French Kiss

an impromptu trip into the city!

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +0000

last Saturday, friend Megan and I had a delicious lunch at PF Chang's in Edgewater. We were in such good spirits, that after the meal {and perhaps because of the beautiful weather} we headed into NYC for dessert. Why?? Well, why not...

We took the light rail, to the path, and walked from Christopher Street to Bleeker. Green people everywhere were traveling to and from Hoboken to NYC to celebrate St. Patrick's Day early. Holding onto each other as we caught trains, Meg and I had such a fun time just laughing and people watching.

When we arrived to Bleeker I was so content. NYC simply has an energy about it that I could never describe with words. Not to mention the Francophones everywhere, made me happy.

We waited on line, and grabbed cupcakes at Magnolia's Bakery. Normal people leave the bakery with 2 a piece. Megan and I?? Left with SIX cupcakes a piece.

The things that two girls from Jersey will do for a cupcake! ;)

Heaven = Hiking followed by a Couples' Massage.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Two weeks ago when I was in Missouri visiting my soldier, we went for a hike. I had NO idea what to expect, but he insisted that I took my camera.

Half a mile in, everything was still dead from the winter snow, but then out of NOWHERE... a beautiful Evergreen forest emerged.

It was like something out of a fairy tale!!

{wiping off all the mud on my Columbia shoes!}

{Sam of course takes a pic of his muddy GTI}

{he made us drive through THIS!}

{but it was in order to get to this! :) }

At the end of the hike, there was still one. more. surprise.

A Couple's Massage!!! ♥

Best part about that is that Sam planned it and not me. How did I get so lucky?!

my husband misses me.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Yesterday while chatting on the phone with my best friend, Bumbee kept interrupting our conversation.

Me: Hold on Kathleen, Sam's calling.

Bumbee: Hey!

Me: Hey, sorry I'm on the phone with Kathleen. We're catching up! We haven't talked since BEFORE St. Louis!

Bumbee: And what about me?! We haven't talked since before church. Ok ok, I'll let you go...

{ I love how he misses me after not talking for a few hours on the phone!}

{an hour passes by...}

Me: Hold on Kathleen.

Bumbee: Hey!

Me: I'm still on the phone...

Bumbee: You're STILL talking?!?!

{Hey, a girl needs her phone time! I love to talk. Guess this is why I became a teacher?!?}

Follow up:

After ending our convo, I found a text message from Bumbee.

"I think you and I are meant for each other.

I love and I feel good knowing you're my wife and no one else."

Oh I can't wait until we no longer need the phone nor text messaging to communicate!

some polaroids from this weekend in NYC...

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 22:50:00 +0000

hope you all had a lovely weekend!! Spent the weekend visiting Mom (got a mani with mommy), and met up with friends. This weekend I found myself in NYC and sadly left my beautiful camera at home. (Thank goodness for the iPhone!) I snapped some pics while gallivanting in Greenwich village....

{I "heart" New York or I "cupcake" New York... you decide!}

Last but not least, I found THE cutest baby stroller while in the Juicy Couture store. If I ever have a girl one day, she will have this.... Ohhh, baby fever!

Now if only the husband were here..... 60 more days (and counting!!!)

Can you believe it's less than 2 months until my soldier is out of the Army?!?

He hasn't lived in New Jersey since 1999.

1999!!

Craziness!! Ok, I'm done now. More updates to follow!

sister jaclyn's housewarming.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:34:00 +0000

Last Saturday after flying into NYC from St. Louis, I went straight over to my sister's new place. Her and her fiancé have a brand new city-chic apartment adjacent from the George Washington Bridge.

The apartment has a fireplace, terrace, and she doesn't owe any rent for her puppy Cooper! Amazing deal! (Yes, I pay rent for my pooch.) And on top of everything - it's GORGEOUS. The location is 5 minutes away from my mom so when I want to visit my sister, I can now visit my sister and my mom in one shot! (Ummm, awesome for me and Sam.) Joe also works in the center of NYC right in Times Square so he's super excited that his commute got WAY shorter!!

