Weather and Wedding

I know everyone else is thrilled about this 60's in January stuff, and it's lovely to see the sun, but where is the snow?!!? Seriously! I have yet to reap the benefits of one single snow day. I mean it's the only teacher "bonus" I will ever receive. I am very hopeful for a large February storm. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. It better not snow on August 12th in Pittsburgh, but I guess I could have some pretty nice snow pictures if it did. 

Speaking of wedding...not much else to report. We are at a slight stand still, it might be because I got a little lazy on the planning. I decided we have to do something wedding related next weekend, so I gave Matt some options; get fitted for a tux and pick out groomsmen attire or register. He was not super excited about either, but I did schedule an appointment to go to Men's Warehouse on Saturday. I'm sure Matt plus fashion will make for a wonderful Saturday afternoon :)

Joe

This morning the lights went out in Beaver Stadium. They've been on since Sunday. A beacon of light in a very sad valley. Joe Paterno will never run out from the locker room again. We will will never be lucky enough to watch a Paterno coached football team again. Joe died this week. We all knew we would see the day. We just never thought it would be this tragic.

I never wanted to go to Penn State. I hated Penn State growing up. I went to visit campus when I was a senior in high school because my mom and my neighbors (a family of Penn Staters) said I had to. That weekend I decided I didn't hate it, but I still wasn't sold. Penn State, however, was the only school I was accepted to. I had to go. I started the summer session of 2002. I was in love less than one week later. I think it's true what they say...there is something in the air. It's truly instant happiness upon arrival in the valley. My love grew from the sense of belonging, the loyalty, the intense pride, the deep rooted tradition. All of this, The Pennsylvania State University, the life work of the Paterno family.

Joe Paterno wanted to be remembered as more than a coach, as someone who made Penn State a better place. Let's be real; Joe put Penn State on the map. He took a farmer's college, in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania and turned it into a top university. He embodied all of the traits mentioned above that we so dearly attribute to Penn State. This week countless personal stories have surfaced about the sixty one years of players, parents, students, and community members that Joe and his family have served. I continue to be amazed at the lives this single person made better. If I can live a life a fraction as gracious his, it would be a great accomplishment.

To say that I am heartbroken is no exaggeration. My love for Penn State and Joe, any alumni's love for all things Penn State, knows no end. It's a love that can not be explained, a love that no one outside the confines of Park, College, Atherton, and University, can understand. It's the reason thousands flocked to State College. They needed to be with the people who understood best.

I could never write enough in this post to convey what the loss of Joe Paterno means as a Penn Stater, what this loss means to an entire nation. So with this Friday post I will end my daily Joe post. In my mind I think Joe would have just wanted us all to keep moving forward, to make Penn State proud, because he was so proud of all of us, even if he had no idea who we were. He did know that we are all Penn State and because of that a piece of him will live on in each of our hearts forever. We are his legacy. So, to Joe:

YOU ARE PENN STATE. And I am, we all are, Penn State because you were. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

If.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

You Are

I'm frustrated I can't post this the way I want to, but please watch it. It's footage and information from today's funeral procession in State College.

Watch This.

Campus

leaving the lights on

on the jumbotron

old main

what remains on the old main steps

educator.coach.humanitarian.

Love.

This has been one of my absolute favorite Joe items since it premiered before the Ohio State game in 2008. I remember going to watch the game at Rhino Bar with my 11GC friends and this came on before the game. I googled it the next day so I could hear it as well as see it. I loved it. The next day I went to school and talked with my fellow Penn Stater colleague, as I recall she shared my sentiments. When Matt and I began dating I made him watch it too, he probably thought I was a crazy person for loving a youtube video so much. I am not a crier. Never have been, but I tear up every time I use to watch this, even before the tragedy of the last 10 weeks. I'm not sure I should watch it now.

Remember.

Sidewalk Joe
read about it here.

