that is so unconditionally supportive. As a member of it, you know that you have a crew of people standing witness to your growth, your promises, and your imperfections, loving you through all of them. It's a freeing and empowering thing, to be a part of such a family.

Sunday was also just bliss. We slept in and totally skipped church. (Sssshhhh, don't tell. Well, I mean, I don't actually care. TELL IF YOU MUST. #SORRYNOTSORRY) I love our church and love our Sunday routine. Our church is actually one of my favorite places on earth. This weekend, though, was time for us to pump the breaks. My brother Rudi used to tell me that Christians absolutely love skipping church, because it makes you feel like you're getting away with something. Kinda true! But you know what? I think God understood. I talked with God all about it and it's good between us. Brian and I got a full night of sleep for the first time in absolutely forever and we woke up with ridiculous happy faces at the decadent 9:45 in the morning. Pure bliss I tell you.

The day just got better from there. We went on one of our food adventures for brunch up north. We trekked up in the direction of his parents' house and stopped at Once Upon a Bagel in Highland Park. Even though we were on the north side of Chicago, it felt very Philadelphia in there. I was loving the culture. Brian loves these kinds of places too. What can I say? We bond over food! #truelove

We went from there to procrastinate get a few things done at Hansa Coffee Shop in Libertyville, the town where Brian's from in this area. This was a complete favor to me, because Brian knows I love this place. I want to go every time we visit up there, and this time my wish was granted. It's in a refurbished garage with a great atmosphere. I sipped black tea out of a mug the size of my face while making up backstories in my head as I people-watched and it was awesome.

We finished the night at the Whartnaby establishment in Libertyville, where SuperBeth was hosting a party for all of Ed's 20 salesmen who were in town for a business thing. The place was packed with personality and funny comments and I loved it. It made me feel super proud of my father-in-law, super proud of my mother-in-law, and super proud to be considered part of their clan that they want their employees to meet. We left, of course, with leftovers in tow for Monday night's dinner and headed back to la casa de Ovaltine. It was the end of a string of two very, very good days. Ahhhh. Happy thoughts = happy Anna.

Cut and Paste

Pinterest. It used to be this cool website where I kept all of my ideas of what I want to wear, eat, and do on a daily basis. I absolutely love all of the outfits that I "pinned" to my virtual bulletin board and I can honestly say that my board devoted to Small Baby Animals has turned a bad mood around once or twice. While I suppose Pinterest is still all of that to me, it has now become my biggest source of Professional Development.

Elementary teachers everywhere: forget your curriculum, drop out of your master's courses, and just go on Pinterest. It will have the same effect on your teaching and it's free. I'm sure I'm the absolute last TFA-er to maximize Pinterest for the benefit of their teaching, but I always thought: "No, Anna, you should stick to exactly every activity the curriculum says to do because who knows what they'll say if they come in to observe and you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing." First of all, they won't be upset if my kids are engaged and excited to learn about something in a creative way...they aren't all that scary anyway. Second of all, KIDS SHOULD HAVE FUN AT SCHOOL AND I'M SICK OF STANDARDIZED TEST PREP AND I WANT TO DO FUN THINGS. So Pinterest it is. And Pinterest it shall be. Last week we did a Christmas tree activity that helped us practice using a ruler to measure to the nearest inch. And listen here. If you would have told me that throwing out some scissors and glue would make a room that contains 14 squirrelly 6-year-old boys (and let me tell you what the other 7 girls aren't lacking in spunk either) turn into a place of extreme focus, I would have slapped you.

But here we are, and now I am searching for cut-and-paste activities for every single lesson. Check out my cuties getting into the Christmas spirit. Four more days until break people. FOUR MORE DAYS!

 

April Showers

Tulips. 

Friends. It's finally here: Karleypalooza 2013. We've hit wedding season at full speed and we are not looking back. This weekend of bridal showers marked the commencement of the march to May 25 and the goodness that will be Karley's wedding. Oh, I suppose it's Sam's wedding too. That too. But I am beyond excited for the chaos to begin and the buildup to start. The aunts on the VanDrunen side put together an absolutely great shower for Karley, complete with table themes, cupcake displays, Dutch details in the decorations, great food, and fifty attendees. It was held in the basement (I use the word basement  lightly because it is far from dingy and dirty like the word imples) at my grandma's church which has a great facility. Karley and Sam got tons of cool presents and I'd say a good 43% of the gifts were cupcake-themed. Once they're married I plan on getting a sugar high with every visit. 