I'm so delighted for Jaclyn and Joe. I've never seen my sister this happy in all my life. Everything is finally falling into place for her. She started her career teaching this year, she has a new place to live, and now she has a wedding to plan!

The wedding is 11/11/11. Guess somebody needs to start cracking on Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party ideas.... oh, that would be moi.

French field trip! C'est super cool!

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:41:00 +0000

Today was such a fun day!! I took a group of 22 students down to the Elementary school to teach French! The French Club went down to promote the French language with hope that sixth graders will choose French as their High School language. To sum up the day? They. were. FABULOUS.

I could not have asked for a better group of motivated students. Our French Club taught six 6th grade classes. Each class had a unique mini French lesson prepared - one class taught the weather with a silly Simon Says game; two classes taught the days of the week - one by marching around the room and the other one by using a huge beach ball; another class taught colors using Fly Swatters!; another class taught about food with a game of "Pictionnaire"; and the last class taught the song "Champs-Elysees" with a dance. I definitely had a "proud Mama" moment and took pictures of everything!

It was amazing seeing my students teaching OTHER students! They even made their own worksheets with crossword puzzles and word searches. On the walk back to the High School, so many of them kept saying "Wow! That was so much fun!!" Some even said "Now I know why you love being a teacher so much, maybe I should be a teacher?" Again. Mama almost teared up hearing these words. ;)

{The only picture I'm allowed to post on this blog: one of my student's smart boards during their lesson.}

Perhaps some will choose French for next year?!?!

On va voir...

this is how I feel right now...

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 23:34:00 +0000

I am D-O-N-E with my big grad school presentation that I had last night. A 20 minute powerpoint presentation all in French. Had a fun start: taught my classmates a medieval dance, made this youtube clip and sang this song that I learned to sing the night before, and then explained the importance of the Fête during the middle ages. Are you surprised that I'm relieved and glad it's over?!??!

As for the rest of life right now... I am happy that it's finally March {another month closer to living with Sam-I-am}, I finally got to see my sister's brand new apartment, the weather is getting warmer which makes walking Piper easier, and the days longer... oh and I have something super special planned with my students tomorrow!! Yea for fun Fridays. (Or for just Fridays, in general.)

magnolia bakery means back to home sweet home.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:41:00 +0000

Flew back over the NYC skyline yesterday. When my plane landed, Mom was there to greet me with these red velvets...

{notice they are almost empty already}

I love my mom.

After a week away, it is so nice to be back; to be driving in my car {after a week of driving Husband's stick shift!!}; driving back to our beautiful apartment; with our dog in the front seat {thanks mom for puppy-sitting!!} and the NYC skyline in the background. I'm so blessed to live here.

This is home. And there is simply, no place like home.

silly husband, why can't you be normal?

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I take back my boring comment. Life could never be boring with either of us. I mean, just look at what I have to live with for the rest of my life....

Flight takes off in a few hours.... I'm sure gonna miss this man!!

He has made me laugh constantly this past week.

bowling.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:15:00 +0000

we had a date night last night. bowling + Mickey D's.

{a great combo}

I thought I was oh so cool getting a strike!! Until my husband got two in a row after me...

Inspiration for these photos totally came from the A-Ha "Take on Me" video found here.

Haha! I love my new camera... it's soooooo fun to take pictures with!!!

As for the score?? I broke a hundred and accomplished my goal.

Bumbee won hands down!

That's okay honey, I'll let you win... this time. ;)

our last 10 weeks in the Army...

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:47:00 +0000

{Hiking pics from this Sunday after church}

10 weeks from today Sam will be saying ADIEU to the Army and on his way back home!! We're finally at the end of the road.

For right now, we're just living up the last few days of vacation together i.e. enjoying being a "normal married couple."

Despite the crazy {yet beautiful} thunderstorm outside, he came home on his lunch break to see me this afternoon "just cause I was here." He's the best. Last night we went out for mexican food then came back home to watch the original Karate Kid (I forgot how awesome that movie was... did you know he was from Newark, NJ??) And yesterday while he was at work, I spent the entire day at the library working on my French presentation for grad school.