Downward Spiral

So I haven't posted in a long time. I have an excuse. My MacBook Pro, who has been with me through thick and thin (and trust me it's seen some thin), is in a downward spiral. It's a sad, sad story. One of the biggest issues currently is that I can't update my blog with it for some reason. I'm currently using Matt's younger model. I've had my dear, sweet Mac for nearly 6 years. It has served me well, and I really don't want to have to buy a new friend, but I also need to face the facts. It's noticeably slow, very finicky, etc. I'm pretty sure it's the original model and there's a lot of memories with that thing. What do I do? I love mac, I don't think there's any possible I can get a PC. What I do not love: the price tag. Painful. Especially during the time of wedding and honeymoon planning. Being an adult is no fun. I have to get going for now, but tomorrow I promise a post!

Recipe of the Week!

Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

These scrumptious sprouts were my contribution to Christmas dinner. I hadn't had brussel sprouts forever! We typically eat a lot of broccoli and salad, but theses were a delightful change of pace. I know a lot of people don't like brussel sprouts and I'm not typically a huge fan, but these were roasted and tasted much better. All you have to do is take your desired amount of sprouts and peel them and half them. Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast them at about 400 degrees in the oven for 30-45 minutes. After removing them from the over toss with balsamic vinegar. Done!

Flying Solo

When I first moved to Northern Virginia I lived by myself. I had this bomb apartment in a bomb location. I often reminisce about those fantastic 2.5 years, much to Matt's dismay, as my fabulous single days. These days I live in what is a very nice condo, in an OK location, with a wonderful boyfriend. The past week, however, I have been reliving my single days. I get about 3 more days of said singledom until I have to share my space again. Matt is out of town so the 709 is all mine. It's pretty awesome.

Now, please don't worry for my marriage before it ever happens. I love Matt. I love when he is home. In fact I'm sure of the fact he is over me throwing fits about how he should spend more time with me, but having my own space for a period of time is so great. I can have the whole bed. I can lay in bed a drink coffee and watch TV without waking people up. I don't have to clean up messes and the apartment actually stays clean after I clean it. On the contrary, I have to wash the dishes by myself. I don't wash dishes at all anymore, actually. Matt almost always does them. I guess singledom has some downfalls.

On Friday I am flying to Boston to join Matt. He is currently there visiting his family. He was in Chicago all of last week for work. My parents are also coming to Boston on Friday because our parents have actually never met. Should be an exciting weekend :) Starting with Friday the 13th...

Recipe of the Week!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

So once again, I am suffering from bad food photography. This is good, however, the picture looks like throw up. I suggest you make this. The easiness of it is unbelievable. You literally just throw everything in the crock pot and it's delicious a couple hours later! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 pound frozen chicken (shred near end of cooking time) 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed  1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce  1 medium onion, chopped  1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers  2 cloves garlic, minced  3(14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth  1 teaspoon cumin  1 teaspoon salt  1/4 teaspoon black pepper  1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn  1 can black beans, rinsed

Directions

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth, and season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in corn and black beans. Cover and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Garnish with crushed tortillachips, sour cream, shredded cheese, or avocadoes. 

Nuptial News

Remember how I mentioned that I did something cutesy for my bridesmaids? Well this is it. I made paper dolls of the bridal party. This is the one I gave to my sister and her husband. They got the full bridal party cause he is going to be a groomsmen as well. The other bridesmaids just got a set of girls. Kinda lame, but still kinda cute. 

I got a few other things for the wedding done over break as well. I picked out some flowers...which I am going to keep as a surprise cause I can't give all the wedding details away. Flowers was a slightly anxiety provoking appointment because you just give all these ideas and pick out random flowers, but you don't actually get to see the finished product until the day of the wedding. And what are you going to do if everything turns out ugly 5 hours before you are walking down the aisle? I'll keep my fingers crossed. 

I also chose a photographer. Slightly less anxiety provoking since you can at least see on the website what the quality of photos is like. You can check out Michael Will Photography here. He is also super nice and good with email and punctuality. Bonus in my book. Well that's the latest in wedding world...next up...cake?!?!