Seven Years

Time to catch up on some blogging!

Here's a riddle: What took me nearly seven years to complete that really should have only taken me three?

A) My new gangsta rap album
B) The blanket I am knitting for the world's tallest man
C) Reading the entire Oxford English Dictionary
D) None of the above

If you said "None of the above", then clearly you've never heard me throw down the ever popular "Times Table Rap" that is a knock-it-outta-the-park hit with my third grade homies. But you'd be right. The dictionary gets a little dry by the "J" volume. Really thought the author could have done more with building the plot there. It's hardly fair to give a multiple choice test without including the correct answer, so we'll just grade on a curve and I'll tell you that it took me nearly seven years to complete my masters degree. Check out the name of this degree that allowed me to sit in the third row at graduation: Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction with a Focus in Language and Literacy. That, is a mouthful, so chew on that while I share that it took so long because, well, life got in the way. I started a new job, got engaged, bought a house, watched Project Runway on Bravo, got married, watched Project Runway on Lifetime, started a photography business...but it's finally over and I celebrated by attending my graduation and just barely restraining myself from doing one-handed cartwheels across the stage when my name was called. Another chapter of my life has drawn to a close. Speaking of chapters, now that I have some free time, I should give the dictionary another chance. Hmmmm...*flips through pages*...ahhh, here we are! Chapter "K"...

That's me!

Dad, Mom, and me

Hubby and Me (He's so proud!)

Hubby, sisters, and me
Grandma and me

Aliza

Back Home & Happy Belated Father's Day!

After some time traveling away from home, unplugged, the hubby and I are back home, and plugged back in. In the meantime, we missed your status updates, the DVR filled up with guilty pleasure reality shows, and some really spiky weeds grew in our lawn. We were busy eating the freshest homemade pastas and gelato, strolling through gardens, laughing with improv comedians, cracking lobster claws, and singing "Sweet Caroline" while taking in a game of baseball in the most beloved park, among a zillion other things, in Boston. Can you imagine giving up the pulls of email, blogging, and Facebook for a few days for that? We try to be vacation purists, staying away from most technology, exceptions only for making dinner and/or spa reservations. Going out to Beantown is like going home for me, after living there for four years in college, and I get homesick when I've been away too long. Boston is also the spot for a very special moment in our lives...and I leave you hanging there, unless you already know, but that's a story for another day.

Besides missing the emergence of way too many ginormous weeds in our yard, we were 1,000 miles away on Father's Day...don't worry, we celebrated early! But I wanted to make sure I wished my dad a belated Happy Father's Day with a photo of us on a pretty good day.

Dad and Me

Lots of babies, families, vacation photos, and other fun summery stuff to catch up on...Baby Wesley coming your way next!

Aliza

Breaking the Rules

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."
Katharine Hepburn

"I like rules that are broken."
Shelby Lynne

Aliza