I love, love, love just having a boring married life together! It's a novelty that I'm not fully accustomed to.

Tomorrow we head back up to Saint Louis before I fly back to NYC!! One less flight to go...

st. louis blues at blueberry hill.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Saturday morning the plane from Newark landed in St. Louis.

70 degrees in February is what I call a lovely day!

As soon as he picks me up, the two of us are nothing but smiles. We drove to the Delmar Loop where we ate at the very famous Blueberry Hill. A music lover's dream place to eat!!

{St. Louis Zoo!}

Dinner tables at Blueberry Hill are boards from board games; I'm not gonna lie when I say I was a little disappointed that we got Monopoly and not Scrabble. Dommage!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Wednesday!!

The weather in Missouri has been incredibly "spring-like" and today is no exception.

Yesterday I surprised the husband with some breakfast at work, then treated myself to a Mani + Pedi combo (haven't had one of those in FOREVER!); then, I finished up lesson plans for next week, and some grad school homework for tonight (ahh the glory of the internet, even though I'm missing one class for this visit I get to participate in class virtually).

And today?? I have a lunch date with a lovely Army wife!! (Another good thing about the internet, you can Facebook and stay in touch with Army girlfriends even though you live in the NYC area and not in Missouri).

don't tell me. {a VLog}

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:39:00 +0000

After swimming on post at Fort Leonard Wood, we came back to record a little diddy at the piano. Husband had the brilliant idea of making an iMovie with our photos, videos, and our song.

Voilà the fun outcome.

Piano: Hubby

Vocals: Wife

Swimming: Hubby and Wife.

superbowl sunday. (better late than never.)

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:03:00 +0000

I've arrived safely in St. Louis!! And life could not be better with the husband.... so far we've been swimming, touring St. Louis, and even made our own youtube video! (To be posted shortly.)

In the meantime, a quick recap of last LAST sunday with my Jersey friends. I love these ladies. We all got together to watch the Superbowl at friend Frank's parents' house.

I even brought Piper!!

{all the ladies, me and piper on Superbowl Sunday}

{Maria and Piper}

Piper was a big hit at the party!! But having that many people around, caused him to get tired very quickly. Poor little man.

Oh and yes, I'm still a Christina Aguilera fan despite her HUGE fumble of messing up the words to the Star Spangled Banner. I did that myself one time. Well, it wasn't the National Anthem; I was singing Mariah Carey's "Hero" at my 8th grade talent show and totally blanked out and forgot some lyrics before the chorus.

Ok, 8th grade talent show??? Superbowl Sunday in front of millions of viewers?!?!

Not on QUITE the same level. But still...

Alright off to spend some more time with my Soldier!!

Happy President's Day weekend everyone!!

See you in St. Louis!

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Tomorrow morning I fly to St. Louis!!! Haven't seen the husband since MLK weekend (over a MONTH ago) so I'm a tad bit excited!!! Last night was great. After grading quizzes, spent the evening at Egan & Son's catching up with my best friend in the whole wide world, Dina, and running into two co-workers. It was a wonderful night filled with fish and chips and death by chocolate dessert.

Hope everyone has a lovely Friday!!

Can't wait for that feeling when I first see the Husband at the airport.
(nor that purposely scheduled trip to the Salon after work this afternoon)

7 whole days of togetherness!!!! Here. we. come.

Au revoir blog!

{taken by my iPhone from my window seat

during the last trip to St. Louis}

paper valentines + a love list.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:46:00 +0000

How do you say "I love you" in French?? The most popular question from my students today. One student asked me to be his Valentine but I said that my husband may not approve. Another boy said "Happy Valentine's Day, I love you" while in the hallway. However, this was nothing compared to my friend Jill. One of HER students sent her a "Sing-A-Gram." A-dorable.

I wasn't going to post twice in one day... but since it is "a day of LOVE." I had to express the things I most currently love.

I love my students.

I love that they created shoebox panoramas of their "chambres" over the weekend.

I love that they learned all positive adjectives today and created valentines for each other. I loved that their valentines were anonymous and I loved the results of all the colorful paper valentines.