Stay tuned for future festivities, including the bachelorette weekend in May. It's going down. 

Sam came to experience the gift opening.

The amazing dessert table. 

Karley and all the aunts who threw the shower for her. 

Oh my family. 

Why did the Easter Egg Hide?

....because he was a little chicken!

Okay. Weak joke. But not even a terrible pun can bring me down because I just had an awesome time visiting Alex and Heidi over Easter weekend and the first half of my (glorious) spring break. It's not your typical SUPER SICK SB13 PCB kind of week, but it's much better, in my opinion. I flew back to Chicago tonight and I am already missing D.C. and the people I left behind. My parents were with me for half of the time, and I got the privilege of staying at Alex and Heidi's new (and beautiful) townhouse for the whole visit. Here are a few highlights for you to relive the goodness right along with me. Read below each photo for the deets.

Easter dinner. This picture about sums up the extent to which my mad cooking skillz were utilized for this big event. (Hint: I don't have mad cooking skillz) Alex is somewhat (alottawhat) a foodie and embraced this opportunity to dazzle us with his talents in the kitchen. He made some fantastic salmon and did a top-chef-calibur demonstration for us guests. I think I could even recreate it someday. In other news, the wine was delicious.

One of the absolute highlights of my trip was a visit to the famous Georgetown Cupcakes shop of the TV show on TLC, DC Cupcakes. While the rest of my family saw the line and immediately admitted defeat, Heidi stood dutifully with me down the block for the hour long wait until we finally got to order our box of a half-dozen cupcakes. I will say, it was worth the wait. We stopped and ate the cupcakes on the steps of a beautiful multimillion dollar home that was for sale. We thought it might attract potential buyers to see four strange Wisconsinites chowing down on baked goods on the front steps. Nobody came to see the house while we were there. Odd. 

I've added this picture purely for the fact that this is classic Dad: button-down dress shirt, dress pants, hiking all-weather shoes, cupcake in hand, posing for a picture and yet also somehow in mid-sentence.

Happening upon this sign was a significant moment for me. Sure, to the average onlooker, it could just be some dumb old Charles Dickens quote. But to me, it is the moment that March weather was so perfectly articulated like I have never been able to articulate on my own. It was outside a great coffee shop in Georgetown called Baked and Wired and I read it aloud three times in a row (passersby were confused at my excitement). I was always a little wishy washy on Charles Dickens, but now I am officially in his allegiance. It's pure genius. March weather totally is summer in the light and winter in the shade; it is absolutely when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold. That is exactly what it is like.  It is the best description of spring weather I have ever beheld. 

I like me some hard cider. I asked the waitress to bring me whatever cider they had, and this is what she brought to me. Original Sin. And I was out to eat with my parents! How scandalous. How risqué.  

My parents left after the weekend, leaving me with Alex and Heidi to chill on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday night they took me out for some Vietnamese goodness. This soup is called pho. I finished not even half of it and was insanely full. It was really good. I also suck at using chopsticks. The sophistication comes in stages, people. 

This was from Tuesday night when Alex, Heidi, and I were invited over to a friend of theirs' apartment for dinner (I had a really hard time figuring out the correct pluralization of that phrase and am still perplexed about whether or not it is correct.). I was exploring downtown when he was about to pick me up. Then he dropped it on me. Out of nowhere. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. It's officially passing on to the next generation. Brian Gesch would be so proud. 

So Happy Together

Sam. This chick's necklace game is always killer.  

On Saturday night I went downtown for Teach For America's Holiday party. We got to get all gussied up to hit up Macy's downtown on the ninth floor. Pretty fancy schmancy. We hung out, had drinks, danced, and just enjoyed being together again. I realize how much impact these people had on my life in such a short time when we get nights together like this. Since I'm the only Teach For America person at my school, I soak up any chance I get to be with those who are doing this crazy thing alongside of me in Chicago. Love them to pieces. Great way to start off the holiday cheer. 

Julia, Colin, and Sam. Amazing teachers and human beings. We all
taught at the same school for summer school Institute. 

Mackenzie. Runner and fungirl extraordinaire. These are my new glasses, BTW. 

Uh oh they're picking me up. This turned out badly. 

Bathroom pic after a night of dancing and fun. I'd say it was a holiday party success. 