I love that I helped out with a "Sing-a-Gram" by rocking out and singing "Wild Thing" during lunch duty today; I love that students love when I get involved i.e. help to embarrass their friends.

I love that when I got home today there was a paper valentine in my mailbox sent from my 4 year old niece in California.

I loved that the weather finally peaked in the mid-50's!

I love that the snow is melting.

I love that my sister and her fiancé found a brand new apartment minutes from NYC and minutes from my mom.

I love that my mom came over last night to watch the Grammy's.

I love that I sang "La Vie en Rose" to all of my classes today and my students applauded. I'm not jealous of any performer on the Grammy's. The classroom is by far the best stage.

I love that my husband wrote me a poem to be read in Iambic Pantameter for Valentine's Day.

I love my husband and that I get to see him in 5 days!!

I love that I forced myself to go to the gym yesterday before church.

I love God, and that when I feel empty He can make me feel whole again.

I love my friends and family that make me laugh away any anxiety or worry.

Last but not least, I love that I made dinner tonight and it smells oh so good!!

Hope that you spread the love today.

Valentine's Day: 8 Years of Bumbee-ness.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Happy 8 years since our very first date on February 14, 2003.

For the whole funny story of how that night happened click here.

{We couldn't have Valentine's Day together this year,

so we celebrated early back in January.}

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

I love this holiday, because it's also our anniversary.

And of course, because I LOVE love. Don't you??

hot stone massages + a fabulous Valentine's Weekend.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Her boyfriend is in Iraq. My husband is still away on active duty. What better way to spend Valentine's Day weekend than at the Spa?! Yesterday, friend Megan and I went for massages at the Fountain Spa.

Our day consisted of this...

Last time I got the hot stone massage therapy was in Austin for my 2 year wedding anniversary with Sam, and it was just as divine as I remembered. My masseuse had an Irish accent and put me at ease right away. Of course, she and I gabbed the entire time. (I have a very bad habit of always talking through my massage; my husband has the bad habit of falling asleep 5 minutes into the massage!)

We went to the steam room before and after. Note to self: never wear make-up before going into the steam room, it'll stream down your face and you will look like very similar to this guy upon leaving:

And yes, Mr. Cupcakes is also EXACTLY where we went right after the Spa! Riverside Square Mall is amazing. Has everything you need in one spot. Spas, cupcake places.... and we went to the Bloomingdale's where my dad used to work afterwards to pick up some Clinique. I finally got to use the giftcard that I received from my birthday back in JUNE. {Thanks Michelle!! I finally used it.}

Not only was the make-up that I bought free because of the birthday gift card, but it also came with a special offer. The lady at the counter gave me this Milly bag along with all this make-up FREE due to "my $25 dollar purchase" ----- ummm AMAZING!! Free+Free = fabulous!!!

Afterwards, we picked up Italian dinners at Nauna's and ate it back at the apartment to hang out with Piper. Piper seemed to have a rough day as he was exhausted when we got home.

{Megan and Piper}

Overall it was the best way to spend Valentine's Day
while the boys were away!!

happy list.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:13:00 +0000

8 Reasons to be happy today.

1. It's Friday.
2. Egypt is FREE!
3. I ran a 5K after work on the treadmill.
4. The date. When I shorthanded the date while writing on the board for my students in French: 11/2/11. It's also one of my favorite actresses' birthdays, Jennifer (great name!) Aniston.
5. Tonight I have a date night with Mom.
6. Tomorrow one of my good friends and I have a Spa Date!
7. Even though he's a plane ride away, I still have the best Valentine in the world.
8. The days are getting longer. Each day we are gaining a few more minutes of sunlight!

{a happy moment captured by my husband

while hiking in Crested Butte, Colorado}

Ok, spill the beans... what are your 8??

* Why 8?? 'Cause it's my favorite number. P.S. Please excuse my super weird double-jointed arm. Thanks!!

10 more days until I see the love of my life.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

10 more days until I see this face!! Cannot wait! Especially since this time around, we'll get a full WEEK together. Found this photo from our honeymoon archive and it made me laugh because just this weekend as I was watching the film "Something's Gotta Give" (with Jack Nicholson and Keanu Reeves) I said to myself "who wears all white on a beach like that????" And lo and behold, Bumbee and me in Turks and Caicos...

We had 8 days in Turks and Caicos and I'm sure 7 days in Missouri will feel just as "honeymoon"-ish.

Doesn't matter where we are, as long as we're together.

a reminder.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 03:02:00 +0000

While reading La Chanson de Roland and Lanval for grad school, I took a break and came across a great quote, one that I found very relevant to my life right now.

A day like today is for you, to let your mind unwind like you ought to, Feel the earth turn' round when your heart rate slows, contemplating the thing only your heart knows-- That life's not a race.

my fuzzy valentine.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Shhhhh. Don't tell the Husband. :)

coffee lounge weekend updates.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 17:37:00 +0000

2 more weeks of work until vacation!! And now begins, a post of weekend highlights:

{my attempt at making heart-shaped whipped cream}

friday night I met up with Debbie and Danielle (my two favoritest co-workers) at Rock 'n' Joe's coffee lounge cafe... I ordered my usual - Dark Side of the Moo (featured above) Doesn't it look like a heart?! (I tried.)
Saturday was a girly day spent getting manicures (haven't had one since my sister's Engagement Party in November so yeah, my nails were crying out for help. Especially when one writes on a chalk board every day at work!)
Did some major food shopping - a stocked fridge is a happy fridge.
Cleaned the entire apartment from head to toe. Even though it's always clean as I am an OCD neat freak, I mean "real clean" as in whipping out the pledge. New favorite cleaning supply? BLEACH. Worked incredible wonders on the shower curtain.
Mass on Sunday
Ran a 5K at the gym! Go me!! Haven't ran over two miles in a few months so that was sorta a big deal.
Had a sleepover and movie night with Danielle. Yes, we're in our mid-twenties and act like we're 12 and that's totally okay.

Happy Sunday!

{Enjoy the Superbowl... if that's your thing.}

my puppy was blessed by a Priest!

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:10:00 +0000

Yesterday at the nail salon with friend Danielle, women looked at us as if we were crazy while discussing my puppy Piper's 3rd birthday party. Yes! We threw a birthday party for my dog! Other puppies were present. AND we enjoyed cake while the puppies enjoyed their ice cream. See more about our shindig here.

Today I went to Church. And it felt really good. Service always calms me down from whatever overwhelming feelings I am having. And I realized that I forgot to blog about something!

A while ago {in the fall}, my puppy Piper had been blessed by my church's Priest!!

{my church}

{running away...}

{making friends.}

Although, Piper almost ran away from the holy water; I'm truly glad he became brave.

Piper recovered from surgery a few weeks after he was blessed.

You can read about that here. The power of prayer is a strong thing. I may be crazy to do these things for my little man, but it is all out of love.

What about you? Do you throw parties for your dogs or bless your pets??

I've love to hear!

friends.

noreply@blogger.com (jlc) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 23:31:00 +0000

I've known this girl since I was 19 and I am so thankful that to this day, at 26, she is still such an important part of my life. last night best friend Kathleen came over to eat Jersey style pizza, watch (the original version) Sabrina, and of course catch each other up on the past week!

throughout all the crazy snow storms (#9 is coming to NYC tomorrow!) I cannot tell you how necessary it is to just take TIME for each other. Sure, we're all busy. Work, grad school, exercising, taking care of puppies, putting your husband first. And then of course, taking care of yourself. But take time for FRIENDS.

she's been there for me at my absolute worst. And I've been there for her at her absolute best.

I love this girl and would do anything for her. The end.

now to catch YOU guys up on this week?!?!

this week was a long one!! Even though we had a delayed opening and a half day, the past few days kinda feel like a blur.... went to grad school and have been doing lots of reading for it! I've also been teaching Celebrity descriptions to my 7th graders, fruits and veggies to my French II, and Existentialism to my French IV Honors!!

Talk about a nutty week.

Hope everyone else is doing well!! Yay week-end!!