Friendsgiving

I am thankful for good people. I am thankful for good friends.

There were more than these people here, but this was the Trinity crew that was present. 

Let me tell you a little about this group of people. They are not my college roommates, nor are they the people with whom I spent most of my weekends. These were the friends I met when I was doing things in college. These are the friends I met while participating in Residence Life activities, playing in soccer practices, acting in improv, debating in Student Association meetings, and leading in freshman orientation week. These are my kindred spirits. People who love to be involved, think critically, and have great conversations about real things. These nerds probably enjoyed attending class as much as I did. I love these people because they are open, articulate, hilarious, and original.

Liz. The hostess with the mostest. 

Let me tell you about Liz Brice. She is not a touchy person and she hates how I exploit this with my hugging/arm nudging ways. But more important, she is a friend of mankind. She loves to bring people together. So last week she hosted Friendsgiving. It was wonderful. Basically, about 30 of us came together from all different friend groups and hung out and ate like crazy at a huge potluck. (I made a big plate of truffs and they went over really well. Click the link for a recipe.) It was a great time.

Jon, Jacqui, Sasha, and Cat. 

My new friend Luke. Sorry for cutting off your face, but this picture looked artsy so I kept it! 

The chalkboard that greeted us. 

Sam and Jon. You've met Sam before. If you haven't, go scroll down a few posts. 

Going through the line. Yumm.

Little talks. 

This is one tradition that I hope I always uphold: getting together with good people, being thankful for them, talking about real things, and eating lots and lots of good food. 

It Ain't Easy Being Green

This post is rated 21 and up. Well, not really. You can still read it, but don't come crying to me that you aren't old enough to buy the ingredients. You've been warned. 

I whipped up a batch of these for my friend's bachelorette party the other night and it was a hit. I thought you, also, might enjoy being a hit, so here is the secret to holiday drink goodness. My friends, I give you: The Grasshopper. A sure-fire addition to any Christmas or New Year's party. Or any party for that matter.

I did a little research (Wikipedia is so handy) and found out that this cocktail originated in New Orleans at a bar named Tujague's in the 1950s. Well, my recipe originated in Cedar Grove from the Gesches sometime in the 90s or something. It combines minty goodness and ice cream and is fabulous. 

Here's what you'll need:

1) A thing of Cool Whip.
(And yes "thing" is a technical term of measurement)

2) A 5-quart bucket of vanilla ice cream.
Ideally a limited edition Green Bay Packer vanilla ice cream.

3) 1/2 cup of Creme de Cacao and 1 and 1/2 cup of Creme De Menthe
This is what makes it delicious, green, and minty.

4) A really big bowl

Let's do this. Before you start I would advise letting all the ingredients sit on the counter for about 15 minutes to thaw. It will let the ice cream and cool whip soften up and make this whole process a lot more painless.  

First things first, spoon almost all of the vanilla ice cream into the big bowl. I'd leave out a little bit because the finished product is going back in that 5-quart Packer-themed bucket. After the ice cream, add in all the cool whip in a similar fashion. 

Now, throw in the Creme de Cacao and Creme de Menthe. It will look really green and weird. Like this:

Now you start stirring. As you can see from the picture, I am using a massive spoon. It is the most handy spoon in our whole kitchen, but I have theories that it was once one of those decorative ones you nail to the wall to look country chic or something. However it got here, I'm glad it's around because it makes this job a lot easier. It will start to look more like this...

...which, I know, does not look appetizing, but we all know never to judge a recipe until it's finished. Or books by their covers. Or people by their appearance. Check you out, thought you were just getting a delicious how-to session and I slipped in a life lesson when you weren't looking. Anyway. When you break into Jillian Michaels beast mode and flex those stirring muscles, the end result will look like this: 

As you can see, in the end I called in the whisk for reinforcements. Your hard work is almost done. Now, all that is left to do is pour this finished mixture back into the empty ice cream bucket. This makes it super easy to tote around and seal back up. 

Keep it in the freezer and it will last you for a LONG time. Unless you have to entertain 40 people, then it will be gone immediately. Just scoop it out into little cups for everyone's happiness, minty-ness, and holiday cheer. Even if you are the lame one in the group, bringing a bucket of this will boost your ratings, guaranteed. Now go forth and conquer! 

2 out of 2 friends agree that this is delicious.